Through our research and experience we have gradually put together a glossary that explains the meanings we attribute to the various terms we use in our practice. Happy reading.

The “Talent and Evolutionary Task Diagram” defines this as the basic fear driving the reaction of human beings when faced with certain aspects of life, as a result of their experiences. It brings out a subconscious repulsion for those aspects.

This is the name that Austrian philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner gave to the Science of the Spirit in 1913, when he founded the Anthroposophical Society. It is key to understanding life phenomena in a spiritual context.

This approach is based on and applies to the principles of anthroposophy in the various disciplines where it is used, for example: biodynamic agriculture, the Waldorf education, anthroposophic medicine, Living Organic Architecture and Eurythmy art. Evolutionary Corporate Coaching® takes its inspiration from this approach.

This means that leadership is not a strict science that can be conducted using specific models (such as those seen in the past). It instead requires leaders to have artistic qualities. Like painters, these leaders must be able to create infinite shades of the right colors in any situation – or painting. They begin with the three primary colors which can be seen either as the three inner qualities (thinking, feeling and willing) or as three new levels of knowledge to acquire (imagination, inspiration and intuition).

ASD is an international non-profit association. Its headquarters are in Germany, but it is present worldwide and combines coaches and consultants working in organizational development around the world following the anthroposophical impulse of Rudolf Steiner and Bernard Lievegoed. ASD stands for Association for Social Development. Ricchezze Umane coaches are all members. Website:  http://asd-international.org/

This is the magnetic field generated by all subtle bodies of every living being. In a human being, these bodies are physical, vital, emotional and mental. It is egg-shaped and extends some meters beyond the physical body.

This is the sum of all the organization’s health levels from all four areas: 1) in financial terms, 2) in terms of social and inter-relational aspects, 3) in terms of individuals and their evolution, 4) with regard to osmotic exchanges between the organization and its surroundings.

We define biography as the sum of events lived by each human being during their life, in terms of both objective factual events and the personal inner experience of those facts (their interpretation). Every biography is unique, although they all pass through development stages that fit into “universal laws” of development in the Souls and Spirits of human beings. The free choices made by each human being combine to build their biography; hence, each human being is responsible for the consequences of those choices. Our research has allowed us to establish that organizations – as the “creation of human beings” – also have biographies with precise stages of development, and the coach aids transition to the next stage.

The “Talent and Evolutionary Task Diagram” defines this as a person’s talent performed in an exaggerated fashion, or a subconscious behavior that is disproportionate to or dysfunctional within a given situation, creating discomfort or suffering for the others involved.

All human beings are placed simultaneously on three temporal lines: the past, the present and the future. Of the first, we are perfectly conscious, to the extent that we are able to analyze it. The second exists in a state of semi-consciousness, at times we are not conscious of what we are experiencing. The third generally exists in a state of sleep and unconsciousness: our future is untouchable, unknown. Yet our future is constantly calling to us, knocking on our door every day, because it wants to be achieved in line with every human being’s evolutionary plan. How can we recognize its voice and its calls, so as to take the path it suggests?

The “Talent and Evolutionary Task Diagram” defines this as a person’s evolutionary direction, the development of those faculties and qualities that a person needs in order to find balance and harmoniously perform their talent. The evolutionary task is the most important aspect of learning for a specific human being during their existence.

We define every organization as a community of destiny. Our research and experience has shown us how the situations and the people we meet in our lives serve our inner evolution. As today our organizations are the place where we spend most of our time, it is there that our colleagues, bosses, employees, clients and suppliers constitute the community in which each person is able to perform their own evolutionary task. Under the law of resonance, organizations attract the people whose vibrations are compatible with their evolutionary paths. The people around us are those who are right for us, proposing precisely the matters on which we need to work.

Sometimes certain things are taking place but they lie hidden. Awareness is what happens when we take those things and bring them into our conscious thought. Consciousness or awareness is not an on/off switch, or you have it or you don’t have it. It is a path with an infinite number of steps and scalable levels. The purpose of a human being’s evolutionary journey is to gradually proceed towards higher levels.

Growth means increasing and expanding an existing feature, one already in our possession, one that already works. As such, a person’s strengths and talents can grow (see the relationship with development and evolution).

Destiny is the result of the choices made throughout one’s entire existence. This can be seen in situations and in meetings involving others, requiring us to make further choices.

Human beings live their experiences simultaneously in various dimensions: on a physical plane, in their souls and on a spiritual level.

A real “develop question” arises from a deep sense of unease, an inner “movement” from which an imbalance appears between what is being expressed and what one could or would like to express. It opens the way for an evolutionary path.

The questions that human beings have always asked themselves: who am I? What am I doing here? What is life and what is its purpose?

The double is a spiritual entity created within its “owner”. It lives in the subconscious, in the shadows. It manifests as an automatic, habitual reaction, in life situations of a very specific nature. On the one hand, it can hinder an individual’s evolution, but on the other it shows precisely what the purpose of their evolutionary process is.

The Civil Economy is the positive coalition of State, the markets and civil society. The idea is that even in their normal business operations, companies need to leave space beyond profits for reciprocity, respect for others, sustainability, social development and valuing talent. For further details, please read Luigino Bruni and Stefano Zamagni’s book, “Civil Economy”.

Experiences are the “bricks” with which we build our “home of conscience”. True learning happens through experience and through having an awareness of one’s self, of the other and of the world. Thus, experiences make up the very substance of conscience.

This is a systemic approach to coaching, developed in the field during the Ricchezze Umane coaches’ 20 years of experience. It consists of knowledge, methodologies, practices and tools that can effectively accompany individual managers, teams and entire organizational cultures through the evolutionary process. It is a Ricchezze Umane® registered trademark.

By evolution we mean the movement of beings as they undergo a positive transformation of the self and gain increasing levels of consciousness. It is the natural consequence of the two processes, growth and development (see relationship with growth and development).

One-to-one coaching for companies’ top managers and entrepreneurs.

Feedback is given in response to the impact that a certain behavior or situation has had on the surrounding environment and on other people. It is a tool for leadership and development, and improvement of performance.

By cross-fertilization, we mean taking the opportunity to appreciate the wealth of differences that people bring, by mutually exchanging knowledge and experience.

Thought-forms are memories containing an “injury” produced by the negative interpretation of an event. They create profound beliefs within the person. They are linked to aspects that a person does not recognize, accept or want for themselves, and they consume attention through the repetitiveness of the dynamics that created them.

The Emerging Future is tied to the possibilities of the present and is aligned with the evolutionary plan. Therefore, it is always present and ready to emerge. It is our own carelessness and lack of awareness that prevents us from recognizing its signals, from hearing its encouragement, from following the paths to achieve it.

Imagination is the first of the three levels of higher knowledge to develop in the V.U.C.A. World. It is the ability to form images without the object and the concrete sensations it provides. These images come not from the material world but from the world of the soul and the spirit.

Spiritual individuality – otherwise known as the “I” or “Higher Self”, is the deepest part of a human being, the part that allows us to know the purpose of a journey and its destination. It contrasts with the personality, otherwise known as the “ego” or “lower self”, which life aims to shape, transform and exalt.

This is a development program for senior coaches. It is a Master program lasting around 18 months, during which time participants receive instruction from facilitators of various nationalities, all with extensive experience in Corporate Coaching. The program adopts an anthroposophical approach and is run by ISAIA, a learning institute for adult learning.

Intuition is the third of the three levels of higher knowledge that the V.U.C.A. World asks us to develop. It is the capacity of a person’s I not to feel as if they are on the outside of the things and processes they know, but on the inside. Allowing things to live inside the soul means capturing their essence, and that is intuition.

The I – otherwise known as “Higher Self” or “Spiritual Individuality” is the deepest part of a human being, the part that allows us to know the purpose of a journey and its destination. It requires certain “tools” to gain experience and so achieve its development purpose. Those tools are the soul and the body.

ISAIA is an acronym for “Istituto Superiore per l’Apprendimento dell’Individuo Adulto”, an institution offering learning paths to those who wish to embark upon a path of inner research and of personal and professional development. The paths are suitable for three main targets: private individuals, coaches and consultants, and the HR professionals of companies. Our headquarters are located on Lake Garda.

Inspiration is the second of the three levels of higher knowledge that the V.U.C.A. World asks us to develop. It is the ability to “hear” and capture even the faintest signals in scenarios as they progress. Inspiration gives impressions from which the I forms concepts.

This is a very interactive form of workshop that applies the seven processes of learning (for individuals), to make learning more effective for participants, awakening their will to change. Inductive and Maieutic methodologies allow us to offer the contents in a more effective and pragmatic way in co-creation with coach facilitators.

There are laws in the universe that can be observed not only on the material plane. Take, for example, the phenomenon by which all tuning forks of the same frequency will vibrate if only one is struck – this corresponds with the law of resonance. Similar frequencies attract similar frequencies: according to the quantum paradigm, they oscillate “in phase”. But this does not just apply to objects. Human beings are also in resonance with the environment and with the situations in which they find themselves. They come into contact (“in phase”) with situations where the vibrations are similar to their own.

The Map of 10 Aspects® is a system for representing an organization as a living organism. It contains further threefolding between the spheres and levels of manifestation. It allows us to understand all the dynamics at play in an organization and how they link to various aspects, including the surrounding environment. It is an enlightening source of information that offers managers and entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand the company mission into other spheres and purposes. It is a Ricchezze Umane® registered trademark.

In our research into learning, the greatest impact on effectiveness was observed when an inductive, rather than a deductive, method was used. We design and facilitate our projects with this method, starting with the specifics of the work we do on a daily basis to the bigger picture: the laws and principles that underlie that work. This allows us to let in learning stimuli through different “doors”, or rather through the doors most suited to each one’s logic/rationale. That makes it easier to awaken feeling and willing, in addition to just thinking.

According to Austrian scholar and philosopher Rudolf Steiner – our inspiration – every time a group of people meets for a group project, a living social organism is formed. Organizations are thus an excellent example of this. Three spheres exist simultaneously within living social organisms (Social Threefolding): an economic sphere, a social sphere and an individual (or as Steiner termed it, cultural) sphere.

Every one of our clients is a “learning partner”, whether they are an individual, a team or an entire organization. Even in the coaching relationship we do not define our clients using the term “coachee”, as we believe it incorrect for the person “receiving” the service simply to have to borrow the name of the discipline and the person providing it (the coach). That would seem as if it were a mono-directional process: instead, we believe the relationship between coach and client is one of mutual learning. Hence, we prefer “learning partner” (the coach can even leave a session having learned more than their client!).

Presence is the temporary state of consciousness in which thinking, feeling, willing and the present moment achieve total alignment. In moments of presence, the dimensions of space and time seem to disappear, just as the distinction between internal and external seems to vanish. Those experiencing it feel they have found their flow, that they are in their best possible “place”. When all our actions are centered in that place, they are effective. Spiritual work is how we capture these moments.

“Ricchezze Umane” is a company and the service it offers is to accompany organizations, managers and entrepreneurs through their evolutionary process. Members of our team are coaches coming from careers in management and who are enamored by research, practical application and experimentation. We specialize in Corporate Coaching and have our headquarters on Lake Garda. Our brand name was born out of the conviction that, as human beings, we have infinite inner wealth to offer to the world. The logo is a human being within its aura, extended upwards to represent how we are constantly drawn towards evolution.

We define our need for knowledge as “practical research”. Our preferred method of learning is through practical life experience and we approach life with the spirit of researchers. Everything we discover, we try out on ourselves first. We test it so we can then offer it happily to our clients, to improve their efficiency and development. We work intensely to develop original management consultancy, facilitation and coaching methods and tools. We self-fund our psychosocial research into how people develop within complex organizations.

This is the greatest of our ambitions. Human beings take action only if they have a motive, if they want to. Action is the visible manifestation of will, which would otherwise be invisible.  To have an impact on the world, we have to act. To change, to transform our behaviour, we have to act differently. Thus, the objective of all our research is to awaken the will of individuals to change in order to evolve.

Rudolf Steiner and other researchers – including Dutchman Coenraad van Houten – observed that adults learn most effectively by following the same seven vital processes found in nature. They are: Breathing, Warming, Nourishing, Secreting, Maintaining, Growing, and Reproducing. From these, we derive the seven processes of learning for adults: Observing, Relating, Assimilating, Individualizing, Practicing, Growing Faculties and Creating. We use these processes in our planning.

Ricchezze Umane created the Map of 10 Aspects® to show how organizations are a living organism. Within this, the economic sphere is the one that encapsulates the “hard” elements of the company structure, its processes and all relative financial aspects.

Ricchezze Umane created the Map of 10 Aspects® to show how organizations are a living organism. The individual sphere is the one that encapsulates the individual aspects of each single member of the organization: their way of being (their “lights” and “shadows”), their behaviour, and the impact of these two aspects at a personal and inner level.

Ricchezze Umane created the Map of 10 Aspects® to show how organizations are a living organism. The social sphere encapsulates all aspects of the organization’s culture, its shared values, its interpersonal relationships, its negotiations and communications, the sense of belonging and collaboration between its members.

Shadow Coaching® is a coaching method by which the coach is present but does not intervene, they simply observe the projects or working situations in which the learning partner is involved. Once that project or situation has ended, the coach provides feedback on what they have observed, often in line with the specific topics the two are tackling in their coaching relationship. Operating this way – “in the heat of the moment” – often proves highly effective in terms of understanding and learning. It is a Donna Karlin registered trademark.

In part, this means all the abilities of a manager combined, but it is also the origin of those abilities, which reside far deeper in the manager’s inner self. The more that part evolves, the more carefully honed those abilities will be.

The process of development is additional to and integrates with what does not yet exist or that is a weak point. A person, a team, an organization can therefore develop its own areas for improvement (see relationship with growth and evolution).

The “Talent and Evolutionary Task Diagram” defines this as the inherent quality, ability or gift that makes something easy for one person that would be difficult for others. These are a person’s strong points and they appear to be natural abilities. Each individual can therefore perform their own talent in a particularly effective way.

This is a coaching technique used for real teams, or groups of people who work together on the same company projects  or in the same office every day. As such, it handles areas and matters that affect the team rather than its individual members. The objectives concern the team’s evolution and the ways in which it works and communicates within itself, shares a common vision and improves its collective performance.

A group of people connected through hierarchical relationships, either in general operations or on a project basis. They work together on the same job, aiming for the same target.

The moral technique is an inner approach that encourages the coach to constantly balance three principles in their conscience: freedom, responsibility and service. Coaches pursuing the moral technique must ask themselves a vital question: “What is really needed at this moment to awaken the learning partner’s will, to encourage them to take on their responsibilities and continue down the development path needed by their I?” The moral technique is developed by encountering the other, by cultivating the ability to listen intently, by a constant inner work that holds back the ego, by striving to put oneself at the service of evolution and by increasing one’s personal centering and presence.

Explorers is the epithet we use to define Ricchezze Umane coaches and our Corporate Coaching Community colleagues (former International Corporate Coaching Program students). The term aims to show an inner predisposition to immerse oneself in the unknown depths of human souls and spirits. It takes great courage, especially when diving into oneself: what we find there in the depths is not always pretty … On the other hand, these immersions bring to the surface everything that needs the illumination of sunlight …

Organizations can develop the awareness that they need to produce three different states of wellbeing, rather than just one. To do that, they must look beyond their own company mission statement. The state of wellbeing of which all organizations are already aware is economic: generating ROI, profits, increasing market share, and satisfying customers. Certain organizations have become aware of the importance of social wellbeing: a good sense of belonging, good teamwork between staff, a relaxed, positive atmosphere, values that are shared and put into action, sustainability, and a positive impact on the surrounding environment. Organizations that understand the vital importance of establishing individual wellbeing are, however, rare. Those are the ones that take care of the personal and professional development of each individual member, making each feel self-realized and able to express their talents. They can evolve and improve as an individual, acquiring a sense of fulfillment and happiness.

Dutch scholar Coenraad van Houten and his colleagues at NALM (New Adult Learning Movement, website: http://www.nalm.net) – a movement he himself founded – discovered that adult human beings learn in three ways. The first is the classic method – specialist learning, in the traditional way (scholarly or professional courses). The second is based around biography work and learning from your destiny. The third is to learn through one’s own inner research. For further information, please read the three books, each dedicated to one of these three paths: “Awakening the Will”, “Threefold Nature of Destiny Learning” and “Creative Spiritual Research” by Coenraad van Houten.

This refers specifically to the social threefolding as identified by Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and scientist working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He believed it must be possible to “fold” every social organism into three independent subsystems, each with its own special structure; thus social imbalance occurs in the event that any one of those subsystems weakens or is subjugated by the others. The three subsystems are:

• The economic sphere,which “is concerned with everything in the nature of the production of commodities, circulation of commodities and consumption of commodities… The whole of this living complex of processes that begin with man’s relation to nature and continue down to the point where nature’s products are ready for consumption – these processes and these alone comprise, for a healthy social organism, its economic system”.
• The judicial sphere includes “the life of public rights, political life, that, in the ancient sense of a political state, could be called the true life of a state that can have no other concern than with what is involved in purely human relations and affects man’s relations towards man”.
• The cultural sphere “the spiritual life regards everything that rests on the natural endowments, both spiritual and physical, of each single human being and which must be incorporated in the body social. This relates to all that springs from the personal individuality of each human being and that must be incorporated, from out of the personal individuality, in the body social.”

It has been thirty years since the acronym V.U.C.A. was coined in military usage to refer to new scenarios in modern war. The term has been then used more widely to describe new conditions – social, political and financial – in the modern world. The meaning of the original acronym (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) is well known, but at Ricchezze Umane® we no longer use that version. For some time we have focused on new qualities and faculties that this constantly transforming world increasingly demands from the managers of the future: Vision, Understanding, Clarity, and Agility. This is our V.U.C.A. World, one that asks people – including the managers of organizations – to work on themselves in order to develop new qualities, sensitivities and skills. And the most important of those are: imagination, inspiration and intuition.