Steps towards a Mindful Organisation: Developing Mindfulness to Manage Unexpected Events (Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung) 3658332018, 9783658332013

Citation preview

Fabrice Mielke

Steps towards a Mindful Organisation Developing Mindfulness to Manage Unexpected Events

Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung Series Editor Max J. Ringlstetter, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Ingolstadt, Germany

In dieser Schriftenreihe werden aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse im Bereich der Unternehmensentwicklung präsentiert. Die einzelnen Beiträge orientieren sich an Problemen der Führungs- bzw. Managementpraxis. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die Themenfelder Strategie, Organisation und Humanressourcen-Management. Herausgegeben von Prof. Dr. Max J. Ringlstetter Kathol. Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/12214

Fabrice Mielke

Steps towards a Mindful Organisation Developing Mindfulness to Manage Unexpected Events

Fabrice Mielke Hamburg, Germany

Dissertation University of Hamburg, 2020

ISSN 2628-7382 ISSN 2628-7404 (electronic) Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung ISBN 978-3-658-33201-3 ISBN 978-3-658-33202-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Responsible Editor: Anna Pietras This Springer Gabler imprint is published by the registered company Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 46, 65189 Wiesbaden, Germany

Foreword

Mindfulness practice is one way to develop individual and collective resilience and compassion. Two properties that are essential in times of accelerating change and increasing complexity. Many employees and organisations thrive on adaptability and agility to manage unexpected events. For this, mindfulness plays an important role. Individual mindfulness can be understood as awareness to the present moment in a non-judgmental manner. This concept is mainly used in therapy, health promotion or stress management. Individual mindfulness trainings have become part of human resource development programs in recent years. Collective mindfulness is a model to help organisations to manage unexpected events. It is a concept developed by Karl Weick and many other colleagues in the beginning of the 1990’s. Weick et al. (1999, 2015) focused mainly on so-called high reliable organisations that pursue risky, dangerous and complex tasks (e.g. air craft carriers, fire fighters). Over time the topic gathered further momentum and gained intensified interest among many more researchers. At present, the COVID-19 crisis shows that every organisation must deal with unexpected events and complex problems. Interestingly, there is barely any scientific research about a connection between individual and collective mindfulness. This book changes that by building a systematic connection between both concepts. It illustrates a missing link between individual and collective mindfulness. Especially regular individual mindfulness practice plays a relevant role. The book investigates and answers following specific questions: – How does individual mindfulness influence openness? – How does individual mindfulness influence knowledge sharing? – What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness?

v

vi

Foreword

Both phenomena, openness and knowledge sharing, are quite useful connecters between individual and collective mindfulness. They are relevant attitudes and competencies on the individual as well as the collective level. Fabrice Mielke investigates those questions empirically in a corporation that develops software. The leadership team participated in an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction training. Semi-structured and focus group interviews allowed studying the training’s effects on openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness in a longitudinal way. The findings are very insightful and promising. Course participants report that their openness widened during unexpected events, such as a website going offline or the leaving of a team member. Also, the knowledge sharing behaviour improved after the mindfulness training. Course attendees report to be more serene and calm, which allowed a positive behavioural shift when sharing knowledge. A kind and respectful behaviour enables a more efficient exchange of knowledge and the ability to deal with unexpected events collectively. However, these positive effects can only enfold when mindfulness practice is sustained over time. Mindfulness needs to be integrated into the corporate culture and structure to develop heedfulness in organisations. Over all, this book shows the relevance of mindfulness for organisations in a systematic way. The author highlights the importance of regular and embedded mindfulness practice, in which kindness and compassion are cultivated. This is one missing link to developing collective mindfulness. However, individual mindfulness is not enough. Even if employees are mindful, the organisation and its structure can remain mindless. Therefore, this book offers various practical implications to developing a mindful organisation. Readers receive many ideas and tips. For example, by implementing ‘daily huddles‘, the removal of individual incentives or the development of a mistake culture. From a scientific perspective, this book contributes substantially to the human resource and organisational development literature, as it closes a research gap by connecting individual and collective mindfulness. It also warns against an instrumentalization of mindfulness. Instead of liberating employees and organisations, mindfulness can fuel a destructive neoliberal purpose. Over all, a very insightful book to read. We can truly recommend it and we hope it will find a very large audience. Hamburg Karlsruhe January 2021

Prof. Dr. Daniela Rastetter Prof. Dr. Wendelin Küpers

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to many people who supported me in finishing this research project during the last few years. A great thanks goes to my first supervisor Prof. Dr. Daniela Rastetter and my second supervisor Prof. Dr. Wendelin Küpers. They have always been very supportive, knowledgeable, open, and kind. A special thank you goes to the mindfulness trainer, all interviewees and both CEOs of the company I worked with. They may remain anonymous, but without them this entire research project would not have been possible. A big credit goes to Andrew Fassett and Nawaz Brohi, who were kind enough to support me with their English language skills. I would also like to thank the University of Hamburg and its staff for their support, workshops, scholarship and seminars. I further would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Julia Asseburg. Her deep knowledge on methodology, her critical reflections, and her confidence kept me motivated. A great acknowledgment goes to my mother Monique Boxho. Her capability to see the positive things in life is beyond words. Furthermore, I am very grateful for Jan Müller’s inspirations. His humour, energy and know-how are boundless. Additionally, my recognition goes to my mentor Dr. Jürgen Simon. His advice and experience were always valuable throughout all these years. A profound recognition goes to Prof. Dr. David Colander. His willingness to host me in Vermont was the beginning of my passion for the English language. Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude to Nazreena Johari. I am very grateful for our friendship. I also would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Stephanie Schrage and Dr. Carolin Waldner. Both have always had brilliant ideas and an open ear. A thank you goes to my brother François Mielke and my father Dr. Friederich Mielke. They were and are a great source of inspiration.

vii

viii

Acknowledgments

Last but not least, a special thank you goes to my wife Alex. Her patience and love fuelled my energy level continuously. That is why this dissertation is dedicated to her and my children: “live every moment. Love continuously. Laugh every day. Be mindful”. January 2021

Fabrice Mielke Hamburg, Germany

Abstract

Background: The management of unexpected events is becoming increasingly important for organisations. Individual and collective mindfulness appear to be concepts to deal with such events. Individual mindfulness is the capability to be purposefully aware, in the present moment, without judging. Collective mindfulness is an ongoing process that keeps organisations sensitive, open and curious to their environment and provides the ability to swiftly manage surprises. Empirical studies in psychology, human resource management and organisational development that investigate a relationship between both concepts are missing. Objective: This dissertation investigates the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness and how mindfulness training influences the openness and knowledge-sharing behaviour of an entire leadership team of an organisation. Method: A qualitative approach allows the understanding of the behavioural changes of employees. A total of 37 qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with members of one organisation at three points in time: before training in mindfulness meditation, directly after and four months later. Courseparticipating managers as well as non-participants were asked about changes resulting from the mindfulness training. The data was recorded, transcribed and analysed with a qualitative content analysis. Categories were developed deductively from the theory and inductively from the data. Results: The mindfulness training influenced the management’s openness. After the training, they were better able to cope with surprises and consider alternative approaches to pending problems. Reasons are the cultivation of a beginner’s mind and the awareness of judgments, which they learned during the course. Knowledge-sharing behaviour is also positively affected by the mindfulness training. Calmness, kindness, focus, less multitasking and the willingness to take

ix

x

Abstract

time when explaining something support knowledge sharing. Openness and knowledge sharing are two fundamental connectors between individual and collective mindfulness. Openness affects the cognition and knowledge sharing the social behaviour. Surprisingly, after four months the interview data analysis shows that the encouraging effects diminished. Reasons are the lack of continuous meditation practice among leaders and the inconsistent implementation of mindfulness meditation in the organisation. Conclusion: Mindfulness meditation is central to developing collective mindfulness. Managers and their teams become resilient. A win-win situation is gained if individual mindfulness is learned via meditation and combined with compassion and kindness, as empathy and understanding are cultivated. However, this win-win situation can only be obtained when employees meditate regularly. Motivating them is challenging. Furthermore, a balance is necessary to be collectively mindful: On the one hand, routines and habits create efficiency and on the other hand, awareness, openness, knowledge sharing and creativity form adaptability and the capability to manage unexpected events. Contributions: For theory there are two contributions: First, the discourse about ‘openness to experience’ from the psychological domain is examined again. Self-awareness appears to be a precondition for someone to be open. Being aware of thoughts, feelings and judgments allows employees to change thinking and behavioural patterns. Second, individual mindfulness learned through meditation is necessary when developing collective mindfulness and the ability to manage unexpected events. The research gap on the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness is narrowed. From a managerial and practical point of view, this dissertation offers a guideline to create a mindful organisation. An organisation that is able to manage unexpected events and to be good. Keywords Mindfulness in organisations Collective mindfulness Individual mindfulness Openness Knowledge sharing Managing unexpected events Mindfulness meditation

Zusammenfassung

Hintergrund: Es wird immer schwerer für Organisationen, langfristig zu planen. Deshalb sind agile Organisationen, die unerwartete Ereignisse managen können, im Vorteil. Individuelle und kollektive Achtsamkeit scheinen ein Weg hierfür zu sein. Individuelle Achtsamkeit ist die Fähigkeit, bewusst den gegenwärtigen Moment wertfrei wahrzunehmen. Kollektive Achtsamkeit ist ein fortlaufender Prozess, der es einer Organisation ermöglicht, sensibel, offen und neugierig in ihrer Umwelt zu interagieren und Überraschungen effizient zu managen. Empirische Studien in der Psychologie, sowie der Personal- und Organisationsforschung, die eine Beziehung zwischen individueller und kollektiver Achtsamkeit untersuchen, sind selten. Ziel: Diese Dissertation untersucht die Beziehung zwischen diesen beiden Konzepten. Hierfür werden die Effekte eines achtwöchigen Achtsamkeitstraining auf die gesamte Führungsriege einer Organisation hinsichtlich der Offenheit und des Wissensaustauschverhaltens ihres Managements untersucht. Methode: Eine qualitative Herangehensweise ermöglicht es, Veränderungen im Verhalten von Mitarbeitern zu verstehen. Insgesamt wurden 37 qualitative Interviews und Fokusgruppen in einer Organisation an drei verschiedenen Erhebungszeitpunkten geführt: vor einem Achtsamkeitstraining mit dem Schwerpunkt auf Meditation, unmittelbar danach und vier Monate später. Kursteilnehmende Manager und nicht-teilnehmende Mitarbeiter wurden nach Veränderungen im Unternehmen befragt. Alle Interviews sind aufgezeichnet, transkribiert und mit Hilfe der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse analysiert worden. Kategorien wurden deduktiv an Hand der Theorie und induktiv auf Basis des Datenmaterials gebildet. Ergebnisse: Das Achtsamkeitstraining hat die Offenheit der Manager positive beeinflusst. Sie sind nach dem Training besser in der Lage, mit Überraschungen umzugehen und alternative Lösungen zu verfolgen. Gründe sind das Erlernen

xi

xii

Zusammenfassung

des Anfängergeistes und das Bewusstwerden von Wertungen. Das Verhalten bei der Weitergabe von Wissen hat sich ebenfalls positiv verändert. Verhaltensmuster wie Ruhe, Gelassenheit, Fokus, weniger Multitasking und mehr sich Zeitnehmen etwas zu erklären, beeinflussen einen Wissenstransfer. Offenheit und Wissensaustausch sind entscheidende Bindeglieder zwischen individueller und kollektiver Achtsamkeit. Offenheit beeinflusst die Wahrnehmung und Wissensaustausch das Verhalten. Die Ergebnisse sind vielversprechend. Allerdings verwässern die Effekte des Trainings nach vier Monaten. Gründe hierfür sind die mangelnde Meditationspraxis und die ungenügend implementierte Achtsamkeitspraxis in der Organisation. Schlussfolgerung: Individuelle Achtsamkeit ist ein Schlüssel für kollektive Achtsamkeit. Manager, als auch deren Teams werden resilienter bei Veränderungen. Eine Win-Win-Situation entsteht, wenn Achtsamkeit mit Mitgefühl und Wohlwollen kombiniert wird, da die Teilnehmer empathischer und verständnisvoller werden. Diese Win-Win-Situation kann aber nur erhalten werden, wenn die Mitarbeiter regelmäßig meditieren. Die Motivation hierfür aufrechtzuerhalten ist eine Herausforderung. Um kollektiv achtsam zu sein, ist eine ausbalancierte Herangehensweise notwendig: Auf der einen Seite sind Routinen und Gewohnheiten auschlaggebend, um effizient zu sein; auf der anderen Seite sind Bewusstsein, Offenheit, Wissensaustausch, und Kreativität gefragt, um unerwartete Ereignisse managen zu können. Mehrwert: Für die Wissenschaft entstehen folgende zwei Erkenntnisse: Erstens, der Diskurs in der Psychologie über den Begriff ‚Offenheit für Erfahrungen‘ sollte erneut geführt werden, denn eine Grundvoraussetzung für Offenheit ist Selbstwahrnehmung. Wenn man sich seiner selbst, seiner Gedanken, Gefühle und Wertungen bewusst ist, kann man seine Gedankenmuster und sein Verhalten ändern. Zweitens, kontinuierliche Achtsamkeitsmeditation ist notwendig für die Entwicklung kollektiver Achtsamkeit und die Fähigkeit, Unerwartetes zu managen. Die Forschungslücke bezüglich einer Verbindung zwischen individueller und kollektiver Achtsamkeit wurde verkleinert. Für die Praxis werden am Ende der Dissertation Empfehlungen ausgesprochen, wie eine achtsame Organisation gestaltet werden kann.

Contents

1 Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Research Objectives and Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Definition of Core Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Structure of Dissertation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 4 5 9

2 Theory and Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 Context: Psychology and Human Resource Management . . . . . . . 2.2 Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1 Individual Mindfulness Learned through Meditation . . . . 2.2.1.1 Defining Individual Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1.2 Western and Eastern forms of Mindfulness . . . . 2.2.1.3 Mindfulness Meditation: Formal and Informal Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1.4 The three Pillars of Individual Mindfulness . . . . 2.2.2 Collective Mindfulness: A Concept by Weick, Sutcliffe and Obstfeld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2.1 Defining Collective Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2.2 The Five Principles of Collective Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2.3 Unexpected Events for Profit-Oriented Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Openness as a Multifaceted Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Knowledge Sharing as a Dynamic Human Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 Success Factors to Develop Individual and Collective Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11 12 16 17 17 20 21 23 25 26 29 36 38 42 45

xiii

xiv

Contents

3 Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Approaching the Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change . . . . . . . . 3.2.1 Individual Mindfulness: Reviewing Effects of Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1.1 In a Psychological and Medical Context . . . . . . . 3.2.1.2 In a Work-Setting for Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1.3 On Leadership in Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1.4 Critique of Mindfulness Meditation in Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.2 Collective Mindfulness: Relevant Literature to Develop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.2.1 Dialectics and Paradoxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.2.2 Critique to Collective Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Reviewing Openness and Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Reviewing Factors Supporting Knowledge Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Summary and Current State of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Methodological Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Research Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Research Strategy and Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Case Study Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.1 Longitudinal Embedded within-Case Study Research . . . . 4.3.2 Multilevel Research: Connecting the Individual to the Collective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.3 Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.4 Research Context and Case: ITCare and the Mindfulness Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3.5 Mindfulness Training at ITCare: The MBSR Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.1 Developing Preconditions for Successful Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.2 Data Collection Instruments: Interviews and Focus Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.3 Recording, Transcription and Translation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4.4 Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 Data Analysis: Qualitative Content Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 Critical Evaluation of the Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51 52 55 55 55 57 59 62 65 65 70 72 74 78 83 85 86 88 89 91 93 95 96 99 99 101 107 108 109 115

Contents

5 Empirical Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness . . . . . . . . 5.1.1 Opening the Mind, Broadening Perspectives and Dealing with Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 Empathy Enriched . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3 Self-awareness Developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.4 Trust and Vulnerability Cultivated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.5 Openness to Others’ Opinions and Their Feedback . . . . . 5.1.6 Openness and Honesty to Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.1 Focus: A crucial Element for Knowledge Creation and Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.2 Calmness, Patience and Serenity: Useful Preconditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.3 Ask and Listen: The Difference Between Listening and Mindful Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2.4 Kindness and Respect: Developing Collective Sensemaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1 Preoccupation with Failure: Addressing and Discussing Mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.2 Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations: Reduce Blind Spots and Embrace Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.3 Sensitivity to Operations: Focus and Meet Daily . . . . . . . . 5.3.4 Commitment to Resilience: Stress Competence, Agility and Solution Finding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.5 Decisions at Expert Level: Trust and Team Players . . . . . 5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.1 Unintended Effects of the MBSR Course at ITCare . . . . . 5.4.2 Reasons for a Weak Mindfulness Meditation Implementation at ITCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4.3 Basics to Keep in Mind When Implementing Mindfulness Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xv

121 124 125 131 136 140 145 148 154 155 159 168 176 180 181 184 186 188 194 196 197 201 203 209

xvi

Contents

6 Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.1 The Concept of Mindful Openness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.2 The Concept of Mindful Knowledge Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3 Connecting Openness, Knowledge Sharing, Individual and Collective Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3.1 Failure Detection via Openness and Honesty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3.2 Being Reluctant for Simplifications via Openness to Others’ Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3.3 Sensitivity to Operations via Focus . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3.4 Develop Resilience via Mindfulness, Compassion and Knowledge Sharing . . . . . . . . . . 6.1.3.5 Decisions at Expert Level via Trust . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Practical Implications: Steps Towards a Mindful Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.1 Implementing Mindfulness Meditation Sustainably in Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.2 Extending a Mindful Corporate Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.3 Implementing Structural Changes Towards a Mindful Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.4 Summarising the Practical Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Theoretical Implications: Extending Weick et al.’s Concept . . . . . 6.4 Reflections on Individual and Collective Mindfulness . . . . . . . . . .

217 217 218 221 222 224 227 230 231 235 239 240 244 245 247 247 252

7 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Summary: Starting Point, way of Proceeding and Relevant Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Contributions of this Research Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 Critical Reflection and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Potential Future Research Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

257 257 262 263 267

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

273

Abbreviations

CEO HR HRD HRM HRO IPF MBSR OD OL PD QCA RQ

Chief executive officer Human resource Human resource development Human resource management High reliable organisation Individual performance factor Mindfulness-based stress reduction Organisational development Organisational learning Personal development Qualitative content analysis Research question

xvii

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8

Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2 Figure 3.3 Figure 3.4 Figure 3.5

Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 4.3 Figure 4.4

Structure of research project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of the theory and context chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecting research fields with individual and collective learning and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of the different mindfulness concepts . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of different individual mindfulness terms . . . . . . . A mindful infrastructure for high reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forms of failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of the concept of openness and its facets . . . . . . . . Overview of factors to create individual and organisational learning and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of the literature review chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Collective mindfulness—Its dialectical, paradoxical and balancing approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of factors supporting knowledge sharing in organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A model of knowledge sharing in organisations . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of theory and literature review—Connecting openness, knowledge sharing, individual and collective mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of methodological design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relation between research questions and the multilevel approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organigram of ITCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course curricula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10 12 16 17 22 30 32 41 47 52 69 74 78

80 84 93 95 98

xix

xx

Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

List of Figures

4.5 4.6 4.7 5.1 5.2

Figure 5.3 Figure 5.4 Figure 5.5 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4 Figure 6.5

Overview when interviews were conducted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of major data analysis steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of research quality criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of analysed categories and subcategories . . . . . . . . Summary of findings—Effects of mindfulness meditation on openness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of findings—Effects of mindfulness meditation on knowledge sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of findings—Effects of mindfulness meditation on collective mindfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of findings—Implementing mindfulness meditation sustainably . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The concept of mindful openness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The concept of mindful knowledge sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The relationship between individual mindfulness, openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness . . . Steps to develop a mindful organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A mindful infrastructure for high reliability modified . . . . . .

101 110 115 122 210 211 212 213 220 221 223 248 250

List of Tables

Table Table Table Table

2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

Table 3.1 Table Table Table Table Table Table

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5.1 5.2

Table 5.3

Overview of individual mindfulness definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of collective mindfulness definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . Examples of unexpected events for organisations . . . . . . . . . . Overview of knowledge sharing definitions in organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of literature review about mindfulness in organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of conducted interviews and its characteristics . . . . Overview of semi-structured interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of focus groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of instruments and data triangulation . . . . . . . . . . . . Explanation of interview notes and abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . Data analysis on openness—Overview of deductive and inductive findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Data analysis on knowledge sharing—Overview of inductive findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18 27 37 43 54 102 103 106 116 123 124 155

xxi

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

Imagine an organisation that adapts to changes easily. Where changes are integrated into the corporate culture and structure in an efficient manner. Where surprises are dealt with swiftly. An organisation that is able to learn and develop steadily. Many scholars have been interested in designing and creating such an organisation (e.g. Levitt & March, 1988; March, 1991; Scharmer, 2018; Senge, 1990; Weick & Quinn, 1999; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Building such organisations has become more and more important in the 21st century due to social acceleration1 . Social acceleration means that products, trends, processes and structures within society and its organisations are replaced at an ever-increasing pace2 (Rosa, 2003, 2013). 1 Rosa

(2003) bases social acceleration on three pillars: (1) technological acceleration, (2) acceleration of social change, and (3) acceleration of the ‘pace of life’. (1) Technological acceleration is the most obvious one. It is intended and goal-directed. Organisations launch new developments and products onto the market. The aim is to increase turnover, gain market shares or simplify lives. Those new and mainly faster technologies appear to be everywhere. Examples are smartphones, quicker Internet, faster trains or laundry cutting robots. The technological acceleration takes place at the workplace and within the society. (2) The acceleration of social change can be understood as quickening of the pace in culture and in the society itself. The main idea is that change changes faster. Values, attitudes, lifestyles, social relationships, languages, and habits shift at an ever-increasing rate (Rosa, 2003). Globalisation is one main reason for social change. Youtube, Twitter or Facebook, for instance, provide the opportunity to follow trends worldwide, whether in Australia, Japan or Chile. (3) The third form is the acceleration of the pace of life. This form of speeding up is a paradox and best illustrated with an example. Imagine that 25 years ago the train from Hamburg to Berlin took three hours. Nowadays, travel time has decreased by nearly 50%. So that a passenger saves ~90 minutes. This saved time is (often) invested into another activity. More is done in the same amount of time, which leads to the subjective feeling of an accelerated pace of life. Time becomes a scarce factor, and individuals feel hurried and stressed (Rosa, 2003, 2013, 2016b). 2 The current economic system is one reason for this development. Growth, productivity increase, and consumption are essential for the economic success. The ambition to get ahead © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_1

1

2

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

This is one of the major challenges employees and corporations face nowadays (Schmidt, 2015). Adjusting to change is often difficult for employees and organisations. Employees are often urged to do more work, in the same time and with fewer resources. Such pressure can cause staff to make mistakes in daily operations, which affects the reliability and the quality of the organisation’s products and services (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Keeping up a high pace of life can also lead to mental exhaustion, which is the greatest health challenge of the 21st century in the Western hemisphere. Healthcare costs and productivity loss amount to several billion Euros per year (Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morganstein, 2003; Wittchen et al., 2011). Organisations must cope with sick-leave and absenteeism. They also have difficulties relying on their strategies and plans they have made. Companies must calculate their budgets, including personnel and other costs and investments. These (strategic) plans used to be made in the 1980 s for ten years or even longer time periods (Mintzberg & Waters, 1982; Porter, 1985, 1990). Nowadays, corporate strategies are often developed for one or maybe two years. The planning horizon is shortening3 . It seems that uncertainty becomes a constant part of corporate life. For instance, not knowing what the newest technology or developments by competitors will be. Such constant uncertainty is a challenge for employees and companies causing stress and mental exhaustion. One example, where unexpected events were managed insufficiently is the bankruptcy of Nokia mobile telephones in 2012. The management underestimated the evolving smart phone technology. Many employees lost their jobs. To reduce uncertainty, stress, and mental exhaustion resulting from social acceleration, the cultivation of individual mindfulness4 has become popular in the psychology literature (Purser, Forbes, & Burke, 2016). Individual mindfulness can of the other has created an upward spiral that has led to an increasing process of social acceleration over the last century (Rosa, 2003, 2013). Improving productivity requires that either less input (e.g. material, time, or personnel) is used to obtain the same amount of output (e.g. products or services) or the same amount of input yields higher output. There is a dilemma, however. Once a company becomes more efficient by introducing computers, for instance, the competitor will probably follow suit, and, at some point, both organisations will wind up at the same level of productivity again; and the spiral of change will start all over again. 3 One reason for this is the ‘contraction of the present’ (Lübbe, 1998). In the present, employees and companies can rely on past experiences to guide future actions. But social acceleration contracts the timespan between past and future to an increasing degree (Rosa, 2003). 4 Words appearing in italics are based on the flowing rules: (1) Is it a relevant term mentioned for the first time? (2) Is it a relevant finding of a journal or an interview? (3) Is it important for the understanding?

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

3

be understood as awareness to the present moment, in a non-judgmental manner (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). For example, for individual mindfulness, an employee being consciously in a meeting (not being lost in thoughts), or being aware of his/her own stereotypes toward colleagues. The level of individual mindfulness can be practiced via attentiveness and mindfulness meditation (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). Effects of mindfulness meditation have been investigated for nearly 40 years in various scientific fields such as psychology, medicine, neuroscience and human resource management (e.g. Davidson et al., 2003; Grossman, Niemann, Schmidt, & Walach, 2004; Hölzel et al., 2011a; Kabat-Zinn, 1982; Reb & Atkins, 2015; Rupprecht, Koole, Chaskalson, Tamdjidi, & West, 2019; van der Zwan, de Vente, Huizink, Bögels, & de Bruin, 2017; Walach et al., 2007). Many positive effects on human beings have been identified, which led to the fact that scientific research developed exponentially: from only a few publications per year in the 1980s to 692 in 2017 (AMRA, 2018). This shows the rising importance of mindfulness and its regular practice. More and more organisations such as Google, Beiersdorf, IBM, SAP, or the European Central Bank offer mindfulness programs to their employees to counter negative developments of too much stress and uncertainty. To address the organisational problem of uncertainty and the need for continuous learning, Weick, Sutcliffe, and Obstfeld (1999) developed a concept called collective mindfulness according to which employees “…organise themselves in such a way that they are better able to notice the unexpected in the making and halt its development” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 18). By developing collective mindfulness, mindful organisations can be created: “Mindful organizations devote more time than other organizations to examining failure as a window on the health of the system, resisting the urge to simplify assumptions about the world, observing operations and their effects, developing resilience to manage unexpected events, and identifying local experts and creating a climate of deference to them” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 150).

In this light, mindful organising may also be seen as one attempt to deal with permanent change (Ramanujam & Roberts, 2018). On an individual level mindfulness meditation is one approach to mitigate the challenges of the 21st century. On an organisational level collective mindfulness is an attempt for companies to manage uncertainty and develop steadily. Understanding a connection between both concepts is necessary when facing social acceleration. Constant change, increasing uncertainty and more demands are some challenges for organisations nowadays. Finding new ways to deal with those is

4

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

necessary. Eventually, individual mindfulness learned through meditation is one way for collectives and organisations to cope with the current challenges.

1.1

Research Objectives and Questions

One approach to understanding the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness is to depict organisations as interpretative systems where individuals and groups create and reproduce shared meanings by making sense of the internal and external environment (Daft & Weick, 1984; Weick, 1979a). Employees build the organisation, its culture, and its values. One option for an organisation to become mindful is to increase the employees’ individual state of mindfulness. Therefore, the effects of mindfulness training in and on the leadership team of an organisation was studied for this dissertation. Investigating the effects of such training on the management of an organisation enables understanding the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness. Two behavioural changes are looked upon in detail: openness and knowledge-sharing behaviour. Openness and knowledge sharing are chosen because both factors are fundamental to establishing collective mindfulness. Weick et al. (1999, 2015) and Rerup (2005) believe that a new and more complex form of openness is needed to manage unexpected events. Openness requires the individual to explore, tolerate, and consider new and unfamiliar ideas and experiences (McCrae & Costa, 1987). Open employees who are eager to share their knowledge are seen as the most important strategic resources (Ipe, 2003). Knowledge sharing is key to maintaining high performance despite turbulent environments (Vogus & Welbourne, 2003). The relevance of knowledge sharing in organisations is studied by many scientists and can lead to improved corporate effectiveness (Gupta & Govindarajan, 2000; Olivera, 2000; Yang, 2007). Knowledge will be the most valuable asset of an organisation in the 21st century (Argote & Ingram, 2000; Drucker, 1999). Therefore, the first of two research questions in this dissertation are as follows:  RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation? Openness and knowledge sharing are two relevant concepts which operate as connectors, when investigating a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness in the context of managing the unexpected. However, so far little is known about the relationship between the two concepts (Sutcliffe, Vogus, & Dane,

1.2 Definition of Core Concepts

5

2016; Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). Therefore, Vogus and Sutcliffe (2012) suggested as future research to study Eastern and Western forms of individual mindfulness and how they influence collective mindfulness and mindful organising. “One of the most important unanswered questions relates to the form of the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness. Is there a relationship?” (Sutcliffe et al., 2016, p. 72). This thesis will contribute to this research gap by formulating a second research question:  RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? Investigating this relationship is relevant for dealing with today’s challenges. Individual mindfulness learned through meditation can be a practical tool for human resource management. Training employees to become more mindful may allow them to deal with unexpected events more easily. To answer both research questions a qualitative case study was chosen. Taking such approach is useful where knowledge is limited (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2016). A total of 37 semi-structured interviews and focus groups were being made with mindfulness course participants and non-participants. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. A qualitative content analysis allowed to cope with the vast amount of data, to reply to the research questions and to be explorative for new findings.

1.2

Definition of Core Concepts

Terms often used in this dissertation will be defined in the following pages. Those definitions shall provide a common understanding, as well as a source of reference when reading this entire thesis. More detailed elaborations of the terms are found in chapter 2 (theory and context), chapter 3 (literature review) and chapter 4 (methodology). The terms are listed alphabetically to provide orientation. Collectives are groups of individuals interacting with each other (Hecker, 2012). They are characterised by the social interactions, group functioning’s, group stories, norms and values that are shared among people pursuing the same objectives (Boyatzis, 1998; Weick & Roberts, 1993). If you look from a hierarchical perspective, collectives are situated between the group/team and the organisational level. Teams are part of collectives. Considering this, collectives are: (1) Work groups, which are highly interdependent. (2) They interact frequently to identify meaning.

6

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

(3) They exist in a context of organisations. (4) They share responsibilities for developing strategies, tasks, products and services. They aim to accomplish work and execute other key tasks that influence the organisational performance (Cohen & Bailey, 1997; Devine, 2002; Edmondson, Dillon, & Roloff, 2007; Hackman, 1987; Tannenbaum, Mathieu, Salas, & Cohen, 2012; Weick & Roberts, 1993). Collective mindfulness “refers to processes that keep organisations sensitive to their environment, open and curious to new information, and able to effectively contain and manage unexpected events in a prompt and flexible fashion” (Valorinta, 2009, p. 964). Collective mindfulness is a groups and organisations ability to manage the unexpected in a swift and efficient way, by maintaining high work quality and reliability, despite unexpected events. Collective mindfulness is an ongoing effort to look for small failures (e.g. ramshackle machines) and changes (e.g. new technological trends) in and beyond the system and to develop proactive counter measures (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Therefore, five principles are followed: (1) preoccupation with failure, (2) reluctance to simplify interpretations, (3) sensitivity to operations, (4) commitment to resilience and (5) defer to expertise rather than authority when making important decisions (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015; Weick et al., 1999). Culture is an all-embracing concept that reaches from the micro (e.g. individual), to the meso (e.g. collective) up to the macro (e.g. country) level. Bolten (2013, 2017) perceives culture to be a network of reciprocal relationships among actors between ‘the-self’, social relationships, the environment and imaginative (e.g. meaning in life) reciprocity. Culture in that sense is dynamic, structural, co-created and emergent. Individuals and groups make sense of the relationships they engage in. This holistic approach is more inclusive and less separating than classical cultural understandings by Schein (2010) or Hofstede (2017), who perceive culture to be a distinguished set of assumptions, beliefs, behavioural norms, rules, values, structures, traditions and artefacts shared and learned by a group of people. This cultural understanding divides into ‘us’ and ‘them’. It separates. Such separation is contrary to mindfulness, where the cultivation of non-judgment shall overcome those segregating thinking patterns, which may create distance and prejudices. Gaining an understanding of the (corporate) culture is central. It is the context by which phenomena’s like behaviours, social events, processes or traditions can be understood (Alvesson, 2013). Effects and influences are related to each other insofar as ‘influence’ is “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or

1.2 Definition of Core Concepts

7

something” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2017). To focus on influences is to focus on explanations—to open up a black box (Elster, 1983). Effects reside between the observable and the unobservable (George & Bennett, 2005). Empathy is to be understood as “the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation” (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2017). For-profit organisations can be distinguished from public organisations in terms of ownership (private vs. public), funding (equity/profit vs. taxes), market and profit orientation (Boyne, 2002; Casile & Davis-Blake, 2002). For-profit organisations are usually owned by private shareholders that are market oriented and funded by equity/profit. Competition tends to be high for for-profit organisations. To remain competitive and to ensure profitability, corporations set a high priority to manage their relationships with customers, be innovative, and increase their productivity. Individual means a single human being (Etymonline.com, 2019). Individual aspects in this dissertation focus on the human mind and action, while collective aspects are social interactions among several people. Individual aspects focus on thoughts, emotions, behaviours, moods, reactions, motives and personal stories (Boyatzis, 1998). Individual mindfulness is awareness of the present moment in a non-judgemental manner (Kabat-Zinn, 2013, pp. 4). It can be practiced by informal and formal mindfulness exercises. Informal practices are regularly done throughout the day. The awareness is brought on purpose to a specific object while doing something. Such informal practices are often brief and last from seconds to a few minutes (KabatZinn, 2013). Formal mindfulness practices relate to meditation (see mindfulness meditation below). Knowledge sharing can be defined “as individuals [and collectives] sharing organisationally relevant information, ideas, suggestions, and expertise with one another” (Bartol & Srivastava, 2002, p. 65). Knowledge sharing provides viewpoints to everyone involved that are higher than their own (Nonaka & Teece, 2001). Managing in this dissertation relates to ‘cybernetic’ or ‘organic’ management, which can be found in natural systems. To manage in that sense means “to organise a complex system in such a way that it is capable to self-organise, self-regulate and evolve” (Malik, 2006, p. 28).

8

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

Mindfulness meditation occurs during dedicated time, in which practitioners sit, lie, stand or walk in present moment awareness. The mind’s attention is turned purposefully to a certain object without judging or labelling it. The object can be, for example, one’s breath, body or thoughts. The main goal is to cultivate self-awareness and insight (Bodhi, 2010; Jones, Wirth, Ramsey, & Wynsma, 2019). Mindful organisations cultivate the five principles of collective mindfulness to manage unexpected events together (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Furthermore, mindful organisations encourage their employees to practice mindfulness meditation and to cultivate kindness and compassion towards themselves and others. They thrive in dealing with paradoxes and balances between them. Openness is understood in the individual sphere as “the breadth, depth, and permeability of consciousness, and (in) the recurrent need to enlarge and examine experiences” (McCrae & Costa, 1997, p. 826). It is the ability of a person to seek for diversity, to recognise variety and thrive for novelty. It is an individual’s willingness to explore, tolerate, and consider new and unfamiliar ideas and behaviours (McCrae & Costa, 1987; Piedmont, 1998). From a collective point of view, openness is “the extent to which a team is overtly sharing information unique [new ideas and knowledge] and common alike [known to the group]” (Mesmer-Magnus, DeChurch, Jimenez-Rodriguez, Wildman, & Shuffler, 2011, p. 216). Organisations can be depicted as interpretative systems where individuals and groups create and reproduce shared meanings by making sense of the internal and external environment (Daft & Weick, 1984; Weick, 1979a). Organisations are social orders (Weick, 2009) where “groups composed of individuals with distributed-segmented, partial-images of a complex environment can, through interaction synthetically construct a representation of it that works; one which, in its interactive complexity, outstrips the capacity of any single individual in the network to represent and discriminate events. […] Out of the interconnections, there emerges a representation of the world that none of those involved individually possessed or could possess” (Taylor & Van Every, 2000, p. 207).

Unexpected events are events that are not anticipated, planned, desired, wished for, or assumed to happen, such as surprises, accidents and unpredictable and unforeseen events (Etymonline.com, 2017b). Examples for unexpected events from a private

1.3 Structure of Dissertation

9

company perspective are the launch of new products by competitors, technological problems, employee sickness, political decisions, financial crises or natural disasters.

1.3

Structure of Dissertation

After having described why individual and collective mindfulness are relevant for organisations to deal with social acceleration and the research objectives in chapter 1, chapter 2 illustrates the context of this dissertation in the fields of psychology and human resource management. The theoretical foundation of this study is thus presented. The intention is to define and explain its core concepts such as, openness, knowledge sharing, and individual and collective mindfulness, more deeply. Chapter 3 illustrates the current state of research and provides a literature review on the effects of mindfulness meditation in organisations, collective mindfulness, openness and factors that support knowledge sharing. Chapter 4 focuses on the qualitative research method, as chosen methodological approach. The chapter especially describes, justifies and explains the choice of a longitudinal qualitative case study design with subsequent data collection and analysis. The selected case and the mindfulness training the leadership team did will be illustrated as well. Chapter 5 presents the empirical findings. The results of how individual mindfulness influences openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness are presented. A qualitative research design was chosen because it enables exploration. Unintended effects of implementing mindfulness meditation will be illustrated as well. Also, lessons from the case are highlighted to implement mindfulness meditation in organisations successfully. In chapter 6 the empirical findings from chapter 5 are discussed by considering the theory from chapter 2 and the literature review from chapter 3. Here, a conceptual framework is presented that illustrates a relationship between individual mindfulness, openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness. This is one major scientific contribution of this research project. Practical implications are presented, which serve as a guideline to implement mindfulness meditation sustainably in an organisation. At the end of chapter 6, steps to form a mindful organisation that is capable of managing unexpected events efficiently will be illustrated. Chapter 7 concludes, summarises and shows the limitations of this dissertation. Future research areas are indicated at the end. The following graphic visualises the structure of this research project (Figure 1.1):

10

1

Introduction: Faster and more Frequent Change

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

Chapter 3:

Introduction & research objective - Social acceleration - Mindfulness: one way to manage the unexpected?

Research context & theory - Psychology - Human resources, organisational development & learning - Individual & collective mindfulness - Openness & knowledge sharing

Literature review - Effects of mindfulness meditation - Collective mindfulness - Openness & mindfulness - Knowledge-sharing factors

Chapter 4:

Methodological approach - Qualitative longitudinal case study research - Semi-structured & focus group interviews - Qualitative content analysis

Chapter 5:

Emperical findings (more deductive) - Influence of mindfulness meditation on openness and knowledge sharing Managing unexpected events together via mindfulness

Emperical findings (more inductive) - Collective mindfulness and lessons from the case - Lessons from implementing mindfulness meditation in an organisation

Chapter 6:

Chapter 7:

Discussion and conceptualisation - Showing a relationship between individual & collective mindfulness - New concept: mindful openness - New concept: mindful knowledge sharing - Practical implications: steps to create a mindful organisation - Theoretical implications: extending Weick et al. theory with mindfulness meditation

Conclusion, limitations and reflections - Summary of most relevant findings - Contribution of this research - Critical reflection and limitations - Potential future research

Figure 1.1 Structure of research project. (Source: own design)

To summarise, the aim of this dissertation is to understand whether mindfulness meditation can support managers in dealing with unexpected events in a more efficient way through meditation, openness and knowledge sharing. This study will identify a connection between individual and collective mindfulness. Furthermore, steps to form a mindful organisation are identified. The next chapter will position this research project in a broader scientific context.

2

Theory and Context

After having illustrated the challenges employees and organisations face in the 21st century, as well as the research questions in chapter 1, chapter 2 shows the theory, scientific embeddedness and cross-sectional research domain of this dissertation. Ideas from the fields of psychology, human resource management (HRM), organisational development (OD) and organisational learning (OL) are taken (2.1). The chapter continuous by presenting the different approaches to mindfulness (2.2), openness (2.3) and knowledge sharing (2.4). Towards the end of this chapter, 22 success factors are presented that ensure learning and development in organisations (2.5). These success factors are used to evaluate how well and sustainably the mindfulness training was implemented in the organisation, as regular mindfulness meditation is one major key to become mindful. Understanding the theory and concepts is relevant for the research questions, the data analysis and the discussion. The following graphic visualises the upcoming contents in detail (Figure 2.1): The below figure shows the connection between the main disciplines of this research project: psychology, human resources management, and organisational development and organisational learning. These large scientific fields will be explained bellow.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_2

11

12

2 Theory and Context

Individual

Collective Organisational development & Learning (2.1)

Human resource management (2.1)

Psychology (2.1)

Mindfulness (2.2) Theory and Individual mindfulness (2.2.1)

Collective mindfulness (2.2.2)

context

Openness (2.3) Knowledge sharing (2.4)

Learning and development success factors (2.5)

Figure 2.1 Overview of the theory and context chapter. (Source: own design. Numbers indicate different sections in the research project)

2.1

Context: Psychology and Human Resource Management

This dissertation is interdisciplinary. It is embedded in two scientific disciplines: (1) psychology and (2) human resource management. These two domains shed light onto the phenomenon of mindfulness in organisations. (1) Psychology is chosen because individual mindfulness is often seen as cognitive. The phenomenon of mindfulness and openness relate to the whole range of psychological and social psychological research, as individual mindfulness affects our mind, our thinking, our feelings, our behaviour, our brain, our emotions, our perceptions, our body and our attention (see Charoensukmongkol, 2016; Creswell, 2017; Garland, Farb, R. Goldin, & Fredrickson, 2015; Hölzel et al., 2011b; Perridge, Hefferon, Lomas, & Ivtzan, 2017; Taylor & Millear, 2016). (2) Human resource management is a large research field as well. Therefore, the focus here lies on two branches: (2a) human resource development (HRD)

2.1 Context: Psychology and Human Resource Management

13

and (2b) organisational development (OD) and its related field organisational learning (OL). Some scholars argue that HRM is distinct from OD and OL. This dissertation perceives HRM, OD and OL to be interdependent. To develop an organisation, personnel is necessary (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). These three areas shall help to identify and bridge the understanding between individual and collective mindfulness in organisations and study the impact of mindfulness training on the leadership team. (2a) The main reason why human resource development as scientific field is chosen is based on three arguments. First, HRD interventions often focus on the individual level of analysis. This dissertation considers both levels of analysis: individual and collective. It is therefore useful to look at HRD and OD/OL literature. Secondly HRD interventions are often seen as HR policies. HR policies are measures to improve employees and organisations (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). Implementing mindfulness meditation in an organisation is an HR policy and an HRD measure. The third reason for choosing HRD lies in one suggested definition by Stewart and McGoldrick (1996, p. 1), who perceive HRD as including “activities and processes which are intended to have impact on organisational and individual learning. The term assumes that organisations can be constructively conceived of as learning entities, and that the learning processes of both organisations and individuals are capable of influence and direction through deliberate and planned interventions. Thus, HRD is constituted by planned interventions in organisational and individual processes”.

This definition focuses on the individual level and its relation to the organisation. There is an interconnection between the learning of an employee and an organisation. Learning and knowledge (sharing) are major factors for achieving and maintaining the survival and success of an organisation (Senge, 1990; Soliman & Spooner, 2000; Ulrich & Smallwood, 2002). To ensure individual and organisational learning, the soil (system) needs to be fertile (Beer, Finnström, & Schrader, 2016). HRM and HRD have thus become more and more recognised in the literature in the last few decades (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). Augmented knowledge and enhanced skills enlarge workers’ capacities to adapt to the environment and to change it (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). HRD can promote learning through training (Hwang, 2003). “Training is one of the most important interventions to nurture the learning process” (Swieringa, Wierdsma, & Swieringa, 1992, p. 28). Training is a useful medium for team development (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Lacerenza, Reyes, Marlow, Joseph, & Salas, 2017; Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). Developing employees and managers will contribute (indirectly) to the

14

2 Theory and Context

advancement of the entire organisation, and the progressing organisation can stimulate individual learning (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). Therefore, this dissertation studies the influence of mindfulness training on the entire leadership team of a company. This leadership training may have an impact on the whole corporation and its development. (2b) Teams, groups and organisations, just like individuals, can also develop to be adaptable and flexible. Organisational development (OD) can be regarded as “planned, applied behavioural science, and improving an organisational capacity for change and development” (Cummings, 2008, p. 14). Closely connected to OD is organisational learning (OL), which can be defined “as a change in the organisation’s knowledge that occurs as a function of experience” (Argote, 2011, p. 440) or as the ability to continuously extend capacities to shape the corporate future (Senge, 1990). The main reason why OD and OL are chosen as underlying research fields is that collective mindfulness embraces an entire organisation, its employees, teams, culture and structures. Organisational development and learning is a combination of planed processes and adaptive behaviours. Both are necessary to improve an organisation. The literature often separates between three levels. First the individual, second the team/group and third the organisational level. A precise distinction can be helpful and useful when analysing and concluding on results. However, the delineation between teams and organisations can be tricky and very close. Small groups can be organisations and vice versa. Such distinction is often theoretical. For this dissertation and due to reasons of simplification the team and organisational level are merged and labelled as collective1 . Teams are included in collectives. Collectives can be regarded as having four features: first, they are work groups, i.e. (small) numbers of people that are highly interdependent on each other. Second, they interact frequently to identify meaning. Third, they exist in a context of organisations. Lastly, they share responsibilities for tasks, products or services, they develop strategies, designs and launch new commodities; that is, they aim to accomplish work and execute other key tasks that influence the corporate performance (Cohen & Bailey, 1997; Devine, 2002; Edmondson et al., 2007; Hackman, 1987; Tannenbaum et al., 2012; Weick & Roberts, 1993; Wilson, Goodman, & Cronin, 2007). Thus collectives can be seen as a group of individuals interacting with each other (Hecker, 2012). They are characterised by the social interactions, group functioning’s, group stories, norms and values that are shared among many people 1 For more reasons for this distinction, see section 4.3.2 about multilevel research in the chapter on methodology.

2.1 Context: Psychology and Human Resource Management

15

(Boyatzis, 1998; Weick & Roberts, 1993). Collectives are influenced by culture, communication, structures and context—just like teams. To manage unexpected events and to deal with continuous change, the entire company must learn and adapt. Argote (2011) and Wilson et al. (2007) divide group and organisational learning into three sub-processes: creating, retaining and sharing of knowledge. Knowledge sharing will be the focus in this research project (see section 2.4). While learning tends to be a more adaptable process, developing is a planned endeavour. Both, learning and developing go hand in hand and are interdependent. Individuals influence collectives and vice versa. Individual learning focuses on single human beings by developing skills, abilities, know-how and competencies. Collective learning relates to groups of at least two people. The enhancement of their cooperation and shared learning is central. But researchers must be careful not to assume that individual learning is equivalent to collective learning. Fiol and Lyles (1985, p. 804) explain: “though individual learning is important to organisations, organisational learning is not simply the sum of each member’s learning. Organisations, unlike individuals, develop and maintain learning systems that not only influence their immediate members, but are then transmitted to others by way of organisation histories and norms”. So the ‘past’, the culture, the processes and habits of an organisation influence employee learning behaviour. The following graphic illustrates the relationship between the research fields as well as individual and collective learning (Figure 2.2): Learning and development is a lifelong process for individuals and organisations. Therefore, openness is necessary in order to notice, appreciate and be curious. It is difficult to learn when one is close-minded or is already convinced that what one knows is right. Knowledge sharing is necessary to create learning opportunities and to express experiences and know-how to others in order to continuously evolve. When creating a learning and adaptable organisation, multi-layered learning processes are necessary (Hwang, 2003), layers that focus on individual and collective development. In a corporate context the literature identified different success factors for a sustainable training and learning environment. These will be looked at in the last part of this chapter, section 2.5. Before doing so, the following will elaborate on the central concept of this dissertation: mindfulness.

16

2 Theory and Context

Organisational development & learning Collective mindfulness (Subsection 2.2.2)

Collective

Learning & development Sharing (knowledge) (Section 2.4)

Creating (via openness) (Section 2.3)

Psychology Individual mindfulness (Subsection 2.2.1)

Retaining (out of scope)

Human resource development Training (Section 2.5)

Individual

Figure 2.2 Connecting research fields with individual and collective learning and development. (Source: own design. This graphic is inspired by Coleman’s boat. He explains how micro-level actions influence macro-level structures and vice versa (Coleman, 1986). The numbers in the graphic indicate the sections)

2.2

Mindfulness

This section begins an initial explanation and definition of individual mindfulness (2.2.1). Then it continues by explaining collective mindfulness (2.2.2). The reason why both concepts are illustrated in detail is to reply to both research questions. Understanding both concepts is therefore necessary. To comprehend the different mindfulness concepts thoroughly, the following figure highlights the most relevant ideas that are presented in the upcoming pages (Figure 2.3): Individual mindfulness focuses on human cognition, collective mindfulness on social interactions, cultures, structures and processes. The following pages will explain the concept of individual mindfulness in detail.

2.2 Mindfulness

Approaches:

17

Subsection: 2.2.1

Subsection: 2.2.2

Individual mindfulness

Collective mindfulness Preoccupied with failure

Awareness Key characteristics:

Reluctant to simplify

Present moment attention

Non-judgemental

Sensitivity to operations

Commitment to resilience

Decisions at expert level

How to become:

Formal practice (meditation)

Informal practice

Cognitive change

Cultural adaptation

Structural shifts

Intention:

Awareness, compassion, insight and self-knowledge

Dealing with and managing unexpected events collectively

Figure 2.3 Overview of the different mindfulness concepts. (Source: own design)

2.2.1

Individual Mindfulness Learned through Meditation

This subsection presents different individual mindfulness definitions (2.2.1.1). It moves on with the explanation of the two traditions: West and East. The Western approach relates to the US-American understanding, while the Eastern one relates to the Asian Buddhist practice (2.2.1.2). The Buddhist practice is strongly influenced by formal mindfulness meditation and informal mindfulness exercises (2.2.1.3). Eastern mindfulness is characterised by awareness of the present moment in a non-judgmental manner. This understanding serves as the individual mindfulness definition for this study (2.2.1.4).

2.2.1.1 Defining Individual Mindfulness What is mindfulness? This question has been discussed in the scientific world for many years (Bishop et al., 2004; Sutcliffe et al., 2016; Weick & Putnam, 2006). As most terms and concepts in social science, it is difficult to have one single definition and common understanding—the same with mindfulness. Therefore, a list of definitions is presented next. This overview is inspired by Sutcliffe et al. (2016, p. 58) and is modified and extended by scientific domains. The scientific domains shall illustrate the large application and contextual embeddedness individual mindfulness has. Specific features of the definition at hand are emphasised in italics (Table 2.1).

18

2 Theory and Context

Table 2.1 Overview of individual mindfulness definitions Author

Definition of individual mindfulness

Research area

(Baas, Nevicka, & Ten Velden, 2014, p. 1092)

“A state of conscious awareness resulting from living in the moment” (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 1994).

Social psychology: creativity and flexibility.

(Bishop et al., 2004, p. 233)

“As the self-regulation of attention, which involves sustained attention, attention switching, and the inhibition of elaborative processing”.

Clinical Psychology: attempt at an operationalized definition.

(Brown & Ryan, 2003, p. 245)

“Open or receptive attention to and awareness of ongoing events and experience”.

Social psychology: development of questionnaire to measure the level of mindfulness.

(Carlson, 2013, p. 175)

“Attention to one’s current experience and nonevaluative observation of that experience” (Bishop et al., 2004).

Psychology: gaining self-knowledge.

Creswell & Lindsay, 2014, p. 402

“Monitoring one’s present-moment experience with acceptance”.

Psychology: being healthy.

(Dane, 2011, p. 1000)

“A state of consciousness in which attention Business: task is focused on present-moment phenomena performance. occurring both externally and internally”.

(Eisenbeiss & van Knippenberg, 2015)

“A meta-cognitive ability defined as ‘a state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present’ (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p. 822) and [that] involves conscious perception and processing of external stimuli (in contrast to automatic tendencies)”.

(Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, & Lang, 2013, p. 310)

“A state of non-judgmental attentiveness to Psychology: emotion and awareness of moment-to-moment regulation at work. experiences” (Bishop et al., 2004; Brown & Ryan, 2003).

(Hülsheger et al., 2014, p. 1114)

“A state of consciousness in which individuals pay attention to the present moment with an accepting and non-judgmental attitude” (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Kabat-Zinn, 1994).

Organisational Behaviour: leadership mindfulness.

Psychology: sleep quality.

(continued)

2.2 Mindfulness

19

Table 2.1 (continued) Author

Definition of individual mindfulness

Research area

(Langer, 2014, p. 11) “An active state of mind characterized by Social psychology: novel distinction-drawing that results in from mindlessness to being (1) situated in the present; (2) mindfulness. sensitive to context and perspective; and (3) guided (but not governed) by rules and routines”. (Leroy, Anseel, Dimitrova, & Sels, 2013, p. 238)

“A receptive attention to and awareness of external (e.g., sounds) and internal (e.g. emotions) present-moment states, events and experiences” (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Dane, 2011).

Business: work engagement.

(Ruedy & Schweitzer, 2010, p. 73)

“An individual’s awareness both internally Business ethics: (awareness of their own thoughts) and decision making. externally (awareness of what is happening in their environment)”.

(Zhang, Ding, Li, & Wu, 2013, p. 433)

“A present-focused awareness and attention Social psychology: (the presence factor) with an open attitude safety behaviour in toward ongoing events and experiences (the nuclear power plants. acceptance factor) (Bishop et al., 2004)”.

Source: Sutcliffe et al., 2016, p. 58—modified and extended by research domains. In italics are unique features of the definition at hand

The above table summarises various definitions on individual mindfulness from different scientific fields including psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, business and organisational behaviour. The definitions above show a pattern. Words are repeated: e.g. awareness, consciousness, present-focus, attention, cognition, mental-capacity and non-judging. One reason for this is that most definitions are based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s (1982, 2013) understanding of individual mindfulness. He translated and applied the Buddhist philosophy of mindfulness into the Western scientific world (Chiesa, 2013). Kabat-Zinn attempted to operationalise this Eastern attitude by applying it in the psychological and medical domain. In 1982, Kabat-Zinn developed an eight-week2 structured mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program (for details see section 4.3.5). This was the foundation for the Mind and Life institute in the

2 In the early days (beginning of 1980’s), the mindfulness-based stress reduction program was

10 weeks long.

20

2 Theory and Context

USA in 1987 (Van Dam et al., 2018). Their mission is to build an understanding of the mind. Suffering shall be reduced and well-being supported. Kabat-Zinn defines individual mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to things as they are” (Kabat-Zinn, 2013; Williams, Teasdale, Segal, & Kabat-Zinn, 2007, p. 47). This definition serves as foundation for this dissertation. A quick look at Western and Eastern mindfulness is taken next, before explaining this definition in detail.

2.2.1.2 Western and Eastern forms of Mindfulness To elaborate on the above definitions, mindfulness can be viewed from the Western and Eastern traditions. One of the initiators of Western mindfulness is the Harvard professor Ellen Langer. She started to study mindlessness and mindfulness in the early 1980’s (Langer & Imber, 1980). Since then she investigated this phenomenon and published more than 40 scientific articles and books about mindfulness (ResearchGate, 2018). Langer’s work served as foundation for mindfulness in the Western hemisphere (Weick & Putnam, 2006). She (1992, p. 289) defines individual mindfulness as “a state of conscious awareness in which the individual is implicitly aware of the context and content of information. It is a state of openness to novelty in which the individual actively constructs categories and distinctions”. Other Western influential scientists are Brown and Ryan (2003). They developed the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS). This questionnaire tries to capture the level of mindfulness someone has3 . Many researchers applied their operationalised definition. As already mentioned in above table, they perceive individual mindfulness as “open or receptive attention to and awareness of ongoing events and experience” (Brown & Ryan, 2003, p. 245). The origin of mindfulness is understood by many scientist and practitioners in the Eastern Buddhist philosophy, which is more than 2600 years old (Bodhi, 2011; Kabat-Zinn, 2013; Vu, Wolfgramm, & Spiller, 2018). In this tradition, mindfulness is part of the Buddhist meditation system called Vipassana. Vipassana meditation deals with the development of insight and internal processes of the mind (Dhiman, 2008; Weick & Putnam, 2006). Insight can be gained by mindfulness meditation and cultivating Samma Sati (Dhiman, 2009). Samma Sati means right mindfulness in the Pali language and is part of the Eight Noble Path to end human suffering (Vu et al., 2018). To gain insight and cultivate mindfulness, 3 In

the literature it is heavily discussed whether the level of mindfulness of someone can be captured and quantified. When is someone mindful? Does a long-term meditator fill out the questions similarly to someone who has only a little bit or even no mindfulness practice?

2.2 Mindfulness

21

the Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi (2010, p. 79) explains the practice of right mindfulness as follows: “[T]he mind is trained to remain in the present, open, quiet, and alert, contemplating present events. All judgments and interpretations have to be suspended, or if they occur, just registered and dropped […] The task of right mindfulness is to clear up cognitive field. Mindfulness brings to light experience in its pure immediacy. It reveals the object as it is before it has been plaster over with conceptual paint, overlaid with interpretations” (i. b. d., p. 81).

Western and Eastern mindfulness vary significantly in the how—how to become mindful? While Western approaches appear to remain comparably blurred on the how part, the Eastern tradition has a practical approach: mindfulness meditation.

2.2.1.3 Mindfulness Meditation: Formal and Informal Practices “Mindfulness is a quality of mind that can both occur spontaneously and be developed or enhanced through practices such as meditation” (Quaglia, Brown, Lindsay, Creswell, & Goodman, 2015, p. 160). Meditation is understood as an exercise of calming down the mind to enable serenity and to gain insight (Dhiman, 2008). Insight refers to self-knowledge and, as Aristotle claims, that “an unexamined life is not worth living” (in Plato’s Apology, 38a5-6). To calm down the mind, mindfulness practitioners suggest two forms of practices: (1) formal and (2) informal (Kabat-Zinn, 2013): (1) Formal mindfulness practice is meditation. Meditation is dedicated time in which you bring your awareness to the present moment non-judgementally. Practitioners sit or lie down for a period of, for example, 15 to 60 minutes. This gives them the opportunity to purposefully turn their attention to a certain object, such as the breath, the body or thoughts. By doing this, someone becomes aware of its constantly wandering mind. Bringing back the attention to the object at hand can calm a person down and provides self-awareness (Kabat-Zinn, 1982, 2013). Formal meditation is especially important when learning mindfulness. Many authors stress this, such as Keng, Smoski, and Robins (2011), MacCoon, MacLean, Davidson, Saron, and Lutz (2014), Vu and Gill (2018), or Purser and Milillo (2015). (2) Informal practices are exercises throughout the day. The awareness is purposefully and non-judgementally brought to a specific object, an action that one is doing. This can be washing the hands, drinking coffee or eating. All sensations, thoughts and feelings are neutrally observed. Becoming aware of the thoughts and feelings that arise during an activity supports self-awareness. For example,

22

2 Theory and Context

when sitting in a meeting, start to notice how impatience or anger arises. Such informal practices are often brief and last from a few seconds to a few minutes (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Both, formal and informal exercises are closely connected and need to be cultivated to unfold the positive effects of mindfulness. This means regular meditation is necessary when learning individual mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). To sharpen further understanding of the mindfulness concepts, the following graphic illustrates the different mindfulness terms being used in this study (Figure 2.4):

Individual mindfulness learned through meditation

Mindfulness meditation Sitting, lying or walking mindfully for a longer time period

Formal practice

Individual mindfulness Including formal and informal practices Mindfulness

Dedicated time to practice

Awareness Present moment

Informal practice

Non-judgmental

Brief awareness while doing

Overall term Collective mindfulness Including the five principles of Weick et al.

Figure 2.4 Overview of different individual mindfulness terms. (Source: own design)

Continuous meditative practice, enhances the ability of a person to be mindful (Jamieson & Tuckey, 2017). Without regular meditation practice, it is difficult to cultivate and sustain the three pillars of a mindful individual: (1) awareness of (2) the present moment in (3) a non-judgmental manner. Those are parts of the

2.2 Mindfulness

23

mindfulness definition of this dissertation and will be elaborated on in the next section.

2.2.1.4 The three Pillars of Individual Mindfulness Awareness The opposite of awareness is to function mechanically without being fully aware of what we are thinking, feeling and experiencing. Kabat-Zinn (2013) refers to this state of unawareness as automatic pilot. The human mind wanders continuously, and it is difficult to remain in the present moment. Thoughts jump rapidly from one thing to the other—especially when there are noises, impressions, smells or activities going on. This makes it difficult to keep the awareness and concentration for an extended time period. Exercising individual mindfulness enables to become aware of this wandering mind (Kabat-Zinn, 2013): • To become aware of the thoughts, feelings, anxieties, challenges and wishes; • To become aware of the inter- and intrapersonal relationships we have; • To become aware of this moment. An example from business life is to imagine a manger walking from one meeting to the other across the whole building. While walking, some people are lost in their thoughts. They are not aware of their surroundings, their steps or their world views. After 10 minutes of walking to the next meeting, some do not even realise that they have walked. They walked mechanically in automatic pilot mode. The autopilot is a relevant state of mind. It lets us work efficiently. However, most humans believe too much in their (negative) thoughts and feelings and perceive those as reality. A more balanced mind between thinking and awareness would be wishful (KabatZinn, 2015). The reason is that the thinking mind often produces anxiety and fears. Becoming aware of these allows one to de-identify (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). It enables one to take negative thoughts and feelings not too personally. Closely connected to awareness, is the present moment. Present Moment Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) studied the effects of mind wandering on happiness. For this, they have developed an app, in which 2250 participants tracked their mind wandering, their feelings and their activities. Three questions were being asked throughout the day: (1) how are you feeling right now? (2) What are you doing right now? (3) Are you thinking about something other than what you’re currently doing? ~ 47% of all participants claimed to not pay attention to what they do. When

24

2 Theory and Context

they did this, they also said that they are unhappy. The authors therefore conclude that for all activities recorded (e.g. work, traveling, sport, etc.) “…a wandering mind is an unhappy mind” (Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010, p. 932). Being in the present moment is one key to happiness and satisfaction. Meditating and bringing the attention to the here and now can be one path to well-being. Bringing the inattentive mind into the present moment is the second core element of individual mindfulness. This is very closely intertwined with awareness. The present moment provides the possibility of becoming aware of what is. Afflictive emotions, regrets or anxieties are dealt with more easily in the now. Thoughts are then not recognised as reality, but the present moment is realised as the truth. The present moment is the anchor to reality. Brining the attention, for example repeatedly to the breath, trains concentration and influences the neuroplasticity4 of the brain (Goleman, 2013; Kabat-Zinn, 2013; Treadway & Lazar, 2010). Together with the awareness and the present moment, non-judging is equally important when cultivating individual mindfulness. Non-judgmental It is not possible to not judge. Due to the amygdala, which is the most ancient part of the brain, humans categorise between stimuli and the emotional value attached to it: is something a ‘threat’ or ‘no-threat’? Is something ‘good’ or ‘bad’? This is happens extraordinarily fast. Therefore, we judge unconsciously (Kuo, 2017) and the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system is activated to switch instantly into fight or flight mode when for example a tiger or a mammoth appears (Brodal, 2004). This response helped humans to survive for thousands of years. Adrenaline and cortisol are released. Energy is mobilised and, if we got attacked, we could defend ourselves. The other part of the autonomic nervous system is the parasympathetic branch. This one is responsible to down regulate and serve as a ‘break’. This branch allows humans to relax and calm down (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Besides looking at the brain from a neuroscientific or evolutionary perspective, Kahneman (2011) looks at our thinking patterns form a psychological one. He describes two types of thinking: system 1 and system 2 thinking. “System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control” (i. b. d., p. 20). This system relates to the automatic-pilot mode humans often fall in to. It is also responsible for the fast judgments we make. System 2 is slower and brings attention to “effortful mental activities that demand it” (i. b. d., p. 21). It 4 In

early years of neuroscience, many researchers believed that our genes determine our destiny, intellect and quite static brain. Now, scientist believe that our brain can be formed and is changeable (neuroplasticity). What you use your brain for will become predominant in your mind (Davidson & Begley, 2012; Siegel, 2012).

2.2 Mindfulness

25

would be interesting to investigate how mindfulness meditation affect both thinking patterns. However, this is beyond the scope of this research project. The fight of flight mechanism is still predominant in our physiological system. However, modern humankind does not have to fight any dangerous animals anymore. Nowadays, we often excite due to small (unexpected) incidents, such as a missed bus, a negative e-mail or a conflict with a colleague. Our brain still reacts to all events in the same manner, even when there is no real threat to life (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). This is a real challenge in the 21st century in the Western hemisphere. Due to social acceleration, humans have more and more triggers to deal with. Therefore, the non-judgmental aspect of mindfulness is significant. Non-judging means to become aware of one’s own judgment. To pay close attention to moment-to-moment experiences without getting too much caught up in ideas, opinions, likes and dislikes. Such categorisation leads also to automatic behaviour. Behaviour that is often unconscious and that is reactive and not proactive. Becoming aware of the constant judgmental patterns of our mind helps to de-identify and to liberate ourselves from the tyranny of unexperienced prejudices and fears (KabatZinn, 2013). Trying to be non-judgmental supports involving our prefrontal cortex more and overriding the amygdala. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that is responsible for rational thinking, decision making, long-term planning and conscious judgments (Fuster, 2015). Being aware of the present in a non-judgemental way allows humans to be more rational and less irrational. The prefrontal cortex is activated when meditating and can downregulate stress reactivity. It also helps to recognise emotions and adjust them (Davidson & Begley, 2012; Kabat-Zinn, 2013; Rosenkranz et al., 2016; Siegel, 2012). To summarise, individual mindfulness is to consciously bring awareness to the present moment in a non-judgemental manner. Mindfulness can also be looked at from a collective perspective, which will be elaborated on next.

2.2.2

Collective Mindfulness: A Concept by Weick, Sutcliffe and Obstfeld

Collective mindfulness focuses on group dynamics, social interactions and the management of the unexpected. This subsection begins by illustrating various definitions of collective mindfulness (2.2.2.1). From those understandings, one specific by Karl Weick and his colleagues is chosen and elaborated on in more detail. Their five principles of collective mindfulness are explained (2.2.2.2). These five principles allow to manage unexpected events. What unexpected events

26

2 Theory and Context

are, will be elaborated on in the last subsection (2.2.2.3). The core question is, how do we deal with unexpected events and uncertainty in an efficient way? To answer this question, Weick et al. (1999, 2015) have developed a concept called collective mindfulness, which will be elaborated on the following pages.

2.2.2.1 Defining Collective Mindfulness Karl Weick, Kathleen Sutcliffe and David Obstfeld (1999, 2015) developed the concept of collective mindfulness5 . According to them, the core idea behind collective mindfulness is to manage the unexpected together. Managing the unexpected is a continuous effort to detect and overlook weak signals of potential threats and to take counter measures as soon as those signals start to develop unintended consequences (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). This approach is based on so-called high reliability organisations (HRO), such as air craft carriers, space shuttles or nuclear power plants (LaPorte & Consolini, 1991; Roberts, 1990; Weick & Roberts, 1993). Those organisations must operate reliably. Any failure can lead to disasters. Detecting these at an early stage is necessary and hard to do (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2006). The scientists studying HRO’s are wondering about one question: how are the units in HRO’s (e.g. aircraft carrier) organised that no accidents (severe mistakes) happen? (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Not all organisations are HRO’s and especially companies in the private industry are not, such as banks, cosmetic manufacturers, IT firms or the textile industry. However, most companies are facing the challenge of social acceleration and ever-increase complexity. Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) believe that lessons from HROs are applicable for all organisations. This belief is backed up by Vogus and Rerup (2018) as well as Becke (2014). They think that mindful organising is the foundation for sustained superior corporate performance and sustainability. Mindful organisations have the potential to manage unexpected events more efficiently (Gärtner & Huber, 2017). In such organisations, employees are as open and reliable as possible and thus reduce the number of errors being made (Weick et al., 1999). Collective mindfulness is the way in which teams organise themselves and collectively make sense (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). The challenge is to provide high quality work despite evolving uncertainties. Mindful organising is a means to do so (Gärtner & Huber, 2017). It is a social process that becomes 5 Collective

mindfulness, organisational mindfulness and mindful organising are synonyms that have the same meaning in this dissertation. The reasons are that the studied case is small (only 35 employees) and a delineation between collective and organisational is quite close. For more details please see section 4.3.2 about multilevel research.

2.2 Mindfulness

27

collective through the actions and interactions among individuals (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). An infrastructure in an organisation is needed that supports sense making (i.e. giving meaning to collective experiences) and continuous organising (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). “What one person sees is but a small part of what might actually be happening. Together, collective meaning creates a fuller tapestry” (Ellinor, 2005, p. 258) So, collective mindfulness is created via dialogue and social interactions within teams. Collective mindfulness can be defined in different ways. Sutcliffe et al. (2016, p. 60) composed in their literature review different understandings of collective mindfulness. The following table contains an excerpts of their list. This summary is slightly modified by adding the research areas to show the different domains the concept operates in. All are situated in the field of organisational development. Specific features of the definition at hand are emphasised in italics (Table 2.2):

Table 2.2 Overview of collective mindfulness definitions Source

Definition of collective mindfulness

(Ausserhofer et al., 2013, p. 157)

“To stay mindful, despite hazardous environments, Healthcare: frontline employees consider constantly five patient safety and principles: tracking small failures, resisting hospital reliability oversimplification, remaining sensitive to operations, maintaining capabilities for resilience and taking advantage of shifting locations of expertise”.

Research area

(Carlo, Lyytinen, & Richard, 2012, pp. 1081–1082)

“Collective mindfulness has been identified as a means to increase organizational reliability and mitigate the adverse potential of unexpected, ‘black swan’ events (Taleb 2007). Collective mindfulness is characterized by five mindful behaviour’s, including continuous learning from failures and the willingness to consider alternative perspectives”.

(Hales, Kroes, Chen, & Kang, 2012, p. 570)

“In an organizational context, this [collective Healthcare mindfulness] means that an individual maintains a level of alertness to the activities surrounding their job or task and awareness of how they contribute to an overall process that produces a good or service for a customer”.

Constructing industry

(continued)

28

2 Theory and Context

Table 2.2 (continued) Source

Definition of collective mindfulness

Research area

(Hargadon & Bechky, 2006, p. 486)

“Mindfulness describes the amount of attention and effort that individuals allocate to particular task or interaction […] Through mindful interpretation by group members of an ongoing experience and the mindful generation of appropriate actions, collective cognition connects individual ideas and experiences in ways that both redefine and resolve the demands of emerging situations”.

Service and consultancy industry for creative processes

(Mu & Butler, 2009, p. 29)

“Refers to an elevated state of awareness of expectations, a nuanced appreciation of the specific context, and an alertness to potentially significant changes in the face of new and unprecedented situations … take into account the specific organizational situation rather than following bandwagon effects”.

Information technology industry

(Ndubisi, 2012, p. 537)

“Systems and processes need to promote individual and collective mindfulness—a way of working marked by a focus on present, attention to operational detail, willingness to consider alternative perspectives, and an interest in investigating and understanding failures”.

Healthcare: customer satisfaction and orientation

(Ray, Baker, & Plowman, 2011, p. 188)

“Organizational mindfulness, a construct Education: developed initially to describe how business schools high-reliability organizations avoid catastrophic errors (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001), but now increasingly used to characterize organizations that pay close attention to what is going on around them, refusing to function on ‘auto-pilot’. Mindful organizations ‘induce a rich awareness of discriminatory detail and a capacity for action’” (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 1999: 88).

(Valorinta, 2009, p. 964)

“Mindfulness refers to processes that keep Information organizations sensitive to their environment, open technology and curious to new information, and able to industry effectively contain and manage unexpected events in a prompt and flexible fashion”.

Source: this table is an excerpt from Sutcliffe et al. (2016, p. 60). The research areas have been added. In italics are unique features of the definition at hand.

2.2 Mindfulness

29

The above table summarises various definitions on collective mindfulness from different scientific and science-heavy areas like healthcare, the construction industry, education, information technology or consultancy. By reading the explanations, it becomes obvious that openness is central in nearly all understandings. Synonyms such as ‘resisting oversimplification’, ‘consider alternative perspectives’, ‘alertness to potentially significant changes’ or ‘open and curious’ are used to define collective mindfulness. Most of the above definitions appear to be distinct and similar at the same time. The main reason is that nearly all explanations of collective mindfulness are based on or inspired by Weick, Sutcliffe and Obstfeld (1999) or later adaptations by Weick and Sutcliffe (2015)6 (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2007; Vogus & Welbourne, 2003). Therefore, their understanding of collective mindfulness will be taken for this research project. According to Weick et al. (1999) and Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) the concept of collective mindfulness is grounded on five pillars: (1) preoccupation with failure by regularly and robustly discussing potential threats to reliability; (2) reluctance to simplify interpretations by developing a subtle and current understanding of the context by frequently questioning the adequacy of existing assumptions and considering reliable alternatives; (3) sensitivity to operations by integrating these (points 1 & 2) understandings into an up-to-date big picture and interacting between strategy and operation; (4) commitment to resilience by recognising the inevitability of setbacks and thoroughly analysing, coping with, and learning from them; (5) and deferring to expertise rather than authority when making important decisions (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015; Weick et al., 1999). These five principles will be explained in detail next.

2.2.2.2 The Five Principles of Collective Mindfulness Mindful organisations are distinct from other organisations “because they handle complexity with self-consciousness, humility, explicitness and an awareness that simplifications inherently produces misrepresentations” (Ramanujam & Roberts, 2018, p. 5). Weick and his colleagues (1999) developed a comparably linear process in which the five principles appeared to be a prerequisite to form collective mindfulness and reliability in an organisation. The authors visualise their five principles as follows (Figure 2.5):

6 Weick

and Sutcliffe published their first book on organisational mindfulness in 2001; the second edition appeared in 2007 and a revised third version in 2015.

30

2 Theory and Context

Preoccupaon with failure

Reluctance to simplify interpretaons

Sensivity to operaons

Mindfulness

Capability to discover & manage unexpected events

Reliability

Commitment to resilience

Decisions at (local) expert level

Figure 2.5 A mindful infrastructure for high reliability. (Source: Weick et al., 1999, p. 37 (This graphic was published in a similar way in “Research in Organizational Behaviour, 21, Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D., Organizing for high reliability: Processes of collective mindfulness, Page 37, Copyright Elsevier (1999)”))

Collective mindfulness is very complex and entails different layers from corporate culture, organisational structures and employee interactions; and even if this graphic appears linear, all five principles are not isolated from each other. They are not linear or procedural. They are integrated and, when considered thoughtfully, they have the potential to manage unexpected events collectively, according to the authors. The first pillar of collective mindfulness is to be ‘occupied with failure’. Principle 1: Preoccupation with Failure The first principle of a high reliability organisation is to focus continuously on anomalies that could cause larger problems in a system. The idea is that employees work hard to detect small, emerging failures, because they can be a hint for upcoming problems elsewhere in the system (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). More time is spent to detect mistakes to ensure the health of the system (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2006). The idea, furthermore, is to actively discuss small failures and near misses. These

2.2 Mindfulness

31

serve as indicator for the vulnerability of the organisation (Rerup, 2009; Vogus & Rerup, 2018). Such an approach—to focus on failure—is an exception to classical management literature that mainly addresses success (Denrell, 2003). Saying that something is wrong, defect or incomplete is often inappropriate in success-oriented companies. Employees and managers often try to profile themselves to climb up the career ladder. Looking for error is not necessarily crucial for corporations where human life is not at risk. Financial products, for example, do not kill humans, at least not directly. Because failure is rarer, mindful organisations try to learn from near-misses (Rerup, 2005). Fraher, Branicki, and Grint (2017) found out that the focus is not so much on failure, but rather on the ability to move on after failing, the capacity to reconfigure errors into learning. This ensures not becoming immobilised in difficult and uncertain situations and instead developing further. So, looking for failure in combination with quick recovery is relevant. Additionally, high reliability organisations are aware that an employee’s information and knowledge of a given situation and its surrounding is incomplete (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). It is not possible to grasp the entire complexity of the environment. “When people look for failures, they acknowledge the existence of incomplete knowledge” (i. b. d., 46). Because knowledge is imperfectly available, it is necessary for team members to share their information with each other. This is why knowledge sharing has become part of the research question for this dissertation. An open culture where discussions and contradictions are possible is essential for high reliability and a mindful organisation. Employees are encouraged to report honest mistakes and errors without being sanctioned (Weick et al., 1999). Such knowledge sharing helps to decompose complexity, manage the unknown and create learning. Catino and Patriotta (2013) support this empirically. They studied error learning in the Italian Air Force. Besides learning form cognition and emotions, they believe that a corporate culture that provides a supportive context is relevant for error reporting and knowledge sharing. These characteristics help to mitigate three forms of failure that cause human errors in organisations (Weick et al., 1999) (Figure 2.6). (1) Striving and curiosity is an antidote to complacency. Employees who have ambition and who are curious move on. Blue- and white-collar workers’ motivation is therefore a relevant research domain for HROs. (2) Inattention may cause mistakes. Focus can increase vigilance by increasing concentration and awareness. Mindful organisations should take measures to improve the attention of their employees.

32 Figure 2.6 Forms of failure. (Source: own design, inspired by Weick et al. (1999))

2 Theory and Context

2. Inattention

1. Complacency Forms of failure

3. Habituation

(3) To reduce habituation, an open attitude to what is known and new is necessary. Old processes, proceedings or strategies must be questioned regularly. To reduce failure, it is necessary to keep up striving, vigilance and adjustments (Weick et al., 1999). Besides focusing on failure, being careful to simplify interpretations too early is relevant when managing unexpected events. This second principle of collective mindfulness is presented on the upcoming pages. Principle 2: Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations Expectations and simplifications often help to deconstruct complexity, to make sense of and facilitate the world (Bingham & Eisenhardt, 2011; Hernes, 2008; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). However, these may steer the observer away from cues that indicate unexpected challenges. Therefore, being cautious not to simplify is necessary when managing the unexpected. More time is spent to resist the urge to oversimplify assumptions (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2006). The reason is that categories, types, and generalization let humans tend to overview incompatible details (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Mindful organisations try to keep complexity, diversity and different perspectives alive to prevent surprises. Employees attempt to learn things they do not know yet. They also double check their own perceptions and involve the entire organisation (Rerup, 2005). One way to double check one’s own interpretations is through mediated sense making. A mediator (most trusted advisor) negotiates, questions and builds a richer understanding of what is going. They step into a dialogue to help reflecting and taking better decisions (Strike & Rerup, 2016). “Organising for reluctant simplification also means organising for a more complex form of openness” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 68). Therefore, openness has become part of the first research question. Real Openness suggests that a system is open-minded to information that it has never considered before. Being open thus

2.2 Mindfulness

33

means that someone believes in his ideas and his sense making but is also reserved and doubtful when acting (Kramer, 2007). This form of openness is challenging. For principle two, employees must develop a mindset that questions their own assumptions. “If the environment is dynamically complex it is impossible to know and understand everything in advance, therefore you need to be able to doubt your existing insights” (Kramer, 2007, p. 17). “To manage the unexpected means first to put an expectation in place so that, second, departures from it become salient earlier and more vividly. In the broadest sense, any old expectation will do because it is the deviation from some comparison, the attention to detail, and the information current actions stir up that together foster reliability” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 57).

In an ever-changing world employees have to plan ahead and believe in their assumptions, but also doubt and be open for alternatives (Kramer, 2007). Managing the evolution is necessary. But how to manage the evolution? Weick, Sutcliffe and Obstfeld (1999) believe that it takes a complex system to deal with a complex environment. The authors suggest that an organisation has divers’ check-up meetings with committees. Meetings in which opposing reviews are heard. Where any worker can speak up and tell honestly how s/he perceives the situation. Employees with no prior experience must be assigned, regular job rotations and (re)-training done. Training is vital to develop a mindful organisation. Employees must improve their technical (hard) and soft skills to maintain a high degree of knowledge for the complex processes within the organisation and outside of it (Roberts, 2018). HRD interventions have demonstrated their value by enabling teams to reduce mistakes and improve knowledge and therefore organisational gains (Shuffler, Diazgranados, Maynard, & Salas, 2018). Weick & Sutcliff (2015) add that simplifying should take place as late as possible. Individuals and teams should always ask: ‘what is different?’. By behaving in this way, the tendency to normalise is reduced and anomalies are easier detected. A corporate structure and culture, where discussion and argumentation in a respectful manner is possible, gives the opportunity to detect differences in the environment. Many opinions help to be reluctant to simplify. However, many opinions may create disorder and slow down processes. Decision making can take much longer. Slow decision making can be a problem in an accelerated world, where speed becomes more and more important to adapt to changes. But, in a long run, results are usually better when a consensus is reached. The third principle of collective mindfulness focuses on the operation of an organisation. What this principle is about is illustrated next.

34

2 Theory and Context

Principle 3: Sensitivity to Operations Sensitivity to operations signifies that an organisation creates and maintains an upto-date and integrated understanding of work processes and their conditions (Vogus & Rerup, 2018; Weick, 2005). This “is achieved through a combination of shared mental representations, collective story building, […] situation assessing with continual updates, […] and active diagnosis of limitations of pre-planned procedures” (Weick et al., 1999, p. 44). It is a close connectedness between plan (strategy) and operation. Where the focus lies more on its operations than on its strategies. Leaders and managers, who are more operation oriented, maintain continuous contact with the front line (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). The front line is the sales department, the production or operation unit. These units’ interface with the customer or the product. If something unexpected happens, it can best be detected there. Managers interact with their teams and encourage their employees to discuss repeatedly about ongoing operations (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). The operation, the ‘small stuff’ and everyday work of employees, is a crucial source of opportunities and threats for the company (Vogus & Rerup, 2018). A problem that arises is, when is ‘small stuff’ relevant and when not? When should observations be discussed extensively and when not? Vogus and Rerup (2018) suggest that if two, three or more employees observe something that is noteworthy, then it should be discussed or escalated. A mindful organisation spends more time observing its operation and its influences than regular organisations (Weick & Putnam, 2006). Employees are constantly aware that their organisation is a modular. That it is a complex system that consists of various interconnected elements. “Constant awareness of interconnectedness creates a context of attention and allows for ongoing small adjustments to emerging problems” (Rerup, 2005, p. 461). Continuous adjustments prevent errors from accumulating. Managers and employees who are ignorant and afraid undermine the functioning system (Aviles & Dent, 2015). Principle three is about the work itself—about realising what the employee actually does, regardless of his or her intentions, designs, and plans (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). The third principle appears to be similar to the previous two: (1) occupation with failure and (2) reluctance to simplify. This is not the case. (1) occupation with failure focuses on small deviations, while (2) reluctance to simplify helps employees and teams to avoid generalisation and be suspicious about their own interpretations. (3) “Sensitivity to operations is associated with close attention to what is going on right now, in the present” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 80). Being present—in the moment—is significant for a mindful organisation. A worker, whose mind is continuously wandering, might be a hindrance and danger to themself. Being focused helps employees to remain sensitive and to keep operations, such as machines, computers or telephone calls running.

2.2 Mindfulness

35

Operations are relevant for any organisation to function. It is about the employee’s ability to stay meaningfully in motion (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Being meaningfully in motion is closely related to the fourth principle of a mindful organisation that entails resilience. This principle is looked upon next. Principle 4: Commitment to Resilience Resilience of an organisations can be understood as the intrinsic ability of a system “to maintain or regain a dynamically stable state, which allows it to continue operations after a major mishap and/or in the presence of a continuous stress” (Hollnagel, 2006, p. 16). Weick & Sutcliffe (2015, p. 97) take a similar approach and define organisational resilience as “a combination of keeping errors small, of improvising workarounds that keep the system functioning, and of absorbing change while persisting”. In that sense a company is not error free, but mistakes do not paralyze it. The authors identify two characteristics of resilience: (1) It is the ability to stretch without breaking. (2) It is the skill to recover from stress in an adequate manner. These characteristics apply for organisations and individuals. For example, in Navy SEALS training, recovery and mission accomplishment depends on the ability to overcome mental angst that hinders the soldiers from being fully present (Fraher et al., 2017). One key to resilience is the rapidity with which you recover from adversity (Davidson & Begley, 2012). “Recovery is often described as adapting to a surprise by reworking whatever is at hand” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 98). When companies deal with unexpected events, bouncing back, regaining and finding a quick answer are important (Rerup, 2005). To be resilient is also the ability to improvise and to be creative—on an individual and collective level. Having great skills at improvisation helps to deal with different surprises. “If a limited action repertoire limits perception, then increased skill at improvisation enlarges the potential actions available in one’s repertoire, which should broaden the range of cues that you can afford to notice and handle” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 99). Having an open mindset gives the chance to improvise more efficiently. Combining this with the capability in accessing intuitive processes in mind and body allows to deal with surprising and complex situations (Küpers, 2015b). Diversity and variation enhance resilience. Additionally, “effective resilience requires quick, accurate, honest feedback so that the initial effects of attempted improvisations can be detected quickly and the action altered or abandoned if the effects are making things worse. Systems with slow

36

2 Theory and Context

feedback endanger resilience” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 110). Having a culture in which open and trustful conversations are possible is necessary for a mindful and resilient organisation. Mindful organisations invest more time to develop their resilience than other organisations (Weick & Putnam, 2006). For a company to be resilient, quick and accurate decisions are helpful. Therefore, principle five will be elaborated on bellow. Principle 5: Deference to Expertise when taking Important Decisions The idea behind principle five is that in emergencies and high-tempo operations, decision-making shifts to employees with expertise regardless of their hierarchical position (Roberts, 2018). Assigned hierarchy is less important than expertness in mindful organisations. So, when a problem or uncertainty occurs, the people with the most knowledge should be in charge and take actions. The company spends more time on the identification of experts than other institutions (Weick & Putnam, 2006). However, these ‘experts’ should defer to the process (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). This means that any expert’s knowledge is limited and that any uncertainty is new and evolving. Experts know the gaps of their knowledge and might therefore even be more cautious than novices (Leonard-Barton & Swap, 2005). Decisions are taken by communicating among each other and making sense out of the new situation. In mindful organisations stiff hierarchical structures should be loosened, experts are known and there are mechanisms to reach them (Weick et al., 1999). Deference to expertise is not just a matter of structure, it is also a complex issue of culture, perception and action (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). “In a mindful system, structure is a variable and activity of structuring is a constant” (Weick et al., 1999, p. 49). In other words, a plan is flexible, and planning is constant. Holding on to a strategy is not necessarily the way forward to being adaptable and flexible. It is about making continuous adjustments. Cultivating such a mindset together with the four other principles of collective mindfulness supports managing the unexpected.

2.2.2.3 Unexpected Events for Profit-Oriented Organisations Above described five principles allow organisations to deal efficiently with unexpected events, according to Weick and his colleagues. The questions is, what can be understood under ‘unexpected events’? A synonym for unexpected is surprise or unforeseen (Etymonline.com, 2017b). Companies cannot overlook all markets, all new innovations or trends, due to globalisation, technological development and social acceleration (Rosa, 2003, 2013), Dealing with unexpected and unforeseen is important for a company to survive and thrive.

2.2 Mindfulness

37

Planning has become difficult and change cannot be seen as something intentional, static or episodic anymore. Change should be understood as continuous, evolving and incremental (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1997; Weick & Quinn, 1999). Managing emerging change that evolves continuously, becomes normal in our social accelerated world. Examples for unexpected occurrences from a private organisational perspective are (Table 2.3):

Table 2.3 Examples of unexpected events for organisations Unexpected event

Example

The competitor launches a new, cheaper or better product and surpasses other players

Tesla, Google and Apple develop an (automated) electric car in Germany; China produces cheaper solar cells.

Technological problems

Server breakdown; loss of databases; computer viruses.

Human resources

Sick leave; contract termination; inappropriate behaviour.

Political and legal decisions

German government steps out of nuclear energy production or cuts funding for renewable energies.

Financial crisis

Euro crisis; Lehman Brother insolvency.

Accidents

Burning of a refinery; airplane crash.

Natural disaster

Too cold weather for olives in Spain; too little rain in Germany for farmers; wildfires in California and Australia.

Other

The breakout of a pandemic (virus)

Source: own design.

These are just a few examples, which are external and internal threats to the reliability and functioning of an organisation. Closely related to un-expectancy is uncertainty. In the classical literature Galbraith (1977) defines uncertainty as the difference between the needed and possessed information of an organisation. It can also be understood as “a [manager’s/companies] perceived inability to predict [an organisation’s environment] accurately […] due to lack of sufficient information [and knowledge]” (Milliken, 1987, p. 136). The future is ‘indeterminate’ or ‘not fully confident’ (Etymonline.com, 2017a). Doing prediction or longterm planning is a difficult organisational task and only contingently possible. Also, to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information is challenging

38

2 Theory and Context

to do. Uncertainty is one fundamental challenge for any organisation (Townsend, Hunt, McMullen, & Sarasvathy, 2018). Coping with them is the essence of administrative and strategic processes (Thompson, 2010). To summarise, collective mindfulness is the ability of a group or organisation to manage unexpected events together. This is done by following five principles: (1) preoccupation with failure, (2) reluctance to simplify interpretations, (3) sensitivity to operations, (4) commitment to resilience and (5) deferring to expertise rather than authority when making important decisions. To form a mindful organisation, Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) ask for (1) a new form of openness and the (2) willingness to share knowledge. A connection between those two concepts and individual and collective mindfulness is a research gap (Sutcliffe et al., 2016). Therefore, this dissertation would like to reduce this research gap and investigate those phenomena in RQ1 (How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation?) and RQ2 (What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness?). The next section gives the theoretical background on openness and knowledge sharing.

2.3

Openness as a Multifaceted Concept

What is openness? When hearing this term, understandings differ: is it openness about the world, openness to others, openness to oneself, open boarders, or the lack of rules and restrictions in society? These are just some approaches to openness. It appears that openness is inconstantly described in the literature and that the scientific world has not yet agreed on a universal definition (Schwaba, Luhmann, Denissen, Chung, & Bleidorn, 2018). That is why the definition and literature review was difficult. The term openness itself was too broad. Thousands of articles came up, but only few related to openness as understood in this dissertation. However, during the literature research one concept of openness crystallised from the social psychological domain that entails many openness facets: openness to experiences7 (in short, openness). This concept focuses on the individual level. Schachtel (1959) seems to be one of the first to have indirectly developed this notion. He says, “because of a man’s [and woman’s] openness towards the world the number of possible objects of human perception and the variety of their aspects are infinite and inexhaustible (Schachtel, 1959, p. 237). Fitzgerald 7 Semantically,

the English language refers to openness ‘to’ something as “acceptance of or receptiveness to change or new ideas” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2018). Openness itself can stand for accessibility, vast landscapes and frankness (i. b. d.).

2.3 Openness as a Multifaceted Concept

39

(1966) picked up Schachtel’s understanding and extended his approach. He sees openness to experience as: “loosening of fixed anticipations and sets so that one approaches the objects of his experience in different ways, from different angles. This is facilitated, he believes, when the individual is not bound by rigorous rules or by conventional schemata of memory, perception, or thought. The person who is truly open to experience does not regress to primitive modes of thought and behaviour, he progresses and encounters experience with all its possibilities and subtle nuances” (Fitzgerald, 1966, p. 656).

Openness to experience has become one centre piece of the five-factor model. The five factor-model is one of the most used taxonomies in personality research8 (Homan et al., 2008). The five-factor model is also often referred to as the ‘Big Five’ (Judge, Ilies, Bono, & Gerhardt, 2002). This taxonomy provides a starting point and foundation for vigorous quantitative studies (John & Srivastava, 1999). It was therefore difficult to find qualitative literature about openness in organisations. Nearly all articles defined openness as ‘openness to experience’ and were quantitative. Because openness to experience is quite well investigated, it has become the leading openness concept for this research. Openness to experience served as an inspirational foundation to define and explain openness. Costa and McCrae (1992) operationalised six facets of openness to experience. These are: (1) ideas, (2) actions, (3) feelings, (4) values, (5) fantasy and (6) aesthetics. Those six concepts are characterised as follows (Piedmont, 1998, p. 88): 1. Ideas are an individual’s intellectual curiosity. It is an open-mindedness and willingness to consider and pursue alternative and new approaches, processes, and ideas. 2. Action is the behavioural willingness to try out new and different activities. It is the ability to experience novel things and being adaptable to unknown situations. Coping with changes in the environment is easier for open individuals. 3. Feelings demonstrate the ability to be more receptive for inner feelings and emotions. These are perceived as important information. Pleasant and unpleasant sentiments are recognised.

8 It

includes agreeableness, neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience (McCrae & Costa, 1987).

40

2 Theory and Context

4. Values reflects the willingness to reassess social, political and religious values. Open individuals tend to be more tolerant, liberal, broad-minded and nonconforming. 5. Fantasy relates to a vivid imagination and fantasy life. Daydreams are not perceived as an escape, but as a way to create an interesting inner world. 6. Aesthetics means to have a higher interest in aesthetic elements such as art, music or poetry. For a work setting facets one through four are especially relevant (Mussel, Winter, Gelleri, & Schuler, 2011). Fantasy and aesthetic will be left out for this research project. These two characteristics tend to be less important for for-profit organisations. Even if openness is comparably well explained, there is still in the literature not a full consensus about the behavioural patterns of the openness construct (Woo et al., 2014a). Openness to experience appears to be the most controversial and least understood trait of the Big Five (Judge et al., 2002). This dissertation will re-start the discourse on openness by being qualitative and adding knowledge to the discussion of openness in the literature and looking for new elements to form a more complex form of openness (Weick et al., 1999). On an individual sphere openness can be defined as “the breadth, depth, and permeability of consciousness, and (in) the recurrent need to enlarge and examine experiences” (McCrae & Costa, 1997, p. 826). It is the ability of a person to seek diversity, to recognise variety and thrive on novelty. It is an individual’s willingness to explore, tolerate, and consider new and unfamiliar ideas and behaviours (McCrae & Costa, 1987; Piedmont, 1998). “Open individuals […] have more flexible attitudes” (McCrae, 1994, p. 258). Persons who are open to ideas tend to be more open to feelings (Costa & McCrae, 1980). “To be open […] is both to believe your existing concepts and to doubt them when you act” (Weick, 1979b, pp. 17–18). Besides the individual level, openness can also be regarded from a collective level. From this perspective it can be seen as “the extent to which a team is overtly sharing information unique [new ideas and knowledge] and common alike [known to the group]” (Mesmer-Magnus et al., 2011, p. 216). “Openness to others promotes individual well-being, while hiding once feelings or trying to ‘play the part’ of another’s expectations hinders authentic behaviour” (Kegan & Rubenstein, 1972, p. 180). So, team members trust each other and share their knowledge by being honest. Trust influences the willingness of team members to share information (Liou & Daly, 2014). The relevance of trust in group processes have been scientifically recognised for many years (e.g. Atwater, 1988; Giffin, 1967; Golembiewski & McConkie, 1975). Trust can be defined as “the willingness

2.3 Openness as a Multifaceted Concept

41

of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party” (Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995, p. 712). It is a person’s belief that another individual or group tries to behave in accordance with what they say, is honest and does not take advantage of the other (Kramer & Tyler, 1996, p. 303). In a team context, trust appears to be a precondition and openness is the behavioural manifestation of exposing oneself to the unpredictability of a situation (Kegan & Rubenstein, 1972). Trust allows team members to accept vulnerability and to overcome uncertainty towards other teammates. Trust enables better coordination and team performance (De Jong, Dirks, & Gillespie, 2016; De Jong & Elfring, 2010). Lack of trust in teams leads to selfprotection and an absence of vulnerability among teammates (Mayer & Gavin, 2005). This dissertation investigates how mindfulness training affects openness on an individual and collective level. The following graphic illustrates the concept of openness used in this research project based on above characteristics (Figure 2.7):

Individual

1. Idea (open-mind)

3. Feeling (emotion receptivity)

Collective

2. Action (experience new)

4. Value (being liberal)

5. Trust to others

6. Open/ honest (feelings) to colleagues

7. Knowledge sharing (new and common)

Open to unexpected events

Figure 2.7 Overview of the concept of openness and its facets. (Source: own design)

The figure summarises seven facets of openness from the theory that are relevant in a corporate context: four individual aspects and three collective ones. These must be seen as interdependent. For example, being open-minded can influence the willingness to trust others and vice versa. Being open creates a

42

2 Theory and Context

possibility to be overt for unexpected events and constant change. One openness characteristic is knowledge sharing, which will be elaborated on next.

2.4

Knowledge Sharing as a Dynamic Human Process

Now that we have learned about mindfulness meditation, collective mindfulness and openness as approaches to deal with unexpected events, the following pages will look at knowledge sharing. For centuries the meaning of knowledge has been discussed among philosophers, such as in Plato’s Theaetetus or in Kant (1781) Critique of pure reason. Knowledge can be seen from different perspectives. On the one hand, traditional epistemology defines knowledge as justified true belief, because someone has to believe in something in order to know it (Grayling, 1995). Knowledge in that sense appears as something that someone has. That is easily transferred, explained and unambiguous (Eisenhardt & Santos, 2002). On the other hand, knowledge can also be regarded as a dynamic human process (Nonaka, 1994). Instead of focusing on truthfulness as absolute, static and essential attribution of knowledge, the importance lies in the process, how and why someone shares his or her knowledge. This dissertation perceives knowledge as a circular interdependent stream— a process. By perceiving knowledge as a process (and not a stock), knowledge management focuses on flow, creation, sharing, and distribution (Alavi & Leidner, 2001). This view is also recognised by Blackler (1995), who perceives knowledge not as something that people have, but as something that they do: knowing9 . Human action is a significant part of know-how (Nonaka, 1994). Blackler (1995) believes that seeing knowledge as doing helps systems to perceive it as something changing and constantly evolving. By sharing knowledge, individuals and organisations can develop. The literature offers a large body of definitions on knowledge sharing. The table below summarises some of them. The research areas illustrate the large application of knowledge sharing. Specific features of the definition at hand are emphasised in italics (Table 2.4).

9 There are more taxonomies of knowledge. For example, individual, social (by a group), decla-

rative (know-about), procedural (know-how), casual (know-why), conditional (know-when), relational (know-with) and pragmatic (useful knowledge/best practice) (Alavi & Leidner, 2001).

2.4 Knowledge Sharing as a Dynamic Human Process

43

Table 2.4 Overview of knowledge sharing definitions in organisations Source

Definitions of knowledge sharing

(Argote & Ingram, 2000, p. 151)

“Knowledge transfer in organizations is the process Organisations in through which one unit (e.g., group, department, or general division) is affected by the experience of another”. (consultancies, IT firms, etc.)

Research area

(Bartol & “We define knowledge sharing as individuals Leadership and Srivastava, 2002, sharing organizationally relevant information, organisations p. 65) ideas, suggestions, and expertise with one another”. (the role of reward systems) (Hansen, Mors, & Løvås, 2005, p. 777)

“We focus on three relational variables that have Product received attention in knowledge-sharing research: development the extent of a network as given by its size (e.g., teams and units Hansen, 2002), the strength of relations (e.g., Hansen, 1999), and the degree of perceived competition inherent in relations (e.g., Tsai, 2002)”.

(Jafari Navimipour & Charband, 2016, p. 730)

“Knowledge management is the process of capturing, sharing, developing, and using the knowledge efficiently. Knowledge sharing […] means that an individual, team, and the organization share the knowledge with other members in the form of activities through the various ways”.

Project teams

(Kim & Lee, 2006, p. 371)

“We define employee knowledge-sharing capability as the ability of employees to share their work-related experience, expertise, know-how, and contextual information with other employees through informal and formal interactions within or across teams or work units”.

Public and private organisations applying IT systems

(Srivastava, Bartol, & Locke, 2006, p. 1241)

“Knowledge sharing can be defined as team members sharing task-relevant ideas, information, and suggestions with each other”.

Management teams in the hotel industry (continued)

As the above definitions show, knowledge sharing is dynamic. Information, experiences, ideas, know-how and suggestions are transferred among individuals, teams and organisations. Davenport (1997, p. 87) sees “sharing as a voluntary act of making information available to others”, which needs to be distinguished from reporting, as reporting is usually involuntary and based on routines and structured measures (i. b. d.). This view is also encouraged by Ipe (2003), who explains sharing as a conscious act by an individual who exchanges knowledge

44

2 Theory and Context

Table 2.4 (continued) Source

Definitions of knowledge sharing

Research area

(Van Wijk, Jansen, & Lyles, 2008, p. 832)

“Organizational knowledge transfer refers to the process through which organizational actors—teams, units, or organizations—exchange, receive and are influenced by the experience and knowledge of others”.

Business organisations in general

(Wilson et al., 2007, p. 1044)

“We define sharing as the process by which new knowledge, routines, or behaviour becomes distributed among group members and members understand that others in the group possess that learning”.

Group learning in organisations

Source: own design. In italics are unique features of the definition at hand

even though there is no need to do so. So, knowledge sharing is a voluntary action. An organisation cannot create meaning and generate knowledge without humans and the collective communities that evolve within the organisation (Brown & Duguid, 1991; Nonaka, 1994). The interaction—the knowledge sharing—between these individuals and groups is significant to the development of new ideas and coping with uncertainties (Weick, 1999; Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). Knowledge sharing connects individual and group sense making to help analyse and understand the complex organisational environment. It promotes corporate efficiency (Edmondson et al., 2007), creates value (Schreyögg & Geiger, 2007) and can be used as corporate strategy development (Eisenhardt & Santos, 2002). Because of such relevancy, scientific research about knowledge in organisations has evolved in the last decades. Different academic streams emerged, such as knowledge management (e.g. Alavi & Leidner, 2001; Argote, McEvily, & Reagans, 2003; Bogner & Bansal, 2007; Watson & Hewett, 2006), organisational learning (e.g. Andrews & Delahaye, 2000; Dodgson, 1993; Senge, 1990), innovation management (e.g. Nonaka, Von Krogh, & Voelpel, 2006) or organisational memory (Rowlinson, Booth, Clark, Delahaye, & Procter, 2010). So on an individual level, employees make sense out of the information and behaviour they see or hear (Weick, 1995) and therefore ideas and knowledge are created in an individual’s mind (Nonaka, 1994). But knowledge is not just created cognitively. A growing number of scientists believe in embodied knowledge (e.g. Küpers, 2015a; Küpers & Pauleen, 2015; Reh, Van Quaquebeke, & Giessner, 2017; Rooney, Küpers, Pauleen, & Zhuravleva, 2019). Embodiment “encompasses

2.5 Success Factors to Develop Individual and Collective Learning

45

both the body as a lived, experiential structure and the body as the context or milieu of cognitive mechanisms” (Varela, Thompson, & Rosch, 2016, p. xii). So, the mind and the body are lively reciprocal. They are relational and influence each other. They are not regarded as separate and distinct. Knowledge creation takes place cognitively, as well as bodily. On a collective level knowledge sharing can be seen as a dynamic process to utilise and transmit explicit and tacit knowledge through interaction between group members (Hecker, 2012; Kump, 2019; Lam, 1997; Nonaka, 1994). Knowledge is not something someone has, but something that someone does. It therefore becomes collective. Communication serves as a mediator in which group members tell about their ‘reality’, what they ‘see’ or ‘hear’. So collective knowledge and collective sense making is developed via a continuous dialogue among employees and groups between explicit and tacit know-how (Nonaka, 1994)10 . Collective sense making allows performance in challenging situations (Gavetti & Warglien, 2015). The question arises, how can individuals and collectives develop and learn continuously to make sense of the complex environment? The literature offers 22 success factors for individual and collective development and learning. These are relevant when implementing (mindfulness) training in an organisation. They will be explained on the following pages.

2.5

Success Factors to Develop Individual and Collective Learning

The above pages illustrated individual and collective approaches to deal with unexpected events by being mindful, open and able to share knowledge. These approaches can be seen as instruments or HR policies to develop an adaptable organisation. As this research studies the effects of mindfulness training on openness and knowledge sharing, it is relevant to look at factors that allow 10 Explicit

knowledge is know-how, that can be shared and is codified in formal, systematic language. “It is verbalized, well-understood, transferable and storable in archives” (Schreyögg & Geiger, 2007, p. 88). For example, written reports or excel files explaining further project steps. Tacit knowledge on the other hand is deeply internalized in the personality and thus harder to formalize and communicate (Nonaka, 1994; Polanyi, 1966). De Long and Fahey (2000) describe tacit knowledge as something that we know but cannot explain (e.g. speaking a language, emotional intelligence, good leadership behaviour, teaching skills). These are all capabilities that usually take longer to learn and are more difficult to pass on. Tacit knowledge gives a competitive advantage to individuals and organisations, as it is more challenging to copy.

46

2 Theory and Context

the successful implementation of HRD and OD measures from the theory: what are factors that support the successful implementation of (mindfulness) training? What is necessary to develop the cultivation of mindfulness in an organisation? These success factors are used to evaluate in the discussion chapter how well and sustainable the mindfulness training was implemented in the organisation. Regular mindfulness meditation is one major key to becoming mindful and to forming collective mindfulness. Therefore, this section is relevant for the entire research project. Training and development interventions have a positive effect on employees, teams and organisations (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). Training can be defined “as a systematic activity aimed at improving requisite team competencies, processes, and overall effectiveness” (Lacerenza, Marlow, Tannenbaum, & Salas, 2018, p. 518). Job performance, creativity, cultural intelligence or motivation can be influenced for individuals and groups. For organisations the corporate effectiveness (e.g. employee involvement and quality), the profitability (e.g. sales volume increase), the productivity (e.g. sales per person), employer reputation, as well as the employee and customer satisfaction can be enhanced by HRD and OD measures. Those positive effects strongly depend on the manner, how the development initiative is conducted and implemented—the so-called success factors (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Aragón-Sánchez, Barba-Aragón, & Sanz-Valle, 2003; Arthur Jr, Bennett Jr, Edens, & Bell, 2003; Gmür & Schwerdt, 2005). Each success factor serves as an integral purpose to develop the corporate effectiveness (Lacerenza et al., 2018). A total of 22 relevant factors for corporate training and learnings are identified during the literature review. Those shall increase the sustainability of an HRD activity to ensure that the invested time and money are worth spending. The main intention of these 22 success factors is to develop a habitus in the organisation. “A habitus is a system of lasting dispositions, formed by a set of temporal and habitual elements that become engrained habits” (Rooney et al., 2019, p. 3). A habit that employees and managers cultivate mindfulness practices sustainably. The 22 criteria are clustered into four segments: (A) General conditions: what is the organisational culture and structure? This is the umbrella for successful learning and development. (B) Before the training: what is relevant prior to the intervention? (C) During the training: what must be considered while doing the intervention? (D) After the training: what to do afterwards to make the HRD measure sustainable? The following graphic summarises the literature review (Figure 2.8):

2.5 Success Factors to Develop Individual and Collective Learning

47

General conditions: Organisational culture and structures 1. Culture, where the learning mind-set is the norm: HRD & OD are regarded as continuous 2. Culture of interconnectedness. Employees are part of a system (whole). Think beyond responsibilities 3. Investments into HRD & OD are regarded as important as any other expenses 4. Leaders buy-in: they are convinced and supportive 5. Foster a psychological safe environment (e.g. trust, social support, reduced anxiety) 6. Time for reflection 7. Encourage a culture of openness and new ideas 8. Support experimentations

Before training 9. Need analysis (what, where, who, why) 10. Clear learning objectives 11. Apply scientific proven trainings 12. Training set-up (size, duration, location)

During training

After training

13. Help learners to learn how to learn (reflection & feedback) 14. Incorporate discussions and exercises for reflection 15. Multiple training methods (inform, coach, mentor) 16. Skilled & motivated trainer

17. Motivate trainee 18. Agree on action plans 19. Follow-up on these 20. Apply learnings and transfer new knowledge to job (create opportunities, give time) 21. Fresh-up trainings/measures 22. Conduct other trainings

Figure 2.8 Overview of factors to create individual and organisational learning and development. (Source: own design)

General Conditions: Organisational Culture and Structural Norms (1) Having an organisational culture where the learning mindset is the norm, in which employees have the courage to share new ideas and to develop themselves (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Hwang, 2003). Development and learning in the organisation are regarded as continuous (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Garvin, Edmondson, & Gino, 2008). Training is just one piece of a whole. Is there a supportive corporate climate to transfer the new acquired knowledge? (Salas, Reyes, & Woods, 2018). A supportive management style is significant for this (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). (2) Striving for a culture of interconnectedness, where employees think and see everything as interconnected (Senge, 1990). Employees are part of a system, and they should understand and acknowledge the whole system to create organisational learning (Weick et al., 1999)—not as isolated cause and effect. Encourage employees to think out of the box and beyond their responsibility. They must be aware to be part of a whole. (3) Time and investments in training and development are regarded as essential as any other expenses (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). (4) Leaders buy in and they are convinced and supportive (Salas et al., 2018).

48

2 Theory and Context

(5) Foster a psychological safe environment (e.g. trust, social support, reduced anxiety) in the company for organisational learning, as well as during the training and afterwards (Edmondson, 1999). Encourage people to tell what does and does not work (Garvin et al., 2008). (6) Time for reflection (Garvin et al., 2008). Having too much to dos and pressure reduces learning. HRD and OD measures take time and time is an essential factor for double and triple loop learning. (7) Foster a culture of openness to new ideas (Garvin et al., 2008). Openness and its importance was described in section 2.3. (8) Support experimentations (Garvin et al., 2008). Trying out and experiencing allows to do mistakes, innovate and learn from it. Before the Training (9) Conduct training and develop need analysis, in which you ask the who, what, where, when, why, and how of needs. (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Lacerenza et al., 2018; Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). (10) Learning objectives should be clear and serve the organisation (e.g. reduced sick leave) and its individuals (e.g. learn stress coping strategies) (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Kearns, 2005; Lacerenza et al., 2018; Neuberger, 1991). (11) Apply only scientifically derived team building measures (not for example curling, hiking, etc.)11 (Lacerenza et al., 2018). (12) Set-up of team training: size of the group (space vs. masses), location (on- or off-site) and duration (Salas et al., 2018). During the Training (13) Delivery of training and need of multiple training approaches (e.g. inform, demonstrate, practice, coach) (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Lacerenza et al., 2018; Salas et al., 2018). (14) “Help learners to learn how to learn” (Hwang, 2003, p. 96), by encouraging feedback, reflection and awareness of thinking process. This enables to know how someone knows (Anseel, Lievens, & Schollaert, 2009; Cunningham, 1992). Double loop learning is supported, which means to recognise and 11 This success factor can be argued against. Unscientific team building measures such as, laser tag or go-cart can develop stronger social ties among employees. It can be beneficial to apply scientifically proven training programs, but it depends on the context, the training is needed for.

2.5 Success Factors to Develop Individual and Collective Learning

49

question the way a problem is formulated and solved can be the source of a problem (Argyris, 1976). (15) Incorporate discussions and exercises that helps the team to self-discover issues that can harm their effectiveness and learn from their errors (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Lacerenza et al., 2018). (16) Have a skilled and motivated trainer (Lacerenza et al., 2018; Salas et al., 2018). After the Training (17) Try to motivate trainees to persist and apply their learning during and after the training (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). (18) Agree on tangible action plans after the development measure. Document conclusions and agreements reached (Lacerenza et al., 2018). (19) Follow-up on agreed upon objectives, action plans and further steps (Belbin & Belbin, 1972; Tannenbaum, Beard, & Salas, 1992). (20) Transfer of training into job related activities. Employees must apply what they have learned (Smith, 2011). Training efforts will not create lasting benefits if knowledge, attitudes and skills are not transferred to the job. This is possible by creating opportunities to practice, generate chances to use new knowledge, and gain support from leaders and peers (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009; Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). (21) Do regular fresh-up training to deepen new knowledge (Salas et al., 2018). (22) Do other training to develop employee’s skills further (Garvin et al., 2008). Most managers need to assess the effectiveness of their investments. Assessing learning and development interventions in companies is difficult (Aguinis & Kraiger, 2009). Brinkerhoff (2005) argues that traditional training evaluations (Kirkpatrick, 1979) are often isolated. Only the training, the event, or how Brinkerhoff describes it, the wedding is regarded. But not its relation to a sustainable and successful married life. The question is whether the training creates individual and organisational learning and performance. The key challenge is that training outcomes are often manifested with a time shift (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). Many managers12 are short-term oriented and focus on the return of investment of a training. Results should be observable as fast as possible. Calculating costs and financial benefits are difficult in HRD (Swanson, 2001). Kearns (2005), therefore, suggests looking at 12 Especially those working for stock shared companies that must report every three months their profit-loss, sales and turnover statements.

50

2 Theory and Context

the added value. What is the lasting added value to the employees and the company of mindfulness training? Added value can manifest at a later point in time. It can be a specific quantifiable figure, such as more turnover at the end of the year, or qualitative impressions, such as satisfied employees and a positive working climate. To summarise, the present chapter gave an overview of the relevant context and theory. These are necessary to answer the research questions. The concepts of individual mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 2013), collective mindfulness (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015), openness (McCrae, 1987, et al.) and knowledge sharing (Nonaka, 1994, et al.) were presented. Also, the relevant success factors for implementing (mindfulness) training sustainably were illustrated. While looking into the theory, a research gap started to evolve: what is the relationship between all these concepts? How does mindfulness meditation influence collective mindfulness, openness and knowledge sharing? To get a deeper understanding, a literature review was conducted, which will be illustrated in the next chapter.

3

Literature Review

The previous chapter illustrated individual and collective ways of dealing with unexpected events. Mindfulness meditation is one approach to become aware of surprises and deal with arising emotions. Collective mindfulness allows organisations to deal with unexpected events efficiently, by following the five principles described above. Chapter 3 aims to look at empirical and conceptual literature on mindfulness in organisations. One focus lies on effects of mindfulness meditation, which will give more background knowledge for RQ1 (effects of mindfulness meditation on openness and knowledge sharing). Furthermore, doing such a literature review will help to further identify a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness (RQ2). The chapter starts by explaining the proceeding and methodological approach to the literature review (3.1). It moves on by reviewing mindfulness in organisations (3.2). Then articles on openness and mindfulness are evaluated (3.3). In section 3.4 factors in organisations that support knowledge sharing are reviewed. These factors serve as connectors to identify whether individual mindfulness learned through meditation affects knowledge sharing. The chapter ends with an interim summary of the theory from Chapter 2 and the literature review form chapter 3 (3.5). This provides an overview of the current state of research. The intention is to illustrate and conceptualise a relationship between openness, knowledge sharing, and individual and collective mindfulness. The entire chapter is structured as follows (Figure 3.1):

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this chapter (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_3

51

52

3

Literature Review

Explaining the approach to the literature review (3.1) Individual mindfulness (3.2.1)

Current

Literature review on effects of mindfulness meditaon:

state of research

In psychology and medicine (3.2.1.1)

Collecve mindfulness (3.2.2) Research gap and RQ2: Relaonship between both?

Openness (3.3)

Research gap and RQ1: Effects of individual mindfulness on openness & knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing (3.4) Literature review on developing collecve mindfulness (3.2.2.1)

In a work seng (3.2.1.2) In leadership (3.2.1.3) Summary (3.5) Crique of indiv. mindfulness (3.2.1.4)

Crique of collecve mindfulness (3.2.2.2)

Figure 3.1 Overview of the literature review chapter. (Source: own design)

The above graphic illustrates the identified research gaps. There is barely any research on mindfulness, openness and knowledge sharing. It was also not possible to find research on mindfulness meditation and collective mindfulness. Only one study was identified. Before going into details of the literature review, the methodological approach of this literature review will be explained.

3.1

Approaching the Literature Review

To get a deeper understanding of the research field a literature review was made. This is in accordance with the deductive and inductive overall research design and gives the possibility to identify what is already known, which concepts and theories are relevant, how the existing literature relates to the dissertation, and which controversies exist (Bryman & Bell, 2007). The focus lied on effects of mindfulness meditation in a psychological, work and leadership setting. To do the literature review efficiently, a research strategy was developed, and systematic elements were used. Search terms based on the research questions were created (RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge

3.1 Approaching the Literature Review

53

sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation? RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness?). The structured approach increased the transparency, replicability and quality of the evaluation (Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart, 2003). The time frame search was from 1980 to 2019, starting with Kabat-Zinn (1982) and his first empirical results of mindfulness meditations on pain patients. The research question was always in focus. First, keywords were created, such as ‘mindfulness AND knowledge’ or ‘mindfulness meditation AND organization*’ or ‘mindful leadership’. Search operators like truncation (‘*’) allow inquiries for different variants of the same term. Furthermore, so-called wild cards like ‘AND’ or ‘?’ support identifying different spellings, endings or combinations (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2016). The keywords were applied in different scientific journals (e.g. Academy of Management, Organisation Science, Organisation Studies, etc.) and databases such as Business Source Complete, Web of Science, Beluga or Summon®. Summon® is a discovery system developed by ProQuest that includes nearly 8,000 publishers (ProQuest, 2016). Beluga is the search engine of the University of Hamburg. ExLibres, a subsidiary of ProQuest, manages this database. The literature was selected on four criteria: first, only peer-reviewed articles and books were included. A focus was set preferably on A and B journals. This was not always possible, as meditation in business organisation is an evolving subject and some major journals appear still to be reluctant to meditation. Therefore, literature was also included from lower ranked sources. The intention was to get a large and deep understanding of mindfulness in organisations. Second, studies that investigated the effects of meditation were considered. The reason why meditation was chosen is due to its relevance to RQ2 (the relationship between individual mindfulness learned through meditation and collective mindfulness). Another reason is that mindfulness meditation can be seen as an HRM tool to develop mindfulness skills. Meditation is a major key to become mindful (Keng et al., 2011; MacCoon et al., 2014; Vu & Gill, 2018). Research that looked at individual mindfulness that is not related to meditation was looked at but not included in the literature review below. Third, a focus lies on effects of meditation on an organisational or work setting. Studies in the psychological domain are quite extensive and research in the work-setting are evolving. Fourth, the intention was to collect empirical literature, especially for the domain of collective mindfulness in organisations, as there seem to be missing empirical results about that. However, conceptual articles can be quite powerful. A larger picture is created when including empirical and conceptual literature. Therefore, conceptual literature was also included. This allowed to gain a more holistic picture.

54

3

Literature Review

Whenever key works were identified, the reference list of the articles were studied. This often-suggested further readings. To remain up to date on the newest literature, ‘alert-notifications’ on SAGE Publication were created. This allowed receiving weekly newly published articles in the field of interest. The reference data management software EndNote served as organisational tool, to manage the large number of articles and books collected. In EndNote subcategories were developed, including ‘openness’, ‘knowledge sharing’, ‘mindfulness at work’, ‘collective mindfulness’, etc. The process of collecting the articles took approximately three years, from February 2016 to March 2019. Nearly 650 references related to mindfulness in general were identified. Many of these 650 references were based on effects of mindfulness in a psychological and medical setting (e.g. hospitals, effects on patients, pain therapy, depression, neurosciences, etc.). 21 of these articles were reviewed in order to understand why mindfulness meditation became so important in the Western hemisphere. Based on the above selection criteria, 73 articles were identified (1. peer reviewed; 2. effects of meditation; 3. in organisational setting; 4. empirical and conceptual). Literature that addressed mindfulness critically was also looked for (16). A total number of 107 articles were being reviewed. The overview looks as follows (Table 3.1):

Table 3.1 Overview of literature review about mindfulness in organisations Section

Literature type

3.2.1.1

Effects of mindfulness meditation in a 14 psychological and medical context (selection only)

7

21

3.2.1.2

Effects of mindfulness meditation on employees in organisations

23

9

32

3.2.1.3

Effects of mindfulness meditation on leadership

8

5

13

3.2.1.4

Critique and trade-off of mindfulness meditation

8

4

12

3.2.2.1

Effects of mindfulness meditation on collective mindfulness

1

0

1

3.2.2.1

Developing collective mindfulness

16

9

25

3.2.2.2

Critique and trade-off of collective mindfulness

0

3

3

70

37

107

Total amount of literature reviewed Source: own design

Empirical Conceptual Total # of works

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

55

When looking at the table, the literature review and the corresponding references, it becomes obvious how relevant the subject of collective mindfulness is in the scientific world. More than two-thirds of all published articles are either in an A+, A or B journal. Attempting to connect mindfulness meditation to collective mindfulness is therefore value adding. To increase transparency of the literature review, a protocol that lists all keywords, the data bases, the number of articles identified and downloaded, as well as the date of research can be reviewed on the digital Appendix of this dissertation. The following pages will illustrate in detail the literature review about mindfulness in organisations.

3.2

Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

This part of the literature review focuses on the effects of mindfulness meditation (3.2.1) and collective mindfulness (3.2.2). Because only one article was identified that studied the effects of mindfulness meditation on collective mindfulness, a review on collective mindfulness was conducted that looked at relevant references and factors to build a mindful organisation. Conceptual and empirical research from different fields are gathered and presented.

3.2.1

Individual Mindfulness: Reviewing Effects of Meditation

Research on mindfulness meditation developed exponentially in the last four decades (Van Dam et al., 2018). The following subsections looks at empirical research on mindfulness meditation. First, studies from the psychological, medical and neuroscientific domain arepresented (3.2.1.1). Second, effects of mindfulness meditation in a work-setting is being reviewed (3.2.1.2). Third and last, evolving evidences for mindful leadership will be looked at (3.2.1.3). This subsection ends with a critique of mindfulness meditation in organisations (3.2.1.4).

3.2.1.1 In a Psychological and Medical Context Western researchers from psychology, psychiatry and medicine were the first to investigate the effects of mindfulness meditation on human beings in the late 1970’s. Therefore, there is nowadays a comparably large body of evidence on mindfulness meditation and its effect on humans. Based on the groundwork of Kabat-Zinn (1982, 2013; 1992) in pain therapy, various scientists identified positive outcomes of mindfulness meditation. Brown and Ryan (2003) as well as

56

3

Literature Review

Shapiro, Oman, Thoresen, Plante, and Flinders (2008) discovered that practicing mindfulness is correlated to psychological well-being and to a reduction of perceived stress. These findings are backed up by Auty, Cope, and Liebling (2017). They made a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on psychological well-being of prisoners. According to them, mindfulness meditation and yoga have favourable effects. This is also supported by Bouw, Huijbregts, Scholte, and Swaab (2019) who studied the effects of an MBSR training on prisoners in five Dutch prisons. Also Breedvelt et al. (2019) who looked at depression, anxiety and stress among students, agree on the positive effects of mindfulness meditation. Siegel (2007b) and Keng et al. (2011) found out that reduced mental suffering and enhancement of mental health can be obtained via mindfulness exercises. Additionally, a negative relation to depression, anxiety, and stress and a positive relation to vitality, life-satisfaction, and interpersonal relationship quality can be obtained (Auty et al., 2017; Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Creswell & Lindsay, 2014; Juberg et al., 2019; Perridge et al., 2017). To further validate or falsify the effects of mindfulness training, different neuroscientists used electro-encephalography, magnetic resonance imaging or heartrate variability biofeedback. For example, Davidson et al. (2003) identified that a short program in mindfulness meditation (eight-week MBSR program) produces noticeable positive effects on brain and immune functions. Chronic inflammatory conditions can be reduced by mindfulness meditation (Rosenkranz et al., 2016). Those findings are encouraged by Hölzel et al. (2011a). The authors conclude that practicing mindfulness meditation can lead to changes in the grey matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking. Lutz, Greischar, Rawlings, Ricard, and Davidson (2004) compared long-term meditators with 10,000 to 50,000 hours of experiences with a control group of unexperienced students in an electroencephalogram. They found out that mental training increases gamma activity during the mindfulness exercise significantly. Gamma activity is relevant for focus and self-awareness (Dor-Ziderman, Berkovich-Ohana, Glicksohn, & Goldstein, 2013). Additionally, it seems that experienced meditators have a decreased need for voluntary attentional efforts to attain concentration (Lutz, Slagter, Dunne, & Davidson, 2008). This was supported by Lutz et al. (2009) who found out that the ability to sustain attention can be improved through meditation. Goldberg et al. (2018) did a systematic literature review on psychiatric disorders. They agree that mindfulness-based interventions are evidence-based treatments and a promising approach for a therapy.

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

57

These apparently ‘objective’ and visible findings from neuroscience and brains are one major reason why meditation shifted from a form of Buddhist contemplation to a mainstream subject. Therefore, stress clinics, schools, universities and companies across the globe started to offer mindfulness training for their stakeholders. Research about mindfulness meditation in companies started to evolve. The current state of the literature on mindfulness meditation in a work-setting are highlighted on the following pages.

3.2.1.2 In a Work-Setting for Employees Scientific research on the effects of mindfulness meditation in work settings is still limited (Malinowski & Lim, 2015). However, a body of literature emerges (Eby et al., 2019). Individual mindfulness in organisations is positively associated with well-being, job performance, work engagement and concentration (Dane & Brummel, 2014; Eby et al., 2019; Good et al., 2016; Levy, Wobbrock, Kaszniak, & Ostergren, 2012; Malinowski & Lim, 2015; Mellor, Ingram, Van Huizen, Arnold, & Harding, 2016; Reb, Narayanan, & Ho, 2015a; Röthlin, Horvath, Birrer, & grosse Holtforth, 2016; Sutcliffe et al., 2016; Van Berkel, Proper, Boot, Bongers, & van der Beek, 2011; Zivnuska, Kacmar, Ferguson, & Carlson, 2016). Shonin, Van Gordon, Dunn, Singh, and Griffiths (2014), for example, investigated 152 full-time middle managers. They participated in an eight-week meditationbased program including elements of self-awareness, compassion, patience and generosity. Over the control group, the meditation group recorded sustainable improvements in well-being and job performance. They also found out that work-related stress and job satisfaction were improved. Those findings are in accordance with Hülsheger et al. (2013) who studied 219 employees. In comparison to their control group, the meditation group felt significantly less emotionally exhausted and more satisfied with their job. Employees report that due to the mindfulness training they are better able to cognitively separate work and private life. Work-life balance is enhanced, as they tend to leave work at work (Michel, Bosch, & Rexroth, 2014). Being less emotionally exhausted and stressed at the office is also recognised by other scientists, such as Allen et al. (2015); Davidson and Begley (2012); Eby et al. (2019); Fjorback, Arendt, Ørnbøl, Fink, and Walach (2011); Glomb, Duffy, Bono, and Yang (2011); Good et al. (2016); Kang et al. (2019); Klatt, Buckworth, and Malarkey (2009); Munoz et al. (2018); Sutcliffe et al. (2016); Walach et al. (2007); Zivnuska et al. (2016). Being less stressed at work may influence the energy level of employees (Adriansen & Krohn, 2016) and also their resilience (Rupprecht et al., 2019). Taylor and Millear (2016) therefore, conducted a study to see whether mindfulness and meditation can prevent burnout. The authors conclude that meditation

58

3

Literature Review

is a buffer for emotional exhaustion. The reasons are less stress due to mindful judgments and reduced mindless reactivity of the employees. These findings are supported by Klatt, Steinberg, and Duchemin (2015). The authors have studied an eight-week simplified mindfulness training course in intensive care units. This work environment is very complex and stressful. According to the scientists, the resilience of the employees increased significantly. Such promising findings are supported by Chiesa and Serretti (2009); Rupprecht and Walach (2016); Malinowski and Lim (2015). One characteristic of being resilient is to think positively and to have hope (Boyatzis & McKee, 2013). Hope is also increased via mindfulness meditation, according to the conclusion of Munoz et al. (2018). They base their finding on a quasi-experimental design with 46 employees (23 meditation group; 23 control) of a non-profit organisation. An increase in hope, meaning and resilience at work influences the well-being of employees (Bostock, Crosswell, Prather, & Steptoe, 2018). To investigate the effects of mindfulness training on employee wellbeing, Mellor et al. (2016) did a mixed method research, with pre/post/follow-up investigations and a control group. They studied 23 employees in a UK-based company. One of their finding is the positive effect of mindfulness meditation on interpersonal relationships among team members. They write: “Participants’ increased mindfulness allowed them to regulate their reactions to other people more effectively, thus improving interpersonal relationships, especially at work. Trainees reported an increase in empathy1 …” (i. b. d., p. 138). This finding is backed up by Good et al. (2016) and Reb, Narayanan, and Chaturvedi (2014), which implies a large potential for teams in organisations. Having a better, cooperative and supportive work climate may have many positive effects on teamwork, such as better cooperation, openness and knowledge sharing. One reason for improved social relationships is the quality of communication that is enhanced via the practice of mindfulness (Beckman et al., 2012). Beckman et al. (2012) did qualitative research with 20 primary care physicians who conducted a mindful communication training. One result is that mindfulness sharpens the participants’ abilities to be attentive, listen deeply to patients’ problems and enable therefore a more adequate response. Another reason is compassion. Different studies investigated the effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes on teachers and healthcare professionals (Frank, Reibel, Broderick, Cantrell, & Metz, 2015; Martín-Asuero & García-Banda, 2010). One 1 Empathy

can be defined as “the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation” (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2017).

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

59

of their findings is the increase in self-compassion. By being kind to themselves participants also tend to be kinder to others. Mindfulness supports a more positive tone (Good et al., 2016). A positive tone in organisations is vital. It promotes healing, builds relationships, trust and values of interconnectedness and kindness (Atkins & Parker, 2012). Besides kindness and compassion, mindfulness fosters attention to others. Ostracised behaviour is reduced. Employees who are more attentive to their surrounding have the tendency to include others (Jones et al., 2019). Attention, concentration and focus has other positive effects and is another key trait of employees. Zhang et al. (2013); Zhang and Wu (2014) investigated the influence of mindfulness on operators in nuclear power plants in two studies. Their studies looked at mindfulness as a state (not meditative practice) and they conclude that mindfulness-based training improves presence and therefore organisational safety. This belief is shared by Huber, Hill, and Merritt (2015) and also Mellor et al. (2016) observed an increase of presence and concentration in employees due to mindfulness meditation practices. Having more concentrated employees holds great potential for learning, development and quality (e.g. work, products), due to fewer errors being made (Good et al., 2016; Van den Hurk, Giommi, Gielen, Speckens, & Barendregt, 2010; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Employees are crucial for any organisation to function. May it be at the bottom, the middle or the top of the hierarchy. The above articles and findings mainly focuse on employees in general. Empirical studies on the effects of a mindful leadership style and training are evolving (Good et al., 2016; Vich, 2015) and are illustrated in the upcoming pages.

3.2.1.3 On Leadership in Organisations Having looked at the effect of mindfulness meditation in a medical, psychological and work environment, this subsection illustrates empirical findings of mindfulness training on leadership (behaviour). Lange, Bormann, and Rowold (2018) surveyed 60 teams and assessed the mindfulness of its supervisors. Their results show that executives higher on mindfulness are perceived from their employees as less destructive and more transformational. The authors believe that companies should invest into their leaders’ mindfulness. This is confirmed by two other studies. The first is by King and Haar (2017), who studied 120 Australian managers and the influence of mindfulness on their performance. The second is by Ceravolo and Raines (2019) who investigated the impact of mindfulness training on nurse managers. Vu et al. (2018) also believe in mindfulness and its potential for leaders and organisations. They conducted 24 semi-structured interviews with Buddhist top managers in Vietnam working in various industries, such as pharma, building,

60

3

Literature Review

education, real estate or food. One of their interviewees says: “Buddhism is very important because it directs me to good things and conducts; and to avoid temptation that anyone at my position may be exposed to” or another CEO adds: “It changes my way of living and it changes my company indirectly […] I do not propagandise Buddhism in the company; I apply it to change myself. How much I can change myself will indirectly affect the company” (Vu et al., 2018, p. 168). These quotations imply that leaders practicing ‘right mindfulness’, are promising for the development of the entire company. Right mindfulness is based on awareness, compassion and wisdom (Bodhi, 2010). By Being kind, compassionate and leading inclusively in a psychologically safe environment, employees are encouraged to learn from mistakes (Vu & Gill, 2018). The conclusion of Vu and Gill (2018) is based on 209 employees being asked from 20 different organisations in China. Those findings are in accordance with Edmondson (1999) and are relevant to collective mindfulness, where a culture of honest error reporting is important. These results are backed up by Chen, Eriksson, and Giustiniano (2017). They gathered data from 476 Danish top managers and their leadership behaviour. According to them a supportive manager mediates the corporate performance. Castelli (2016) agrees; she made a literature review on reflective leadership with characteristics of self-awareness, mindfulness and compassion. According to her, such leadership style has the following effects: creation of a safe environment that promotes trust, open communication, connecting to the mission, building self-esteem, respecting diversity and challenging existing beliefs. All these traits are important for a mindful organisation. To be self-reflecting, self-aware, mindful and compassionate are key. Kind and mindful leadership behaviour can have many other reinforcing effects on interpersonal relationships, such as calmness, trust building, cooperation, openness, knowledge sharing and effectiveness (Boyatzis & McKee, 2013; Brendel & Bennett, 2016; Frost, 1999; Grossman, 2013; Langhof & Güldenberg, 2019; Peticca-Harris, 2018; Singer & Bolz, 2013). Further, this constructive behaviour and the care for others has also the potential to arouse renewal (Pircher Verdorfer, 2019). It can create a sustainable learning organisation (Boyatzis & McKee, 2013) by making employees feel more autonomy and vital (Tummers, Steijn, Nevicka, & Heerema, 2016). To see how ethical leadership impacts follower mindfulness, Eisenbeiss and van Knippenberg (2015) studied 135 leader-follower dyads. Their findings are that ethical leadership results in increased followers’ mindfulness, effort and willingness to help. These empirical results are reinforced by Reb et al. (2014), who investigated leaders’ mindfulness and its influence on employee job performance, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion and work-life-balance. Managers who are engaging into emotions are perceived as better performers, supportive and kind

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

61

(Bono, Foldes, Vinson, & Muros, 2007; Marques & Dhiman, 2009; Sadri, Weber, & Gentry, 2011). Brendel, Hankerson, Byun, and Cunningham (2016) decided to investigate 41 managers (12 male and 29 female) quantitatively with a pre/post design. 20 of them participated at a meditation course and the remaining 21 did a ‘regular’ leadership training. The authors conclude that after eight weeks the weekly 45minute mindfulness meditation class outperformed the ‘regular’ leadership class significantly. Anxiety is reduced, focus increased and creativity enhanced. They believe that future leadership training should combine theoretical input, skill practices and mindfulness meditation. Those findings are supported by Wasylkiw, Holton, Azar, and Cook (2015) and Raney (2014). Both, studied the impact of mindfulness training on the leadership effectiveness of employees and healthcare managers. That mindfulness as a trait (not as meditative practice) increases leaders’ well-being and stress coping mechanisms is also agreed-upon by Roche, Haar, and Luthans (2014). For their empirical results, they have asked nearly 700 managers and entrepreneurs. Baron (2016) contributes empirically to the discussion of mindful an authentic leadership. He did a 3-year longitudinal mixed method study with 143 participants and 24 interviews. During that time period, the different managers attended a three-day leadership training every other month (45 days in total) that focused on action learning. In some of these sessions, meditative elements were practiced, such as the body scan or a full day of silence. They conclude that the level of self-reported authentic leadership and mindfulness increased significantly over the period of time. Positive intra- and interrelationships are reported, especially due to the development of emotional intelligence (Goleman, 2005; Kim & Kim, 2017; Kotsou, Mikolajczak, Heeren, Grégoire, & Leys, 2018). These findings are supported conceptually by Karssiens, van der Linden, Wilderom, and Furtmueller (2014), La Forge (2000), as well as William Swierczek and Jousse (2014). Another important managerial skill that is developed through training mindfulness is decision-making. Karelaia and Reb (2015) argue that mindfulness is helpful throughout the entire process of taking decisions2 . This belief is shared by Vallabh and Singhal (2014), Weber and Johnson (2009), as well as Larson-Garcia and Dane (2018). They think that unconscious biases can lead to bad decisions. These can be detected via self-awareness and mindful judgments. Those beliefs were tested empirically by Ruedy and Schweitzer (2010). They wanted to know if more mindful students (N = 97) would make more ethical decisions. Their 2 Karelaia

and Reb (2015) describe the process of decision-making as framing the decision, gathering information, coming to a conclusion and learning from feedback.

62

3

Literature Review

hypothesis that it would was supported and also that mindful people put more emphasis on moral principles. They conclude “that more mindful individuals care more about ‘being’ ethical, and they care relatively less about ‘appearing’ ethical” (Ruedy & Schweitzer, 2010, p. 82). These findings seem promising in a world where ecological and social problems are rising. However, they are not taken from a work context. There is lack of more empirical data on mindfulness meditation and decision-making. These could be inspired by ‘traditional’ research from Kahneman (2011), Sull and Eisenhardt (2015) on decision-making. To conclude, it can be said that mindfulness meditation for managers has positive effects on social relationships, communication, culture and performance. These findings are encouraging. That is one reason why organisations like General electric, Aetna, Target, Apple, Starbucks or the U.S. Military implement mindfulness training for their employees and managers (Brendel & Bennett, 2016; Gelles, 2012). Google for example has a programme called ‘Search Inside Yourself’, where employees learn to meditate and improve their emotional intelligence (Tan, 2012). Despite all these positive effects, there are also challenges and critiques to mindfulness meditation in organisations. These will be reflected upon in the following subsection.

3.2.1.4 Critique of Mindfulness Meditation in Organisations Practicing mindfulness meditation at work may have some downsides. Mindfulness is often reduced in companies to simple, present-moment awareness. It has become an individual stress-reduction technique for employees (Purser & Milillo, 2015). Mindfulness is decontextualized “from its original liberative and transformative purpose, as well as its foundation in social ethics […]. Rather than applying mindfulness as a means to awaken individuals and organisations from the unwholesome roots of greed, ill will and delusion, it is usually being refashioned into a banal, therapeutic, self-help technique that can actually reinforce those roots” (Purser & Loy, 2013).

Corporate mindfulness interventions are ‘celebrated’ to prevent and mitigate the psychological collapse of employees without holding the neoliberal and capitalist system accountable (Purser, 2019; Purser et al., 2016). Hyland (2015) and Vu and Gill (2018) agree on this perception. For example, managers who lay off employees or push them to their limits, can do this mindfully. They can try to let go of stressful thoughts and emotions. Mindfulness can thus become a tool for a few to be more efficient and crueller. Destructive organisations and systems can be reinforced (Hickey, 2010; Purser et al., 2016; Rosa, 2016a).

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

63

Many leaders expect quick gains. Short return on investments are often anticipated. Mindfulness takes time to develop and is a way of living and being. No quick gains can be expected when starting to cultivate mindfulness in an organisation. Kabat-Zinn (2013) says that mindfulness sounds very logical and simple, but is one of the hardest things to learn. To identify the cost-effectiveness and return of investment of an on-site mindfulness-based intervention compared to usual training, van Dongen et al. (2016) conclude that after 12 months the mindfulness training was neither cost-saving nor cost-effective. From a financial point of view, it might not be so attractive for an employer to invest into mindfulness training in companies, according to the authors. This belief can also be backed up by thinking that ‘time is money’. Mindfulness training is time consuming. Imagine that all employees of a company meditate 15 to 30 minutes a day during working hours: how much money would this be? Leaders may be hesitant to implement mindfulness if they do not consider other positive effects, such as stress reduction, resilience and creativity. When formally meditating, negative emotions can arise, such as anxiety, anger or sadness (Qiu & Rooney, 2017; Shapiro, 1992). These negative emotions are regarded as psychotherapeutic change processes. Emotions are temporary. Meditation allows one to recognise those as such and to realise one’s own reaction to them (Creswell, 2017). However, it is questionable whether an employee would like to burst out in tears in the office during a meditation session. This employee may feel embarrassed and other colleagues may start to chit-chat. Despite the positive effects of mindfulness meditation described above, several scientific researchers have started to identify negative effects of mindfulness meditation. For example Wilson, Mickes, Stolarz-Fantino, Evrard, and Fantino (2015) did three different experiments with more than 150 students. One group listened to a 15-minute guided breathing meditation and the control group was asked to observe their mind wandering for the same amount of time. Directly after the exercise, the students were shown 15 different words on a screen. Those were based on the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm for false-memory susceptibility. Then they had to write down as many words as they remembered. Their results indicate that the memory of those who did the breathing meditation becomes less reliable. Similar experiments were made by Hafenbrack and Vohs (2018), who wanted to investigate mindfulness meditation, motivation and task performance. According to their results, motivation is reduced after the meditation, but not the performance. They believe that motivation (future orientation to finish something) is in contradiction with mindfulness meditation (present moment awareness). This finding is potentially unpleasant for employers. Which employer would

64

3

Literature Review

like to have less motivated employees?3 Another empirical study on mindfulness in companies was made by Walach et al. (2007). Call-centre employees did a mindfulness-based stress reduction training. One finding is that employees become increasingly critical towards their working environment. Toxic structures in the company are more recognised. This could be an undesired effect for some employers, but a desired one for employees. Virgili (2015) did a meta-analysis of the effect of mindfulness training on the psychological distress of working adults. He concludes that stress is reduced due to mindfulness training. However, there is little evidence that mindfulness interventions are more effective than other stress management training, such as yoga or relaxation. Another challenge in companies can be that segregation is created between the ones who meditate and the once who do not (Reb et al., 2015). This may generate group thinking: ‘us’ and ‘them’. However, the once cultivating mindfulness, learn to become aware of their own judgements. This helps to not think bad of the once who do not participate in mindfulness training. Nevertheless, resentment can result, especially due to prejudices and the fact that mindfulness is very difficult to define (Islam, Holm, & Karjalainen, 2017). Everyone has an ‘idea’ what mindfulness could mean. This can cause employees to have different understandings and therefore different approaches to it. Furthermore, Van Dam et al. (2018), Jamieson and Tuckey (2017) critically evaluated the methodology of mindfulness research in general and in organisations. They see several challenges for some mindfulness studies. For example, they think that measuring mindfulness via self-report is problematic (from a positivistic point of view). They suggest looking at (external) behavioural indicators of participants and to triangulate methodologically. The authors also make the criticism that mindfulness is not clearly defined. This causes flaws and difficulties to compare studies. Studies also vary significantly in length of meditation per session (5 to 45 minutes) and the duration (1 day to several months). Further methodological challenges are the experience of the trainer, programme content or the overall research design. Another critical point is the case of Monsanto. Monsanto produces highly controversial products. One of those is a pesticide called ‘Round-up’. In the late 1990’s the former CEO of Monsanto decided to do mindfulness meditation retreats with his employees (Bush, 2001). Until today they are mentioned in the media to apply or have applied mindfulness techniques. This is more than 20

3 Present-moment

awareness is about the thoughts someone has. It does not mean to totally live in the present. Dreams and plans are still desirable in Western society.

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

65

years ago, and little has appeared to have changed in the company from an external perspective. Lawsuits against Monsanto and the German Bayer AG due to cancer diseases are skyrocketing worldwide (Nocera, 2019). However, it seems that the succeeding CEO decided to cancel the mindfulness training in the mid of 2000 (Bush, 2019). It would be interesting to study the case of Monsanto in relation to mindfulness meditation. How was it implemented? Did they change their business model? Should mindfulness meditation not be beneficial for the company and the society? Why does it seem that little changed? Did they continue with their mindfulness programme? These are some interesting questions for future research. The above points of critique can also be regarded as research gaps where more scientifically contribution is necessary. Despite the justified critique, there are many positive effects of mindfulness meditation in organisations. Nonetheless, most research focuses on the individual mindfulness level. In order to manage the unknown as an organisation, collective mindfulness is needed (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Therefore, the literature on collective mindfulness is reviewed in the following pages.

3.2.2

Collective Mindfulness: Relevant Literature to Develop

The previous section illustrated the positive effects of mindfulness meditation. This subsection starts by reviewing a body of conceptual and empirical literature about collective mindfulness. The main intention was to identify literature investigating the effects of mindfulness meditation on collective mindfulness. However, only one study was found. Therefore, relevant literature to understand and develop collective mindfulness more thoroughly was evaluated (3.2.2.1). The subsection moves on by critically reflecting upon the concept of collective mindfulness (3.2.2.2).

3.2.2.1 Dialectics and Paradoxes As shown in the theory chapter (2.2.2), the concept of collective mindfulness is highly complex. It entails cognition, culture and structures. This is the major reason why only a few articles on empirical research about collective mindfulness were identified. Several of the found articles focus on collective mindfulness under difficult circumstances, such as firefighting (Bigley & Roberts, 2001), paediatric units (Madsen, Desai, Roberts, & Wong, 2006), extreme action medical teams in an emergency trauma centre (Klein, Ziegert, Knight, & Xiao, 2006), hospitals (Guttman, Keebler, Lazzara, Daniel, & Reed, 2019) and fatal train accidents in the United Kingdom and what undermines reliability seeking organising

66

3

Literature Review

(Busby, 2006). Fraher et al. (2017) studied the collective mindfulness of US Navy SEALs. The soldiers are repeatedly pushed to fail in training environments. This helps them to become more comfortable with uncertainty and unexpected events. They develop a positive attitude towards failure, which keeps them from being immobilised in chaotic situations. Instead of being discouraged by mistakes, they are encouraged to thrive on them. An additional level of mindfulness is developed, and therefore the authors suggest to add a sixth principle of collective mindfulness: “developing comfort with uncertainty and chaos” (Fraher et al., 2017, p. 241). Day et al. (2018) studied high reliability in the healthcare industry. According to them systems engineering, a culture of systems thinking, as well as collaboration are necessary to build a resilient corporation (von Krogh, Nonaka, & Rechsteiner, 2012). Systems engineering is an attempt to gain a holistic picture of an entire process—from the beginning to the end. It is a useful approach to identify risks, uncertainties and how to deal with those (Perry III, Olson, Blessner, & Blackburn, 2016). All case presented above are so-called high reliability organisations, where errors may directly lead to severe (lethal) consequences. The literature review revealed several empirical studies about collective mindfulness in business-oriented organisations. For example, Ray et al. (2011) investigated the collective mindfulness of a business school by applying the Weick and Sutcliffe (2007) questionnaire4 . They found a connection between the five principles and the ability to deal with unexpected events. Another study was completed by Valorinta (2009), who investigated the IT infrastructure of the supply chain of two large retailers. He interviewed 19 employees and managers and found that the collective mindfulness principles help organisations to detect unexpected cues and also to act upon them. The IT infrastructure and computerbased tools enhance attention by cultivating risk awareness and problem analysis and increasing organisational collaboration. Similar results were found by Gärtner and Huber (2017) who studied computer-based software in a hospital. This special software simplified the planning of ongoing and upcoming surgeries in five operation theatres. The authors conclude that software can support mindful organising by structuring the operations, reminding staff to order surgery equipment and coordinating the staff rosters. However, the authors as well as Valorinta (2009) also conclude that computer-based tools inhibit collective mindfulness due to automation, routines and inflexibility. Valentine, Godkin, and Varca (2010) also explored a healthcare institution. They found out that developing individual mindfulness and organisational ethics 4 In

2007, Weick and Sutcliffe published the second edition of their book Managing the Unexpected. This dissertation takes their third edition as reference from 20.

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

67

allow the better management of role conflicts. Cooperation, discussions and feedback proved to be relevant traits for collective mindfulness. However, all above studies about collective mindfulness are not related to mindfulness meditation—how mindfulness meditation influences collective mindfulness. Only one study was identified which is from Hales and Chakravorty (2016). They implemented a short mindfulness meditation training of 5 to 10 minutes every other hour, plus a mindful listening exercise in a healthcare department. The nurses were asked to meditate on potential failure points that harm reliability. The focus was to increase patient care consistency. The researchers wanted to see whether mindfulness mediation influences collective mindfulness and high reliability. The authors compared key performance indicators, such as total cost per patient per day, average number of hours with the patient, number of improper and unnecessary notifications to physicians or percentage of patients discharged alive with stable vital signs. For all indicators, an improvement was recorded in comparison to prior to the meditation implementation in 2010; and afterwards in 2011 to 2012. “They [nurses] all reported benefits of using mindfulness [meditation] in improving focus and attentiveness, supporting the mindfulness concept that paying more attention to patients and their unique characteristics leads to improved care” (Hales & Chakravorty, 2016, p. 2879). Such studies are promising, but much more research is needed to understand whether mindfulness meditation is a missing link for collective mindfulness. This dissertation will contribute to this missing link and will deepen understanding of the connection. It must be said that not all employees across all hierarchical levels need to be mindful all the time for a company to be mindful (Levinthal & Rerup, 2006). It is also difficult to say that the whole organisation is mindful if all individuals are mindful. All employees can be mindful, but the company can still be unmindful. Culture, structures, processes, group dynamics, learning and feedback all interrelate and are relevant for a mindful organisation. So, being individually mindful is essential for collective mindfulness. But routines and habitual learning are as important in the opinion of Rerup (2005) and Rerup and Levinthal (2014). “Routines are based on interpretations of the past more than anticipations of the future. They adapt to experience incrementally in response to feedback about outcomes” (Levitt & March, 1988, p. 320). From that point of view routines and learning are based on past experiences, automation, retro perspectivity and less mindful behaviour. Rerup and Levinthal (2014) argue that routines and automation should be seen as co-constitutive phenomena with mindful and proactive behaviour. Both are interconnected to create organisational learning. This view is also shared by Carlo, Lyytinen, and Richard (2012). They investigated the collective

68

3

Literature Review

mindfulness of a construction team of a complex architectural building and its IT infrastructure. They argue that collective mindfulness is only possible in a dialectical process: • • • • •

failure/success; diversity/homogeneity; global/local; improvisation/standardisation; flexibility/rigidity.

These traits coexist and are mutually influential. Dialectics includes three principles: totality, social construction and contradiction. Totality in an organisational context means to regard a company with multiple, interacting levels, sectors and processes (Benson, 1977). Social construction refers to collective sensemaking and contradiction to paradoxes. Paradoxes and paradoxical management is probably more adequate then the dialectical approach, when talking about collective mindfulness and the management of the unexpected. Reasons are that dialectics integrate contradictions (thesis vs. antithesis) and generate a compromise (synthesis). This, however, creates new oppositions over time, which results in a new dialectical process after a while. The management of paradoxes, on the other hand, allows the coexistence of both contradicting elements. A Duality between A and B remains. The opposing forces exist and are unified in a whole (Ashforth, Rogers, Pratt, & Pradies, 2014; Putnam, Fairhurst, & Banghart, 2016; Smith & Lewis, 2011). When reading the book and article of Weick and Sutcliffe (2015); Weick et al. (1999), the management of paradoxes becomes obvious. Their concept offers five apparently simple principles, which form a middle path. For example, being occupied with failure does not mean to neglect success and opportunities. Opportunities for a company are as important as looking for mistakes. It is the Ying and a Yang of the five principles that allows to manage unexpected events successfully. Contradictions must be embraced and considered, as well as paradoxes. “Paradox denotes contradictory yet interrelated elements—elements that seem logical in isolation but absurd and irrational when appearing simultaneously” (Lewis, 2000, p. 760). For example, control vs. collaboration (Sundaramurthy & Lewis, 2003), individual vs. collective (Murnighan & Conlon, 1991), flexibility vs. efficiency (Adler, Goldoftas, & Levine, 1999) or self-centred vs. other-centred (Zhang, Waldman, Han, & Li, 2015). A company who is totally mindful in the present moment may disregard their efficient routines. So, it is not necessarily in the interest to be fully mindful. A balance is needed. One where a mindful

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

69

dialogue is key to create certainty, trust, transparency, knowledge and learning (Behrens & Bleses, 2014). Organisations focusing on paradoxes try to manage these often competing demands simultaneously (Smith & Lewis, 2011). Collective mindfulness is an attempt to manage paradoxes and dialectics. The below graphic summarises and illustrates the balance collective mindfulness seeks for in organisations (Figure 3.2):

Mindfulness/Awareness

Habits/Routines Attention on success/ Opportunities

1

Attention on failure/ Errors

Assumption/Judging/ Homogeneity

2

Openness/Non-judging/ Diversity

Strategic/Global/Plan/ Long-term

3

Operational/Local/ Agility/Short-term

Standardisation/ Automation/Structure

4

Improvisation/Intuition/ Flexibility

Control/Hierarchy

5

Empowering/Expertness/ Trust & kind scepticism

Singular thinking/ Isolation

System thinking/ Interconnectedness

Exploit

Explore

Figure 3.2 Collective mindfulness—Its dialectical, paradoxical and balancing approach. (Source: own design. The numbers indicate the five principles of collective mindfulness)

For a company to be efficient, habits, routines opportunities, assumptions, judgments, strategies, plans, standards, structures, automation, control, hierarchies, singular thinking and exploitation (March, 1991) are relevant proceedings (Feldman, 2000; Feldman & Pentland, 2003; Salvato & Rerup, 2018). Efficiency, however, does not solely manage surprises. Those efficiency increasing measures

70

3

Literature Review

may immobilise a corporation in case of a sudden change. Therefore mindfulness, awareness, error detection, openness, non-judging, diversity, operation focus, agility, improvisation, intuition, empowerment, trust, kind scepticism, system thinking and exploration (March, 1991) are necessary. A company needs both to develop and survive (Yan, Waldman, Yu-Lan, & Xiao-Bei, 2015). Properly functioning collectives can operate reliably in challenging situations (Gavetti & Warglien, 2015). In order to pursue both and to become organisationally mindful, Weick et al. (1999) suggest identifying sets of outcomes (goals) that a company works for but never expects to experience and reach. Reliable organisations seek for perfection but know they will never attain this. This is paradoxical. Why work for something that cannot be accomplished?5 Such an approach parallels with the mindfulness meditation virtue of non-striving. Which means that meditation is done for the purpose of meditation and not to reach a goal, such as calmness, concentration or creativity. These objectives are by-products of being present in the moment in a non-judgmental manner (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). So collective mindfulness can be reached by having an abstract vision. It can be reached by mindfully working for this vision without pushing too hard to reach it. To summarise, the empirics on collective mindfulness reveal a dialectical and paradoxical approach to a mindful organisation. Such an approach makes it very complex to develop a mindful organisation. This is also one of the critiques of collective mindfulness, which will be elaborated on next.

3.2.2.2 Critique to Collective Mindfulness The challenge of collective mindfulness is its complexity. Some trade-offs include the following: (1) it is a costly strategy, because significant attention to small signals is needed. Such investments are necessary in some industries, as costs of failure are catastrophic. For example, in the flight industry. The newly released airplane Boing 737 MAX caused two airplanes to crash, because of a software mistake. It is questionable whether non-HRO’s (e.g. banks, retailers) should strive to be a mindful organisation (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). However, it is an attempt to deal with social acceleration and a way to manage unexpected events. Eventually, a simplified version is applicable for Non-HRO’s. (2) There is only a limited amount of empirical research on collective mindfulness. Especially studies investigating across hierarchical levels are missing. Most empirical research 5 That is in contradiction to classical management literature, where goals and key performance

indicators are set to be reached. The management literature suggests goals to be SMART (specific, measurable, accountable, realistic and tangible).

3.2 Reviewing Mindfulness: One Way to Deal with Change

71

only looks at one unit (e.g. firefighters, operators, department) of an organisation. Research is missing that looks at an entire organisation (Rerup & Levinthal, 2014; Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). More empirical evidence is needed that supports or denies that these five principles allow organisations to manage unexpected events efficiently. (3) Strong engagement into failure can harm operation and paralyze it. Employee’s may than be too engaged to identify mistakes that they miss out opportunities (Rerup, 2005). Blue- and white-collar workers must learn the dialectical thinking of failure and opportunity. (4) Focusing too much into reluctance to simplification, may cause too many discussions, point of views and opinions. This can slow down, decision-making and action (Rerup, 2005). (5) Weick et al. (1999, p. 43) refer to having the bubble from the Navy SEALS, when explaining principle three, being sensitive to operations. Understanding the ‘bubble’ is difficult and abstract. It is difficult to grasp what the authors mean by that. So, the notion of principle three is not fully clear. (6) Another challenge is the element of cognition. Cognition is limited: attention, memory and learning are restricted. This can also be referred to as bounded rationality where there is incomplete information about alternatives (Simon, 1972). It is impossible to know everything for decision making. Mistakes, errors and unexpected events will always happen. It is only possible to evolve and learn and continuously adapt. Managing is potentially not the right term that Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) use. Managing has the connotation of bringing something under control. It is impossible to control the future. We can flow and adapt to it. Dealing with or evolving form surprises is more adequate for Weick’s et al. concept. (7) Weick et al. (1999, p. 37) describe their concept as linear process. First the five principles, then mindfulness and then the ability to manage unexpected events. Could this process not be changed into first individual mindfulness, then the five principles and then dealing collectively with unexpected events? Or is it not more an interrelated connection between all facets? (8) Their theory focuses only on organisations. Looking beyond those boarders into society could be of added value to economies. Especially as the authors suggest to think systematically and to consider the whole. Going beyond would add probably several more principles to the existing five. (9) The last critiques of collective mindfulness is strongly dominated by a few scientists in that domain: Karl Weick, Kathleen Sutcliffe, Timothy Vogus, Claus Rerup and Karlene Roberts. Their work has been ground-breaking. However, most academics follow their approaches with less reflection. More divers’ researchers in that area would be of additional value. The above critique points can also be regarded as research gaps where more scientific contribution is necessary. Despite those critical elements, much can be learned from collective mindfulness by rethinking organising, and increasing attention and heedfulness. To form

72

3

Literature Review

a mindful company, Weick and Sutcliffe (2015); Weick et al. (1999) ask for (1) a new form of openness and (2) the willingness to share knowledge. The literature review was barely able to identify scientific articles on mindfulness meditation, openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness in corporations. The next pages elaborate on this.

3.3

Reviewing Openness and Mindfulness

The previous pages looked at individual and collective mindfulness in the literature. The review showed that both approaches have the potential to deal with unexpected events. In uncertain changeable and diverse work environments openness is a key personal trait (Homan et al., 2008; Weick et al., 1999; Woo, Chernyshenko, Stark, & Conz, 2014b). Individuals who are more open tend to adapt better to changing circumstances (LePine, Colquitt, & Erez, 2000). With an open mind, it is possible to suspend old habits and thoughts and to deal with unexpected events. With an open heart, someone can empathise and understand a situation from another point of view. With an open will, it is possible to let go and let the new evolve (Scharmer, 2018; Scharmer & Kaufer, 2013). Open individuals have fewer stereotypes and prejudices towards others (Flynn, 2005). Their cultural intelligence appears to be higher (Li, Mobley, & Kelly, 2016). Leaders of multinational teams are more likely to receive local know-how from employees when being open to them (Troster & van Knippenberg, 2012). Openness therefore supports innovation (Wu, Lin, & Chen, 2013) and group trust (Lauring & Selmer, 2012). Trust in one’s manager allows employees to be open for organisational change (Erturk, 2008), which makes them more resilient. Employees seem to be less vulnerable to stress (Williams, Rau, Cribbet, & Gunn, 2009). Given the increasing complexity in today’s world, openness and its facets play an important role for employees’, leaders’, teams’ and organisational performance (Woo et al., 2014b). Despite these positive effects, openness is a two-edged sword. It entails tremendous potential to develop an individual and an organisation through knowledge of strengths, weaknesses and information. However, if someone being open is treated unfairly or the disclosed information is used against, it may have a strong backfiring effect that may destroy trust and thus the foundation for personal relationships (Zaleznik, 1970). Another challenge is that open employees feel less obliged to remain loyal to their organisation, especially when they have restricted access to resources (e.g. material or equipment) (Moss, McFarland, Ngu, &

3.3 Reviewing Openness and Mindfulness

73

Kijowska, 2007). This implies that open individuals like to be in open work environments. Not all working environments can be open, such as banks, hospitals or the military. Confidentiality are important there. Furthermore, one study implies that open individuals are more likely to believe what they are told (McElroy & Dowd, 2007). McElroy & Dowd (2007) used anchor cues and asked 197 students about the length of the Mississippi river by giving them prior possibilities. Open individuals tend to be attracted by the anchor. This finding is in contrast to research by Perry and Sibley (2013). They claim that humans low in openness to experience are sensitive to information about dangerous and threatening people in society. To what extent does the kind of information (positive or negative) influence an open or closed individual belief? Whether someone believes something or not is probably strongly context-dependent. One major intention of this literature review was to identify articles about mindfulness meditation and openness. So far, only two studies were identified: Barner and Barner (2011) investigated how mindfulness meditation relates to openness to experience and transformational learning in adult development. They argue that mindfulness meditation leads to an aware, open, calm, and non-judging attitude. This attitude overcomes constraints to openness to experience and therefore learning and development. The authors also say that individual mindfulness enables one to stay engaged in challenging life experiences and novelty. Soler and Araya-Véliz (2016) investigated the relation of mindfulness meditation and openness among psychologists and their patients. Their results show that constant meditation leads to deeper and open experiences. Experiences that are not labelled by preconceptions and judgments. The self-understanding of the psychologists also changed. Instead of seeing their relationship as experts with their patients, the therapists started to see themselves as being two different individuals in the world (copresence). Both studies have promising results. However, they are not in a business context. Therefore, this dissertation will fill in this research gap by looking at effects of mindfulness meditation on openness in a business organisation. For this the different facets of openness were presented in above theory section 2.3. These facets serve as deeper background knowledge when analysing the data in chapter 5. The second part of the first research question looks at effects of mindfulness meditation on knowledge sharing. The conducted literature review is presented on the following pages.

74

3.4

3

Literature Review

Reviewing Factors Supporting Knowledge Sharing

No articles were identified that investigate a relationship between individual mindfulness and knowledge sharing. Therefore, the focus of this literature review was to identify factors that support knowledge sharing. These factors operationalise knowledge sharing. What is needed to allow the exchange of knowledge in an organisation and whether mindfulness meditation affects those factors become tangible. Knowledge and information sharing is vital when dealing with unexpected events (Vogus & Welbourne, 2003). Blackler (1995) identifies in his literature review about knowledge types, already in 1995, that there is a strong trend into communicative-intensive organisations. Communication and collaboration are key processes. Single experts are not necessarily the knowledge holder; it is the entire organisation that forms knowing via a collective understanding. Organisational knowledge must be organised, as sensemaking is organising (Weick, Sutcliffe, & Obstfeld, 2005). Factors that support knowledge sharing are influenced by social capital theory, where groups with an extensive level of trust and trustworthiness outperform groups that do not have these traits (Coleman, 1988, 1994; Maurer, Bartsch, & Ebers, 2011). This theory will not be further considered in this study but is worth mentioning. Differing from human-, financial- or physical capital, “social capital exists in the relations among persons” (Coleman, 1988, p. S100). Based on those relations, Ipe (2003, p. 343) sees four factors, that influence knowledge sharing between individuals (Figure 3.3): Figure 3.3 Overview of factors supporting knowledge sharing in organisations. (Source: own design, inspired by Ipe, 2003)

1. The nature of knowledge (e.g. explicit/tacit)

2. Motivation to share knowledge

3. The opportunities to share knowledge

4. The culture of the work environment

3.4 Reviewing Factors Supporting Knowledge Sharing

75

(1) The nature of knowledge describes the knowledge type (e.g., tacit/explicit), that are illustrated in section 2.4. Depending on the type of knowledge different proceedings are necessary. For example, explaining tacit knowledge (e.g. presentation skills) is more time consuming and requires richer forms of communication, such as face-to-face communication, than explicit knowledge, such as informing about an upcoming event in the organisation. This is possible in writing via intranet. (2) The motivation to share can be divided into (2a) internal and (2b) external factors. “Internal factors include the perceived power attached to the knowledge and the reciprocity that results from sharing. External factors include relationship with the recipient and rewards for sharing” (Ipe, 2003, pp. 345). (2a) Internal motivation and “…the perceived power attached to the knowledge…” (i. b. d.) is subjective and depends on socialisation, working structure and culture. The term power is a complex concept that has been discussed among social scientists for decades6 (see Bourdieu, 1989; Dahl, 1957; Foucault, 1982; Kanter, 1981; Latour, 1986; Raven, 1958; Weber, 1922/1978; Wrong, 1968). If an individual perceives knowledge as power basis, then the likelihood that he or she will share his knowledge might be reduced. This is why trust and a strong tie is important for social relationships and knowledge sharing (Alexopoulos & Buckley, 2013; Coyle-Shapiro & Shore, 2007; Dahl, 1996; Reagans & McEvily, 2003). As already said, a functioning social relationship of mutual trust, where the shared knowledge is not copied or used against someone, will raise the likelihood of sharing (Gooderham, Minbaeva, & Pedersen, 2011; Reagans & McEvily, 2003; von Krogh et al., 2012). A competitive corporate culture, where each employee works for his own performance, hinders sharing (Hansen, Mors, & Løvås, 2005). Andrews and Delahaye (2000) identify perceived trustworthiness as central for knowledge sharing. This view is supported by Bartol and Srivastava (2002) who think that trust between individuals and the organisation are key enabling factors for knowledge transfer in informal interactions. To increase the level of trust further, Nonaka (1994) suggests sharing one’s original experience (e.g. emotion). This is the fundamental source of tacit knowledge and valuable information (Nonaka, 1994; Reagans & McEvily, 2003). An additional point that motivates the creation and sharing of knowledge is autonomy (Bordum, 2002; Nonaka, 1994). 6 There

is no single definition of power. Power is too complex to be unified in one concept. Power can be seen as a relational dynamic construct that is ingrained in the structures and symbols of our cultures. Power is everywhere and nowhere. Power can be intended or unintended, direct or indirect, positive or negative, extrinsic or intrinsic, limited or unlimited, social, symbolic and structural. Power is created in the structures we are living in and is manifested inside of us.

76

3

Literature Review

Autonomy—being independent—gives people the freedom to absorb, share and develop. Besides autonomy, reciprocity is relevant for knowledge transfer (CoyleShapiro & Shore, 2007; Granovetter, 1973). The perception of giving and taking. Employees who have the impression of only giving may at some point feel unfairly treated. They may close themselves and withhold information. Asking and Listening is one key element to reciprocity. The knowledge-sharing process is stimulated when people have the feeling that someone listens, for example as an open-mind and active listening behaviour (Holford, 2010; Okhuysen & Eisenhardt, 2002). Holford (2010) identified in his study, where he investigated workgroups in a North American aerospace company, that employees who try to coercively induce their opinion and are unwilling to take other perspectives, lose the desire of their opponents to listen and to share their know-how. “Researchers have indicated that a close relationship among colleagues (strong social ties) would increase contributors’ willingness to share knowledge” (Jafari Navimipour & Charband, 2016, p. 733). This is supported by Gerpott, Ulrike, and Anne (2019) who studied respectful leadership and knowledge-sharing behaviour. Mutual respect, autonomy, reciprocity and listening are relevant factors for internal motivation to share knowledge. (2b) the external motive depends on the (2ba) relationship to the knowledge recipient (see above: 2a) and a potential (2bb) reward. Both are directly related to power. As being subjects (Foucault, 1982), individuals behave differently, depending on how they perceive someone as powerful or not. Power and the often unconscious behaviour of subordination influence knowledge sharing (Blackler, 1995). An example could be a CEO entering the room. Some employees become nervous, stand up or have difficulties to articulate sentences correctly—tacit knowledge as eloquence might be disrupted. The connection between (2bb) reward and knowledge sharing will not be further considered in this dissertation. (3) The opportunities to share can be distinguished into (3a) formal and (3b) informal situations. (3a) Formal occasions are department meetings or training. Individuals have then the chance and the tools (e.g. telephone, Intranet, Wikiplatforms, computer drives) to share their know-how with each other (Argote & Ingram, 2000). Dialogues, especially in form of face-to-face, facilitates externalization of knowledge among team members (Nonaka, 1994; von Krogh et al., 2012). (3b) Informal opportunities relate to personal relationships, informal networks and meetings (Ipe, 2003). These serve as coordination to share knowledge internally. Lateral relationships and social interactions have a significant positive effect on knowledge sharing (Reagans & McEvily, 2003; Tsai, 2002). Employees meet or engage in those, because they have common values, goals and interests.

3.4 Reviewing Factors Supporting Knowledge Sharing

77

Examples can be minority networks (e.g. sport groups, the lesbian and gay community), events after work or meet-ups at the coffee machine. Brown and Duguid (1991) highlight that learning and innovation are often generated in the informal communities-of-practices in which employees work. (4) The fourth factor that influences knowledge sharing is the culture of the work environment. All above factors are influenced by the culture—how are the values, the norms, the rules, beliefs, habits and the work climate? Are employees taken seriously when they bring up concerns or not? Can employees speak up to their manager or not? The department and organisational culture shapes knowledge creation and sharing (De Long & Fahey, 2000; von Krogh et al., 2012). Applying a dialectic approach, where contradictions and agreement is freely expressed, helps to raise the quality of the dialogue (Nonaka, 1994). The freedom to express is essential for knowledge sharing (Holford, 2010) and thus the ability of an organisation to deal with complex and uncertain events. The language that is spoken within a corporate culture is relevant as well (Eisenhardt & Santos, 2002). Language and its proficiency strongly influence the power relationships and the sharing of information (Gläsener, 2019). Beyond the scope of this dissertation, but worth mentioning, are micropolitical strategies in organisations. Those are strategies to pursue or protect one’s own interests in organisations, which also influence knowledge-sharing behaviour among employees (Cornils, Mucha, & Rastetter, 2014; Mucha, Frieß, Jarren, & Rastetter, 2015; Rastetter & Jüngling, 2018). All factors explained above are interconnected and nonlinear (Ipe, 2003). Based on the above literature review, the following framework is developed. It visualises the relation and factors of knowledge creation and sharing among individuals in organisations (Figure 3.4): The above graphic illustrates how multi-faceted and complex knowledge sharing is. The process of knowledge creation and sharing is in constant flow. Therefore, a separation of the different concepts should be abandoned (Blackler, 1995). Knowledge creation and sharing includes explicit, tacit, cognitive and behavioural elements that are based on body and mind experiences. The sharing among individuals is significantly supported by trust and reciprocity (to give and take), as well as other factors (see above Figure 3.4). Knowledge can be lifted from an individual to a collective level by sharing (Okhuysen & Eisenhardt, 2002). Nonaka (1994) notes that “the process of organisational knowledge creation is a never-ending story, circular process that is not confined to the organisation but includes many interfaces with the environment” (Nonaka, 1994, p. 27). To deal with the 21st century complexity, constant change and unexpected events,

78

3

Individual knowledge

Individual knowledge

Knowledge sharing

Knowledge creaon

Knowledge creaon

Explicit Tacit

Mind Body

Literature Review

Mind Body

Explicit Tacit

Collecve knowledge Supporng factors to encourage knowledge sharing Trust (strong es)

Reciprocity

Autonomy

Power relaonships

Dialogue

Ask & listen

Empathy

Language

Openness to other (opinions)

Create sharing opportunies

Culture of work environment

Type of knowledge

Managing unexpected events together

Figure 3.4 A model of knowledge sharing in organisations. (Source: Own design)

collective sensemaking and knowledge sharing is essential to manage unexpected events together. The data analysis will reveal additional factors for knowledge sharing caused by individual mindfulness (5.2). This research gap will be reduced. Before learning about the methodology (chapter 4) and the analysis (chapter 5), chapters 2 and 3 is summarised next.

3.5

Summary and Current State of Research

This chapter ends by summarizing the theory in chapter 2 and literature review in chapter 3. A conceptual framework is shown below that will illustrate a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness, as well as openness and knowledge sharing. This theoretical framework shall already visualise first results for RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation? and RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? The graphic below summarises following: • The effects of mindfulness meditation on employees and collectives;

3.5 Summary and Current State of Research

• • • •

79

The openness facets; The supporting knowledge-sharing factors; The five principles of collective mindfulness; Potential outcomes of mindfulness in organisations.

The intention of this figure is to conceptually illustrate a relationship between all those concepts. Figure 3.5 reduces this research gap by showing the potential individual and collective mindfulness has for the management of the unexpected. Individual mindfulness learned through meditation serves as a vital link to managing unexpected events and forming a mindful organisation. First, there are many positive effects that regular meditation practice entails, such as an increase in focus, well-being, performance, listening abilities, creativity, self-awareness, compassion or improved communication and social relationships. These positive effects influence knowledge sharing and openness. Knowledge sharing, for instance, is positively influenced by mindfulness meditation, as such develops emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is central for empathy and a key characteristic of information sharing. An employee who is able to empathise with someone is perceived as more understanding and trustworthy. Mindfulness meditation also develops openness. One reason is the cultivation of a beginner’s mind, where meditators try to look at everything with fresh eyes in a non-judgmental manner. Combining individual mindfulness learned through meditation together with openness and knowledge sharing does influence collective mindfulness in the following ways: • An open mind allows one to look for changes, mistakes, errors and opportunities happening outside and within the organisation. Merging this with strong social ties and a willingness to share knowledge supports principle one: preoccupation with failure. • Learning not to judge during mindfulness meditation is key for principle two: being reluctant to simplify interpretations. Questioning one’s own and others’ assumptions, judgments and stereotypes is necessary when dealing with complexity and unexpected events. Mindfulness meditation also supports self-awareness, which is necessary to acknowledge incomplete know-how. Curiosity maybe triggered by (self-)knowledge and openness. • Mindfulness meditation develops focus. Both are necessary for principle three: sensitivity to operation. Concentrated employees are crucial for a high reliability organisation. Also compassion and kindness that is learned during a mindfulness course creates a culture of trust and reciprocity. One in which

80

3

Literature Review

knowledge, mistakes and errors are shared, which is necessary to form a mindful organisation.

Individual

Collective

Mindfulness meditation effects

Higher well-being

Less emotional exhaustion & stress

More resilience & calmness

Develop trust

Improve social relationships

Higher focus & concentration

Increased task performance

Develop emotional intelligence

Increase (self-) compassion

Increase organis. safety

More work engagement & satisfaction

Enhanced divert thinking & creativity

Develop (self)awareness

Value respect & diversity

Improve communication

Individual

Knowledge-sharing factors

Collective

Individual Openness facets

Trust (strong ties)

Empathy

Dialogue

Open-mind

Trust to others

Language

Create sharing opportunities

Experience new

Open & honest to others

Openness to other (opinions)

Power relationships

Culture of work environment

Emotion receptivity & empathy

Knowledge sharing

Type of knowledge

Autonomy

Reciprocity

Being liberal

Ask & listen

Collective

Collecve mindfulness principles A. Preoccupaon with failure

B. Reluctance to simplify interpretaons

C. Sensivity to operaons

D. Commitment to resilience

E. Decisions at (local) expert level

Swi recovery from set-backs

Experts take decision despite ranks

Potenal outcome Look for changes/ errors/ opportunies

Aware of incomplete knowledge

Culture of trust, honesty: report failure & contradicon

Queson assumpons

Aenve to front lines & vision

Curious & be open for new

Focus, clarity & concentraon

Ability to improvise

Managing unexpected events together

Figure 3.5 Summary of theory and literature review—Connecting openness, knowledge sharing, individual and collective mindfulness. (Source: own design)

3.5 Summary and Current State of Research

81

• Resilience is vital for humans and companies. Mindfulness meditation allows employees to recover faster from set-backs, to be calmer, less stress reactive and creative. Combining those effects with an open, kind and curious attitude enables quick feedback, improvisation and cooperation in teams, in which colleagues are neither judged nor discriminated against. A culture can be formed, where all ideas are built on other ideas to solve the challenges of the 21st century together and deal with social acceleration. • Allowing experts to make decisions, instead of hierarchical assigned managers, is not necessarily linked to mindfulness meditation. However, openness as well as knowledge sharing are necessary for principle five. Both traits are key to take collectively decisions. Cultural and structural changes are necessary for the last principle. The above summary and connections are conceptual at this point. Almost no empirical literature was found that investigates a relationship between openness, knowledge sharing, individual and collective mindfulness in organisations. This research gap will be reduced with this dissertation. The empirical data analysis (section 5) as well as the discussion section (section 6) will evaluate the relationship in more detail and answer to both research questions RQ1 and RQ2. Before doing so, the methodology of this dissertation is presented next.

4

Methodological Approach

The previous chapter showed the importance of individual mindfulness learned through meditation and the relevance of openness and knowledge sharing for the management of the unexpected. It also highlighted how collective mindfulness is developed. Chapter 3 also revealed two research gaps, which are also the research questions—RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation? and RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? Both gaps shall be closed by replying to those questions empirically. A thoughtful and sound methodology is therefore relevant when collecting and analysing empirical data. The methodology chapter begins with a brief introduction to the chosen epistemology and ontology of this study (4.1). It is continued by presenting the overall research strategy and design, which is deductive and inductive longitudinal qualitative case study research (4.2). In 4.3 the case study research is being presented in detail. Sub-chapter 4.4 elaborates on the data collection and in 4.5 the data analysis is explained. The chapter ends with a critical evaluation against quality criteria and the trustworthiness of this research project (4.6). The entire dissertation project took approximately four years, from the beginning of 2016 to the beginning of 2020. The journey can be described as an incremental evolution. New ideas emerged and others were abended. During that time major milestones and accomplishments were reached. The overall research design looks as follows, which serves as a roadmap of this chapter (Figure 4.1):

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this chapter (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_4

83

Knowledge sharing (Nonaka et al.)

follow-up Aer Focus group with employees of the course parcpants (3)

follow-up Aer Semi-structured interviews with employees of the managers (7) & trainer (1)

follow-up Aer Focus group with all course parcpants (7)

Data analysis: Qualitave content analysis (Schreier; Kuckartz)

t2: 28th week t1: 8th week Before follow-up Aer Semi-structured interviews with all course parcipants (8: 2 CEO's, 5 managers, 1 employee)

Figure 4.1 Overview of methodological design. (Source:own design)

Research strategy & design: Deducve/ inducve qualitave longitudinal case study research of 6 months length in IT company

t0

20 weeks later follow-up

Primary data collecon (total of 28 weeks/~6 months) 8 weeks mindfulness training in IT company

Results/ Conclusion/ Discussion/ Limitaons

4

Epistemology and ontology: Crical realism

Mindfulness meditaon’s influence on openness & knowledge sharing 2. Relaonship between indiv. & collecve mindfulness?

Research queson: 1.

Theory: Social acceleraon (Rosa); Individual mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn); Collecve mindfulness (Weick et al.) Opennes (McCrae et al.)

Literature review: Arcles, books, etc.

Data collecon:

84 Methodological Approach

4.1 Research Philosophy

85

The graphic shows the research process from the research questions, the theoretical foundation, the research strategy, the literature review, the data collection, as well as the analysis. This design is based on a ‘longitudinal embedded within case study research’ format (Eisenhardt, 1989; George & Bennett, 2005; Yin, 2014). This design helps to answer the research questions, explore mindfulness in organisations further and connect individual to collective mindfulness. The upcoming pages will describe in more details the methodological approach. First, it starts with the chosen epistemology and ontology of this dissertation.

4.1

Research Philosophy

This dissertation is grounded in critical realism (Bhaskar, 1975/2008). Critical realism “assumes the existence of a single reality that is independent of any observer” (Yin, 2014, p. 17). This ontology tries to explain “what we see and experience, in terms of underlying structures of reality that shape the observable events” (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 138). For critical realists, researchers only see a small fraction of the whole. A reality exists, but this reality is complex and embedded in the structures. Fleetwood (2005, p. 2) describes critical realism: “There is, in other words, no unmediated access to the world: access is always mediated. Whenever we reflect upon an entity (or a state of affairs), our sense data is always mediated by a pre-existing stock of conceptual resources (which often includes discursive resources), which we use to interpret, make sense of, understand, what it is and take appropriate action. This stock is both individual (e.g. a subjective belief or opinion) and social or inter-subjective (e.g. an accepted theory, perspective, or social norm)”.

Taking such approach is in accordance with the understanding of organisations as interpretative systems (Daft & Weick, 1984; Weick, 1979a). In those, individuals and groups create and reproduce shared meanings by making sense of the internal and external environment to eventually manage unexpected events. Employees try to collectively make sense from different perspectives to shape a reality. A reality (might) exist, that can be identified by investigating a phenomenon (mindfulness in organisations) from different points of view (triangulation). The next pages explain the choice of the research strategy and design in more detail.

86

4.2

4

Methodological Approach

Research Strategy and Design

A sound and well-designed methodology is very important to generate trustworthy results. Many empirical researches begin with a research question. Those were already mentioned throughout this dissertation, but shall be repeated here: 1. How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation? 2. What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? Both research questions that ask for how and what are beneficial to generating more understanding about something (Watson, 1994). For this dissertation, understanding about a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness is achieved by looking at openness and knowledge sharing. To study relationships, a qualitative case study design appears to be suitable. The reason is that how questions and case studies help to explain and explore casual mechanisms (George & Bennett, 2005; Yin, 2014). Causal mechanisms can be understood as: “ultimately unobservable physical, social, or psychological processes through which agents with causal capacities operate, but only in specific contexts or conditions, to transfer energy, information, or matter to other entities” (George & Bennett, 2005, p. 137). Causal mechanisms can semantically be exchanged into ‘influence’. Saldaña (2003) thinks that to ‘influence’ illustrates a more qualitive, procedural way to investigate the complexity of change, instead of the more static ‘cause and effect’ terms. “‘Influence and affects’ are not only nouns, they are rich verbs suggesting action and change” (Saldana, 2003, p. 82). To influence can be defined as “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something” (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2017). To focus on ‘influences’ is to focus on explanations—to open up a black box (Elster, 1983). Effects reside between the observable and unobservable (George & Bennett, 2005). Looking for influences, effects on behaviour or differences (due to mindfulness training) is in line with a critical realist approach (Fleetwood, 2005). The overall design of this dissertation is a qualitative deductive and inductive longitudinal design. There are several reasons for a qualitative approach. (1) Qualitative research is especially useful when the studied phenomena is comparably new and explorative (Hollstein, 2006). Studying mindfulness in companies is new and there are only evolving studies about it (Eby et al., 2019; Malinowski & Lim, 2015).

4.2 Research Strategy and Design

87

(2) A qualitative research strategy also provides the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about the experiences of a relatively small amount of people (Bryman & Bell, 2007). The empirical data consists of 20 different team members with a total number of 37 interviews. (3) Individual and collective mindfulness, as well as openness and knowledge sharing, are complex. Mindfulness meditation is a first person phenomena (Garland, 2013). It is mainly accessible to the person who is directly involved in it (Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch, 2003). This research is therefore designed to capture the experiences of the participants before and after the mindfulness training. (4) Lepuschitz and Hartman (1996) suggest applying qualitative research when investigating psychosocial adaption due to meditation. The psychosocial adaptation is the influence of mindfulness meditation on collectives. (5) Nonaka (1994) points out that knowledge is created through the interaction of individuals. This interaction is partly accessible by asking the interviewees alone and in focus groups. Both is done in this research project. (6) Sensemaking via communication is seen as the major social process for collective mindfulness (Gärtner & Huber, 2017; Weick, 1995). Grasping communication via quantitative methods appears to be difficult. Human beings think differently about different things and people and they often behave in accordance to their thoughts (Schreier, 2012). Qualitative research allows to understand the sensemaking of managers, subordinates and team members via interviews. (7) Why people behave and act in a certain way can be investigated via qualitative research. Reasons and motives are explained by the interviewees (Flick, Kardorff, & Steinke, 2000). This dissertation also would like to understand why and how interviewees make sense and behave in a certain manner. This creates deeper insight to the phenomena of mindfulness in organisations. Understanding why and how is most often the research aim of qualitative studies. (8) The last argument, is to link the individual with the collective level. Multilevel studies are seldom and qualitative research is a useful means to investigate such phenomena (Saunders et al., 2016). To develop new knowledge and theory, deduction and induction has been chosen. Combining both is useful for theory generation or modification (Saunders et al., 2016). Deductive theories and concepts were reviewed in the theory (chapter 2) and literature review section (chapter 3) chapter. To recall, the major theories are:

88

4

Methodological Approach

• Individual mindfulness learned through meditation: Kabat-Zinn (1982) (see section 2.2.1); • Collective mindfulness: Weick et al. (1999) (see section 2.2.2); • Openness: McCrae and Costa’s (1987) (see section 2.3); • Knowledge sharing: Nonaka (1994) (see section 2.4). Despite openness and knowledge sharing being deductive concepts, Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) and Rerup (2005) suggest, as one key element to managing the unexpected, developing “[…] a more complex form of openness” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 68). However, this complex form of openness remains a bit blurred. What is meant by it? How should this new and complex form of openness look like? Therefore, the concept of openness will be regarded inductively, despite the extensive (mainly quantitative) research by McCrae, Costa’s and many other scientists. Furthermore, as illustrated in Chapter 3, there is a research gap, as nearly no scientific articles that investigate openness, mindfulness meditation, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness in organisations are identified in the literature review. Looking at the data in an inductive manner may generate new insights and create a conceptual framework (Saunders et al., 2016). Understanding more deeply how to develop collective mindfulness and mindful organisation is an inductive purpose of this research. Extending and exploring new aspects of mindfulness in organisations is one contribution of this study. Reasons for choosing a longitudinal case study will be explained in the following section.

4.3

Case Study Research

One intention of this dissertation is to study mindfulness in organisations and to identify steps to improve an organisation to become a more mindful one. Conducting case study research is therefore useful, as much can be learned from case studies. The data was collected in one for-profit organisation and during the case study research several stages were considered. These will be described in this section. At first, the choice of a longitudinal design is explained (4.3.1). Then, reasons for conducting a multilevel research are elaborated on (4.3.2). In section 4.3.3 the sampling and case selection criteria are described and in section 4.3.4 the case itself is illustrated. The section ends by explaining the conducted mindfulness training (4.3.5).

4.3 Case Study Research

4.3.1

89

Longitudinal Embedded within-Case Study Research

Longitudinal research of mindfulness is important. Yet there are surprisingly few studies on mindfulness in organisations in a longitudinal way (Vu & Gill, 2018). This is why such an approach was taken. Good et al. (2016) believe that organisational field studies in a longitudinal design will provide greater confidence in the effects of mindfulness in companies. Case studies seem to be suitable approaches to studying mindfulness in organisations. A case study can be defined as an instance of a phenomenon of scientific interest, such as aspects of economic systems, companies or personalities. Case study research is useful when a phenomenon needs to be explained or a theory developed or extended (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2014). Yin (2014), Eisenhardt (1989), George and Bennett (2005) advocate that case study research is applicable: (1) When a social phenomenon needs to be explained (mindfulness in organisations); (2) This social phenomenon is described in-depth (how individual is connected to collective mindfulness); (3) The social phenomenon is studied in its real-world context (the case ITCare operates in the real world—business life); (4) The studied event is contemporary (mindfulness in organisations is a recent phenomenon, it is not based on a historical research design); (5) The researcher has little or no control (ITCare is an organisation with employees. It is not an experimental design where systematic manipulation is possible); (6) The data relies on different sources of evidences (a triangulation is conducted—see section 4.6); (7) The aim is to develop theory further (the explorative and inductive approach supports this intention); (8) Case studies are suitable where statistical methods are weak (mindfulness is a new topic in business settings, so there are only a few companies offering mindfulness programs to their employees. A small N is only available). Yin (2014, pp. 51) suggests five different case study designs: critical, unusual, common, revelatory, and longitudinal. This dissertation has chosen the ‘longitudinal embedded within-case study’ approach. The choice to do so was inspired by Pettigrew (1990). He conducted longitudinal field research on change and suggested several data collection methods and points in time, as well as different units of analysis. He emphasises that the collected data should be:

90

4

Methodological Approach

• Procedural: the focus is on action and the structural change over time. • Comparative: the possibility to compare the different individuals among each other and to the group. • Pluralist: by describing and analysing the often-competing insights of reality that are perceived by the different actors during the change process. • Contextual: investigates “[…] the reciprocal relations between process and contexts at different levels of analysis” (Pettigrew, 1990, p. 277). Collecting data in this way means producing case studies and not just case histories (Pettigrew, 1990). Collecting data sequentially with different instruments in a triangulated way enables revealing the what, how and why of a change (i.b.d.). Proceeding in such a manner was helpful to generate trustworthy results and look at changes the mindfulness training caused in the studied organisation. The data collection period for this research was six months. Learning individual mindfulness and the development of openness and knowledge sharing take some time to evolve. The effects of meditation should be studied for at least some weeks (van Berkel, Boot, Proper, Bongers, & van der Beek, 2014). A period of eight weeks with intensive meditation sessions (minimum of 45 minutes a day) to study effects appeared suitable (Davidson et al., 2003). Saldaña (2003) names two core criteria for a longitudinal design: change over time. This dissertation investigates how mindfulness intervention influences employees (change) over six months (time). This within-case study looks at different points in time: before the mindfulness training, directly after and four months later. The case, the group and the individuals remain the same. This approach provides the chance to observe changes that occurs within the cases before and after the mindfulness intervention and to compare them. An embedded approach signifies that a single-case study involves units of analysis at different levels (Yin, 2014, p. 53). The first level is the studied company, ITCare, which serves as a single case on the collective level. In that organisation, the leadership team conducts mindfulness-based stress reduction training. This is the second level, as eight individuals participate in that course. Therefore, this study takes a multilevel research approach, which will further be elaborated on in the next pages.

4.3 Case Study Research

4.3.2

91

Multilevel Research: Connecting the Individual to the Collective

The aim of this dissertation is to identify the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness, for which multilevel research was conducted. “Using a multilevel lens reveals the richness of social behaviour; it draws our attention to the context in which behaviour occurs and illuminates the multiple consequences of behaviour traversing levels of social organisation” (Hitt, Beamish, Jackson, & Mathieu, 2007, p. 1385). Qualitative research is a useful strategy “for understanding multilevel phenomena such as organizational changes…” (i.b.d., p. 1393). Studies, especially quantitative ones, tend to sperate into individual, group and organisational levels. As already mentioned above, this dissertation will merge the group with the organisational level and call this collective. The reasons are as follows: • The studied case, ITCare only consists of 35 employees and is therefore a small organisation. The separation between group and organisation is therefore blur. A small team can be an organisation and vice versa. • Out of these 35 employees the entire leadership team (except one) and one employee participated in the mindfulness training. So, almost all managers contributed. Managers influence strongly the organisational level. Especially as both CEOs participated. They can make structural and cultural decisions. • 8 out of 35 employees participated in the mindfulness training. This is nearly ~25 % of the entire staff who learned to meditate. • It was possible to get in touch with ~60% (20 out of 35) of employees of the entire company for the data collection, either as interviewees or focus group attendees. Therefore, the unit of analysis is the individual and the collective of eight people participating in the mindfulness training and managing their employees. The large number of participants in that corporation enables deriving implications for the entire company. When studying the phenomenon of openness and knowledge sharing, De Long and Fahey (2000) and Pénin (2013) see that both concepts exist on an individual and collective level. Ipe (2003, p. 340) agrees with this by saying that “the sharing of individual knowledge is imperative to the creation, dissemination, and management of knowledge at all the other levels within an organisation”. Therefore, the individual and collective level is necessary to see a connection between both.

92

4

Methodological Approach

Connecting the individual with the collective level can be tricky. The reason is that collective learning is not just the sum of individual learning. Collectives develop systems that are influenced by their members, history, norms, rules, values and structures (Fiol & Lyles, 1985). Those shared assumptions protect the status quo and hinder people form questioning and challenging others (Kim, 1993). Or, as Weick and Roberts (1993, p. 360) say, “a collective mind is distinct from an individual mind because it inheres in the pattern of interrelated activities among many people”. In that sense, the individual and collective level can be connected by following parameters: (1) Cognitive: practicing mindfulness itself serves as connector. Being aware, to the present moment in a non-judgmental manner holds the potential to notice interconnections. An employee can step out of his autopilot (‘own world’), be kinder and notice the broader picture. The individual makes sense out of the information s/he sees or hears (Weick, 1995). If employees learn to become aware of their own sensemaking—that this process becomes (more) conscious and is less unconscious via mindfulness meditation—then colleagues have the option to become neutral to the interpreted situation. By becoming neutral a beginner’s mind can be cultivated. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. […] If your mind is empty [neutral], it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything” (Suzuki, 2010, p. 2). Stereotypes towards colleagues can be reduced and openness cultivated. “Through mindful interpretation by group members of an ongoing experience and the mindful generation of appropriate actions, collective cognition connects individual ideas and experiences in ways that both redefine and resolve the demands of emerging situations” (Hargadon & Bechky, 2006, p. 486). Kind behaviour allows employees to be interested in others and to consider their viewpoints. This is crucial when developing collective mindfulness and high reliability performance (Vogus, Rothman, Sutcliffe, & Weick, 2014). (2) Social: observing the participants of this study and their social interactions, their communication and their cooperation are useful approaches to connect the individual with the collective level. Identifying and investigating knowledgesharing factors facilitates this. Mindful organising becomes collective by social processes, actions and interactions among individuals (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). Cooperation in teams and sharing knowledge, empowers dealing with unexpected events and developing collective mindfulness.

4.3 Case Study Research

93

(3) Leadership: studying the leadership team provides the chance to investigate both levels. Managers are the connectors between the individual employee and the organisational level. Managers have the chance to make decisions that influence both levels. They are part of the structure of an organisation. Due to these three connectors, mindfulness meditation, openness, knowledge sharing and the studied leadership team have become relevant to replying to the research questions. The following figure puts the research questions into the multilevel context (Figure 4.2):

Cognitive

Cognitive/Social

Social

Social

Cognitive/Social/Leadership

RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation?

Social

Cognitive

Cognitive/Social/Leadership

RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness?

Figure 4.2 Relation between research questions and the multilevel approach. (Source: own design)

Cognition, social behaviour and leadership are just three connectors between the levels. There are many more elements that can link the individual to the collective level. For example, power relationships, job descriptions, organigrams or work-process instructions. Analysing those is of additional value, but beyond the scope of this research project. Depending on the research questions, choosing an adequate case is relevant. The sampling process will be illustrated next.

4.3.3

Sampling

Mindfulness in organisations, where employees meditate, is still seldom. Meditation is often associated with the esoteric and spirituality. The literature review indicates the opposite. Mindfulness meditation holds great potential for individual and collective development. Identifying and selecting a company where all participants meditate was therefore central to this dissertation. Without meditation, it is difficult to become mindful. This assumption is derived from the theory, and therefore a theoretical sampling was applied when selecting the case (Glaser & Strauss, 1970/2017). The theory and research question determined the core criteria for case selection, which were as follows:

94

4

Methodological Approach

(1) The company needed to implement a mindfulness-based training program where the employees meditated daily. Regular meditation practice is important (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Without this, studying mindfulness in organisations is obsolete. As mentioned above, the effects of meditation fade away quickly, once you stop. The studied case offered to all their managers an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training course. This program is a well evaluated mindfulness course (Fjorback et al., 2011). All participants meditated daily for 45 minutes and an external trainer provided weekly mindfulness sessions (more details in section 4.3.5). (2) A full team or department needed to participate in the research. Otherwise the effects on a collective level are difficult to look at. The size of the studied company of 35 employees was comparably small. Employees worked closely together. Divisions or other branches did not exist. Additionally, both CEOs participated in the mindfulness training. Having management support provides a better implementation and roll-out of mindfulness meditation. Yet, it also influenced the employees to a certain extent and may have biased them to be in favour of the mindfulness training. (3) The investigated for-profit organisation needed to be willing to cooperate in the research project. Implementing mindfulness is time-consuming, and conducting interviews and focus groups may take additional resources, which indirectly cost money. The corporation, especially both CEOs, were very supportive. They granted access to all employees, which allowed for doing interviews and focus groups with all MBSR course participants and also non-participants who were employees of the managers. (4) The case needed to be part of the private sector. The reason is that this sector is more affected by social acceleration than the public one. Private, for-profit organisations need to finance themselves independently. Managing the unexpected is therefore more important than in public organisations. The studied case is part of the private industry. Their legal structure is a limited liability one (GmbH). (5) The industry where the company operates in should be a dynamic one. Fast technological development increases uncertainty. The investigated case develops IT software. This is one of the quickest developing business areas. Studying the management of the unexpected in this company was suitable. The criteria mentioned above allow the investigation of the phenomenon of mindfulness in organisations. The following section describes the selected case, ITCare.

4.3 Case Study Research

4.3.4

95

Research Context and Case: ITCare and the Mindfulness Group

In order to keep anonymity, a pseudonym was applied: ‘ITCare’. ITCare was founded in 2009 and is based in Germany. It has 35 employees (September, 2017). The average worker age is 34 years of age, which is comparably young. Their business objective is to provide software solutions, services, training and consultancy to the automotive industry. Main customers are car dealerships situated in Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland. Turnover increased by 70% in 2016. Additionally, five new employees are planned to be hired in the upcoming months, said by one interviewee. This indicates a prospering firm. The organisational structure looks as follows (Figure 4.3):

CEO 2 Soware

CEO 1 Commercial

Head of Service

Sales

Training

Soware service

Markeng

Data security

Administraon

R&D

Rollout

Figure 4.3 Organigram of ITCare. (Source: internal documents of the company, 2017)

There are two founders and CEO’s who are responsible for eight departments. Some departments consist only of one employee. Others have up to eight co-workers, for instance the software service section. Six team leads and 26 underlying employees build the entire staff. Due to the size and the structure, quick decisions can be taken. The company is a small or medium-sized enterprise. All interviewees describe the firm prior to the mindfulness training as family-like: the atmosphere is good and amicable (course participant, 2, 3, 7, 8, t0), or “the overlap between work and private life is fluent. This is a very good feeling” (Course participant, 6, t0). ITCare has an open-minded ‘family’ culture, when following Cameron’s and Quinn’s (2005) categorisation of organisational principles. ITCare’s Facebook page shows many social activities. The studied mindfulness group consisted of 8 people. All of them were managers, except for one person who was a regular employee. Out of these 8 were

96

4

Methodological Approach

7 men and one woman. For details please see the data collection section 4.4.2, where the interview characteristics are described. A first, contact with ITCare was established in the beginning of 2017. ITCare approached AB (anonymised), the mindfulness trainer (see for more details section 4.3.5), as they planned to do an MBSR course for their leadership team. AB served as an expert for the author’s master thesis in 2015. It was planned to do this research with him/her. S/He established the contact to ITCare, as this company fulfilled all selection criteria. First phone calls, emails and several visits resulted in which the parameters for the dissertation were discussed. One of the most important selection criteria was that the leadership team participates in mindfulness training, the MBSR course, which will be described next.

4.3.5

Mindfulness Training at ITCare: The MBSR Program

ITCare implemented a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for all 7 managers and one employee of the company. The intention was to prevent burnout and develop coping strategies for stress. The effects of MBSR were studied by various scientists across the globe (e.g. Davidson et al., 2003; Grossman et al., 2004). The MBSR program is one of the most studied and validated mindfulness programs (Fjorback et al., 2011). It slowly finds its way into business settings. Walach et al. (2007) were one of the first to study the effects of MBSR on 29 call centre employees. They concluded from their pilot data that “MBSR can be implemented with success in a high-demand and high-stress professional environment as a personnel development and training programme to teach coping skills” (Walach et al, 2007, p. 197). The MBSR program was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late 1970’s early 1980’s (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). His intention was to reduce suffering and stress among chronical pain patients in clinics. Therefore, he applied Buddhist meditation techniques from the Vipassana and Zen tradition. He developed an 8-week structured program. The length of 8 weeks appear to be a suitable time-period to identify effects of mindfulness meditation (e.g. Grossman et al., 2004; Walach et al., 2007). This program consists of different meditation exercises (e.g. body scan, mindfulness breathing and compassion meditation) and theoretical input. The attendees learn psychoeducational elements, such as dealing with stress, emotion regulation or self-awareness by watching their thoughts. A certified MBSR trainer teaches on a weekly basis for 2,5 to 3 hours the curricula. In that time, the participants learn (A) formal (meditation) and (B) informal mindfulness techniques. These have already been explained in section 2.2.1.3. To recall briefly

4.3 Case Study Research

97

the differences: (A) Formally means that course attendees will learn sitting, lying or walking mindfulness meditation. In those meditations, bringing the attention repeatedly non-judgementally to the present moment (e.g. breathing) is learned. This formal practice takes approximately 45 minutes daily (6 of 7 days a week) in the MBSR course format. Furthermore, a one-day retreat where silence is cultivated is completed. (B) Additionally, the participants learn informal and integrated mindfulness exercises. These imply bringing mindfulness into daily operations and activities, for example, consciously listening, drinking, eating, or writing an email. All sensations and thoughts shall be observed non-judgmentally. Both formal and informal practice go hand in hand (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). The MBSR curricula and mindfulness exercises are structured in this way (Figure 4.4): Having a competent and certified trainer appears to be significant for the success of a mindfulness intervention (Crane, Kuyken, Hastings, Rothwell, & Williams, 2010; Rupprecht & Walach, 2016; van Dongen et al., 2016). This skilled trainer is AB (anonymised). He is a certified MBSR and MBCL (Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living) trainer. He has 25 years of Vipassana meditation experience. Additionally, he works in the health department of a large multinational corporation and has implemented mindfulness in companies for a couple of years now. To summarise, this dissertation has taken a qualitative deductive and inductive longitudinal case study design. This approach is suitable to studying the phenomenon of mindfulness in organisations. Data has been collected based on this framework. When and how the data has been collected will be explained in the following.

3

Perception and nonjudging

2

Mindfulness foundation

1

4

Stress reactivity & autopilot

5

Awareness of problems & developing coping mechanisms

6

Knowing & communicating feelings

- Sitting meditation - Yoga - Mindful communic.

- Standing & sitting meditation - Mindful communic. - Standing & sitting meditation - Mindful communic.

- Yoga - Sitting meditation - Mindful communic.

All meditations

1 day silence

- Mountain, lake or lovingkindness meditation - Mindful communic.

7

Integrating mindfulness into life

- Body scan - Yoga - Sitting meditation Mindful communic.

8

How to continue

4

Figure 4.4 Eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course curricula. (Source: own design, based on Kabat-Zinn (2013) and Santorelli, Meleo-Meyer, Koerbel, Blacker, and Kabat-Zinn (2017))

- Body scan - Yoga - Eating meditation

- Sitting meditation - Body scan - Yoga - Mindful communic.

Formal (70 to 90 minutes) and informal (60 to 90 minutes) mindfulness practice

Awareness & present moment attention

Theoretical input

98 Methodological Approach

4.4 Data Collection

4.4

99

Data Collection

Data has been collected in order to reply to both research questions. This section describes the proceeding of the data gathering. The preconditions to collect data successfully and the interview guide development are being described (4.4.1). The applied data collection instruments, semi-structured and focus group interviews, are explained (4.4.2). Furthermore, recordings, transcriptions and translations are elaborated on (4.4.3). This section ends with ethics that were kept in mind during the entire research process (section 4.4.4).

4.4.1

Developing Preconditions for Successful Data Collection

It was challenging to choose an adequate data collection instrument that fits the research questions. At the beginning of this research process, a social network analysis was considered (Scott, 2013). The intention was to look at changes in the social relationships of the mindfulness course participants before and after the training. This approach was too theoretical, and the method was discarded. Instead, more qualitative data collection instruments were chosen. To answer the research questions, two primary data instruments were used; semi-structured and focus group interviews. Both instruments can be used when evaluating training in organisations (Neuberger, 1991). A total number of 37 interviews were made. To collect data in a trustworthy manner, Yin’s (2014, p. 73) five preconditions were considered: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

asking ‘good’ questions; being a ‘good’ listener; staying adaptive; understanding the issue being studied; avoid biasing by being sensitive to contrary evidence.

(1) When is a question a ‘good’ question? The main purpose of qualitative studies is to make the interviewee talk. Good questions therefore help to generate data, reply to the research question and identify emerging new findings. To create the interview guide, the main terms of the RQ were defined and operationalised: mindfulness, openness and knowledge sharing. This helped to gain a thorough understanding of the studied phenomena and the field of interest. Based on the defining elements (e.g. openness to new ideas, openness to others, etc.) open questions (e.g. how, why) were formulated on a first draft. This first draft was

100

4

Methodological Approach

discussed with several peers. Wording and structures of some questions were refined (e.g. not: “what are your values?” but: “what is important in your life?”). A first pre-test interview was made with an external, non-academic employee who had experience with meditation. This helped to further specify questions and make adaptations and changes. Then, the interview guide was discussed with the first and second supervisor of this dissertation in order to receive more input. Further adjustments were made before the interview guide was tested a second time. Further changes were implemented before the final version was set. All interview guides can be reviewed in a digital Appendix. (2) Being a good listener means assimilating a large amount of new data without being biased (Yin, 2014). Not being biased is challenging. Ideas, judgements and interpretations happen fast. In order to be a good listener, the practice of mindful listening was applied during the interviews and the review of the documents. Mindful listening means to be in the present moment and to try not to judge (like or dislike) the opponent’s opinion or words (Hanh, 2013; Hartkemeyer, 2019). This is helpful to be as neutral and open as possible. (3) Staying adaptive means to pursue the planed research project and be open to new leads without being biased (Yin, 2014, p. 74). Those can identify new potential case studies to be investigated. The researcher’s regular mindfulness practice helped on that side as well. By being aware of one’s own judgement, new fields can be identified and followed. The expert’s mind has limited opportunities—the beginner’s mind has many chances (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). (4) An in-depth literature review and operationalisation of the concepts has enabled understanding the issue to be studied: mindfulness in an organisational context. Furthermore, I have been interested in mindfulness for more than nine years. I have already written my master thesis on this topic and have been to several conferences, such as the MBSR conference in Hamburg in 2015, the European Group for Organizational Studies conference in Tallinn in 2018 and the Competence-Based Strategic Management conference in Stuttgart in 2019. On all these conferences I have presented research results concerning mindfulness in organisations. (5) Avoiding biased thinking and looking for contrary evidence is a key challenge in case study research. Many researchers do case studies, because they would like to support a preconceived idea (Yin, 2014). To mitigate this problem, a deductive and inductive research design was chosen. Deduction considers knowledge of theory and induction is open to new findings in the collected data. The theory and data are looked at critically. The regular mindfulness meditation practice was helpful during the research process as well. I meditate daily. In that

4.4 Data Collection

101

time, I reflect upon the interviews I have made. This has allowed me to identify prejudices. These five preconditions helped to assimilate trustworthy data and to conduct the various interviews during the six-month data collection period. The first interviews being made, were semi-structured ones. Who was being asked, how this took place and why, are illustrated in the upcoming subsection.

4.4.2

Data Collection Instruments: Interviews and Focus Groups

This subsection provides an overview of the instruments used to collect the data and to look at effects of mindfulness training on openness and knowledge sharing. The qualitative data was assembled via semi-structured and focus groups interviews. Where knowledge is limited, it is beneficial to study the individual experiences through their explanations (Donalek, 2004). This was done at three points in time (Figure 4.5):

t0: Interviews before MBSR course

Months:

0

t1: Directly aer the course (2 mon. later)

1

2

t2: Follow-up (4 mon. later)

3

4

5

6

Figure 4.5 Overview when interviews were conducted. (Source: own design)

Interviews were conducted before the mindfulness training, directly afterwards and four months later. In total 37 interviews were being conducted, which had the following characteristics (Table 4.1): It is relevant to mention that out of the course participants only one had meditation experience. This was the employee who participated (not the managers). Mindfulness meditation was completely new for nearly all interviewees. This is noteworthy, as effects may therefore differ. Would effects be smaller if prior meditation skills exist? This is another research question and beyond the scope of this dissertation, but necessary to keep in mind.

102

4

Methodological Approach

Table 4.1 Overview of conducted interviews and its characteristics Semi-structured

Focus group

Total interviews

33

4

37

Telephone

Face to face

Total interviews

8

29

37

Male

Female

Total interviewees

12

8

20

Ø Age

Meditation experience

34 years old

1 interviewee out of 20*

Ø Work experience in general

Ø Company belonging

12,5 years

~4 years**

Ø Interview length

Total recording minutes

Total of transcribed pages

~65 minutes

2386 minutes (~48 hours)

~950 pages

Professional background of interviewees

Nationality

Retail dealer

German

Information technology officer

Italian

Business administrator

French

Studies in marketing

Polish

Export merchant Facility manager Electrician Mechanic Fashion designer Software developer Economist Industrial sales manager Source: own design * None of the managers participating in the course had prior meditation experience before the MBSR course ** The company is comparably young: founded in 2009

Semi-structured interviews A total number of 33 semi-structured interviewees were conducted. All interviewees were asked open-ended questions in a careful manner, in order to not show any

4.4 Data Collection

103

specific intention and to minimise the researcher’s influence. The course participating managers were interviewed a total number of 23 times within a time frame of six months. To get a more holistic picture of the mindfulness course effects, employees of the managers who did not participate in the training were interviewed as well. This helped to triangulate and support or reject subjective impressions of the course attendees. Also, one manager who did not attend the course as well as the trainer were interviewed. This allowed an external perspective. A total number of 10 interviews with ‘externals’ were being made. Unfortunately, not all interviewees could be interviewed at all three points in time. The reasons were holidays, sickness, business trips, leaving the company and being at vocational school. The following overview illustrates when, with whom and how many semi-structured interviews were conducted (Table 4.2): Table 4.2 Overview of semi-structured interviews T0 (before) via telephone

T1 (after) via face to face

T2 (4 months follow-up) via face to face

Course participant 1

Course participant 1

Course participant 1

Course participant 2

Course participant 2

Course participant 2

Course participant 3

Course participant 3

Course participant 3

Course participant 4

Course participant 4

Course participant 4

Course participant 5

Course participant 5

Course participant 5

Course participant 6

Course participant 6

Course participant 6

Course participant 7

Course participant 7

Course participant 7

Course participant 8

Course participant 8 Manager (non-participant) Employee of 2 Employee of 3 Employee of 4, A

Employee of 4, A

Employee of 4, B Employee of 6

Employee of 6

Employee of 8 Trainer 8 in total Source: own design

14 in total

11 in total

104

4

Methodological Approach

Interviews at t0 were made via telephone. To already establish a relationship beforehand, participants were called two times before the actual interview date. Small talk and interviewee proceedings (anonymity, recording, etc.) helped the interviewer and interviewee to get to know each other and to establish an initial basis of trust. All other interviews were conducted face to face at ITCares office. Face-to-face communication is much richer than via the phone. Face to face allows establishing trust more easily. To establish trust, the interviewer self-disclosed himself by telling about his private life. Furthermore, ice-breaker questions about e.g. education, place of residence, age, position and corporate belonging were asked. This also allowed for putting the interviewee into context. At t0 the questioning focused on identifying the atmosphere, the openness among team members, the willingness to share knowledge and whether experiences with mindfulness existed. This helped to set a status quo. At t1 the interviewer concentrated on the atmosphere, the influences and effects of the mindfulness training on openness and knowledge sharing, as well as evolving new patterns. The intention was to identify a connection between individual and collective mindfulness. Therefore, questions about unexpected events that took place were asked about. Their reaction to surprises were relevant. The focus was the research question and further exploration. At t2, the sustainability of the mindfulness training was central. Did the course participant continue to meditate? How lasting were the effects? What was easy or difficult? In order to enable comparability, the same questions were asked at the three points in time. For example: “How would you describe the atmosphere in your department?” or “Did you have a situation [in the last 2/4 months] where an employee made a mistake that you were responsible for? (e.g. sent out wrong price)”. For the interviews at t2 (four months later), the questions from t1 were reviewed. What were the questions asked at t1? The same questions were asked again at t2 in order to allow comparability (similarities and discrepancies) in the answers. To enable exploration, the interview guide served mainly as orientation. Whenever something interesting emerged during the conversation, probing questions were asked. To increase understanding, specific examples and clarifications were demanded for. Five distinct interview guidelines were created to address the different target groups and instruments: (1) (2) (3) (4)

Course participants: semi-structured interviewees; Course participants: focus group; Non-participants: semi-structured interviewees; Non-participants: focus group;

4.4 Data Collection

105

(5) Trainer: semi-structured interview. They served as a guide. So, it was not a ridged plan, where all the questions needed to be asked and replied to. Depending on the situation, fitting questions were asked. At the end of each conversation, interview memos were taken in which several questions were reflected upon: How were the situation and the interview? What might have biased the interview? What can I do to mitigate the bias? What are characteristics of myself that can create bias? What are the first impressions, thoughts and ideas and how do they influence me? The memos can be looked at on the digital appendix of this dissertation. The second data collection instrument were focus groups, which are elaborated on next. Focus groups A frequent saying by Paul Watzlawick is, “Every behaviour is a form of communication”. Behaviour and language can be seen as socially creative activity. Reality is created collectively through dialogues and the connection of language (Nonaka, 1994). This is one of the main arguments for why the focus group interview was taken as additional data collection method: to identify collective sensemaking. More reasons were the following: • Focus groups often concentrate on the exploration of a specific topic or theme in depth, while group interviews are set up to explore very broad (Bryman & Bell, 2007). The specific theme in this research project is openness and knowledge sharing related to mindfulness meditation. • The persons interviewed have been involved in a particular situation (Merton, Fiske, & Kendall, 1990) and they are asked about it. For this dissertation, the interviewed persons participated in the mindfulness training or are affected by it—the employees. • The researcher is interested in how individuals discuss specific aspects as a member of a group, not so much as an individual. A centrepiece of focus groups is, how do participants respond to each other’s opinion and create a view based on the interaction that takes place within the group (Bryman & Bell, 2007)? This provides an additional angle on the collective level. The aim of the focus group was to identify how the group participants see an influence of the mindfulness training on openness and knowledge sharing in the organisation. Therefore, the researcher will provide a comparably unstructured setting

106

4

Methodological Approach

and will not be too influential (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Additionally, this technique enables gaining an understanding about “why people feel the way they do” (i.b.d., p. 512). In a focus group, the interviewees can show and argue for why they have a certain opinion about something. While in individual interviews the participants are often asked about their reasons for having a specific view. In the focus group, the interviewees can modify or complement their understanding based on the opinion of others. By arguing, being challenged and agreeing, the researcher can gain a more realistic account of what people think (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Collectively sense is made and the process how meaning is created can also be described. This approach will help to triangulate and to see a larger variety of views concerning the influence of mindfulness. For this dissertation four focus groups were made face to face. These had following constellations (Table 4.3):

Table 4.3 Overview of focus groups Directly after MBSR course

Four months follow-up

Group type: t1 A. Group course participants

t2 A. Group course participants

Group properties:

7 Out of 8 MBSR course participants

7 out of 8 MBSR course participants

Missing Participant 8 was on holiday. participant:

Participant 7 was on business trip.

Length:

120 minutes

120 minutes

Group type: t1 B. Group employee

t2 B. Group employee

Group properties:

3 employees 1. Female/37y/German/0.6y at ITCare/employee of participant 1 2. Female/23y/German/2.5y at ITCare/employee of participant 1 3. Male/37y/East Europe/2.5y at ITCare/employee of participant 4

2 employees 1. Female/37y/German/1y at ITCare/employee of participant 1 2. Female/39y/German/0.5y at ITCare/employee of participant 4

Length:

60 minutes

60 minutes

Source: own design

Focus group A (the participants) were selected, because they had participated in the eight-week mindfulness course together. Choosing them is necessary to answer the research questions and to see how collectively understanding is made. Focus group B (the employees) were selected on specific criteria. The intention was to have a group that is as heterogenous as possible. This shall provide a broad and explorative insight into how the behaviour of the managers who participated

4.4 Data Collection

107

at the mindfulness training changed. The selection criteria were as follows: diverse age, gender, differences in job tenure and nationality. However, in field, it often depends on who has time for an interview. Nevertheless, the non-participant focus groups were quite mixed and in accordance with the selection criteria. A suitable size of a focus group is debatable and depends on the aim of the research question and the focus group, as well as the feasibility—recruitment (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Morgan and Scannell (1998) suggest small groups in which the participants are strongly (emotionally) involved and can say a lot to the research at hand. A large focus group, where the researcher is more interested in identifying brief suggestions or brainstorming, can be considered with ten people or more (i.b.d.). Because this research project wants to more closely identify the effects of mindfulness on openness and knowledge sharing in the company, the focus group sizes were ‘2 × 7’ (120 minutes length), ‘1 × 3 and 1 × 2’ (60 minutes length). This group size and length allowed each participant to say enough and gain in-depth results. The way in which questions are answered is also relevant in focus groups. Some researchers prefer to ask one or two very broad questions and let the group talk. Others intervene more often. There is probably no best way (Bryman & Bell, 2007). For this dissertation, the scientist has decided to have several broad questions related to the research question, such as: “What has changed in the company since the mindfulness training?” or “How did openness among the course participants developed?”. The chosen questions were discussed within the interview guide’s peer review process (see section 4.4.1). The same questions were asked at t1 and t2 to facilitate comparability. The focus group interview guide can be reviewed in the digital Appendix of this dissertation. Recordings, transcriptions and translations were made in order to analyse all interviews qualitatively. How this proceeding was done is explained next.

4.4.3

Recording, Transcription and Translation

All interviews were recorded with two devices. The first one was a USB interfaced audio recorder (Olympus WS-550M) and the second one an iPhone 5. This ensured that the data was not lost at any point in time. To ensure high sound quality, the microphone was placed in front of the interviewee or in the middle of the table of the focus group. Participants were asked to speak loudly and clearly and to sit close together. The telephone interviews were made with a fix land line. The quality was therefore higher than with mobile phones. The face-to-face conversations took place in a quiet meeting room. No external noises diminished

108

4

Methodological Approach

the sound quality. One challenge was that one interviewee had a strong dialect. This was not an issue because the researcher himself is German, and in personal dialogues the communication quality is much higher. Due to the large number of interviews, a transcription bureau was asked to transcribe all interviews. The audio data was transferred word-for-word in standard orthography (Kowal & O’Connell, 2013). Their transcriptions were based on simplified rules by Dresing and Pehl (2015). This approach was enough for this research project, as the aim is not to semantically analyse tones, expletives or dialects. Having an external party for transcription saved quite some time and increased the quality of the transcripts, as the researcher relistened to all interviewees and had the possibility to control them and make minor adjustments. Anonymisation took place while rereading the transcripts, and names and places were codified. Quotations that were selected for the data analysis were translated from German into English. I translated the quotations myself. I am a German citizen who started to learn English more than 20 years ago. My Bachelor and Master degrees were in English and I spent nearly two years abroad (China and Denmark). I am fully fluent in the German and English languages. This gave me the competency to translate. While translating, I focused on the content and wording simultaneously. I tried not to modify the sentence structure too much and to keep the original tone alive. I left the German quotations in the text as long as possible in order to revise, change and develop a proper translation (Nikander, 2008). Such procedures are part of the proper ethical values in a research process, which will be elaborated on next.

4.4.4

Ethics

This entire research project is founded on the Academy of Management code of ethics as well as the standards for good scientific research of the University of Hamburg. These two codes of conduct served as research pillars for responsibility, integrity, and respect of people’s rights and dignity. Doing field research and collecting data in a company is sensitive. Especially when asking about connections, relationships and challenges with other colleagues. Mindfulness and meditation may cause emotional reactions and reveal delicate information. Anonymity is therefore essential. Any quotation mentioned in this dissertation was codified, so that it is not possible to identify who said something. This is also one reason why contextual parameters like gender, age or job tenure were not mentioned. Except for both CEO’s. Their job position (not names) are mentioned in the analysis section.

4.5 Data Analysis: Qualitative Content Analysis

109

This was clarified with them before publication. Prior to the interviews a written consent form on anonymity was signed by all contributors. A copy of this document can be found in the digital Appendix. The result of this research was presented in the company to gain their accordance. Furthermore, 7 out of 8 MBSR course participants were men and managers. One was female and another one a regular employee. To protect both, the female manager was anonymised as a male person and the employee as a manager. The data collection was finished at the end of September 2017, and the remaining interviews were transcribed afterwards. Once all interviewees were transcribed, the data analyses started. How this was done is described in the next section.

4.5

Data Analysis: Qualitative Content Analysis

So far, the methodological chapter has described the research design, the conducted case study and the data collection. The following sub-chapter will illustrate the analysis of the collected data. The analysis does not have the ambition to be representative for all researches. It tries to reply and explain the research questions in an open manner, to be attentive to new and unfamiliar results. The intention is to highlight the subjective impressions of the interviewees: how did they perceive the effects of mindfulness training in their company? For this purpose, a qualitative content analysis (QCA) served as foundation (Kuckartz, 2016; Schreier, 2012). The QCA method helps to describe the meanings of qualitative material in a systematic way. Meaning is often complex, context-specific, latent and not always obvious at first sight (Kracauer, 1952). Applying this technique is useful when there is a large amount of text (~950 pages of transcript) that needs to be interpreted, summarised and reduced (Schreier, 2012). The intention is to find a relation between mindfulness meditation and the concept of collective mindfulness by Weick et al. (1999, 2015). Individual and collective mindfulness is highly interpretative: when is someone or something mindful? This is the major reason why the QCA method was used. Further, QCA code development is partly conceptual and partly data-driven driven (Schreier, 2012). This analytical choice is in accordance with the overall research design: deduction and induction. This hybrid approach, where main- and subcategories were developed deductively from the theory and inductively from the material, was taken. This allowed for consideration of relevant concepts from the theory and being open to surprising results. Schreier (2012, p. 6) and Yin (2016) developed very similar steps for a qualitative content analysis. The below graphic summarises those major milestones during the data analysis process (Figure 4.6):

See section 4.2

3 Dividing the material into units of coding

4 Trying out the coding frame

5

6 7 Evaluating, modifying Trying out and the updated enhancing coding frame the coding frame Main analysis

8

- Another researcher - 5 interviews coded text - On 2 in total parts - 11 interviews interviews - Make first - Agreed on - On 1 - PhD author in total - Made notes two to six interview - Code all 37 coded same - Deductive adjustments - Select - Further text after 20 and inductive sentences interviews (merge material for per unit refinements days category categories, coding frame - Discuss development define, etc.) development coding frame in peer groups

Reading Developing a interviews coding frame openly to get by analysing feeling and interviews select material

2

See chapter 5 and 6

Interpreting and presenting the findings

9

4

Figure 4.6 Overview of major data analysis steps. (Source: own design. Inspired by Schreier (2012, p. 6) and Yin (2016))

Deciding on the research question

1

Main steps

Specific actions

No.

110 Methodological Approach

4.5 Data Analysis: Qualitative Content Analysis

111

(1) The selection of the research question was explained in section 4.2. Applying QCA is helpful when the research investigates how “the representation of a given issue [has] changed over time” (Schreier, 2012, p. 42). This is one contribution of this research, by being longitudinal and studying the effects of mindfulness training on an organisation over a period of six months. (2) Reading interviews openly and selecting the material: the selection process helps to decide what material is relevant and irrelevant. It is divided into two parts. First, before the overall analysis and while developing the coding frame, and second, the main analysis part. Selecting is useful if the collected data is divers and to identify where to start. When the coding frame is developed, not all data will be considered. A choice needs to be made at the beginning of the analysis process. Schreier (2012) suggests therefore to break down the data according to sources. This was done in a heterogenous manner. This means that interviews were selected based on their diversity, so from the CEO (course participant), male manager (course participant), female manager (course participant), employee (non-participant) and focus group. This heterogenous selection helps to get a feeling for the data and select the right material for the coding frame development. (3) Developing a coding frame: a coding frame is a way to structure the collected material in main categories (dimensions) and subcategories for each dimension in a hierarchical manner. The intention is to specify meanings to each category (Schreier, 2012). The coding frame was developed deductively (concept-driven) and inductively (data-driven). Starting deductively, the research questions served as foundation. From this, theoretical meaning was developed that concerns mindfulness (see section 2.2), openness (see section 2.3) and knowledge sharing (see section 2.4). Based on this theoretical foundation, main and subcategories were developed. As this dissertation is also explorative, the coding frame was extended inductively. Therefore elements of grounded theory were employed (Corbin & Strauss, 2015; Glaser & Strauss, 1967)1 . An open coding approach allowed for developing codes based on the text. Words that the participants used were applied as initial sub-code. By being inductive, new theory can be developed which is grounded in and developed from the collected data (Saldaña, 2003). Nearly half of the material was read to develop the coding frame. This amount was enough to reach the criterion of saturation. Saturation is reached when looking at more material does not produce any more insights and categories (Corbin 1 Saldaña

(2003, p. 48) explains grounded theory as “the development of a human or social process that is transferable to broader populations and contexts via systematic coding and comparative analysis of qualitative data”.

112

4

Methodological Approach

& Strauss, 2015). The challenge when developing categories inductively is when to decide which categories to include. Any researcher has its own perception and worldview and is biased (Schreier, 2012). To decrease bias, other graduate students were involved, a second researcher was consulted, and the coding frame was discussed extensively in peer groups. This helped to increase trustworthiness of the coding frame. Developing a coding frame can be quite tricky and confusing. To reduce confusion, the coding frame was made with post-its before being transferred into the analysis software MAXQDA 2018. This helped to visualise, shift, revise, delete and summarise categories. For example, categories like ‘receptive to own feelings’ were merged with ‘self-awareness’. Each category received an anchor example, an example from the interviews that illustrates the meaning. All categories and their definitions can be reviewed in the digital Appendix. (4) Dividing the material into units of coding: segmentation means to divide the transcript texts into smaller units that fit into one (sub)category of the coding frame. This is important for three reasons. First, all material is considered in detail and looked at in (not too small) pieces. Second, segmentation helps to keep a clear research focus. This is helpful when the amount of collected data appears to be overwhelming. Cutting an interview into small pieces aids not getting lost in the data and keeping awareness. However, being too narrow may a hindrance, excluding new and interesting points that were not yet considered. Also, the context maybe lost if segmentation is too small. Third, QCA facilitate comparison and assesses consistency. By dividing the text into segments, it is ensured that independent coders are making sense of and coding the same parts of the material (Schreier, 2012). The unit of coding varied according to the context of between two to six sentences in the semi-structured interviews. For the focus groups the units of coding were often much longer. This allowed for seeing the arguments and making sense of the participants. Considering several sentences helps to understand background information. The entire segmentation process was executed with the qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA 2018. This software helped to mark parts of the material, to divide, to code and to keep the coding frame visual continual and whole. (5) Trying out the coding frame: the pilot phase started after the coding frame was developed and the text segmented into units of coding. During that period the coding frame was tested on parts of the material. This phase is relevant to verify the consistency and trustworthiness of the coding frame (Schreier, 2012). The material selection criteria were based on variability (i.b.d.). So, transcribed texts were chosen based on different time periods, gender, age, position and course

4.5 Data Analysis: Qualitative Content Analysis

113

participant and non-participants. During this try-out phase categories were merged, deleted and definitions refined. The coding frame was applied by another researcher in order to further increase trustworthiness, as described next. (6) Evaluating and modifying the coding frame: after the coding frame has been tested it was assessed based on its trustworthiness, which is related to reliability and validity. Determining reliability in a qualitative setting is difficult, as meaning is context dependent. Reliability, in a quantitative context, refers to instruments that yield error-free data. This kind of reliability is referred to as internal reliability. For assessing internal reliability, consistency is important (Bryman & Bell, 2007). In QCA this is only possible by either comparing the coding frame across persons (intersubjectivity) or points in time (stability). Both were accomplished for this research project and are described in the critical evaluation of the methodology section 4.6. In this evaluation phase adjustments to the coding frame were made at an early stage of the analysis process. For example, the code ‘openminded’ was better delaminated from ‘openness to change’: open-mindedness is the precondition for openness to change. Another example is that categories were merged together: e.g. ‘calmness’ with ‘emotional distance’. The top-level coding frame can be looked at on chapter 5 and in the digital Appendix of this dissertation. (7) After having discussed the coding frame in detail with different peers, the coding frame was applied to another interview. This helped to further refine the coding frame and adjust the definitions further and to see how well the coding frame worked. After this process, the coding frame was finished and ready for the main analysis. (8) Main analysis: after the coding frame was tested, evaluated and slightly modified, the main analysis started. Therefore, the entire material was considered. All 37 interviews were coded. None were excluded. Each interview was read in depth and coded into subcategories. Coding was demarcated into reducing data and developing a conceptual device. The reduction part was to index data bits and pieces under the same labels or codes. The intention was to group text parts under the same theme. This helped to gain distance, create an overview and describe the material at hand. It was the preparation for a more in-depth conceptual analysis. The data was also questioned to open-up new meanings. This coding technique was not only purely descriptive: it related the transcripts to concepts. This aids seeing whether concepts are connected to each other and whether there is evidence in the data. This enables identifying a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness, openness and knowledge sharing and being inductive and developing theory (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996; Schreier, 2012).

114

4

Methodological Approach

Furthermore, each quotation was double coded and segregated into individual or collective. Individual quotations relate to thoughts, emotions, behaviours, moods, motives, reactions and personal stories the interviewees told. Quotations are more from the ‘I-perspective’ and describe the subjective impressions of the interviewee. Collective citations, however, look at social interactions, group functioning’s, comments about other team members and changes in the organisation. Interviewees tend to talk from the perspective of ‘we’ or ‘us’ (Boyatzis, 1998; Chreim, Williams, & Hinings, 2007; Hitt et al., 2007). By dividing into individual and collective quotations, a better comparison between both levels was possible. The written analysis part (chapter 5) is also divided in that way. First individual citations are illustrated, then collective ones. As already said, the epistemology of this research project is critical realism. Representing reality is very difficult and potentially not achievable. Therefore, approaching reality was one aim of this dissertation. For this, each code had two sub-factors that were called recognised or less recognised. Interviewee quotations that supported a development of openness due to the mindfulness training were coded into the category of ‘recognised’. Citations that were contradictory or questionable were coded into ‘less recognised’. This enabled detecting supporting evidence for mindfulness meditation and opposing viewpoints. At the end of each analysis section for the effects on openness (section 5.1) and knowledge sharing (section 5.2), contradictory findings are presented. A reflected dialectic can then be created that approaches reality critically. The semi-structured interviewees and focus groups were analysed similarly. This facilitated comparability between both data collection methods. The difference between both were focus group analysis questions suggested by Stevens (1996, p. 172) and Ryan, Gandha, Culbertson, and Carlson (2014, p. 342). These questions were kept in mind during the analysis: • What topics produced consensus? What statements seemed to evoke conflict? What were the contradictions in the discussion? What common experiences were expressed? Were alliances formed among group members? Was a particular member or viewpoint silenced? Was a particular view dominant? This set of questions helped to extract certain strengths of the focus group as a data collection method. Recognising how interviewees (collectively) agreed, ignored or disagreed with comments and opinions, and enabled identifying a collective sensemaking and potentially a consensus or dissensus. Also, the text passages that were coded were longer in the focus groups, as the argumentation of the others is relevant information to forming understanding. The MAXQDA 2018 software

4.6 Critical Evaluation of the Methodology

115

was helpful to code, compare the time periods, instruments and to triangulate. Opinions of interviewees on others were better identified. (9) Interpreting and presenting the findings: This is illustrated in chapter 5. Trustworthiness of an entire research project is crucial for any scientific work. Therefore, the following pages will critically reflect on the methodology, flaws, difficulties and opportunities of this dissertation.

4.6

Critical Evaluation of the Methodology

Quantitative studies as quality criteria refer to reliability, validity and objectivity. Scientists argue whether those concepts are applicable for qualitative research (Bryman & Bell, 2007). This is why following evaluation criteria for this qualitative case study are chosen, to ensure the highest quality of this research: trustworthiness (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Trustworthiness consists of four assessment criteria: (1) credibility and consistency, which parallels internal validity; (2) transferability, which parallels external validity; (3) dependability, which parallels reliability; and (4) confirmability, which parallels objectivity (Guba & Lincoln, 1994, p. 114; Schreier, 2012; Yin, 2014, p. 46). The following figure visualises the four quality criteria (Figure 4.7):

1. Credibility & consistency (parallels internal validity)

3. Dependability (parallels reliability)

2. Transferability (parallels external validity)

4. Confirmability (parallels objectivity)

Figure 4.7 Overview of research quality criteria. (Source: own design, inspired by Guba & Lincoln, 1994)

(1) A credibility study is one that gives assurance that data has been collected and interpreted in a proper way, so that the findings and conclusion are accurately reflected and (potentially) represent the world that was studied (Yin, 2016). Credibility refers to the entire study and the soundness of the findings and conclusions (Schreier, 2012). Yin (2014) proposes the use of multiple sources of

116

4

Methodological Approach

evidences, also referred to as triangulation to increase credibility. It is recommended to use different methods as part of the credibility process (Fraher et al., 2017). Collecting and analysing the collected data with different methods and from different points of view helps to gain a deeper, more holistic, richer and divergent understanding (Denzin, 1978) of mindfulness in organisations. Triangulating data encourages collecting information from different sources with the same aim (Yin, 2014). This dissertation triangulated data and methods (Patton, 2002). Applying diverse data collecting methods has two advantages: first, the different data types can be cross-checked by comparison, and second, the particular strength of the different methods increase the data quality (Pettigrew, 1990). The triangulation looks as follows (Table 4.4): Table 4.4 Overview of instruments and data triangulation

Instrument triangulation

Data triangulation

Semi-structured interviews

At different points in time (t0, t1 and t2)

Focus group interviews

With the mindfulness course participants With their employees (non-participants) With the trainer

Source: own design

Furthermore, Schreier (2012) suggests increasing credibility and validity, via consistency. This implies the double-coding approach while analysing. Either two independent researchers code the same material or the same material is coded at a different point in time (e.g. 10 to 20 days later) by the same person. Double coding helps to assess the coding frame quality. This dissertation did both. Another student coded text parts. Inconsistent coding was discussed amongst each other to refine the coding frame. Additionally, the researcher coded another text section at two points in time, so approximately 20 days later. This helped to see how understandable the definition and examples of the coding frame were and to eventually refine those. The final check-up was that two sperate peer groups reviewed and discussed the coding frame together with the researcher. This was done in colloquies. To increase credibility further, only one interviewee was analysed per day. This helped to remain concentrated and motivated. Having so much text can easily lead to sloppiness, that was prevented by this.

4.6 Critical Evaluation of the Methodology

117

However, each method has its limits. The semi-structured interviewees and focus groups may have been normative. Interviewees within a corporate context may not be able to speak freely. They may behave in a normative way to conform to desires of others (e.g. supervisors). Socially desired answers may have been given, which is a challenge for credibility. Especially, as both CEOs participated in the mindfulness training. They had certain expectations of the course outcome. The interviewees may have an idea of what the researcher would like to identify and what the CEOs want to hear: positive effects of mindfulness meditation. This may have caused biased replies. Three measures were taken to mitigate this challenge. (1) First, all interviewees guaranteed anonymity. Anonymity provides security and encourages speaking freely. (2) Second, a data and method triangulation were conducted to look at external observations, as said above. So non-participants may independently see the effects of the mindfulness course and increase therefore the credibility. None of their supervisors took part in these interviews, and the interviewees could talk freely. (3) Third, a different form of interview was added: the focus group. In there, the interviewees can argue for their position. Stronger and collectively agreed upon opinions result. However, both CEOs attended the focus group. This may have affected responses. Another challenge for focus group interviews, which is also an advantage, is the group dynamic (Blackburn & Stokes, 2000). It can happen that group members share an opinion that is irrationally followed by the others. It is unknown whether and how such effects affect focus group results (Bryman & Bell, 2007). However, being aware of this is helpful when analysing the data. Additionally, some participants might be shy and do not talk a lot. The researcher did encourage them to talk, by asking for example, “That is one point of view. Does anyone have another point of view?” (i.b.d., p. 525). Another pitfall is that all focus group participants know each other. Pre-existing power relations and hierarchical differences may influence a participant’s behaviour (Foucault, 1982). One way to mitigate this problem is to select the participants randomly, without them knowing each other. This was not possible. First, the company is too small (35 employees) and second the aim of this research project is to determine the influence of mindfulness on team members. Investigating their collective understanding is one goal of replying to the research questions. Being aware of different power relationships helps when analysing the data. Another challenge is, how influential should the moderator be in a focus group? The researcher tried not to involve too much into the group discussion. Only a few guiding questions were asked to let the participants talk and not get too far off topic.

118

4

Methodological Approach

(2) Transferability, which refers to the generalization across social settings (Saunders et al., 2016, p. 716), is difficult to measure in qualitative research. The reason is that the social world (mindfulness in organisations) is studied. The social world is context dependent, highly complex and changeable (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Every individual, group or company is different. Different in culture, values, habits, products and services. Results from this study are not necessarily applicable to other companies. Yin (2014) advocates that generalization is rarely based on single cases or experiments. They are often based on many experiments that “have replicated the same phenomenon under different conditions” (Yin, 2014, p. 20). Yin (2014) further says that case studies are not generalizable to populations or universes, but to theoretical propositions. This is also one limitation of the research design of an embedded within-case study. However, this research has not the ambition to develop generalizable results. Its aim is to contribute to the discourse of mindfulness in organisations. Another challenge of embedded case study research is that the original unit of analysis may be ‘lost’. So that, for example, the collective wants to be studied, but the focus is too much on the individual. As Yin notes, “the original phenomenon of interest [mindfulness in organisations] has become the context and not the target of the study” (Yin, 2014, p. 56), which may happen again. This is especially a problem when collecting quantitative data. The intention of this study is to be multilevel research. Therefore, a qualitative design was chosen. One that can illustrate a relationship between the individual and the collective (see section 4.3.2). So, the purpose is to shift between both levels and to show a connection. Also, the individual and collective level are intertwined. In theory, a distinction may make sense. In reality, both are interdependent. This may lead to the next methodological trade-off: the problem of case selection (sampling). Researchers may choose a case where the outcome is expected, which results in biased thinking. George and Bennett (2005) offer therefore the opportunity to categorise cases into mostlikely, least-likely or crucial for theory. What kind of case ITCare was will be discussed in section 7.3. One way to enable transferability in qualitative researchers is to produce a ‘thick description’. This describes in detail the method, the case, the results and limitations. Such detailed information helps other scientists to judge whether a transferability of the findings to other milieus is possible (Bryman & Bell, 2007). This entire research project provides a thick description: the theory (chapter 2 and 3), the method (chapter 4), the findings (chapter 5) and the limitations (section 7.3). (3) Dependability parallels to reliability, which aims to minimise errors and biases in the study (Yin, 2014, p. 48). The intention for quantitative studies is

4.6 Critical Evaluation of the Methodology

119

replicability and transparency (Gibbert, Ruigrok, & Wicki, 2008, p. 1468). A researcher investigating the same case, with the same design, methods and analytical proceedings should come to matching results. This is very difficult to do in qualitative research, as “it is impossible to freeze a social setting and the circumstances of an initial study” (Bryman & Bell, 2007, p. 410). The studied phenomenon, the individual, group and culture evolve over time and space. So, replicability is not really possible in qualitative research, as context is so important (Schreier, 2012). However, the aspect of transparency is possible. One way doing this is to take an auditing approach. This entails ensuring keeping records of all phases of the research process (Yin, 2014). These are, for example, the development of the research question, a researchers diary (sticky notes), search terms and engines, interview transcripts and data analysis decisions (Bryman & Bell, 2007). Those can be found on digital Appendix of this dissertation as well as the MAXQDA 2018 file. In this file, sticky notes show thoughts and decision that were made during the analysis process. (4) Confirmability relates to objectivity. Complete objectivity is probably impossible in social sciences. The intention of confirmability is that the researcher tries to be neutral, be aware of his own values and how these influence his objectivity (Bryman & Bell, 2007). In order to reduce the researcher bias during the analysis phase, Yin (2016) suggests: first, to do a constant comparison. Second, to be very alert to negative instances. Third, to develop rival explanations and fourth, continually posing questions about yourself and your data while being engaged in the analysis process. Those criteria were considered when doing the main analysis. For example, a findings section emerged that is called ‘united developments of MBSR at ITCare’. Notes were taken when a thought arose while reading the transcripts. Regular meditation sessions helped to keep up neutrality and self-awareness. Another element of conformability was the careful choice of the analysis method. Different qualitative analytical approaches were considered, such as discourse analysis, semiotics (based on Saussure and Peirce) and hermeneutic interpretations. Applying these proceedings would have needed two different fundamental approaches: first, a more social constructivist ontology and second another research question. Discourse analysis takes the underlying assumption “that language does not represent reality, but that it contributes to the construction of reality…” (Schreier, 2012, p. 45). The same for semiotics and hermeneutics, in which the analysis and relation of signs is essential. Signs help to analyse how cultural meaning is created (Schreier, 2012). Analysing the collected data in a different manner could give a fuller, deeper and new interpretation of the phenomena mindfulness in organisations and increase conformability.

120

4

Methodological Approach

Applying the qualitative content analysis was useful due to the studied ‘effect’, time and exploration component in the current research question. However, QCA has its trade-offs. By reducing the data and focusing on one specific research question it happens that interesting and new aspects of mindfulness in organisations are not identified. Taking a purely grounded theory approach or discourse analytical proceeding could enlarge the horizon and identify new patterns. A mixed-method design could have been valuable as well. However, therefore a larger group of participants would have been necessary. To summarise, for this research project a qualitative deductive and inductive longitudinal case study design was chosen. A total number of 37 interviews were conducted in order to answer the research questions and to study the phenomenon of mindfulness in organisations. The findings of this research are presented in the next chapter.

5

Empirical Findings

The previous chapter explained the chosen methodology. It described the case study, the sampling, the studied case, the mindfulness training, the data collection instruments, the data analysis process and the quality criteria of this research. Based on the methodology, the present chapter seeks to answer both the research questions by applying a qualitative content analysis—RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing? and RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? Sections 5.1 and 5.2 look at effects of mindfulness meditation on openness and knowledge sharing. In 5.3, the influences of the mindfulness training on collective mindfulness are evaluated. Section 5.4 analyses issues and unintended effects when implementing mindfulness meditation. Reasons for a weak implementation and what is possible to improve it are elaborated on. The chapter ends with a summary of the findings (5.5). Figure 5.1 below illustrates the main categories that were analysed during the qualitative content analysis. These dimensions serve as a structuring system to illustrate a relationship between openness, knowledge sharing, and individual and collective mindfulness. Mindfulness mediation influenced the individual and the collective. Individual effects focus on the human mind and behaviour, while collective properties are social interactions among several people. The below graphic summarises those effects (Figure 5.1):

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_5

121

Focus

Calmness

Knowledge sharing factors (5.2)

Asking & listening

Kind-ness & respect

Openness to other opinions

Trust & vulnerability

C. Sensivity to operaons D. Commitment to resilience

A. Preoccupaon with failure

E. Decisions at (local) expert level

Collecve mindfulness (5.3)

B. Reluctance to simplify interpretaons

Figure 5.1 Overview of analysed categories and subcategories. (Source: own design. The numbers indicate the sections)

Effects of indivi. Mindfulness learned through meditaon

Nonjudging

Openness to others

Openness (5.1)

Selfawarness

5

Culvaon of indivi. mindfulness learned through meditaon

Inducve category in italics

Present moment

Implementaon of mindfulness meditaon (5.4)

Awareness

Openmindness

Empathy

122 Empirical findings

5

Empirical findings

123

A total number of 18 effects will be analysed in this chapter. Out of those 18 effects, 8 are inductive. These are new aspects that emerged from the data in the context of mindfulness in organisations. The inductive findings are illustrated in ‘italics’. Here, inductive means that, in the context of mindfulness in organisations, the data revealed something new. For example, employees practicing mindfulness meditation tend to be more open towards their colleagues’ opinions. Deductive means that the theory already suggests an effect of mindfulness meditation in that context. One overall aim of this dissertation is to identify a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness. Therefore, when reading the results, please consider the following structure in mind: First, the individual and then the collective interview quotations are cited for each main category. Each main category on openness and knowledge sharing also has a section about contradictory findings. Results and quotations presented therein show opposing views or unclear effects, thereby allowing us to take a critical realist approach. The interviewees have notes and abbreviations at the end of each quotation. Here is a brief explanation (Table 5.1): Table 5.1 Explanation of interview notes and abbreviations Note or abbreviation Explanation t0

Interview quotations before the MBSR course.

t1

Citations from the interviews directly after the MBSR course.

t2

Statements from the follow-up interviews four months later.

#

Corresponds to the interviewee who was interviewed. 1 to 8 are the different course attendees.

Course participants

Interviewees who took part in the mindfulness training.

Employee of #

Subordinates of a course participant. They did not participate in any mindfulness training or had prior mindfulness experiences.

Fc.grp participants

Stands for the focus group of mindfulness course participants.

Fc.grp employees

Stands for the focus group of the subordinates who did not participate at the mindfulness training.

XXX

Additional anonymisation, if information was very sensitive.

Source: own design.

For example, (Course participant 7, t1) means that interviewee number seven was asked directly after the MBSR training about his subjective experiences in

124

5

Empirical findings

a semi-structured interview. The first main category analysed is openness and its different facets. These will be elaborated on next.

5.1

Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

In total six openness facets were analysed: two deductive ones that were already part of the theory section1 and four inductive ones that emerged from the data. The following table summarises the upcoming contents (Table 5.2):

Table 5.2 Data analysis on openness—Overview of deductive and inductive findings Section

Deductive findings

5.1.1

Open-minded summarises (1) idea and (2) action: mindfulness meditation opens the mind, broadens perspectives and helps to cope with changes and experience new

5.1.2

Empathy relates to (3) feeling: mindfulness meditation enables empathising with others

Inductive findings

5.1.3

Self-awareness is a precondition for openness, which is developed by mindfulness meditation

5.1.4

(5) Trust and vulnerability: mindfulness meditation encourages vulnerability, which is a sign of trust. Vulnerability is the inductive category here

5.1.5

Openness to other’s opinions: mindfulness meditation helps to accept other’s opinions and their feedback

5.1.6

(6) Open to others: being mindful encourages openness, outspokenness and honesty to others

Source: own design.

1 In the theory section (2.3), 7 openness facets were identified deductively. These were from an individual perspective: (1) ideas (open mind), (2) actions (experience new), (3) feelings (emotion receptivity and empathy), (4) values (being liberal) and from a collective one, (5) trust to others, (6) open and honest to others, as well as (7) knowledge sharing (new and common a like).

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

125

One might wonder why (5) trust and vulnerability and (6) openness to others are categorised in the inductive section—even though they are deductive from the theory. The reason is that mindfulness meditation develops (5) trust and vulnerability and (6) openness to others. That is new. No literature was found that shows that mindfulness meditation has such an effect. Not all deductive openness facets were directly analysed. For example, value (being liberal), which is openness element number (4), is only looked at indirectly and not in a separate section. Reasons are the vast majority of collected data and the need to focus on the most interesting findings. Influences of mindfulness mediation on (7) knowledge sharing are described in a separate section (5.2). This section starts to analyse two deductive effects, which are the opening of the mind (5.1.1) and the development of empathy (5.1.2). In subsection 5.1.3 the first inductive finding is analysed, which is the development of self-awareness. This is a precondition for openness. In section 5.1.4 effects of mindfulness meditation on trust and vulnerability are analysed. The section ends by looking at effects of mindfulness meditation on the openness to other’s opinions (5.1.5) and the willingness to be open and honest to others (5.1.6).

5.1.1

Opening the Mind, Broadening Perspectives and Dealing with Changes

The previous four chapters gave the necessary knowledge to understand the phenomenon of mindfulness in organisations and this dissertation. This subsection begins to analyse the interviews. Course participants report that an open mind for dialogues, experiences and impressions are developed by mindfulness meditation: (I: What are you more open for?) “For exchange, conversations, situations, my fellows’ experiences, simply for all impressions that I encounter” (course participant, 7, t1). “Observing things from another angle. This is what I also connect to openness—open to other aspects” (course participant, 7, t2). “Yes, so I believe that course participants are simply more attentive—so consciously more open. I am convinced; including me” (course participant, 6, t1).

One reason is that the MBSR course attendees learn during the eight weeks to cultivate a beginner’s mind. This mind is willing to see everything as if for the first time, without past experiences, concepts, thoughts, opinions or emotions. The intention is to notice things as they really are (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Course members are encouraged to look at everything—colleagues, friends, spouses,

126

5

Empirical findings

situations, thoughts and feelings—in an open and neutral manner. This supports the development of an open attitude, as an interviewee states, “Well, an important point during the MBSR seminar was to keep a beginner’s mind. Yes, this out-of-the-box thinking. Not always looking for labelling or judging something” (course participant, 6, t1).

Another participant adds, “Because we learn during the course to think ‘new’ about familiar subjects—So, the entire topic of the beginner’s mind—To, somehow, continuously approach everything in a ‘new’ manner; and to have no worries or reservations” (course participant, 3, t1).

Hesitation towards situations and other people can be reduced. For example, one course member describes a training situation and how a beginner’s mind influences him as a learner: “If, as a student, I participated in training and I cultivated a beginner’s mind where I said to myself, ‘Okay, I am now open for what comes up’, I will benefit more” (course participant, 6, t1).

An employee who is unprejudiced and curious about what is coming will be less reserved and learn more. Concerns may be reduced by practicing mindfulness. It relaxes. One interviewee portrays a situation where he must give corporate training in front of a large audience. The mindfulness training helped him to worry less about technical problems. It changed his attitude: “I was still nervous, but differently. […] I was not able to influence the situation. I could have dropped dead and said, ‘Ah, I am sick’, and I would have avoided the training. However, to say, ‘It is how it is now, and you cannot change anything about the circumstances’—But you can change your attitude towards it, and this relaxes me in the moment, and that is beneficial” (course participant, 6, t1).

Such a mindset shift is closely related to the cultivation of non-judgement that the MBSR course attendees also learn. Non-judgement means to become aware of judgments (e.g. likes or dislikes). Knowing one’s categorisation enables stepping back from concepts, broaden perspectives and reduces preoccupations. Being less biased can influence positive thinking by recognising mind patterns, as one interviewee reports:

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

127

“When learning mindfulness you recognise that good and bad are just judgments that you make on your own. It is about awareness: good, bad—you are currently assessing. What is actually really good? Maybe you didn’t sleep well or what? However, everything else is fine. And this helped me often…for example, when you think throughout the day, ‘That was bad’, you are pulling yourself down the whole day with negative attitudes” (course participant, 2, t1).

Two other training attenders add that a non-judgmental stance ‘liberates their mind’. Narrow perceptions are set aside, new approaches are allowed, and an open-mind is cultivated: (I: And which effect does the non-judging has?) “You are freer. Well, due to spontaneous opinions, a narrow perception [of the world] is created. But if I try to set the assessment aside, then I am much more liberated and open in my thinking” (course participant, 3, t2). “This is something I learned during the course. To say, ‘Judging. No, don’t judge; set it aside’. The course is always in the back of my head, where I say, ‘Okay, no need to judge this now, put this away’” (course participant, 8, t2).

Such a mindset is useful when alternative solutions need to be considered. One manager explains that non-judging helps him to consider different approaches and to actually dare trying them. For instance, he describes following situation: “Because I judge less—or that I recognise that I judge […] we would like to enlarge the office facilities. Before I would have said, ‘Well, we have to evaluate if we rent something nearby’—now I say, ‘Hey, let’s consider constructing something’. Approaching the subject differently, not saying, ‘Can we do it? What are the costs? Is there a construction site? Who is the builder?’ We must do it on our own. I am, without judgement, much, much freer” (course participant, 3, t2).

Furthermore, another attendee quotes that consciously observing and being aware of different situations helps to not immediately deny new conditions or dislike received information: “First, observe the situation. Once you receive the information […] you instantly say, ‘Ah, NO, this and that’. Better observe and think about it” (course participant, 4, t1).

An open mind is a pre-condition for learning and experiencing new. One manager says that if you do not get involved and experience it yourself, you are more judgmental. Prior to the MBSR course most attendees could not imagine meditating for 45 min. This feels awkward; some said, “Meditation—this makes me

128

5

Empirical findings

cautious, because I am not the biggest fan of spirituality” (course participant, 6, t0). But having an open mind and trying it out helps one to experience and learn something new, mentioned an interviewee. The mindfulness course allowed most attendees to become more open-minded and willing to try out unfamiliar things. He adds, “If I have not tried or experienced it, I had the tendency to judge from an external point of view. That is the same with mindfulness and meditation. Where we said beforehand, ‘I have never done it and it seems to be weird to sit for 45 min on a cushion’. […] Now, I made the experience. It is positive and therefore […] I am more open to topics and want to learn more” (course participant, 7, t1).

Some questions come up: what if the experience is negative? Do individuals start to close themselves? Be less open? Those questions cannot be answered easily. They strongly depend on the context and the person who encounters the circumstances. However, remaining and being more open-minded can influence the openness for change. A common saying is, ‘Change is the only constant thing’— at least in the long run. To manage the unexpected, employees and organisations must adapt continuously to their environment and be open to the new. One course participant describes how the mindfulness training helped him to reduce his fears towards adjustments and to be willing to try out the unknown: “Yes, I have also lost a little bit of my fear towards changes. That was a very big issue for me; it still is, of course. I do not like changes; everything is good as it is. However, I am open to new projects and many things, because if you do not try it, then you will never know” (course participant, 4, t2).

One reason for this development is the cultivation of acceptance. During the MBSR course all participants learned to accept thoughts, feelings, emotions and circumstances in the moment that they arose. Acceptance can be understood as seeing “things as they actually are in the present” (Kabat-Zinn, 2013, p.26). An example is to welcome feelings of discomfort. One manager describes a new software update release and how he accepted the change: “[T]hat you don’t try to change the things, but you start accepting them. This helps the everyday office life. Yes, and that you say, ‘The situation is unlucky but getting upset about it actually brings little” (course participant, 6, t1).

Accepting emotions allows one to calm down, to reduce mental blockades and to find solutions. This is especially useful when unexpected changes happen. For

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

129

example, one interviewee describes that, when IT platforms are offline, passwords do not work or customers cannot log onto their system, the mindfulness training reminded him to tolerate and embrace the new situation and especially the emotion as it is: “[T]o remind oneself in such moments that you have little influence. In those situations, I can simply accept and be more solution oriented, because this gives me the opportunity to think calmly and to consider what to do next: is there someone that you can ask for technical support to solve the problem? This solution focus would have been blocked before, because you are super angry and upset in such moments and there are totally different thoughts going through your mind” (course participant, 6, t2).

Anger and anxieties can be dealt in a more efficient way by accepting the emotion concerning change. The same employee reports that he does not like to travel professionally. It stresses him. He describes that since the MBSR course he copes better with new circumstances: “Being aware, yes, the situation is as it is right now and that reduces stress. Also, the stress when getting ready, where I say, ‘I have to pack my suitcase—that is okay now’. It is how it is. There is no permanent anger about the current situation anymore. That is better, yes” (course participant, 6, t1).

On a collective level one interviewee reports that the MBSR training has a subtle effect on the ability of the corporation to better adapt to changes: “Yes, it will probably be easier… [employees] [will be more open for this topic]. At least the employees, of course, because all managers [participated] and the entire company will probably [benefit] due to this calmness; they resonate, yes” (course participant, 3, t1).

For instance, the server of a webpage broke down. One manager, who also participated in the mindfulness course, remained peaceful. An employee came to him quite excited and the director calmly asked questions, listened and swiftly analysed the situation: “Before the mindfulness training, I would probably have been raging. […] And in this situation, it was like this—I simply asked my colleague, who was totally upset, what is going on? ‘Ah, only this zip code’. I said, ‘Well, this zip code affects East Germany—we don’t have so many customers there. How many are affected? Four. Okay, good, then from XXX customers there are only four. That is not such a big deal anymore’” (course participant, 2, t1).

130

5

Empirical findings

By remaining calm and not shifting directly into an automatic pilot mode he is able to be open to changes and to pursue alternative approaches. This behaviour resonates with his employees and supervisor, who also describes the condition as follows: “And he simply recognised the situation and he talked to his team about what to do next. He really rationally analysed and calmly solved the issue” (course participant, 7, t1).

The line manager believes that before the MBSR training the entire situation would have escalated: “And I know, well, I can guarantee that before the course all hell would have broken loose. Simply because he is quite sensitive to his planning and the workload of his team and so on. For sure there would have been way more turbulence than it has been today. This is a candidate where you truly feel an effect” (course participant, 7, t1).

Employees’ time, energy and capacities can be saved by remaining calm, by not falling into actionism, and by listening, analysing and collectively finding a solution. Most interviewees believe that one reason for the department to have dealt with unexpected change in an open and diligent manner is that mindfulness influenced the working climate positively. Spending eight weeks together is a strong team-building measure: “I think, especially in those situations where you have to solve a problem as a team, a different ‘we-feeling’ exists [afterwards]” (course participant, 7, t1). “For sure, the group that was in this [course] room is more connected now” (course participant, 4, t1).

However, one person reports that for an overall organisational effect the entire company should participate in the MBSR course and that meditation would need to be rolled out more broadly. This would help the company to swiftly deal with unexpected changes: “I believe that if you intensify and broaden the participant base in the mindfulness course, changes could be handled better” (course participant, 7, t1).

Contradictory findings: Non-judging is an important trait when learning mindfulness and when being open. However, to be non-judgmental, to be aware and to

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

131

step back from assessments, seems to be difficult for most interviewees. Before the mindfulness training, at t0, attendees admit that estimations are often made unconsciously: “It [stereotyping] is always done unconsciously, probably” (course participant, 1, t0) or “Well, my brain does it automatically, I look at him and it thinks, ‘Okay, he looks like…’” (course participant, 4, t0). At t1, despite the mindfulness training, attendees report that it is still difficult for them to become aware of their own judgments: “Yes, it is difficult for me doing it [to not judge]” (course participant, 1, t1) or “This [non-judging] is something that is, generally speaking, very difficult for me” (course participant, 5, t1). One reason can be that these two participants did not meditate regularly. Course participant 1 admits that motivating himself to meditate is difficult. It is not a top priority: “It [meditation] is not so important for me” (t1). A reason can also be his age. He is in his late twenties. His energy level appears to be quite high and silence seems to be a challenge for him. Another contradicting point is that directly observable changes to openness are difficult to grasp for some interviewees. Especially for those who did not participate in the training. The reasons they mention in a focus group is that an open corporate culture already existed beforehand: (I: Have you recognised any changes to openness since the mindfulness course?) B2: “No, because it has always been open”. B3: “Regarding openness—it was always open” (fc.grp, employees, t1).

It is probably very difficult to grasp an open mind methodologically from an external perspective. How should an external party know whether someone else is more-or-less open? Observations and experiments simulating the same situations might be an approach to do so. This was beyond the scope of this research. Another facet of openness is empathy; the next paragraphs will look at the ability of the course participants to notice others’ emotions and feelings.

5.1.2

Empathy Enriched

The data analysis indicates that mindfulness meditation supports the development of empathy. One interviewee claims that, by cultivating mindfulness, one cares more for employees and humans in general. He explains it as follows:

132

5

Empirical findings

(I: Why do you believe that mindfulness has a positive effect there?) “Because you take care of human beings. You make sure that he doesn’t take it wrong. That he doesn’t feel hurt. That you appear and behave empathetically. This is what we want—being empathetic with our employees” (course participant, 8, t2).

An organisation consists of humans. Mindfulness meditation is for the people. Not only for the individual, but also for the collective. The same manager describes how (daily) meditation gives him mental energy and the ability to care for others: “Somehow I refuel. I regain strength and mental capacities. I can put daily work and private hustles aside. These 30 min just belong to me, and afterwards I am able to take care of others again” (course participant, 8, t2).

The development of empathy can also be recognised by analysing participants at three points in time: before and after the mindfulness course and four months later. For example, one candidate is asked at t0 how able he is to understand and put himself into his employees’ situations. Before the MBSR course, he appears to think in patterns, is quite judgmental and he shows little empathy for his employees at t0: “It depends. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no, because you think, ‘It is all obvious’. And often this is the case that you know the weaknesses of your employees and where their bottlenecks are. If it is a concentration issue or sloppiness, then I have less understanding” (course participant, 1, t0).

After the MBSR course the behaviour of this manager changed. He says that he is better able to empathise with his teammates. He recognises a stressed colleague and adapts his behaviour. Instead of reacting with aggression, he remains calm and lets him or her steam off. Once s/he calms down, he searches for a dialogue with him or her: “Well, I think I am better able to put myself into a situation or of a colleague’s way of thinking” […] (I: Do you have a specific example?) “Yes. [A] colleague was somehow stressed and […] I realised it: ‘She gets mad and obsessed about something’. […] I just allowed her to be that way; and then it was okay. She had a bloody moan and I just let her be. We just talked about it later that day, when the tension was gone” (course participant, 1, t1).

Prior to the MBSR course, the manager believed that he would have reacted and resonated as stormily and aggressively as his colleague, because he did not know

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

133

why she got so excited. The mindfulness course helped him to understand and accept other persons’ emotions. It calms down an emotionally charged situation: “In the past I would have, let’s say, reacted aggressively. As I didn’t understand the situation at the moment, and so it was okay for me. I have understood that she is in such [a stressful] mood and this was fine, […] beforehand […] I would have spoken against it. I would have said, ‘Why are you getting so mad’, or something like that. I would have probably reacted in that way. But this way, I was totally relaxed and calm” (course participant, 1, t1).

Such an attitude can de-escalate a difficult situation. On a constructive ground, solutions can be found. This empathetic behaviour can also open up the mind. The reason is that you are better able to imagine someone else’s circumstances and emotions. The same course attendee reports that he now wonders why someone would behave in such a way. Before the training, he only wanted to impose his opinion. He was not accessible for alternative approaches. Now he claims to be more open to other ideas: “What I realised is that I tried to put myself into the other persons’ opinion and shoes: ‘Where does the thought come from? Why is he stressed? What is he bearing in mind?’ In the past, I never have anticipated that. I reflected, ‘Okay, this is my opinion, that’s it. I don’t care what the others say. I stick to my ideas, yes’, and I guess that I am more open [now]. Opener to ideas and other suggestions” (course participant, 1, t2).

Collectively: Empathy for other team members can strengthen social support, one course attendee believes. If someone is angry or stressed, colleagues may take those (attacking) emotions less personally. This is especially helpful when unexpected changes happen: “[H]aving empathy for someone who is upset due to problems in the department. Understanding helps to offer support to each other. I believe that alteration can better be handled via mindfulness” (course participant, 7, t1).

Such considerate behaviour may increase social support because employees feel understood. They feel respected. They feel valued (see section 5.2.2). They feel listened to (see section 5.2.3). Being valued and taken care of is confirmed by the non-participating employees from the focus group at t1. They realised that their CEO is calmer and that it is important for him that his employees take care of themselves during the weekend and relax. He urged them not to work for the company on free days and use the time to recover. That was different before

134

5

Empirical findings

the MBSR course. Previously he would have accepted quietly that his employees worked on Saturday: B3: “Yes, now it’s like that. Now, he has a calm aura”. B2: “Yes. I agree”. B3: “For example, we were in Prague the day before yesterday. There we had some new projects to work on. We worked on those on Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon from home. We were ticked off for this [by the CEO]. We should have used the weekend to rest […]”. B2: “That was not the case before hand?” B3: “He [the CEO] would NOT have said anything. He would only have thanked us. He still said, ‘Thank you’, […] but he explicitly reprimanded us—twice; once via WhatsApp and the other time via phone” (fc.grp, employees, t1).

This caring for employees is also confirmed by three other employees. They recognise that their managers are more considerate after the MBSR course. Conversations are more focused on people. They feel valued and respected: “We don’t talk only about work […] but more about ourselves, about private stuff, […] maybe this is a result […] of this course that some of the leadership team have become aware that they should not only listen to themselves, […] but be more approachable and willing to listen to their employees, also in terms of future decisions” (employee of 4, A, t1). “[Manager 4] asked me, ‘Is this not too much? Would you like someone who reduces your workload or who supports you?’ That was awesome. When we talked [about] that openly” (employee of 4, B, t2). “I received a small gift from 3 today. A small card with a compliment. I found it at my desk when I entered the office this morning. I was very happy about this. I took him into my arms. I like this” (employee of 3, t2).

These statements appear promising; however, it is hard to say whether the mindfulness course was responsible for such an attitudinal shift. It may be one reason, but many other social factors can be the cause as well. Still, not only the employees recognised a change of empathy in their managers, but also the managers themselves. Three attendees in the focus group confirm their empathetic development. They realise that they burden their employees less in difficult situations:

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

135

1: “[H]e or she is currently stressed. Let’s do it another time. Accepting the things as they are and being more compassionate, how someone feels at this moment: ‘Can I charge him or not with something—that is maybe not necessary in that moment’. I thought, ‘Okay, let’s pause this subject. Let’s do it another time. It doesn’t make sense yet’. Prior to [the training], I believe I would not have behaved this way. I would have probably demanded more”. 3: “Yes. I think so, too, yes”. 6: “I also have such a specific situation in mind” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

This empathetic development appears to be lasting. In the follow-up focus group, four months later, the same attendees agree that they recognise and care for others. The mindfulness course increases respectful and kind behaviour (see also section 5.2.4) in their opinion: 1: “[T]hat someone feels well was always in our interest. But the focus is much stronger on it now: that you take care of others, that you are aware of others, that you are conscious of the other persons’ feelings. Is he doing good or bad?” 6: “[T]he mindfulness course puts respectful social interactions into the focus. We had such behaviour beforehand, but you think more often about it now: ‘how does the other feel? How is the situation for the others?’” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Contradictory findings: Despite those promising focus group statements, they must be regarded carefully, because the CEO attended the focus groups. Eventually some interviewees replied in a socially desired way, to please their supervisor. This must also be kept in mind. Another contradiction is that self- and external perception differs for one training participator. He thinks that the mindfulness course influenced his empathetic behaviour. He claims this at t1 and t2: “[R]ecognising and empathising with them. The mindfulness course really increased such awareness” (course participant, XXX, t1). (I: What else did you learn during the mindfulness training?) “Yes. To understand and be willing to empathise with others” (course participant, XXX, t2).

He admits that this has been difficult for him in the past. It seems that there was none or only little improvement in his empathy after the course. For example, an employee’s cat was sick. The following was his reaction during the interview:

136

5

Empirical findings

“[S]he was crying when the lethal diagnosis arrived. At 12:00 o’clock I said, ‘Go home. It is useless that you are sitting here’” (course participant, XXX, t1).

Behaving in such manner is comparably rational and unempathetic. However, the manager thinks he is empathetic for sending her home and calling later that day asking how the cat was doing. However, the choice of words is quite insensitive. Little understanding for grief is shown, despite a strong emotional reaction of his employee. This limited ability to empathise with others is also perceived in the employees focus group. They believe that the managers’ social skills are limited, that he is mainly concerned with himself and his complacent position in front of others: “[I] believe he has no sense for humans. Not everybody can have this. I believe he is strongly occupied with himself—how he positions himself” (fc.grp, employees, XXX).

Developing empathy begins at an early childhood age (Spitzer, 2012b). An eightweek mindfulness course may help to raise awareness for others, but it does not change someone entirely. Therefore, much more meditation and other training would be necessary to increase the feeling of empathy in someone. Characteristics of managing the unexpected are being energised, willingness to take care of others, being open to alternatives and showing understanding for the colleague’s situation. Another relevant aspect to deal with surprises is self-awareness. Self-awareness is one precondition for openness. This category emerged inductively from the data and will be elaborated in the following pages.

5.1.3

Self-awareness Developed

It can be argued whether self-awareness is an inductive finding, as mindfulness meditation develops such. In the context of the theoretical discussion about openness, it is an inductive finding. Self-awareness as a relevant openness factor was not identified in the literature. Developing self-awareness appears to be an effect of mindfulness meditation on openness. Stillness during the meditation helps one become conscious, step back from ‘old’ thinking patterns and allow ‘new’ ones to evolve. Nearly all participants describe how they became aware of thoughts, feelings and emotions. The following are some examples:

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

137

“Well, there are moments where you simply observe yourself. That works better now, yeah. Before you never did it—you could say. You never observed yourself at something” (course participant, 7, t1). “[I]t is now much easier to recognise how my mind and body react—and yeah, you can now deal with and adapt to both better. You recognise, okay, now I am getting all worked up about something or I am getting angry (course participant, 1, t1). “The meditation helps me to get to know myself better—that is for sure” (course participant, 6, t2).

Such self-awareness is especially useful when its triggered by stress or unpleasant circumstances, as one interviewee reports. He says that an open attitude towards the new situation gives him a freedom of choice: “[I] can now decide: do I get upset at the rain or [not]. I cannot change it. Simply by recognising and thinking about it, you are relaxing because I cannot change it anyway. I cannot fly over a traffic jam; I have to wait and the tension then becomes a totally different one” (course participant, 6, t1).

Self-awareness also allows one to become more proactive and less reactive. This state of action is perceived as being more solution-oriented and open-minded in a business context. Two interviewees describe moments in which they are annoyed. However, due to the practice of mindfulness, they could remain calm and solution oriented: “I am way more capable of acting and making decisions in those moments, yes, because I am not preoccupied with getting upset. Instead, I am looking for solutions” (course participant, 6, t2). “Before the course, I was occasionally boiling on the inside and being upset about wrong decisions I made. Now I realise that I am cooking with anger and that something bothers me. As soon as I recognise this, it [the feeling] is often gone and I can make decisions more calmly” (course participant, 3, t1).

A similar effect is reported by another course attendee. He says that the practice of mindfulness helps him to be self-reflective in high pressure situations. He consciously thinks and accepts that he only has a certain amount of time to finish a task. Such consciousness reduces tensions: “When there is time pressure, I have the chance to reflect and think. Sometimes you must accept that you have only limited time to finish [something]. I then try to finish

138

5

Empirical findings

[it] all in that limited time period. However, I do not put myself under pressure. If I do so, I get a headache or other physical symptoms” (course participant, 8, t2).

Instead of rushing through the day and trying to get everything finished, mindfulness meditation enables one to do the work step-by-step, without worrying about the other tasks to do. One reason can be that self-awareness permits reflection upon automatic thinking and behaving patterns. These are mostly subconscious and mindfulness brings them to the surface. For example, one interviewee reports that the MBSR course helped him to realise that, if he has stress, he likes to eat sugar: “[W]hen I eat a lot of candies, I cope with stress; And I recognise this at the very beginning of the [mindfulness] course: ‘Ha, when I eat, I have stress’. Now, I realise, ‘Oh, I want to eat! Do I have stress?’” (course participant, 3, t1).

He was unconscious to this before the MBSR course. But such self-awareness is the first step for openness and personal change. Recognising (unconscious) thinking patterns allows one to step back, re-evaluate and be open for new aspects. Collectively the focus group implies the same effects as the semi-structured interviews. The focus group of the course participants agree on self-awareness development. Four interviewees have a consensus that the MBSR course made them more conscious and (self-)aware. In certain situations, they notice their thoughts and behaviours: 3: “Where I notice, ‘Oh, I am judging’. I realise this now. ‘Oh, my thoughts wander’, I recognise this now. I have sharpened my senses […]”. 5: “Your consciousness awakens due to it [mindfulness]”. 3: “I would see it… [that way]”. 6: “You can use this skill in specific moments. Because you have heard of it [mindfulness]”. 8: “It is always in the back of your mind. At least in my case. I had these eight weeks [of mindfulness training]. I have learned […] in certain situations to say, ‘Wait, how do I react? What are you doing?’ It is always present (fc.grp, participants, t2)”.

It is challenging to identify more evidence of self-awareness and collectiveness. Self-awareness is very cognitive and individual. It is difficult to recognise that somebody else has become more self-aware due to mindfulness training. Therefore, there was no more ‘collective’ evidence identified.

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

139

Contradictory findings: Even though the MBSR course sharpened awareness and self-awareness, there are still many thoughts, actions and decisions that are made subconsciously, as two interviewees state: “Well, I believe, that there is still a lot of automatisms. Where you just don’t realise it” (course participant, 7, t1). “I am aware of many things, but I am certain that I am also behaving unconsciously” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

The data indicate that most humans categorise everything very fast. “There is the tendency to label something too quickly, which is wrong at the end” (course participant, 6, t1). Stereotyped thinking allows humans to label rapidly into ‘danger’, ‘no danger’, ‘like’ or ‘do not like’. That is the reason human beings have survived for thousands of years. Particularly in dangerous situations it is lifesaving. This skill can be quite enriching for quickness, as same respondent suggests: “It is useful to categorise things rapidly. To take fast decisions, based on own experiences that you have” (course participant, 6, t1).

Being unconscious and mindless can be useful and efficient. Especially in high tempo situations. Self-awareness may slow down quick decision-making. What is puzzling is that some interviewees have problems to give specific examples. They cannot name situations when they are self-aware. This is especially the case for work situations. For example, one participator says that he becomes aware in private circumstances, such as when queuing at the super market or waiting in the restaurant, which upsets him. However, at work he cannot describe similar situations: (I: Or at work?) (The interviewee thinks) “I cannot remember any specific situation in the last four months where I said consciously, ‘Okay, let’s do it this or that way’. No” (course participant, 1, t2).

One reason can be that subconscious processes are quite predominant. That it is difficult for some to step-out of automation and become (self-)aware. Another reason can be the many things that need to be accomplished simultaneously at work. In leisure time, such pressure is less. Maybe this facilitates being more self-aware and having less automated behaviour. However, this is hypothetical at this point and needs further investigation.

140

5

Empirical findings

Self-knowledge that is developed by mindfulness meditation appears to be a helpful and relevant precondition to cultivating an open mind. Being open enables one dealing with unexpected events. Another core feature to deal with uncertainty and complexity in organisations is trust (Luhmann, 1973). The next section takes a closer look how trust is influenced by mindfulness meditation.

5.1.4

Trust and Vulnerability Cultivated

Trust can be seen as a precondition for openness and openness as a behavioural manifestation of exposing oneself to the unpredictability of a situation (Kegan & Rubenstein, 1972). Interviewees report that trust is influenced by the MBSR course: “Yes, I believe, that you receive insights into the way of living of the course participants and this develops a more trustworthy feeling, I believe, towards all” (course participant, 7, t1). “Mindfulness supports trust, because everything is built on trust. It is the foundation. So, the foundation of trust is positively influenced” (course participant, 3, t2).

One reason is the time the participants spent together every Friday afternoon for nearly three hours, as well as the conversations they had. Course attendees report that these were often intimate. Sensitive subjects, such as stress, worries and fears were talked about. They were requested not to give specific names or to tell about the exact situation, but they were asked to describe their thoughts and emotions. Vulnerability is developed by sharing such experiences: “[They were] personal, intimate experiences; names were never mentioned when we talked to each other; […] occasionally some discussed stress at home with their wives […]; these are situations that bond [people] together. […] Such statements are not made when you get a cup of coffee, where you realise, ‘Okay, he is quite sensitive—I would have never thought about this’, for instance. That was quite interesting, and you start to perceive them in a different light. Of course, they also see me a little differently now” (course participant, 4, t1). “[T]hat was not like a two days business seminar. […] You work together for eight weeks in which you talk about subjects and problems that you don’t share or confide in everyone” (course participant, 3, t2).

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

141

“I believe that I have developed a closer connection [to my colleagues]. I do have the feeling. Because you simply experience a lot together during that time and you frequently exchange with each other—in rotation—you do not always have the same partner with whom you talk about the different topics and experiences that you encounter” (course participant, 7, t1).

One attendee had severe sleeping problems. In one of the last course sessions he said that the mindfulness training helped him to sleep again. This is a quite delicate subject, especially in a business setting. Not sleeping well has many negative effects, such as lack of concentration, being moody and making mistakes. Both CEOs did not know about the sleeping problems and they were quite happy that the mindfulness course revealed and helped: “[T]hat he had sleeping problems and that they are better now—that is something where I say: ‘Exactly, super, exactly for such issues I wanted to have this course and I received this result’, yes” (course participant, 3, t1).

Other attendees report, “XXX said that he sleeps well again. These are subjects you do not share with others. You hope, that the training has such beneficial effects and at the end, it does. I believe we all do have a stronger bond now. Not only on a business level, but you are now willing to share insights that you would probably not have shared before, I think” (course participant, 2, t1). “[O]ne colleague said that he is happy that he sleeps well at night. That is sensitive, I think. Not everyone is willing to say it” (course participant, 1, t1).

Disclosing oneself and telling about personal difficulties can be seen as vulnerability. Vulnerability can be regarded as positive and negative in a corporate context. In the case of ITCare it appears to have a positive and not a negative impact. For example, one of the CEOs is a bit sad and puzzled that working for him caused such a high amount of stress and sleeping problems. Such honesty is quite an eye opener for him and he appears to be glad that this issue came out during the mindfulness course. Counter measures can be taken to avoid a burnout and to support the resilience of the employees: “Well, and he said during the course that he can sleep again. This is something, where I say, ‘Wow, I have not expected this, that his team lead position burdens him so much’. I have realised this for me personally. That was, I thought that he has fun at work—of course there is a little bit of stress at work […] I don’t perceive this as a problem—but

142

5

Empirical findings

that it is such high stress that you are not able to sleep anymore, that is something where I say, ‘Wow, I hadn’t seen this coming. He was able to blind me that well that I was not able to uncover this, yes’” (course participant, 3, t1).

Being vulnerable can change the behaviour of others. For example, letting someone know that you are sad, sick or in a difficult private situation helps them to understand that you are maybe not performing well or that you need support. However, such vulnerability can also result in ‘evil’ behaviour by colleagues who are competing against you and reinforcing the problem you are having. The corporate culture strongly influences in which direction vulnerability goes: constructive or destructive. At ITCare it was constructive. The intensive connection the MBSR course created lasted. After four months, two course participants commented on this: “I believe that for those who participated trust [in each other] increased” (course participant, 6, t2). “Yes, trust definitely developed somehow. You dare to address certain situations. I believe that it had an impact, it bonded us closer together and that we could truly communicate more openly” (course participant, 7, t2).

On a collective level, a high level of trust supports talking openly and honestly about challenges or problems. During the second focus group, employees mentioned how much they value authenticity and the freedom to say how they feel. One employee mentions a conflict situation with her manager, who was respectful and solution-oriented, so she could tell him authentically what bothered her: “[T]hat was not top down. […] [He said,] ‘Okay, that’s the situation. Now I know how you are doing. How can we do it better in the future?’ […] Yeah and this solution orientation [means] we are on the same level. Because where is it possible to truly say what is on your mind and how you feel? Without thinking, ‘Oh God, what if I cross the line?’ Because I can also try to remain rational” (fc.grp, employees, t2).

Such honesty and frankness are important for the management of the unexpected, to counteract negative developments and to provide (critical) feedback, as two attendees mention: “To criticise your manager – that was something where I thought at the beginning, ‘That is impossible to do. The boss is the boss!’ For this a very large amount of trust is necessary, which we have developed, among other [things], via this course” (course participant, 4, t2).

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

143

“[T]hat you are overall more outspoken towards other people. Where you express opinions that you would otherwise not have dared to” (course participant, 2, t1).

Additionally, one manager says that developing trust in others may help to delegate tasks. Empowering employees and believing in their capabilities will motivate and develop them further: “Another positive effect is that the employees in your team receive more responsibility. They are not simple administrative workers, but employees who engage into projects and who develop themselves due to emerging challenges” (course participant, 2, t1).

He continues and says that instead of consolidating all projects and tasks at the manager’s desk, responsibility is transferred to employees. They can work autonomously and independently on parts of a corporate goal. Control and micromanagement are reduced. In regular meetings parts of the whole project can be set together. This is more efficient and prevents a director from becoming overworked. In the managers’ opinion, “[K]nowing that he [employee] eventually does it differently – but you transfer more responsibility and more trust and he will come to a result. An overall effect is that a team can promote more topics than an individual. If I bundle all subjects at my desk, it is obvious that fewer results will be obtained, as compared to when several people work on different themes” (course participant, 2, t1).

One of his employees agrees. Since the mindfulness training micromanagement from her manager has decreased. She perceives this as feeling empowered, in a liberated and free manner: “Before it was worse. It is better now. Before he came, I believe, three or four times a day and asked us what were we doing. Now it is just twice a day.” (I: Worse, how did you feel with this?) “Always controlled – when he came and asked what we were doing – because I want to take over responsibility for my topics and I do my job if anything comes up […]”. (I: And how do you feel that he controls less?) Better, freer” (employee of 2, t1).

Another manager mentions that one reason why he can delegate tasks and is better able to trust others is the ability to let go. Letting go is another trait learned during the MBSR course. It means to stop wanting to control everything. To stop clinging and holding on to how something needs to be. In the increasing complexity of our world, letting go is a valuable attitude:

144

5

Empirical findings

(I: The subject of mindfulness fits well here. Why do you believe trust is supported?) “If I let go, I have to trust someone else. Otherwise I don’t really let go. If I am not convinced that he or she can do it, I will not let go and I prefer keeping subjects under my control and I do it all by myself. This is not the right way. I then prefer that someone else collects experiences. I give him a task, where I think this might be too difficult, but he should develop his own knowledge and I do trust him” (course participant, 7, t2).

To let go, a certain level of openness and trust is primordial. Two interviewees in a focus group believe that trust is the precondition for openness. 3: “Well for me, trust is actually the basis for openness. […] It comes before openness. If we do not have trust, we wouldn’t be open”. 1: “I agree” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Probably, trust and openness are mutually influential, as one interviewee believes, “[T]rust is developed via openness and, vice versa, openness via trust” (course participant, 3, t2). The same respondent believes that skills that are learned during the mindfulness course supports trust development. He thinks that appreciation builds it: (I: How does mindfulness influence trust?) “How to develop trust? Trust is developed via appreciation, via non-judging and openness. It is nothing that pre-exists. Trust has to grow. I believe that several trust developing traits become better [obvious] via mindfulness exercise” (course participant, 3, t2).

Contradictory findings: High level of trust among course attendees existed prior to the MBSR training. All class participants (1 to 8) agreed on this. For example, two said they “trusted, partly very trusted, I would say amicably” (course participant, 1, t0) or that “we do all have a comparably close relationship” (course participant, 2, t0). This is noteworthy and to keep in mind when reading these results. Findings may differ if an MBSR course takes place in a company where nobody knew anyone or where the level of trust was relatively low. Another element positively influencing trustworthy behaviour is that all course attendees as well as the trainer promised not to tell any external party about the shared contents: “[B]eforehand we agreed that everything stays in this group and that nothing is shared externally. Therefore, I believe someone is more willing to share something if he knows it stays in this circle” (course participant, 2, t1).

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

145

Furthermore, trust development can be influenced by other factors besides mindfulness. One example is the length of time the participants have known each other: “I know the executive board for more than two years now” (course participant, 1, t0). Sympathy may be another reason for trust: “If I find someone likeable, then I trust him more than a person that is unappealing to me” (course participant, 1, t0). Sympathy is a broad concept that is not considered further in this work. However, it would be interesting to look at sympathy and mindfulness more closely. How openness to others’ opinions is influenced by mindfulness meditation will be analysed in the next section.

5.1.5

Openness to Others’ Opinions and Their Feedback

Course participants report that they are more willing to allow and acknowledge others’ beliefs since the mindfulness course. Two managers say that during the MBSR course they learned to permit and accept someone else’s conviction, due to awareness, questioning, distance gaining and organising. This appears to be valuable in (heated) discussions and when dealing with unexpected events: “What I really learned—especially in dissensions—is to accept that someone else can have another reality than mine, even if I am firmly convinced that mine is correct. […] Well, I observe myself and my employee; why does he have such [a] viewpoint? Why is he arguing so strongly for [it]? Well, I approach such topics—not distanced, but organised. Now I accept the opinions and reactions of others better” (course participant, 7, t1). (The participant thinks) “Mhm. Yes, I believe it [mindfulness] changed me. In a way that I am now more willing to allow others’ opinions. I listen to their positions—or I become aware that someone has another view” (course participant, 1, t2).

One of the interviewees gives an example where he and a colleague redesigned a webpage and he described his changed openness to different outlooks: “I do work with a colleague on this [webpage redesign]. […] You already have an idea in mind how it should look like. Previously, I would probably have defended my view more strongly. Now I approach the dialogue openly. I say, ‘Okay, what is your idea? What is mine? What are the pros and cons? Let’s decide together what to do next’” (course participant, 1, t2).

Deciding collectively and being receptive to alternative approaches is important when surprises come up. This is backed-up by another course attendee:

146

5

Empirical findings

“Because I have more understanding and willingness to accept others’ opinions, I stop judging—which is the crucial part—that you don’t label everything immediately and where you say: ‘I have another option, that is wrong or that is good, that is bad’”(course participant, 7, t1).

This observation is collectively shared by two focus group attendees. Especially in controversial discussions, two managers say that they can imagine the other circumstances. Helping them to be open for what the other says and not sticking to their own conviction. It also allowed them to question why their counterpart reacts the way s/he reacts. This results in a calm and constructive dialogue: 7: “Yes. In discussions with my employee […] with controversial positions […], I was opener for his thoughts, opinion and the way he addressed it. I was opener. Previously, I was probably more convinced of my own point of view. […] Consequently, we didn’t argue much with each other. The entire situation remained calm and the conversation was serene”. 4: “I must, I can confirm what 7 said. On the one hand opener in that sense that you listen to what the other person says and that you try to understand it, but on the other hand also to empathise with the counterpart. How could he mean it? What are his reasons?” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

Having a collective and common goal is one purpose of an organisation. Being curious about others’ convictions can help one receive feedback and improve corporate objectives. One course participant describes a performance review situation with his CEO and line manager where he got criticised for talking badly about a customer at lunch. He describes how practicing mindfulness helped him to deal positively with the feedback: “3 and 8 said to me, ‘Hey, you are a team leader and you should be a role model’. […] I didn’t get excited, because they attacked me for such a minor thing. […] Instead, I took it positively. That I received this feedback and that I can do something about it. […] Before, this one negative point, despite many other positive elements, would have upset me” (course participant, 2, t1).

According to this interviewee criticism is taken less personally. The change of the feedback behaviour has also been recognised by an employee. He had to disapprove of his line manager (course participant) because he lacked support for a training in Belgium. The employee realised that his manager was much more

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

147

willing to take the criticism and was more understanding. It was an open dialogue, and afterwards the employee felt positively reinforced because his manager showed his support: “He was very much willing to take the feedback and […] it was not a one-way communication—it was two-sided. It was an open conversation and I came straight to the point. […] It was a positive dialogue. For me it was difficult to address this negative feedback, but I felt better afterwards. I felt reinforced and I think she felt the same (employee of 4, A, t1).

It is difficult to say whether the mindfulness course was the reason for the line managers’ improved behaviour. However, it could be one element because the MBSR course changed social interactions within the organisation, as mentioned by another interviewee: (I: Which changes do you see in the company since the mindfulness course?) “I think the communication has changed. I believe that all course attendees did learn a lot— like in situations [of] how you judge those and how you not immediately fall into any patterns. Instead, realise things and assess these and accept it that there are other opinions beside your own” (course participant, 7, t2).

The ego appears to have a less dominate position after the mindfulness training. This was also observed by the same interviewee. He mentions that his co-CEO used to be quite stubborn. He consistently followed his intentions. Now, he approaches situations and meetings more openly. Others’ viewpoints and ideas are allowed, which seems to be a substantial change in the co-founder: “3 used to have a very strong and dominant opinion, and I think he consistently followed it. Now, what I observe occasionally within him is that he approaches situations relaxed and that he doesn’t need to pursue his goals when he enters a meeting. Instead, […] you can feel that he is opener to others’ opinions and that he responds to others’ impressions. This is something, for example, where I recognised a strong change in him” (course participant, 7, t2).

If the CEO is more open to alternatives, the entire organisation can be influenced. Mindfulness meditation appears to have an influence on the openness to other perceptions. Contradictory findings: One debatable and contradictory finding is that at t0 one manager claimed that a too harmonious corporate culture can hinder honest and open feedback:

148

5

Empirical findings

“Due to this trustful and casual working environment it is sometimes difficult to express critics. Because this is not common sense that you rebuke somebody. Everything is quite harmonious and sometimes it might be difficult to reprehend” (course participant, 1, t0).

This position appears to be in contradiction to the above section. But it is worth raising the question: does harmony contradict critical feedback? It would be relevant to investigate this question further. More research is necessary to identify opposing findings of how mindfulness mediation influences openness to others’ opinions. The last analysed openness facet is how outspoken and honest mindfulness practitioners are to others. This will be illustrated in the next section.

5.1.6

Openness and Honesty to Others

The data indicates that mindfulness meditation has a subtle effect on openness and honesty to others. Several interviewees have the impression that openness and honesty developed positively. Not only towards other course participants, but also to all other employees. However, they have difficulties to describe specific situations: “I couldn’t give an exact example. But my feeling tells me that something has changed. Yes. That you are now opener. Especially among the participants—definitely. But also, to all others, I wouldn’t necessarily restrict this only to the participants. […] I am simply more open. Yes” (course participant, 7, t1).

It appears that the MBSR course opens up those who attended the course. An interviewee mentions that he is more willing to share even private events. He gives an example of a situation where he was ill: (I: What would you say, did the mindfulness exercises influence your openness at work?) “Yes. I am slightly opener. That can be. Yes, maybe that I share more now than I did before […], also towards the other colleagues.” (I: Do you have a specific situation in mind?) “Yes, […] I told them about my period of sickness that I wouldn’t have shared before, for example” (course participant, 5, t1).

A question that comes up: why is he willing to share such private information? The same interviewee provides an answer to this. He noticed that, since the mindfulness course, his feeling of embarrassment for being sick has been reduced. His self-confidence appears to have increased. The reasons are that he can accept

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

149

himself better and is able to assess situations as less negative and more positive. Talking about his sickness appears to evoke a positive feeling and a sense of relief for him: (I: What happens in you when sharing [personal things]?) “Good question. Maybe a sense of shame to tell about it evaporates. […] My colleagues know about my sickness and my struggles with it. […] I think that certain barriers fall. I believe this is very positive”. (I: Okay. That means that you speak more openly about challenges you encounter to your colleagues). “Yes, exactly. Yes, yes, yes”. (I: Is this the case since practicing mindfulness?) “It has become more. Definitely, yes, yes.” (I: Why do you believe this is the case?) Because there is more acceptance towards myself and who I am, maybe. […] I can probably be opener to my colleagues because I assess such situations less negatively than before. Instead, it is how it is” (course participant, 5, t1).

Still, it is questionable if such sensitive information should be shared at work. The perception of a developed self-confidence is supported by another participant. He says that disturbing things are addressed faster at work. Before the course, you may have been less honest and direct because you thought that it is a flaw. Now you tell more quickly what is on your mind and what hurts you, according to him: (I: So, during the training you tell things that you wouldn’t necessarily…) “Exactly, exactly, also during everyday work. You are more willing to say, ‘I don’t like this or this occupies my mind’. Previously, you wouldn’t have said it. Because you thought, ‘Oh, that is a weakness or so’. What nonsense, of course. Instead you are now saying, for example, ‘This does no good to me. Let’s leave it aside’ […] or ‘Let’s try to find a solution’” (course participant, 1, t1).

Another reason why course participants share more experiences can be their increased self-awareness (see section 5.1.3). Mindfulness meditation develops a better understanding of oneself: what you like, dislike, want or do not want—and also where your limits are. By knowing oneself better, it is easier to formulate, approach and tell others what is confusing. The MBSR course prevented one manger from burning out. He recognised his limits and told his line managers directly and honestly that he is running on the edge. Such straightforwardness prevented him from being overworked and helped him to develop counter measures: “Well, I think, that we talk more openly to each other—especially with our bosses. For example, […] three months ago, I realised that everything became too much. I then went to 3 and 8 and told them, ‘It is too much, currently. I am close to a burnout. We have to do something about it’. […] I was thinking about mindfulness during that

150

5

Empirical findings

time, and I realised that I am more conscious about such things [as being over worked]” (course participant, XXX, t2).

Telling your manager that you are close to a burnout is quite an act of honesty. This is not necessarily positive in every corporate culture, especially in one where competition is valued. It can instead lead to dismissal. At ITCare, it seemed constructive. Being that open is supported by another interviewee, who mentions the following: “[M]y father died two years ago, and I talked about it. […] This might be sensitive, but I think this is part of life. I divorced and stand behind it […]. I think this is not dramatic; […] it often becomes dramatic if you don’t talk about it” (course participant, 3, t1).

One reason why drama, gossip and miscommunication happen is due to the sensemaking (of the employees). They try to close the information gaps by interpreting signs they see or hear. One manager says that after the MBSR course he takes more time to explain to all employees the reasons for his actions. Prior to the course he was straighter and more top down, but now he tries to develop a common understanding. This facilitates colleagues to comprehend a decision and certain circumstances: 2: “[P]reviously, you would have explained the task and would have said, ‘Good, this is how it is, you must do it. I am the team leader’ […]. In those situations, you are opener, by saying, ‘This and that are the reasons’, so that they understand and accept it better. For example, I just had such a situation today…” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

As an example, he gives the hiring stop of the company. Costs are now too high and turnover too low. He took the time to explain this to his team. He believes that, otherwise, they would have put a lot of energy and effort into thinking why they must work so much with the same manpower (fc.grp, participants, t1, 2). However, it must be said that not all information is equally shared with the whole company. Especially with the two CEOs, very sensitive subjects, such as performance loss, demotivation or fear for the future are not shared. One interviewee mentions that his managers have the power to lay him off (anonymised quotation, t1). To mitigate such problems, one of the CEOs always started to talk about challenges he encountered during the MBSR course sessions. This behaviour had a positive effect on the group dynamic, but can also be seen as manipulative. The other employees are motivated to engage as well and tell about problems, one

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

151

attendee mentions, “[B]ecause the bosses said such things, you also dare to say it” (course participant, 5, t1). Collectively, two managers believe the communication among the leaders and the team is more overt: “Overall, I have the impression that the communication is opener. Also among the leadership team and the team in general” (course participant, 2, t1). (I: Okay. How is your feeling that the mindfulness course influenced the openness in the company?) (The participant thinks) “I think the communication” (course participant, 1, t2).

Openness appears to be a quite important trait in the company, as mentioned by a leader. He says that an organisational team spirit is relevant. Teams must cooperate and communicate overtly, instead of working against each other, in his opinion: “[In large organisations] there are sometimes circumstances [in which] one team cannot collaborate with the other. They work against each other. It is necessary to develop a team spirit across team boundaries. One where you can overtly address such things” (course participant, 2, t2).

Being more open and honest in meetings appears to be a positive effect of the MBSR course, as observed by one manager. He claims that direct and open communication is a result of the mindfulness training. In management meetings, if something is said or done that is perceived as misplaced, then it is directly addressed. Prior to the course, it happened that discussions in smaller groups took place after the official meeting. They felt embarrassed to address unpleasant topics and this appears to be less the case now, in his opinion: “Yes, in […] management meetings we do say if we have another opinion. Before, I think we were a bit more reserved. We discussed issues in smaller groups, what we think about and what we dislike, without the person who was concerned. Now, we are more direct. For example, if XXX says something that we don’t agree with, we just say it to him in the meeting; we talk about it. […] Previously, we didn’t always have the courage to address those points in meetings, because we felt uncomfortable and we avoided such situations, I think” (course participant, 7, t2).

Such outspokenness is necessary to form a mindful organisation. Honesty is how mistakes, disagreements and problems can easily be addressed. That mindfulness meditation influences such development is also perceived in a focus group

152

5

Empirical findings

dialogue. They see that the mindfulness training changed their perception. Combining this with awareness and non-judging creates a more complex and holistic form of openness: 8: “We were always quite open to our colleagues, and we still are. But now we have another view on it. Now we are more attentive. Before, we were open, we talked about everything; but now we are ‘honed’ to look for points [openly] because of the mindfulness course”. 1: "It is about awareness and being open, but simultaneously to be non-judgmental, for example. These are two interconnected elements. Before, we were open. But now we are open and we try not judge in the moment. That is, how you said, a ‘honing’” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

An employee also recognises that their managers are franker and more aware: “B2: I think that they are more attentive now. If their mind is busy, they say it” (fc.grp, employee, t2). During the focus group at t1 a discussion took place: would other team building measures, such as bowling, tennis or a Christmas party have the same effects on openness as the MBSR course? After a long conversation, all agreed that it would not. The MBSR course opens up more than other team building activities: (I: Back to the question, does another team building measure would have had the same effect […]). Many: “No”. 4: “Because the focus was on feelings, thoughts and what is inside yourself. Sure, in teambuilding measures you talk a lot and, at some point, also about personal stuff […]”. 3: “But not such topics […]. That you talk about your inner-life and that you notice how the other mentality is: ‘What is on his mind? How does he think about certain subjects or what is his background?’ Or so. Because you report on many experiences. This is something you don’t have during a normal team building event” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

To develop all employees and to create an open organisation, one manager believes all employees should do an MBSR course: (I: What could you do to help your employees to open-up?) “You could talk to them and do what we have done, a mindfulness course” (course participant, 8, t2).

5.1 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Openness

153

Contradictory findings: As already mentioned, prior to the MBSR course the entire corporate culture was a rather open one: “We are very open and transparent with our customers as well as with our employees” (course participant, 3, t0). To illustrate such openness, the board members had no problem hiring and integrating an employee who had burnout. This employee talked honestly about his sickness to all colleagues in the company. Another hint for smaller effects is shown in a CEO comment: “It [openness] improved, certainly. However, I believe I was quite open beforehand and I didn’t have to impose my opinion” (course participant, 7, t2).

The reason why he does not need to be pushy is probably his seniority. Being at the top of the hierarchy may help one to be more open than others. Arguments are not held back since no consequences must be feared. Even if a lot is shared, there are some limits, such as very private (e.g. disease) and sensitive information such as lay-offs or employees performing poorly remains discrete (course participant, 1, 3, 7, t0). The mindfulness course may have influenced a certain kind of openness. However, every individual has his or her own threshold of what to share and what not to share (course participant, 3, t0). Being (too) honest may also be destructive for a (business) relationship. For example, one interviewee had a call with a customer. This customer was upset. So instead of arguing and saying what was truly on his mind, he remained polite and lied: “What I actually said [was], ‘Yes, you are right’ […]. That was probably an adequate reaction” (course participant, 6, t0). The overall personality of an employee can be a central reason for whether coworkers are open or not. One manager says that he does not put any of his team members into a bad light in front of others. Therefore, he is closed in certain moments. He explains: “I think that all my team members know that I don’t ‘attack’ them in front of all [of the others] if something went wrong. That I blame them. That is not my style. That helps to create an open communication among team members” (course participant, 2, t1).

This is agreed-upon by one of his employees, who says: “When I have a problem, I can always go to him. He doesn’t react badly. He shows understanding and helps me to find a solution” (employee of 2, t1).

154

5

Empirical findings

It is also ambiguous whether, during the two-and-a-half hour MBSR sessions, positive effects become visible. But after the course—at work life—one interviewee does not notice a change. He cannot give examples from office life: “[D]uring the course you could feel and notice changes—how the participants engage and how it affects them. […] However, after and beyond the course, I cannot recall a situation where I noticed something, yes” (course participant, 7, t1).

One reason can be that during the two-and-a-half-hour sessions, impressions and feelings are communicated amongst each other. By sharing experiences, effects may become obvious that were not noticeable to other course attendees. This can be a bias. However, employees who did not participate in the MBSR training recognised behavioural changes in their managers even if they did not take part in the weekly sessions. It is probably dependent on the context and observer whether something becomes obvious or not. Other factors that could have influenced the openness to others is a kind of training that the leadership team did. It is called the ‘five dysfunctions of teams’, and it deals with team effectiveness and how to develop successful teamwork (Lencioni, 2002). One element is to take risks and offer feedback and assistance. This one-day training in, combination with a book reading, took place two months after the MBSR training. It is probably a good supplement to the mindfulness training and may have also influenced this research. To summarise, mindfulness meditation has an effect on the following openness facets: an open mind and openness to change (deductive), empathy (deductive), self-awareness (inductive), trust and vulnerability (inductive), others’ opinions (inductive) and an open and honest attitude (inductive). All these individual and collective traits are relevant to developing a new and more complex form of openness: openness enables forming a mindful organisation and facilitates the management of the unexpected. How the MBSR course affected knowledge sharing will be analysed on the upcoming pages.

5.2

Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge Sharing

The previous section analysed the first part of RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness? The present section will analyse the second part of RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation?

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

155

As described in the literature review section 3.4, there are 12 facets that influence knowledge sharing, such as trust, reciprocity, autonomy, empathy, dialogues or the languages spoken. These are all deductive findings from the literature. As there are no studies about mindfulness meditation and knowledge sharing, the intention of this analysis is to be explorative and to see how mindfulness meditation influences knowledge sharing. Four inductive knowledge-sharing factors emerged from the data related to mindfulness meditation (Table 5.3).

Table 5.3 Data analysis on knowledge sharing—Overview of inductive findings Section

Inductive findings

5.2.1

Focus is influenced by mindfulness meditation and therefore knowledge sharing.

5.2.2

A calm attitude, due to mindfulness meditation encourages to share knowledge.

5.2.3

Listening is significant for knowledge creation and sharing. Mindfulness meditation influences how someone listens.

5.2.4

Kindness and respect are developed by the MBSR course. Being kind and respectful supports knowledge sharing.

Source: own design.

That mindfulness meditation enhances focus, calmness, kindness and listening abilities are not necessarily inductive findings. Different studies in different contexts agree on that (see 3.2.1). However, what is inductive, is in the context of knowledge sharing and mindfulness. Here, all our four findings are new which encourage knowledge transfer among teams in an organisation. Due to limited space, the 12 deductive factors from theory are only indirectly looked at. This section is structured as follows: mindfulness meditation supports knowledge sharing through a deeper focus and concentration (5.2.1), a constructive and positive calmness (5.2.2), by a mindful way of asking and listening (5.2.3), as well as a kind, compassionate and respectful behaviour (5.2.4).

5.2.1

Focus: A crucial Element for Knowledge Creation and Sharing

To manage unexpected events being focused is important. Training individual mindfulness reduces a heedless state of mind, as mentioned by an interviewee:

156

5

Empirical findings

“Well I think that you are more often in an autopilot mode. You finish one task after the other. The mindfulness course raised awareness to observe automatic patterns that you have throughout the day. This is what we learned” (course participant, 7, t1).

Stepping out of unawareness is an indirect link between focus and knowledge sharing. Meditating and being focused has the potential to process information consciously and to convert data into knowledge, which makes situations more understandable, as mentioned by another manager: “[I]f you actually meditate you learn as a side effect to concentrate and focus. Yes, that helps to grasp knowledge but also to transfer knowledge […]”. (I: Do you notice this at work?) “Yes. Concentrating is easier for me. Understanding relationships is simpler for me as well” (course participant, 6, t1).

One reason for an increased understanding is clarity. Being constantly busy hinders identifying what is truly important right now. Turning into silence and meditating allows a clear and structured mind. Knowledge can better be understood, according to one manager: (I: When being focused and concentrated—what does this have to do with knowledge?) “I can then comprehend such knowledge easier and I am also better able to communicate it. […] Because I know that meditating does good to me. That you become clearer in your mind. That you can switch off or just focus on yourself and everything around you unwinds” (course participant, 8, t2).

This focus has the potential to increase efficiency, which can be useful to manage unexpected events. Three managers say that since the MBSR course, they can concentrate longer on one task. They remain focused on what is important and get less distracted by incoming (minor) issues. For example, one interviewee mentions that doors in the office remain open. Before the MBSR course, he listened to what his employees said with one ear. This distracted him continuously from his task at hand and reduced his productivity. Now he can focus better: “[O]f course all our office doors are open, as we are communicative. Sometimes you have the tendency to listen with one ear what is going on in the other room. I try to stop this. Recently, this has become much easier for me. I believe this has something to do with the mindfulness course—to simply be focused. This is a major efficiency increase, if you are not distracted every 10 s because you heard something in the other office […] you just work” (course participant, 3, t1).

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

157

Such efficiency rise is supported by another manager. He also claims that the mindfulness course helps him to focus and be less distracted: “I am better able to stay with one task instead of being distracted. In the past, it was often the case that you have started with A. Then someone came to you, then you were with B, suddenly a customer calls and you are with C. At the end you ask yourself, ‘Oh my, where was I?’ That has improved, I think. That I am better able to do one thing after the other. Funnily enough more time is available at the end of the day. That is a fact, somehow. That’s true” (course participant, 2, t1).

A third interviewee confirms this positive development: “[I] do one thing after the other. I focus on one subject […] and I try not to be distracted, when three new topics arrive at my desk. That has become better as a consequence of it [the MBSR course]” (course participant, 7, t1).

Working efficiently can generate and create new knowledge that can better be transferred. Distractions may reduce this. Further, work quality improves by practicing mindfulness. A fourth interviewee confirms that he does one task at the time now, instead of doing many things simultaneously. This enables him not to think and worry about other upcoming responsibilities in the future. He believes that work is finished faster and that the standards are higher. Less mistakes are made: “I just have one tab open [on the PC screen] and finish my work there. Then I move on to the next one. I am in the here and now, and I don’t think about what I must do next or what task I finished. That is simple and more efficient. I think work is accomplished quicker. Speed is not so relevant, but the quality is then higher. There are less mistakes because the work has been done in a concentrated manner. For real. I am sure” (course participant, 6, t1).

If the quality is better, more accurate information (e.g. software coding, management reports, market analysis) and knowledge can be transferred. Miscommunication, rework, or double work can be reduced or even avoided. Additionally, if employees can focus more, they may learn and remember better. Multitasking inhibits learning and this can be reduced by being focused (Oakley & Sejnowski, 2018). It also affects social interactions among team members. For example, one manager admits, that since the mindfulness training he is aware that he takes out his phone consciously while being in a conversation. Before this, he did it unconsciously:

158

5

Empirical findings

“I am at a colleagues’ desk and she wants to show me something. I wait and get out my phone to check my e-mails. Yes, now it is obvious to me, which was unconscious before. I am now aware, when I get distracted in situations, where I should better listen” (course participant, 1, t2).

Collectively, such awareness and tendency to multitask less is recognised by the managers’ employees. One co-worker says in a focus group that she realised that her supervisor is more in the present moment since the MBSR course. He puts away his smartphone, once they get into a conversation. Apparently, he trains his attentiveness, she says: “I have noticed that he does fewer things simultaneously. You can see that he concentrates to do one thing at the time. It is not yet ingrained in his behaviour, but you can feel that he is willing to do so. [W]hen he realises that he has something in his hand, he puts it away and he looks at me. That is the case. I have the impression that he trains his awareness. These are small gestures, for example, playing with his smartphone. […] He puts it aside and looks at me” (fc.grp, employees, t1).

Facing his employee in a focused way has a very positive effect on her. She feels respected, perceived, valued and listened to: (I: How do you feel, when he puts his smartphone aside?) “I think this is very pleasant. It is respectful to his counterpart […] I perceive this as very positive. You have the impression to be recognised, yes, ‘He truly listens to me in this moment and not ‘en passant’” (fc.grp, employees, t1).

It can be said that multitasking has a direct effect on knowledge transfer. Not listening and not being attentive is disrespectful. One manager mentioned that someone who takes out his smartphone during a work discussion is perceived as rude in ITCares corporate culture. Thus, if someone is offended, he may feel rejected and, consequently, share less knowledge: “[I] perceive it as impolite to my counterpart, with whom you are currently communicating. Because it shows, ‘Something else is more important than our direct conversation’” (course participant, 2, t0).

Focus appears to be important for understanding, learning and knowledge sharing. Imagining an entire company, which practices mindfulness meditation. How would it look like? How much more focused the employees would be? This should be interesting to study in the near future.

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

159

Contradictory findings: Mindfulness training helps to be focused. However, there are more factors involved. Being concentrated is also related to work organisation, silence and distractions. For example phone calls, emails or colleagues can interrupt continuously (course participant, 1, t1). Two managers (2 & 3) add that they can focus best very early in the morning. No one is in the office and it is still quiet. Further, the daily mood is relevant. The amount of sleep and motivation someone has are important, added one interviewee: “[W]ell, it also strongly depends on my everyday conditions. If you slept well and you are motivated, it is easier. As if…yes…it is Monday somehow (laughing)“ (course participant, 1, t1). The same interviewee also admits that he has trouble to focus at work during the day: “For me personally it is difficult to experience it during the work day: to be focused during my daily work routines” (course participant, 1, t1).

He tries to give an explanation: “Because, during everyday work I don’t think about it [focusing] or doing it in a different manner” (Course participant, 1, t1). One reason is that business life can be quite stressful. Rushing from one action to the next seems to be a hindrance for mindfulness. The same manager is able to be mindful and to focus during pauses and in his free time: “[I] have the chance to think about it more, during my breaks and in the evening. Where you have the chance to reflect about it, ‘Okay, now I do this and that’. Or where I do something focused and consciously. I do this in periods of rest” (course participant, 1, t1).

Breaks and calmness may support focus, but it is not a solution for efficiency. Mind wandering can be beneficial as well. When the mind drifts off, positive ideas can develop. A balance is necessary. How a calm, patient and serene behaviour influences knowledge sharing is illustrated in the next subsection.

5.2.2

Calmness, Patience and Serenity: Useful Preconditions

Calmness appears to be one of the most predominant effects of mindfulness meditation. All course participants report that they are calmer and most interviewed employees recognised that their managers are more serene. The course attendees report that they have a larger emotional distance to stressful circumstances. They deal with negative events calmly and better:

160

5

Empirical findings

“I believe I am way more composed with many things. Generally, I get less quickly provoked or when in situations where I feel personally attacked, by whom or whatever, I can better handle it and I am cool in those moments” (course participant, 1, t1). “Yes, because I think the meditation […] brings more calmness. I observed this for myself” (course participant, 4, t1).

At t0, one manager describes an emotionally charged situation, where an employee left the company in an unfair manner by taking a six-weeks sick leave and then quitting. The interviewee says that he tried to see it objectively and with distance. But somehow the emotions came up repeatedly. His attempt to cope with this problem was to talk to others: “You should try to see it factually. But it was an emotionally charged situation, somehow—That came up over and over again. Well, I have tried to talk with people about it […] to get their opinion, how they see it and if they perceive it the same way. Yes” (course participant, 2, t0).

At t1, after the MBSR course, the same manager had a similar situation. During his holidays one of his employees decided to leave the company. At first, he was upset because his co-worker did not talk to him before his vacation. However, the course attendee did recover quicker and saw such problems with more distance: “I just stay more rational now. […] Yes, I mean, before I might have […] reacted differently. Due to mindfulness you don’t do this anymore, I would say” (course participant, 2, t1).

This above comparison between t0 and t1 indicates a positive reaction in terms of calmness. The course participant was better able to distance himself emotionally. Behaving calm and relaxed has many positive effects. For example, one attendee says that he works and teaches better when he is serene. He can transfer his knowledge and know-how more appropriately. [Afflictive] emotions that may occupy his mind are lessened and performance is increased, according to him: “[I] am convinced that I delivered better because I was relaxed, and I could think clearly, yes. Without mindfulness practice emotions that occupy your mind blocked me before. Your stomach feels stiff, you are nervous, and you think, ‘They will come and hopefully they will not ask this and that’. That was different. It definitely had a positive effect on me and consequently on our performance that we delivered. Because the teaching went very well. This is what we received as feedback. I think this has something to do with the attitude” (course participant, 6, t1).

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

161

Calming down due to the mindfulness training is confirmed by another course participant. He would become quite angry if he was not able to check-in punctually in a hotel. The rooms were not ready, and he had to wait for 20 min. Before the mindfulness training he would have exploded. But now he recognises that being upset about such minor issue does not make any sense. It was unnecessary. He solved the issue accordingly: “[A]t 15:00 the rooms should have been ready. At 15:20 they were still not finished. Before, I got upset very easily because of such things. I get obsessed about it. Then I realised, ‘Okay, now I get angry’. That was interesting. Because it is unnecessary. […] I went for a coffee and everything was fine. Problem solved. In this situation I could feel it [mindfulness]. That is a good example” (course participant, 1, t1).

The reason for remaining calm is that during the MBSR course participants learn to become aware of their anger (see also section about self awareness 5.1.3). One interviewee says that a lot changed in him since the mindfulness course. He realises if he is stressed. He developed a greater sense of feeling for his mind and body. This facilitates him to take counter measures and distance himself emotionally: “Generally speaking, many things changed—privately and businesswise. I notice now when I am stressed. I developed a much better sensation [for it] and I can take counter measures. That is the greatest effect of the mindfulness course—to realise, when am I stressed” (course participant, 3, t2).

Noticing stress and anger allows one to turn negative emotions into positive ones. This is described by the interviewee, who used to get upset when the hotel room was not ready on time. He turned his anger into humour: “[T]hat was a point where irony kicks in and you laugh about yourself, […] ‘You started to get angry because you could not get into the hotel room 20 min earlier?’ I couldn’t care less, yeah!” (course participant, 1, t1).

Being calm and turning anger into humour is important when sharing knowledge. Being aggressive may affect the way others receive the transmitted information. Collectively, the enhanced calmness of the managers are observed by two employees. One says, “Probably a bit more composed. Even more serene than he already was. I recognise this. He is calmer and balanced” (employee of 4, A, t1). The other co-worker says, “[P]robably he has become a little calmer […]” (employee of 4, B, t1). This observation was also made by the employees’ focus group. They notice that since the MBSR course their two CEOs are a bit more positive and

162

5

Empirical findings

more likeable. One CEO has particularly become calmer in his approach. He now encourages his employees to take their time: B1: “I think that 7 has become a bit more positive—he already was that way, but now he is a tiny bit more, I think. With 3, I have the impression that he slows down. He operates less on top speed “dwuuuuuu”—that he has slowed down a bit”. B3: “He resonates this on his employees”. B1: “Yes”. B3: “3 [CEO says], ‘Be slower’”. B1: “Yes. Exactly”. B3: “[3 CEO says], ‘Everything takes time. We have to take the time’. B1: “Yes. Exactly”. B3: “It is truly the case, that he deaccelerates us a bit here and there”. B1: “Yes”. (fc.grp, employees, t1).

Faster, faster, faster. This is how most people try to cope with the limited amount of time. What is noteworthy is that since the MBSR course, time appears to be less scarce. It seems that someone has more time. Taking one’s time and not rushing is important when sharing knowledge. This observation is made by one course attendee: (I: What changes do you observe for yourself at work since practicing mindfulness?) “For me? Yes, well time has expanded. […] Well, when I plan […] my working day […] I plan it more consciously. Before, I used to make many consecutive appointments […] Now I say, ‘Hey, I don’t have to. I can do it in two days’ time, who cares?’ Even if I don’t have pressure. I say, ‘If I don’t manage doing it, I’ll do it another day’. I am more conscious about my appointments” (course participant, 8, t2).

The mindfulness training reduces (often self-made) time pressure. This observation is also made by another interviewee. Since practicing mindfulness, he has more patience and is less hard-pressed when explaining something to a colleague. This is key for knowledge sharing. He takes the time to explain why something needs to be done in a certain way. Before the course, he often said, “[A]t the end, you will know what it is good for” (course participant, 6, t1). Such sentences can demotivate as the counterpart does not understand and know what it is good for. Now he wants to make sure that his knowledge is transferred and that his employee understands ‘why’. He has less expectations from his subordinates:

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

163

“When I talk to an employee, I believe, I do have more patience. There is simply less pressure. […] I am more patient, and I say, ‘Look, do it this way, BECAUSE…’. I explain more and this in a deeper relaxed manner and with fewer expectations on my counterpart” (course participant, 6, t1).

The willingness to explain more and share one’s knowledge with others is also mentioned by another manager. He says that before the MBSR course he evaluated if clarifying something to a colleague is worth trying. The reason he gives is the level of know-how. Does his co-worker know enough to understand the explanation? Since the mindfulness course, the manager tries to explain complex issues: “Before the mindfulness course I was often evaluating where I said: ‘He is not yet able to understand this. There is no need to try explaining it to him’. Because I knew his [low] level of education in that domain. […] Now, […] I exchange information with him and I try to explain it” (course participant, 7, t1).

The reason why knowledge is shared and why he takes the time for explaining is the practice of non-judging (see also section 5.1.1), according to two participants. The same interviewee describes it as follows: “I believe this has something to do with this entire ‘judging-subject’. Before I said, ‘I know, he can’t do it, it’s a waste of time. I rather prefer doing it myself. This is faster’. It often was about urgent topics needing to be finished quickly. Where I’d say, ‘It would be pointless to [explain]’. Now, I bring him along. I do it together with him. Despite the fact he might not understand, at least he is involved. From the experience you are learning” (course participant, 7, t1).

A similar perspective is shared by another manager: 6: “[W]hen I judge, I think, ‘This person I want to explain something to, has no clue’ […] You are assessing based on wrong beliefs. If you think that way, you will not transfer your knowledge as he deserves it” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

In his opinion, mindfulness develops a valuable culture of knowledge sharing. He says, “[W]e are creating an awareness for a meaningful and effective knowledge transfer” (fc.grp, participants, t2). Such a behavioural shift was also agreed upon by another leader. He claims to have more patience when explaining things. He takes the time even if something else has to be disregarded. His employee can then do his work better:

164

5

Empirical findings

“I would say know-how on a deeper level. So, with more patience and consideration. I have always shared knowledge and information with my colleagues, but it has become more intense now. Because, I say to myself, ‘I take the time. Even if work remains undone. I am explaining this to you and then you can do your work better’” (course participant, 4, t2).

Being patient and sharing knowledge has the potential for personal development. In the short run, it appears to take time but in the long run, a lot of time can be saved. A win–win situation is created—employees grow and the company can evolve, he says, “[M]aybe he is no support in that moment. Eventually it is a time killer by sitting down and explaining everything. But in the future, he can take off work from my shoulders” (course participant, 4, t2).

To illustrate this, another leader gives a specific example. A software update did not work. His employee failed get the update figured out. Before the MBSR course, he would have just given a quick-fix solution. Since the MBSR course, he says that he takes time and involves his co-workers into the solution finding process. This generates lasting learning in his opinion. Employees can understand and develop in such a way: “I sat down and took the time—what was actually not very time-consuming. I looked at it [the problem] and said, ‘Hmm, now think. We have this and that [error] report’. We analysed it together in a calm and sober manner. ‘Now there is this [error] message. What could be the reason? Read this’. He found the solution by himself. […] Before, I would have said, ‘[D]o this and that—oh you forgot’. Sure, he knows it once, but he will probably not understand the connection. […] I think I reacted differently because of the MBSR training” (course participant, 6, t1).

This sounds ideal. To have a full picture, the perspective of the apprentice would have been interesting, if s/he agrees to this. Unfortunately, s/he was not available. Still, such calmness resonates in employees. Most interviewees report about a verbal fight that happened in a town hall meeting. The entire staff of 35 people was there. One manager, who did not attend the MBSR course exploded. He was super angry that the board members wanted to offer a second MBSR course to employees, despite bad turnover: “XXX burst out, ‘What kind of shit is this. There is so much work to do and at three o’clock everybody sits or lies here on a Yoga mat […] and sleeps! (course participant, 4, t2; 6, t2). Practicing mindfulness is a time killer, according to him (i.b.d.). The CEO describes his emotional reaction in that situation as follows: “I noticed how stressed I was and

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

165

how I was boiling inside. But I realised this and breathed” (course participant, 3, t2). Both CEOs remained calm. Here are some quotes on how others perceived their behaviour: “3 remained calm. He did not reply viciously. He has my full respect. I would have turned red and would have said something against. He was super calm. [He said], ‘You can think that way. This is your opinion’. Really awesome. I also want to learn this [mindfulness]” (employee of 4, B, t2). “I think he solved it well. He did not get too much involved. He let him talk for a bit but did not allow it to escalate. He terminated this comparably well” (employee of 6, t2). “I believe, without this course, he would have jumped into a verbal fight. It would have escalated. But he reacted super serene and polite […]” (course participant, 8, t2).

The subordinate focus group also thinks that both the CEOs solved this intense situation very well: (I: You are referring to XXX’s attack in the large audience). B: “Yes, exactly. He solved this problem tremendously well”. B2: “Respect” (fc.grp, employees, t2).

But because the leadership team remained calm, this resonated among the employees: B: “I thought that was impressive. Because they didn’t explode […] I think the rest of the group stayed calm as well” (fc.grp, employees, t2).

The angry manager had to leave the company. On the next day, he disturbed one of the CEO’s during his morning meditation session and insulted him. There had been some problems with this employee for a while. According to most interviewees, the mindfulness course was not the reason for his behaviour (6, 7, 8, t2). Mindfulness and its esoteric interpretation was the tip of the iceberg (course participant, 6, t2). Being in a fight can be damaging for cooperation and knowledge transfer. This intense situation illustrates that taking a pause is beneficial in heated discussions and situations. Two other interviewees confirm this. They say that since the MBSR course, when there are in emotionally charged situations, they halt. This gives them time to reflect and calm down:

166

5

Empirical findings

“[I] can cool off in those situations at least from my perspective” (course participant, 7, t1). “Where mindfulness helps me, is […] to be patient and to remain calm and to say, ‘It will be all good at the end’” (course participant, 6, t2).

This serenity and calmness appear to spread through the entire organisation, as is observed by another interviewee: (I: Do you see any other changes in the company?) “[O]f course, it is not a 100 % change, but I notice that co-workers are and react more relaxed because the leaders are less stressed. They notice this somehow, sure” (course participant, 4, t2).

Other attendees also observe serenity among course participants. For example, the CEO recognises that his direct report is calmer: “He is serene, composed. Especially 8. Due to his Italian background, he can be quite […] impulsive. He has become calmer. Definitely” (course participant, 3, t1).

Another interviewee thinks that all MBSR course attendees have developed well: “I have to say that all participants changed positively. There is no one here, where I would say, that nothing happened and changed” (course participant, 4, t1).

This calmness has an indirect effect on the entire organisation. Somehow, the already kind working climate is affected more positively. Being calm affects other team members. One interviewee says: “[I]f there is a team spirit, then you like to share. Then you are having fun and you want to accomplish something together. I believe, if you are having a nice time achieving common objectives, then you are sharing your knowledge” (course participant, 7, t1).

Does calmness lead to knowledge sharing? Above analysis provides an indication for such a hypothesis. However, more research is necessary in order to make this claim. Calmness also helps when dealing with unexpected events. Remaining calm holds the potential to take better decisions. More research is also needed for this claim. Concluding, it can be said that the way knowledge is shared appears to be changed since the mindfulness training. Patience, calmness and serenity are some reasons for that change.

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

167

Contradictory findings: One manager claims that the calmness of the board members affects the entire office environment positively: “When the executives are calm, you can notice how it resonates on us. We don’t get stressed. […] It is a more relaxed working atmosphere due to better cooperation” (course participant, 4, t2).

This is maybe true for some, but not necessarily for all. Three subordinates report indirect pressure from the leadership team. The board presents regularly the profits and the losses. The figures were not very good for 2017. Employees are asked to sell more. This may create indirect pressure on the middle management and co-workers. Manager XXX (anonymised) for instance notices the financially difficult situation. He feels strongly connected to the company and wants therefore to perform. This stresses him subconsciously: “We [team leaders] know […] the financial situation first and we try to do something about it. I am somebody who is strongly rooted with this company. This is not simply work for me. It is a part of my life. […] Therefore, you try to perform” (course participant, XXX, t2).

Such underlying stress of manager XXX is also noticed by one of his employees. She thinks that he sets himself under more pressure than he should: “Sometimes he tends to be bitchy. Then he puts himself under stress. He says, ‘I have to do this, this, this and that’. He creates quite some pressure on himself that actually doesn’t really exist” (employee of XXX, t1).

Feeling satisfied and well at work raises a sense of responsibility for the whole organisation. A similar strong connection to the company can be observed in one of ITCare’s sales employees, who says at t1, “I like to work a lot. I have a lot of fun at my job” (employee of 6, t1). At t2 the same employee is way less satisfied. He is frequently going to customers and selling services. His bosses want more and more from him. He feels unfairly treated and he wants to get promoted: “Although I like being here and I like having fun…however currently the focus is somewhere else. They want more and more—[I] do much more and [they say], ‘Okay’. But somehow the others must bleed—the ‘innocent’ you could say—the ones at the frontline. When I am visiting customers 15 times a month, I want a bigger pay check” (employee of 6, t2).

168

5

Empirical findings

During the interview this employee seemed very frustrated. Words like ‘bleeding’ may accentuate his frustration. He did not have holiday for nearly eight months. The increased managerial requirements are also recognised by another subordinate, who says, “Demands are currently very high and I am not sure that we can keep up with it” (employee of 3, t2). Pressure, stress and calmness depends on external and internal factors. A person engaging into mindfulness can learn to deal internally with tensions. However, power relationships, personal connections and daily conditions affect how, and if at all, someone can remain calm. There are more factors than mindfulness. For example, perfectionism appears to be a challenge for calmness. This is admitted by another employee: “For God’s sake, I am unfortunately a perfectionist. […] I always wanted 130, 140 %” (employee of 3, t2). The relentless pursuit of perfection can be a problem for a calm attitude. There are many questions that come up while analysing this. For example, can a company exist without or little pressure? Can a culture, where trust, honesty and openness is predominant, create an iron cage? One where employees give their best at all costs. At the cost of their health? Can mindfulness training influence such a cage? Some of these questions will be discussed in chapter 6. Besides calmness, asking and listening is a crucial trait for knowledge transfer. The relationship between mindfulness meditation, asking and listening, as well as knowledge sharing will be analysed in the following.

5.2.3

Ask and Listen: The Difference Between Listening and Mindful Listening

That someone listens attentively is very important to all attendees (course participants, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, t0). It is commonly agreed that asking and listening is important for knowledge sharing and the management of the unexpected. Therefore, it is arguable that this finding is inductive as it is known from practice and theory. However, what is inductive is the how someone listens. Mindfulness mediation appears to support listening behaviour and knowledge transfer, as is said by one participant: (I: What do you think, which role does mindfulness play for knowledge sharing?) “Listening. […] I think, that listening is a very, very important point when communicating” (course participant, 3, t1).

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

169

This observation is supported by another interviewee. He describes that since practicing mindfulness he is more attentive, assesses and judges less while communicating: “Yes, I think that you become aware in such moments […] that you interpret something into it. In those situations, I realise and I know, ‘Okay, I start to judge. Eventually this is wrong’” (course participant, 2, t1).

As a solution, the interviewee suggests asking. To clarify what is meant, instead of following one’s own interpretation. The manager describes a situation where his team receives an email from a customer: “[I]nstead of interpreting, pick-up the phone and ask, ‘What do you mean?’ Or write back and ask, ‘What do you mean with this and that?’ You can also start to interpret. But at the end, how it is truly meant, you don’t know” (course participant, 2, t1).

The same interviewee sees an additional benefit, when asking: “I would say that you can finish tasks faster with less time investment. Because, by interpreting, you always have the danger of wrong judgments that were meant differently. As a consequence you might have to rework or so” (course participant, 2, t1).

Prior to the mindfulness course, he describes his behaviour as follows: “Before, you just picked a solution—you judged. At the end, you did something that the customer didn’t really want. Then it [the communication] goes back and forth. Now, I am aware when I start assessing something by myself” (course participant, 2, t1).

The question arises, what is mindful listening then? Before the mindfulness training, interviewees said that good listening signs are: receiving feedback (verbally and non-verbally (e.g. nodding)), being attentive, not playing on his/her smartphone, taking the time, listening actively, sharing ideas and being interested (course participants, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, t0). These traits are relevant. They are external and emphasis on the behaviour of others. After the MBSR course the interviewees’ answers are different. They are internally oriented and they are focused on concentration, judgment and respect. One manager describes mindful communication:

170

5

Empirical findings

(I: What do you think, what kind of role does mindfulness play when exchanging knowledge?) “I think, that if you communicate mindfully that you grasp information totally different. That you really…often it is the case that in a conversation you hear three, four words and that you know exactly what the person wants to say and you actually ‘switch-off’” (course participant, 1, t1).

Instead of ‘switching-off’—more information is grasped when listening mindfully. Attentive listening takes place rather than following (wrong) sensemaking. The same manager adds: “[…] and when you do it all [listening/communicating] mindfully, you are 100 percent focused. You absorb things totally different and I think […] you pick-up information more directly […]” (course participant, 1, t1).

This point is echoed by another interviewee. He realises his wandering mind while he listens. Practicing mindfulness allows him to remind himself and to bring back his attention. This appears to be an important trait for knowledge transfer: “For me, I think, the greatest effect is that I realise when my attention drifts away. When my thoughts carry me away while listening. If there is a second embedded clause in the sentence and it takes too long. That I notice, ‘Oh, 3, you are gone, come back’. I think, this is what helps me when communicating and transferring my knowledge” (course participant, 3, t1).

Being focused (see section 5.2.1) allows one to listen better. This is agreed upon by another leader, who says: “I realise when listening that my thoughts drift away. Then I say, ‘Hey, listen’ and then I listen again” (course participant, 7, t2). Since the MBSR training, they can concentrate longer and are thus capable to grasp what is being said. This is also confirmed by two focus group members, who said that they tend to listen more attentively since the mindfulness training: 6: “What was always difficult for me, was to listen and let people finish [talking]. That isn’t my strength. I tend to be impatient. […] due to the mindfulness training, I have become more aware of this. I remind myself more often to hold back”. 3: “Yes. I experienced it yesterday, as you said: […] I stop interrupting. But I also notice when the sentence is too long; then I have the feeling and urge to send him a signal. […] I realise it much better. Yesterday, I had the feeling and a situation where I reflected and noticed, that it doesn’t happen so often, as it did in the past” (fc.grp, participant, t2).

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

171

Being concentrated appears to be a precondition to grasp knowledge and then transfer this to others. But not listening becomes also conscious, as recognised by another course attendee: “I think I listen more attentively. But I notice way more often when I don’t listen. So, it’s both” (course participant, 1, t2). Not listening has a powerful impact on knowledge transfer. Information that was just shared needs to be repeated. Mistakes may thus happen and efficiency suffers if someone does not truly listen. Besides being more attentive, two interviewees indicate that they allow people to finish talking since the MBSR course. Especially when there are problems or when they interact with a difficult customer, they want to listen to the others’ opinion and hear their entire story, according to them: (I: Did the listening behaviour changed among colleagues since the mindfulness course?) “Yes. I allow people to present their entire opinion – I let them finish. I think, especially in difficult situations or with a difficult customer or so. It is the case, that I allow him or her to express their point of view. I listen to the whole [story]” (course participant, 2, t1). “[B]efore the mindfulness training, I think, I interrupted often. Because I wanted to place my arguments at the right point. I think I do not do this anymore” (course participant, 6, t1).

Letting people finish talking has a calming effect and shows respect, in the opinion of the same interviewees. In meetings they try not to interrupt or cut in. Knowledge can better be shared this way: (I: How is it for you that you let other people finish talking?) “I believe this has a deescalating effect. Well, that everyone remains on a factual level” (course participant, 2, t1). “[F]or the other, it [interruption] is an insult. Until a certain degree its fine. But if I put them under pressure or I talk the very words out of his mouth. I don’t let [him/her] finish. I don’t like it myself, if someone cuts me short […] Do I have an example? Actually, in all meetings that we have. I have the tendency and I am aware about it […] to interrupt others. I try to consciously hold myself back” (course participant, 6, t2).

Working on mindful listening capabilities influences knowledge sharing, in the opinion of one attendee. He describes a situation where he was giving an IT training in class. Listening attentively to the students is as important for him, as it is for the students to listen to the instructor. It helps him grasp what his students have not understood and what they are looking for.

172

5

Empirical findings

Both are important for knowledge transfer. Mindful listening allows him to adapt contents to their needs. He believes that mindfulness allows him to become a better teacher and student: (I: Which role does mindfulness play in terms of knowledge sharing?) “[R]espect comes into play. Yes. Do I listen as a trainer to the participants in a mindful way – do I truly listen what they say? […] That will make a tremendous difference, simply because when I know what they A) do not understand, and B) want to know, I can adjust to that. I can modify the content […] I believe this has an influence. With mindfulness I can be a better teacher and a better student” (course participant, 6, t1).

Mindful listening is taught during the eight-week MBSR training. In regular exercises the course attendees are asked to talk about subjects (e.g. fears, stressful situations, difficulties while learning meditation). This is done in a specific manner. One person talks for 5 min. The other listens in silence—not asking or answering—with an open heart in a non-judgemental manner. This appears to be difficult for some, as we are used to a comparably interactive dialogue. One interviewee mentions that he did not know that it is possible to listen mindfully: (I: Do you think this has something to do with mindfulness?) “Yes. Yes. Because I was not aware that you can listen consciously. So, before this entire subject was [unknown] to me. You simply don’t think about it” (course participant, 1, t2).

Collectively, listening and mindful listening are different. Based on the above quotes, mindful listening can be understood as being fully focused, in the present, without judging what the other person says. It also includes letting the other party finish talking in an active manner. When the mind drifts off, you bring the attention back to what the other says and take it seriously. An example of miscommunication with one subordinate is illustrated by one manager: “I asked her twice if she can finish it. She answered, ‘Oh, I do not know if I can manage it’. I have not taken this seriously. I have not listened. I thought, if she doesn’t say, ‘No, I cannot do it’, that she would hurry up […]. The end of the story was, that shortly after four [in the afternoon], where practically no time was left, [she said], ‘No. I couldn’t do it’. [I said,] ‘Why couldn’t you do it?’ [She said], ‘I told you twice that I will probably not be able to accomplish it’. I should have listened more attentively. Then we had to work overtime. Listening and ‘listening’ are two very different things, and also perceiving’s” (course participant, 4, t1).

Miscommunication happens all the time. Reducing it is in the interest of most organisations. Not listening and being inattentive may damage relationships. For

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

173

example, at t0, one manager mentions, “Being with my thoughts somewhere else is just disrespectful to my counterpart” (course participants, 8, t0) or another one says, “Well, I would be disappointed […] if he doesn’t listen. It would be sad, somehow” (course participant, 3, t0). These managers want their employees to listen to them, but on the other hand, they admit that before the MBSR course they did not really listen themselves (see quotes). However, this behaviour appears to have changed. A colleague observes that manager 3 s listening ability improved since the mindfulness training—he now seems to be more attentive: (I: You said that 3 changed. How did he change?) “I think, especially in the domain of openness and listening. I think he was quickly lost in thoughts in the past, whenever a subject was not relevant to him – particularly in meetings. He admitted it. He said, ‘I am already out for two minutes’. I think this has changed” (course participant, 7, t2).

This observation is confirmed by the manager himself. He describes a situation during a business lunch where he asked and listened mindfully. He remained attentive and interested and this motivated his business partner to tell him about his life and problems. It somehow opens up his companion and he is willing to give more information: “Yesterday, funnily I did this during a business lunch. I had the impression he did not learn anything about me. I asked him a simple question and listened. I affirmed and my impression was that he told me about his entire life. From private to business and where he currently has some problems and so on. Simply, it is just this listening. And showing interest. It was actually interesting […] and I received a lot of information” (course participant, 3, t1).

“Speech is silver and silence is gold”. This famous saying appears to be applicable when reading this story. Behaving in such manner facilitates one to receive more knowledge. That finding is backed-up by an additional interviewee: “[…] and on the other hand I may get more information that I wouldn’t have received, if I hadn’t let him finish speaking” (course participant, 6, t2). Listening and allowing somebody to express him/herself are skills that seem to be positively influenced in the leadership team, according to the employees’ focus group. They have the impression that the MBSR course improved their ability and they like being in such a corporate culture: B2: “I think, it is fine-tuned. So, what they already lived is optimised by better listening abilities. Because they learned it. I have the impression that my bosses listen very well

174

5

Empirical findings

to me. […] You have the impression, your supervisor hears [your words]. This is something you have to learn and know how to do”. […]. (I: How do you feel in such culture?). B2: “Very well”. B: “Very comfortable. Yes” (fc.grp, employees, t2).

This observation is also confirmed by another employee. He observes the following: “I notice that they show more often interest in, let’s say, everyday topics or private stuff. Yes, yes, I realised this” (employee of 4, A, t1). Taking the time and being attentive is perceived as feeling understood and valued: B: “I went to him yesterday and told him, ‘I am overwhelmed with the situation at school’ and he accepted it. I have the feeling that he gives me a smile more often. That he understands that I am currently quite stressed. They apprehend this”. (I: How do you feel thereby?). B: “Very well. Being understood is always important” (fc.grp, employees, t2).

Contradictory findings: Listening mindfully appears to be difficult. One manager admits that he tries to do so, but his own thoughts and habits hinder him: “I try it”. (What hinders you?) “My own thoughts. Yes. The same old routines you could say—the known. Because you have always done it that way” (course participant, 1, t1). Changing behaviour takes time and effort. It may take years, until old patterns are modified. An eight-week mindfulness course is therefore quite short. Eventually, too short to observe any changes. Further, three interviewees did not recognise any change in the MBSR trainees. One says that the listening abilities of the Leadership team was always good: “For the management, I would say, no changes really. It [listening] was before very good. They have always a friendly ear” (course participant, 5, t1). The other two employees appear to have a less good relationship with their supervisor. One coworker claims that, “I try to speak, but he blocks me—you could say” (employee of XXX, B, t1). Another employee believes that the managers listening skills are bad. The interviewee thinks following: “I don’t know if listening is the problem or if it’s the vast amount of input he gets from too many subordinates. When he doesn’t listen, he forgets it fast. This happens with many things. Things he should know as a team lead” (fc-grp, employees, t2).

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

175

This is interesting as the manager himself believes that his listening abilities significantly improved: (I: How did your listening skills change since the mindfulness course?) “Very, very! Because of this observatory approach that someone takes. First, observe, then become aware of the situation. Think about it shortly whether you have the time” (course participant, XXX, t1).

It is difficult to say why one’s own and external perceptions differ strongly. Eventually because the manager is comparably new in his position. That he is overwhelmed with work and demands. It can also be that he was on the same level of hierarchy before he got promoted and that the above interviewees may be jealous of this. It could also be that the manager replied in a socially desirable way. An indication for this is that in the above quote, the interviewee only talks about ‘someone’ or ‘you’, but not about ‘myself’ or ‘I’. This may indicate that he is not identifying with what he is saying. It appears that the individual listening abilities changed—by being more focus and by being less judgmental. But the external skills of respect and kindness towards customers have not been affected by the MBSR course as it transpired in a focus group conversation. They say that they had a customer who was upset. Listening calmly and taking action was a behaviour that took place before the MBSR course as well: 3: “He [customer] called me and I listened. I did not judge. It was obvious to me that something had gone wrong. I just accepted it […] and said, ‘I will take care of this’”. 6: “It worked”. 3: “Perfectly. It was no problem”. 1: “Did we do it before that way, too?”. 6: “Yes. Probably”. 1: “I did it with 3 before exactly that way” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Another hint that is contradicting is that most course attendees had problems to give specific examples: “I believe that it deescalates. So that everyone comes down to earth. […] I don’t have a specific example at this moment” (course participant, 2, t1). To deescalate a situation is also related to kindness and respect. The following pages will elaborate on the effects of the mindfulness training on kindness, respect and knowledge sharing.

176

5.2.4

5

Empirical findings

Kindness and Respect: Developing Collective Sensemaking

It is commonly agreed that kind and respectful behaviour is beneficial to knowledge sharing. Here, it is again arguable whether this finding is deductive or inductive. The main reason why it is inductive is that no prior scientific articles were identified that studied the effects of mindfulness meditation on knowledge sharing and that kindness and respect evolved from the data. Someone who is rude, unfriendly and disrespectful will in most cases be less well treated. Mindfulness meditation develops kindness to oneself: “Be kind. Don’t stress yourself. Then others won’t be stressed” (course participant 4, t1). Being friendlier to oneself is illustrated by various examples, such as not rushing to work, doing one task after the other, stopping to read e-mails on Friday afternoon or eating less sugar (course participants, 1, 2, 3, 4, t1). Reasons for developing kindness due to mindfulness exercises is the progress of self-reflection (see section 5.1.3), as mentioned by a manager. He gives an example: “Meditation helps you to become a better human being. Because you can observe yourself, things about your past, your present, good and bad [habits]. When you need this information, you have access to it. Me personally, I end up with my anger and my aggression. These are good examples: when I know, I become upset in situation X and if this situation happens, I can say, ‘Ah, look at yourself. Now you are angry’. Because I am able to reflect on this, I am not angry anymore as I observe myself externally” (course participant, 6, t2).

The same reflection is made by another course attendee: “When I notice: ‘oh, I am getting upset and obsessed about something’ […] I am cooling down” (course participant, 1, t1). Being less troubled, stressed and kind to oneself resonates on others. The way of communication is influenced. Another interviewee mentions that mindfulness supports a kind and respectful tone: “I think if everyone would practice it [mindfulness], it would have certainly a positive impact on the communication and social interaction. Yes” (course participant, 5, t2).

Social interaction is key for collective sense-making, knowledge sharing and the management of surprises. Collectively, a gentle and respectful behaviour are important traits for knowledge sharing, in the opinion of a course attendee: “Which factors influence it? In my opinion, it is the interpersonal relationship. That is THE factor. I HAVE to have a positive relationship with the person I would like to, I

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

177

have to, I need to share my knowledge with. That there are no tensions between us” (course participant, 6, t1).

The way people communicate—the ‘how’—strongly influences knowledge sharing. This develops trust, adds the same interviewee: “Also, the one who transfers his knowledge […] the manner he communicates is a crucial factor […] I believe that creates trust. So, the way how people talk to each other promotes it” (course participant, 6, t1).

Being kind enhances respect. Respect appears to be another important trait for knowledge sharing, said one manager. He describes a training situation. If students and instructor care for each other, a nice, constructive, harmonious and efficient atmosphere is created in which knowledge transfer can take place. If this is not the case, it may become quite difficult to interact: “To bear in mind of course the respectful interaction. So, I have to respect the knowledge sharer and the knowledge sharer respects his students, you will probably create a harmonious and efficient way of communication. If this is not the case, it will be very difficult” (course participant, 6, t1). “Well, I think that to share knowledge […], you need trust, openness and respectful interactions. Partly we learned this at the mindfulness training—or that we have become conscious of this again. This is the foundation for a meaningful and efficient knowledge transfer” (course participant, 6, t1).

Another reason why mindfulness meditation supports gentle behaviour is that course participants report to be more aware of potential consequences of their actions. Three interviewees say that they reflect before they act. Reactions are conscious to them: “Situations in which you simply think, ‘How do I react now’; to reflect and deeply think, before acting or getting too involved and saying something that you may regret afterwards” (course participant, 1, t2). “Any action has its consequences; and you are now more aware in this moment […] to act differently, I think” (course participant, 2, t1). “I say what bothers me; however, I think precisely beforehand, how do I say it and I do reflect, how does this [my response] affect the other person” (course participant, 6, t2).

178

5

Empirical findings

Such awareness of potential consequences is agreed upon in one focus group. Two interviewees notice that since the MBSR course they reflect more upon how others perceive them. As already mentioned, their self-awareness (see section 5.1.3) is developed and, in their opinion, this leads to an adjusted kind behaviour (fc.grp, participants, t2). An adequate and calm (see section 5.2.2) reaction may be perceived as kindness. This leads to better results and a friendlier cooperation. If you are stressed, your responses are more impertinent, according to a subordinate: “If the working climate is calmer […] it is better for us. Because working under stress does not bring good results. We cannot really concentrate if we see that someone is stressed. He replies unfriendly […]” (employee of 4, B, t1).

Being kind encourages employees to contact their team leads and colleagues (again), as mentioned in a focus group. This changed after the MBSR course. The manager says the following: 6: “I want it to be simple for my employee to ask me. I wish that he approaches me, also in the future. Therefore, my reply will be appropriate and I try to explain it to him, so that he understands it. That did change” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

Such kind and respectful behaviour also result from empathy (see section 5.1.2). Even four months after the MBSR course, two managers agree, that since the mindfulness training they still wonder how someone is doing. This empathetic thinking changes or corrects their reactions: 6: “[D]ue to the mindfulness course […] I think occasionally, ‘What is going on inside that person? Or how is it perceived if I react in that manner? Should I take a deep breath? Or take a step back and look at it calmly?’ For me, for God sake, it is sometimes present. Sometimes not. Then I react differently than in the past, I think”. 1: “Without any question” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Four months after the MBSR course it appears that employees in the company are even more respectful to each other, as was noticed by one manager. He thinks that words are chosen wisely to not offend others. An open, honest, kind and respectful communication has been cultivated in the company: (I: Which changes do you see in the company?) “In the company itself: that we do respect each other even more than before. That we consider, how should I say something? So, the way of speaking, I would say. Before, this was already good, but now

5.2 Mindfulness Meditation and its Influences on Knowledge sharing

179

you know: choose your words wisely, mindfully, yes, because you may otherwise hurt a human. We interact openly, and much more honestly” (course participant, 8, t2).

This improved kindness and respectfulness is also echoed by two other managers: “If mindfulness would be cultivated since primary school, then there would be no wars anymore” (Course participant 6, t2). Another leader describes reasons for this statement: “Because conflicts among humans would become seldom and less. Because acceptance and respect would be much higher than it is today. Also understanding for different types of human beings may calm many situations worldwide” (course participant, 7, t1).

This belief is (unfortunately) far from reality. However, there is a rising global mindful community. One that aims to create a better world and a civilised future. The Dalai Lama follows this vision and spreads this word. Contradictory findings: Before to MBSR course a very kind and respectful atmosphere already existed in the company. One interviewee says: “I cannot remember any situation, [being here for 6 months], […] that someone was snapped at or so. That doesn’t exist. Or that someone used a commanding tone. […] In meetings there are discussions, yes. That is good and that develops us. But the manner is respectful. There were no problems in social interactions beforehand. That is why, I couldn’t see any changes” (course participant, 6, t1).

This positive and constructive working culture of ITCare is the first of two reasons, why the MBSR course seems to have a little external and visible effect on kindness. The same interviewee believes that in other companies, where a lot of conflicts are existent, the impact would have been greater: 6: “In my previous company—I know many people who couldn’t work well together or where a constant conflict existed. The influence of this training, of this MBSR seminar, would have been more evident there. That is why an obvious effect appears to be small here because we already have such a good relationship to each other” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

The second reason is that mindfulness mediation is an internal process. One that is challenging to observe externally. In a focus group, two participants agree with this. They claim that if an employee has an observable violent character and that after the MBSR course his behaviour improved, an effect would be quite evident.

180

5

Empirical findings

But learning mindfulness has something to do with internal skills that indirectly affect behaviour—that is not necessarily obvious: 5: “If you were before a choleric person and afterwards not anymore, okay, it becomes externally obvious. But if your stress coping mechanisms have become different, then this is something you have internally experienced and that is not necessarily noticeable to others”. 6: “Exactly. I see it the same way. I believe, as you already mentioned, that the impact is comparably small among us because we already treated each other quite well” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

To summarise, mindfulness meditation influences the following knowledgesharing factors: focus, calmness, listening and kindness. These four factors are relevant when developing collective mindfulness. They influenced the cognition, the social behaviour and the leadership style of the course participants. How the MBSR course affected the development of collective mindfulness further will be looked upon next.

5.3

Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

The previous two sections (5.1 and 5.2) replied to RQ1. This section will elaborate on RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? In this section, the explorative findings from the case are presented. These are related to the mindfulness course and also to the findings beyond the training as the MBSR training is not primarily designed to form collective mindfulness. There is no distinction between individual and collective results anymore as our focus lies mainly on collective outcomes. In section 5.3.1, parameters and cultural changes for a preoccupation with failure are looked upon. In subsection 5.3.2, a link between individual mindfulness and the reluctance to simplify interpretations is drawn. The section moves on by illustrating structural adaptations ITCare did to be sensitive to operations (5.3.3). A connection between mindfulness meditation and commitment to resilience is made in section 5.3.4. The section ends by looking at trust and principle number five: deferring to expertise rather than authority when making important decisions (5.3.5).

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

5.3.1

181

Preoccupation with Failure: Addressing and Discussing Mistakes

The first principle of collective mindfulness deals with the detection of mistakes, errors and potential failures in the system and the active dialogue about it. Prior to the MBSR course, ITCare already had a special corporate culture when dealing with mistakes. The CEO has an inconvenient attitude. In his opinion, employees do not make mistakes. The responsibility always lies on management level: “When something happens, I think, ‘What can I do to prevent this?’ If one of my employees does a mistake, it is not a problem – if it is unintentional. The only thing I want is that mistakes don’t repeat themselves. I always assume that I do the errors. I am ITCare. My requirements must be [formulated] in such way that my employees don’t make mistakes. So I thought, ‘Why did this happen?’ Before there were no documents, no processes that were written down. We must document and write down processes.” (course participant, 3, t0).

This ‘error culture’ is confirmed by other managers. Here is one example: “[I] am always responsible for all mistakes that my employees make. Sure, the employee does the error, but I look to myself and wonder, ‘What could I have done better and what can I do to prevent this from happening in the future?’ My employee won’t be shouted at. We go through the process and look at what we can do to improve in the future” (course participant, 8, t0).

Such gentle behaviour has positive effects. Employees are more willing to share honestly and openly concerns and errors they have made or recognised. For instance, one administrative worker says she can talk “completely free” (employee of 6, t1) about problems or difficulties. The same is confirmed by another one. She says, “No problem. Today it happened to me. I talked openly to 4 and 8. It was a good conversation, very casual” (employee of 4, B, t2). Another reason for such openness is that the management gives freedom and barely puts its employees under pressure, as observed by one interviewee: “[B]ecause the leadership team doesn’t set us under pressure and says, ‘WHAT, this is not possible. Why is this and that not yet finished?’ […] Like I know it from [my previous company]. Consequently, it is easier to say, ‘Okay, I repair this’ because I never have the impression that if I do a mistake or I take the responsibility for an employee’s error that I will be held accountable” (course participant, 6, t0).

182

5

Empirical findings

Workers are not blamed and this makes it easier for them to be honest and open. Not feeling pressured and ashamed may lead to mistake sharing. This ‘special’ corporate culture existed before the mindfulness training. So, what was the influence of mindfulness meditation on principle one? One point is that supervisors admit doing mistakes as well. They say that they have made wrong decisions in the past. This honesty has a positive effect on the employees’ focus group: B3: “[T]he leadership team confessed that they have done some mistakes and taken wrong decisions recently”. (I: How did you perceive such honesty?). B2: “I think this is very good […] that they reflected about recent problems. I could imagine this has something to do with XXX—so with employees who have become sick due to overwork—to put more emphasis on human beings” (fc.grp, employees, t1).

One potential reason for this behaviour is explained by one manager. He says that since the mindfulness training, he dares to share things that are negative. Instead of feeling discomfort and having negative thoughts that distract him, he prefers to address conflicts directly and solve them, which is crucial for collective mindfulness: (I: Besides openness, what else have you noticed in the company since the mindfulness training?) “Well, looking one more time at the communication, I would say that we changed. We dare to address things that are not good […]. We do not keep uncomfortable feelings for us. When there is an upsetting situation, I address this. Because I understood that it is stupid not talking about it. That I develop any [negative] thoughts and if the other doesn’t know about it, he cannot respond to these” (course participant, 7, t2).

Communication improved since the MBSR course. Employees appear to be more willing to address conflicts. According to the same interviewee, the reason for this is that the mindfulness teacher taught them that: “[T]he uneasiness of not addressing it [problem, disliking] is worse than the situation itself. So, commenting on something bothering can be less troubling for both. It is actually better to say uncomfortable things and to find a solution together. The course opened our eyes to this, I think” (course participant, 7, t2).

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

183

Such reduced uneasiness helps address conflicts, mistakes and errors in a “calm and rational manner” (course participant, 7, t2). Due to less discomfort, one is more willing to openly talk about problems and to go into a dialogue. He adds: “That’s the point [calmness]. It is not uncomfortable anymore because you dare to address it openly and to say, ‘Well, I see it differently. Shall we talk about it, why do you perceive it in another way?’” (course participant, 7, t2).

Such a constructive conflict-resolving culture is confirmed by another employee. She made a mistake and send out a newsletter with a typo. She had too much work. Her manager was a bit upset by this, but they could talk openly about it. Together they found a solution and agreed on how to avoid this in the future: “It went very well with 1. It was actually, let’s say our very first conflict situation. […] It was solution-oriented, you know. It was not top-down: when I say it must be this way, it must be like this. Instead it was: how do we deal with it in the future?” (employee of 1, t1).

Behaving friendly and constructively appears to be very important in conflict situations. According to a focus group dialogue, sanctioning and blaming employees will demotivate them and it can intimidate them from sharing their knowledge. Moreover, future decisions can take longer because employees want to protect themselves from being blamed. They double check extensively when deciding, added the focus group: 6: “In the company where I worked before, we had so-called ‘lessons learned’. This ‘lessons learned’ did not mean, ‘What did we learn’. It meant, ‘It is your fault and you were attacked and blamed for’”. 5: “You didn’t win anything”. 6: “No. That is totally demotivating. In the future, you will not dare to say or do anything. You cross-check your decisions 500 times. To protect yourself. You will not take any risks anymore and that, in my point of view, is counterproductive” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Such culture and behaviour are necessary for principle one: to talk openly about errors and threats to the system. Without such openness, managing the unexpected is difficult. Mindfulness meditation appears to be a mediator for politeness. Calmness, kindness and respect are ‘re-developed’ (see section 5.2.2). These traits are strong influencers for trust development (see section 5.1.4) and the willingness

184

5

Empirical findings

to share mistakes. By being too top-down and not being respectful you hurt your employees, said one leader: “[I] am hurting a human being [by being rude]. No matter if it is an employee, a friend or whatever. It’s a human person who can be offended somehow and that is why I always try to be considerate” (course participant, 8, t2).

Besides being respectful, the mindfulness course also encourages to tell if something is positive, added another interviewee. He thinks that a ‘praise-mentality’ is developed and employees are complimented more often: “[O]n the other hand you also address things that are positive. Instead of this reserved German mentality of ‘their silence is praise enough’, we started to develop a praise mentality” (course participant, 7, t2).

Contradictory findings: The MBSR course is not designed to develop a mindset that is occupied with failure. Employees do not start to look and identify anomalies. However, co-workers are aware of their judgments and are open for the unknown. They step out of the automatic pilot mode and explore the common in a new light. This may help to detect errors. Being honest and open about mistakes appears to be important. As mentioned above, the leadership team admitted mistakes. But they did not say what kind of errors they made. This caused some confusion and one employee spent quite some time finding out what went wrong, “I was surprised. It occupied my mind for three days as I wanted to know what it [the mistake] was. I never found out” (fc.grp, employees, t1). The employee interpreted and spent much energy to identify the leadership’s mistakes. This is quite a waste of time and resources. Being honest is important, but also explaining ‘why or what’ appears to be equally relevant.

5.3.2

Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations: Reduce Blind Spots and Embrace Diversity

Principle two is about being aware of preconceptions, to keep complexity alive for as long as possible and to simplify as late as possible, which helps to see more. The sections above have already illustrated how employees interpret less by non-judging (section 5.1.1) and by cultivating a beginner’s mind (section 5.1.1). These two skills allow one to be reluctant to simplify interpretations. Recalling

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

185

these effects of mindfulness training, one manager says that a beginner’s mind supports him to be less blinded by routine: “I am able to cultivate a beginners mind. You often become blind to shortcomings in company processes after a little while” (course participant, 6, t2).

To overcome such blindness this manager pursues an additional strategy. He embraces experiences and diversity and is therefore quite happy with his apprentice. He listens to him and this opens his eyes for unfamiliar ideas and approaches: “[I]n our job it is relevant to have some years of experience. […] However, I am quite thankful to my trainee, for example. He brings a new perspective […]. For instance, by describing or illustrating something in a different way or by pointing that we must train and coach differently” (course participant, 6, t2).

To manage the unknown, diverse lenses are relevant. Therefore, another leader says that in decision processes he is more willing to allow other’s opinions since the mindfulness course. Prior to the course, he strongly believed in his own (simplified) beliefs. Now he is more open for alternative directions, which helps him grasp complexity: (The participant thinks) “Maybe more calmness. Especially when taking decisions […]. Where I was thinking before, ‘Okay, why don’t we do it as I said (laughing)’, and every other option is disregarded, where I say, ‘No, I don’t want that’. Now I am calmer and I say, ‘Okay, let’s take a look at it, let’s do it together, we compare and then we see which idea and then we take the decision” (course participant, 1, t2).

To embrace diversity and complexity further, the leadership team proactively seeks for critics, as mentioned by the CEO: “We want to allow open criticism. That means in our group gathering, every 2, 3, 4 weeks we ask explicitly at the end, ‘Is there something bothering you?’” (course participant, 3, t2).

Contradictory finding: To be aware of interpretations and trying to be nonjudgmental is important for principle two of collective mindfulness. Non-judging is, however, very difficult to achieve and to keep in mind (see section 5.1.1). It happens so fast and it often remains an unconscious process. This is agreed by three focus group participants:

186

5

Empirical findings

3: “As soon as you read the reference heading [of an e-mail], you judge immediately”. 4: “Yeah, you judge […]”. 1: “Yes, exactly” (fc.grp, participants, t1).

Additionally, in order to be reluctant to simplify, more elements are necessary than mindfulness. An entire corporate culture must be adopted. Therefore, communication and other training is necessary. A mindfulness course is only a small part of the whole. What is necessary to form collective mindfulness will be discussed in section 6. One element is to be sensitive to operations. This pillar will be analysed in the following.

5.3.3

Sensitivity to Operations: Focus and Meet Daily

Principle three is about the operation itself. About concentrated employees who are less distracted to ensure reliability and performance. Strategy plays a secondary role. As most companies, ITCare has a long-term strategy to develop the company and to generate profit. Interestingly, ITCare has corporate goals, such as doubling the turnover, but no individual ones (course participant, 6, t2). Employees do not have performance reviews measured by individual results, such as sales figures or the number of new contracts signed. This is an unusual setting as many firms like General Electrics, Siemens or Unilever have so-called “individual performance factors” (IPFs) and bonuses are related to these IPFs. Having no IPFs puts the development of the organisation first. Team members do not compete against each other, rather they tend to cooperate with each other. Employees experience less direct pressure. This allows them to reach goals that were unknown before, as mentioned by a manager: “We don’t say, ‘I work hard to reach this goal’. Instead we work harmoniously and we somehow reach objectives that we haven’t thought about” (course participant, 6, t1).

This corporate culture existed prior to the MBSR course. Such structural element contains high potential to be sensitive to operation: to have a long-term strategy and be flexible to short term changes in the environment. Without fixed and stiff IPFs, employees can adapt swiftly. They are ‘free’. Mindfulness mediation appears to complement this corporate culture as described in the previous chapters.

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

187

To be closer to daily operations the CEO demands all departments to have short meetings at the beginning of every workday. He rolled out the so-called “daily huddle. We implemented this at some point after the mindfulness course” (fc.grp, participants, t2). One employee describes these short meetings as follows: “So, what we do is that we talk about problems. We start our day by writing down our upcoming tasks. So, what are we doing today? We write it onto the white board and we talk about it” (employee of 4, B, t2).

This facilitates being closer to the business. Managers and co-workers get a better sense of what their employees do. If the workload is too high or the problem too difficult to solve, then support can be generated quickly, added the interviewee: “If something [workload] is too much, then we share or we discuss, what we can do about it—to improve it. So, we have every morning these small meetings, you could say” (employee of 4, B, t2).

These daily huddles in combination with mindfulness create a lot of added value, mentioned one manager: “It is a tremendous benefit for us because we [the leadership team] allow various viewpoints. It’s not like that we have a clear plan and that we run into one direction and after some time, we realise, ‘Oh, we should have allowed another opinions’. Instead, […] I think, we allow new aspects. Not only from me, but also from the employees. I think they also realise this. If you notice, ‘Okay, I have now the possibility to contribute’, then I will do it” (course participant, 7, t2).

The company does not stick to a plan. They allow other directions which enables flexibility and agility. They are sensitive to their operations by these daily huddles. The chance of contributing to the business is also perceived by one employee. She has the impression that the leadership team has been listening better (see also section 5.2.3) since the mindfulness course. She provides this example: “Somehow they listen. They allow us to think. In one meeting—about price changes— we could contribute. We could help, and they truly listened. Not only, ‘Oh, you talk stupid stuff’. Instead, they discussed with us and have taken our perspectives seriously. That was also nice” (employee of 4, B, t2).

Meeting regularly, allowing other’s opinions and being bottom-up enables sensitivity to operation, which helps manage unexpected events. Another element for a sensitive organisation is concentration. Nearly all course participants report

188

5

Empirical findings

that they are more focused since meditating (see also 5.2.1). For example, one manager explains, “When I install the [software] and I am not concentrated because I jump back and forth between three other remote screens mistakes happen or it is not correctly installed. Then I must revise. That means, I add ‘good’ time to ‘bad’ time. So, you’d rather use directly good time by being concentrated and focused and you just do it once. Yes, then it works better” (course participant, 6, t1).

In the manager’s opinion, errors are reduced and efficiency is increased because work quality rises and rework is not necessary. This statement is backed-up by another quote. He says that training the mind and bringing the attention repeatedly back to the present moment trains focus, which is linked to being sensitive to operations: “Before, […] my mind drifted away and I thought, ‘Oh well, oh well, I have to work and so on’. That is different now. It is…I don’t know how I can describe it…it’s like meditation. Due to the meditation—well thoughts also wander away there—but the more you practice and train to ‘come back’ [bring back the attention], the easier it gets. You can notice this while working or in daily life” (course participant, 6, t1).

Focus and concentration can be learned via meditation. Thus, meditation is one cornerstone of principle three to create a mindful organisation. Contradictory finding: Being sensitive to operation also depends on how the employee feels (e.g. sick, sad) and how s/he slept at night (see also 5.2.1 Contradictory findings on focus).

5.3.4

Commitment to Resilience: Stress Competence, Agility and Solution Finding

Commitment to resilience is the ability to bounce back after setbacks and to continue with operations, despite disruptions in the system. It is the ability to be resilient. The MBSR course develops the employee’s individual resilience as illustrated in the literature review (sections 3.2.1.2) and as discussed in empirical findings about calmness (section 5.2.2). To develop a resilient team communication and knowledge sharing is crucial. Mindfulness exercises support this (see section 5.2), which enables to discuss robustly about upcoming threats to the reliability. Further, empathy is also developed by such communication (section 5.1.2).

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

189

Giving support in times of need enables collective resilience. Therefore, empathy helps detect, when someone needs help. A resilient organisation can bounce back and cope with surprises in an efficient way. Changes are absorbed, transformed and utilised. Mindfulness meditation encourages dealing more swiftly with change and being open for it. One manager says that when changes happen, he is capable of letting go and moving on: “One impact that mindfulness has, I think, is how you deal with such things [changes]. Do I think about it for a long time and do I hold on to it or are you able to say, ‘It is how it is. I can’t change it. Let’s try to solve it’ - with positive and negative things. It is useless to stick too long to negative stuff” (course participant, 7, t1).

One CEO provides an example. After one meditation session, he had an important business meeting two hours later in another city. It was an important new customer. On his way, he got stuck in a massive traffic jam on the highway due to an accident. Prior to the mindfulness training, he would have gone crazy. He was still upset, but he quickly accepted and coped with the new situation. He was able to absorb the unexpected change and find a solution by calling the customer, explaining the situation to them and still going to the meeting: “Usually I would have freaked out. Because, this was a very important appointment. One with a new subject—a global subject—where we would have had a chance. First contact, yes. But I said, ‘What can I do? I am stuck in this traffic jam’. I had not meditated, but I was able to cope with the situation easily. […]. I drove to the customer, I called them and said sorry and explained the entire situation. […] This was not good, but I had a follow-up meeting. Everything was okay. Nothing really happened and I think that without the mindfulness course, I wouldn’t have been so relaxed in that situation” (course participant, 3, t1).

This ability to be more flexible to unexpected events is also mentioned by 7 in a focus group, “[…] yes, flexible. Of course, I am more adaptable, of course […]” (fc.grp, participants, t1). The above described mindfulness philosophy of calmness, accepting and letting go appears to be a useful approach for corporate resilience. For example, one manager replies to a similar question at t0 and t1 in a different way. At t0, where an employee forgot to create a new customer in the IT system, his first thoughts were comparably negative. He thought that he should have known this:

190

5

Empirical findings

“My very first thought was—yes, the mind is weak, ‘Couldn’t you do it correctly?! Why don’t you know that?! You should have known this’. These were my first thoughts […] I was shortly upset about my colleague” (course participant, 4, t0).

At t1, this manager thinks slightly different. He has more understanding for mistakes that others do. The MBSR course made him realise that most people do not make mistakes on purpose: “[B]ecause we trained our mindfulness in the last eight weeks. There was such a situation. Same employee. Mistake happened—well, he is comparably new I have to say—the mistake happened, and I realised that he did not do it on purpose” (course participant, 4, t1).

His thought and reaction are beneficial. He does not have the ambition that something needs to be perfect. Humans are fallible beings. Considering mistakes and errors in this way does not paralyse. One somehow expects that mistakes will be made. ‘Shit happens’ as the interviewee puts it in his quote. It is thus important to move on and talk in a gentle manner with his employee to keep a positive relationship alive, he adds: (I: What did you think when the mistake happened?) “It was not as severe, as at the beginning […]. Mistakes happen. Nobody is perfect. I am not perfect, why should anybody else be this way? A mistake can happen to anyone. If you keep this in mind, then it is fine. Then you can talk about it and there is no need to bitch somebody out or to be angry. A normal relationship. I mean, it doesn’t make sense if I say to him, ‘Oh, great! You did this fantastically!’ (ironically). I demotivate my employee. I don’t want that someone talks to me like that either. Therefore, it is important to say, ‘Okay, it happened. Shit happens’” (course participant, 4, t1).

This behavioural shift is recognised by one of the managers’ employees. The employee is more willing to talk about problems or mistakes that were made. In return, the manager is also eager to ask for help. This reciprocal and open relationship is perceived as positive: “We are talking openly now. I often tell about my problems and mistakes. That this and this customer contacted us because of that. 4 does this as well. He approaches us also. For example, if a customer, who can’t understand the calculation, calls then he refers them to us. He asks for help. I think this is really good” (employee of 4, B, t2).

Mindfulness is probably one factor that lead to an improved relationship between the supervisor and his subordinate. However, there are more factors that develop

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

191

relationships positively. It can be time, mutual respect, expert knowledge, etc. A calm attitude (see section 5.2.2) is a strong mediator for resilience. Despite many challenges in the company, practicing mindfulness allows moving on and taking action, said one course attendee: “[I]f you accept the situation or you say, ‘Well, that’s how it is’. […] and you don’t try to correct it, you develop another attitude. You remain capable of acting. You can feel this in office life—with difficult project situations or so. That’s how it is, also when interacting with each other” (course participant, 6, t1).

Another element for resilience is the ability to improvise and to be creative. One course participant states: “[I]n situations where I can or I have to be creative, I get less distracted. I can focus easily. In so far, the mediation and mindfulness training has been useful” (course participant, 6, t1).

This individual creativity and ability to improvise can be supported by a collective one. One in which ideas are shared and developed. A positive, respectful and open working culture supports this (see section 5.2.4). Another manager says that many brains can generate more creative ideas than one: “When I look for a solution, what I often do is to say, ‘My mind, I only have one mind that thinks’. But if I bring five brains together—my colleagues—then we can achieve much more—a lot more ideas—[we’d] be way more creative” (course participant, 8, t2).

To brainstorm and be collectively innovative, a positive discussion culture is necessary. Discussion seems to be easier since the mindfulness course, mentions another course attendee. The main reason is the more honest and more open working atmosphere that the MBSR course created. He says that it is possible to find better solutions as a team. An open and respectful attitude drives positive discussions. In his opinion, more arguments and aspects are addressed, which result in new and diverse ideas: “Discussions have become easier, […] or the solution process, how can things be realised. Ideas bubble [are developed] easier. I and everybody else can feel it there is an open attitude. The consequence is that discussions are encouraged. There are more arguments and aspects addressed. The communication is enhanced and therefore the ideas being shared” (course participant, 7, t2).

192

5

Empirical findings

Knowledge is shared. This is also encouraged by proactive communication, which is a useful medium not only for creativity, but also for resilience. For example, one team lead describes a situation where a customer request was forgotten and he communicated this directly: “[I]n that case I realised that I will have to call the customer and talk to her. It is how it is. You can’t change it. I think this is a situation, where I react differently now. In the past, I would have panicked, ‘How do I explain this to the customer?’ And you start to think in advance and you try to develop an [excuse] or so. […] I am the team lead and I am accountable. […] Previously, this is something where my mind would have rotated for quite a while, ‘Oh God, how do I explain this now and so on?’ Yes, I believe that mindfulness helped me in such situations. You can’t change the situation. You can only try to deal with it as well as possible” (course participant, 2, t1).

Besides communicating pro-actively, mindfulness improves resilience, because employees become aware that not all work can be finished at once. This is agreed upon by three focus group participants: 2: “[I] can’t finish the work now. Only if I stay until seven or so. Then, I said to myself, ‘Well, that doesn’t make sense now. It’s better to do it tomorrow morning in an organised way’. Don’t start looking into it [e-mails] now, because, if you look into it, you are getting stressed because you see what needs to be done and you want to finish it immediately. Exactly, these are situations that you handle now differently than in the past”. 3: “More aware”. 4: “Exactly” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Such awareness that not all work can be finished at once influences the work-life balance. But it is not just the work-life balance and the health of the employee that supports the corporate resilience, it is the focus on humans (see also empathy in section 5.1.2). The mindfulness course raises such awareness: the fact that employees are put first and respected is mentioned by two focus group interviewees. They say that awareness towards one’s own and other’s stress is increased (see also calmness in section 5.2.2). The consciousness of own and other’s behaviour in conflict situations is positively influenced by mindfulness. Unconscious, automated reactions have become conscious, as agreed upon by two interviewees: 2: “The focus lies more on the human being. This was already the case in the past, but now it is much more so. That you try to identify, ‘What happens with this person if I tell him this in a particular way or how am I sure that he isn’t hurt? Without being disrespectful’. This is what I noticed after the course”.

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

193

1: “Another dimension is added, I would say. Sure, first health and fruits to eat. Of course, we look after the health [of our employees]. But now we also look after them: how do they feel in stressful situations? How does someone react in conflicts or so? We were all not aware of this. No one, I think, had thought about that before. That you are aware of being in a stressful situation or that you are being stressed; […] now, I think, in many situations you are simply aware. Previously, no one was aware” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Contradictory findings: Improvisation is important for collective resilience, which is often an act of creativity. Creativity may enfold when being relaxed and meditation relaxes. So, one could assume a causal relationship that mindfulness mediation as taught in the MBSR course would lead to creativity. This is disagreed by half of the course participants. To the question, whether they get creative or have new ideas when meditating, the following denying answers came up: “Less. That I get ideas. I didn’t realise this” (course participant, 1, t1). “No, actually rather less, I would say. During the meditation, I try to switch-off everything” (course participant, 2, t1). “No. Not at all. Meditation is: I switch off and calm down” (course participant, 7, t1). “Hmm (denying)” (course participant, 3, t1).

Concentration while meditating is one main reason for reduced creativity. An interviewee describes it as follows: “I concentrate for example on my breath or so. I would say that everything is more or less put a side. I have only very few disturbing thoughts, actually” (course participant, 2, t1).

Another reason can be the way people meditate during the MBSR course. One attendee says that he is quite competitive when meditating. He does not have yet a routine. He focuses and thinks about how to meditate. This seems to prevent him from allowing new ideas to evolve: “I think this has something to do with my eagerness when mediating. For me, meditating does not have a status yet, where I am very, very… I would say I am stubborn. Where I am not yet…I compare it with driving. When I drive the car and I shift the gear without thinking. I am not there yet. I believe, I am still thinking, where is the next gear. Yes, and I believe, that is the reason I haven’t found the freedom yet to think about it” (course participant, 3, t1).

194

5

Empirical findings

Could it be that an experienced meditator who has made it into a routine has more creative ideas? This is hypothetical at this point. It would be interesting to investigate this in the future.

5.3.5

Decisions at Expert Level: Trust and Team Players

Principle five encourages organisations to grant experts decision-making power. Hierarchy plays a secondary role. The person or group who has most knowledge should be in charge. There is no direct link between mindfulness meditation and deferring decisions to expert (local) levels, at least in the case of ITCare. However, there are indirect developments. For example, one interviewee says that being a team player is very important for knowledge sharing and collective decisionmaking. Individual interests must be secondary. This may support a culture where experts can make decisions instead of bosses. Knowledge is shared in the interest of the company in order to achieve something collectively. However, fear to lose power or something else may hinder managers from sharing information and allowing others to make decisions because individual goals (e.g. money, prestige, power) can become more important than the team’s (company’s) wellbeing. An interviewee said: 6: “You could hire any top manager. One who delivered perfect figures and who is top class in some rankings […]. He wouldn’t fit in here […], he is not a team player. Or because individual goals are more important to him than the ones of the team. I see an analogy to knowledge sharing. Someone who shares knowledge with joy because he wants the team to thrive. That is an important factor, I think” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Decisions can be taken collectively if a company consists of ‘team players’employees who care more about the success of the group than their own. Another indirect effect of mindfulness mediation is the development of trust (See also section 5.1.4). As already mentioned, taking a non-judgemental attitude often shifts negative situations into neutral or even positive ones. For example, one very experienced and knowledgeable employee left the company. His position had to be replaced quickly. One course participant, the line-manager, needed to trust the new employee in very short time. He had to let go of his concerns against empowering this new employee. The mindfulness training helped him to be more agile, trust others, be open for alternative ideas and give decision-making power to someone new:

5.3 Collective Mindfulness: Lessons From ITCare and MBSR Training

195

“[A]ctually, I had to trust him quite quickly so as to let him handle everything on his own. I was open for the new things he came up with. I said to him, ‘We don’t need to do things as before’ […]. In that case, it was quite easy for me to let go”. (I: Do you think that the mindfulness exercises have something to do with that?) “Yes, because […] I realised that not only my impressions and experiences are important, but those of the others can also be right […]. It can be beneficial for all—content wise. A person brings knowledge and you shouldn’t stop it from evolving. You should not send him on an existing path that we always walked. Instead, I listened openly what his ideas and suggestions were. I think, I have become more open and able to let go easier. One reason was also the situation [I was in]. Because of the double- and triple workload" (course participant, 7, t2).

Trusting your employees can support the transfer of decisions to knowledgeable employees. That mindfulness appears to influence confiding behaviour is supported by another course attendee: “I believe that mindfulness leads to a more open social interaction. To one that is more trustworthy, […] because you encounter each other with more respect. That again leads to trust and trust in return to a more open exchange of knowledge, yes” (course participant, 6, t2).

Contradictory findings: One manager says that some employees do not like to make decisions: “I realised this, many can’t cope with it, by being involved into, let’s say, the decision making” (course participant, 8, t2). This may indicate that some co-workers like to make decisions and others do not. Some like to take responsibility and others do not. Therefore, assigning decisions to expertness is a challenge and needs to be well prepared. The entire culture must be changed and therefore also the structure. Self-managed teams are one approach to do so. Unfortunately, this goes beyond the scope of this dissertation. Additionally, deference to expertise requires structural knowledge. Such as, knowing who has which skills, who has done what previously, etc. So that in case of a crisis, e.g. a computer virus, there is a quick overview of available experts. To organise this, a crisis management or mindfulness department would be necessary. This was out of the scope of this thesis as well. Thus, when and how to implement principle five needs further research. In conclusion, it can be said that mindfulness meditation indirectly develops collective mindfulness. Our above analysis shows that all five principles are influenced by mindfulness meditation. Here is a concise summary: 1. Employees are not necessarily occupied with failure, but they are more willing to share uncomfortable circumstances and mistakes.

196

5

Empirical findings

2. Managers learn to be less reluctant to simplify interpretations and to be aware of judgments by cultivating a beginner’s mind and a non-judgmental attitude. 3. Co-workers are more focused and concentrated. This allows them to be more aware towards the running operation. Quality is increased and mistakes reduced. 4. The MBSR course teaches individual resilience, stress coping mechanisms and calmness. Being kind and respectful are also taught. All these skills are crucial to achieve individual and collective resilience in which teams cooperate, provide feedback and criticise openly. Problems are addressed and discussed honestly. 5. Mindfulness meditation develops trust, which is fundamental to reallocate decisions to experts, instead of hierarchies. After having looked at the effects of mindfulness meditation on openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness, a closer look at the implementation is taken. The next pages describe unintended effects of the MBSR course at ITCare, what can be done to mitigate these and how to implement mindfulness meditation sustainably.

5.4

Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

The above analysis focused mainly on RQ1 and RQ2. This section goes beyond both research questions. The reason is that four months after the MBSR course nearly all participants stopped meditating. Only two out of eight attendees claimed to meditate from time to time. Meditation is vital for individual and collective mindfulness. Without regular stillness, it is difficult to become and remain mindful (Keng et al., 2011; Purser & Milillo, 2015; Vu & Gill, 2018) and without employees meditating regularly, it is difficult to develop collective mindfulness. Thus, continuous mindfulness meditation is central to a mindful organisation. Therefore, this section will look at steps for a sustainable implementation of mindfulness meditation in organisations. Interviews conducted at t2, that is four months after the course, are in focus here. The section will investigate why so few continued to meditate and what is possible to motivate them. The section starts to look at unintended developments of the mindfulness training at ITCare (5.4.1). It moves on to highlight cues and quotes that indicate a poor implementation (5.4.2). At the end, practical suggestions to implement mindfulness meditation successfully in organisations is presented (5.4.3).

5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

5.4.1

197

Unintended Effects of the MBSR Course at ITCare

Most interviewees were directly asked for negative or unintended effects that the MBSR course had on the organisation. At first, it seemed that there were no obvious negative aspects at ITCare due to the MBSR course. Nearly all interviewees denied when asked if she or he observed undesirable developments, “Negative aspects. I don’t see any” (course participant, 1, t1); “No, I can’t recall anything specific” (course participant, 2, t1); “No, I couldn’t tell” (course participant, 5, t1). In addition, the employees did not see any bad things, “Well, negative. Not at all” (fc.grp, employees, t2). However, nothing is black and white. By analysing and inquiring deeper, some unfavourable developments came up: (1) The first challenge is that by introducing mindfulness meditation into the company, some managers may think that the responsibility to remain healthy and resilient lies on the individual shoulder. Companies could say, ‘Meditate to remain healthy’. The responsibility could be drawn away from the organisation to the individual. This seemed to have happened at ITCare. Two interviewees noticed that one course participant got sick for two weeks due to overwork, three months after the mindfulness course had ended. One had little understanding for his colleague, as he learned mindfulness: “What I find interesting and what I already mentioned, is that XXX [got sick], despite mindfulness. Not before the mindfulness course, but after the mindfulness course” (course participant, XXX, t2). The other leader said: “XXX is a candidate, where I would say, that he learned a lot. He tends to be quite nervous and jittery and he became calmer. He reflected quite a lot. But, he got sick because he seemed ‘finished’ with it. Where I thought, ‘Hm, maybe […] he was not able to apply everything he learned” (course participant, XXX, t2).

This raises the question, why did the employee become overworked? It must be said that XXX did not continue meditating: (I: Did you have a period in the last four months where you didn’t mediate?) “Yeah, there was a period, yes. I must admit. […] In my opinion you have to do it continuously to have an effect” (course participant, XXX, t2). He was asked why he stopped meditating and his reply was: “That is actually the wrong thinking because you have so much to do that you don’t find the time for it and that is exactly the stupidity because you should do it [meditation] to have more balance and calmness. You don’t do it, because you have too many subjects simultaneously […]” (course participant, XXX, t2).

198

5

Empirical findings

The employee was too busy to take the time or he thought himself to be too busy to take the time to meditate. It is thus also the company’s responsibility to create a work environment that allows employees to remain healthy. One in which tasks are delegated and working hours are respected. Mindfulness is not a cure-to-all recipe. A danger is that managers expect from their employees to mediate frequently to remain healthy and resilient. This assumption needs to be eliminated. Meditation plays a major part in creating resilience, but companies must establish a culture and a structure in a pro-social manner e.g. not more than 1 or 2 extra hours per day, hire enough employees, etc.. ITCare has such cultural elements. However, it is dangerous to think that meditation is a panacea for all ills and some employees started to believe so. (2) The second point is that most course participants had a bad conscious when not meditating. When they shifted their priorities to something else than mindfulness, they were somehow angry with themselves: “I remember the positive aspects and that is why I am annoyed with myself that I don’t practice it so regularly” (course participant, 6, t2). “I am frustrated, that we are not so consistent…stick to it. […] There is a chance to change this” (course participant, 3, t2). “It was pleasant. Well, sometimes I am angry at myself that I am inconsistent. Therefore, I’d wish to do it more often. (I: why don’t you take the time?) That’s the key question. Wrong priority, I would say. No, it’s like that, I think, I am upset, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the drive is missing” (course participant, 7, t2).

It seems that they feel guilty in a similar way as if meditation were an addiction. One interviewee says that he thinks about meditation every day: 8: “Isn’t it with you the same? It is present every day. It is present every day—meditation. Not only because it is marked in my calendar […]. It is always there, always there, always there. Sometimes I truly have the need that I want to do it, I must do it” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Meditation appears to be addictive, but in a reverse way: those who meditate do not feel guilty after doing (unlike people who are addicted to eating chocolate), they feel bad when they do not do it. Somehow paradoxical. It is like doing sport or eating healthy food. You know that you should do it, but laziness or something else creates a bad feeling. This seems to have happened at ITCare. Most participants feel bad when not mediating. Nearly all attendees stopped meditating

5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

199

after four months. This is also a big criticism of one focus group interviewee. He wonders how it is possible that from eight participants nearly no one really continued: 1: “Well, then something must be wrong. When all… when all fail doing it. When all don’t do it…When I say, ‘We know two […] don’t like it’. But when all don’t do it, then something is not 100 % correct with the concept” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

This illustrates how hard it is to learn meditation. Approaches to motivate people to meditate will be looked at in section 5.4.3 below. (3) Eventually, the expectations were too high at the MBSR course. Mindfulness and meditation do not necessarily make one a better human being. Reactive thinking patterns, impulsiveness and rudeness can still exist. This is noticed by one manager. He says: “There are some people, where I think—when we talk about certain subjects—where I think, ‘Hm, you attended the mindfulness course with me. […] why do you react that way? Or why do you react—I don’t want to say impulsive—aggressive’. Why don’t you say, ‘Hey that’s the subject, let’s simply talk about it’” (course participant, 8, t2).

Regular meditation can help to reduce bad and destructive habits. However, it can take years. The context also influences if and how someone gets aggressive. Someone can have long meditation practice and still get excited when wrong buttons are pushed. (4) The MBSR course affected ITCare’s corporate culture. As mentioned in section 5.3.4, work-life balance became more important than performance. This was a big problem for one manager. His frustration escalated in a town hall meeting (see section 5.2.2). His own attitude of business before pleasure was not in accordance with the mindfulness philosophy. He was quite frustrated as the following quote shows: “How can it be that you come here to find yourself? To have fun. First of all, work needs to be done. Then I can do […] everything else” (non-participating manager, t1).

Doing the MBSR course was the tip of the iceberg, which lead to the dismissal of this manager. Of course, there were many other reasons and the conflict had evolved over years (course participant 3, 6, 7, t2). However, implementing mindfulness lead to a cultural change and eventually also to his layoff, as one interviewee believes: “Maybe it is the reason that one colleague had to leave. The one who was a bit furious about the mindfulness course because working hours

200

5

Empirical findings

were being lost due to it” (course participant, 5, t2). This could have been avoided by being more transparent about the content of the mindfulness training. This is echoed by one leader: “Probably, we should have made an open information session of thirty to forty-five minutes. Simply to explain to everyone what happens there and what the objective is. Then, I believe, we would have avoided negative resentments right away” (course participant, 3, t2).

(5) Because this prior information session was missing and the manager was so against it, parts of the company were divided. One section pro- and the other contra- mindfulness. This caused a negative ambience in the corporation, as was observed by one interviewee: “XXX was super upset about it, which lead to a bad atmosphere” (course participant, 4, t2). Another participant described the situation as follows: “Due to the polarisation of XXX [non-participating manager] his entire team and his colleagues were of course [thinking], ‘What are they doing—whatever?’ We made a survey to ask which of the employees would be interested to join [another MBSR course]. Every department was interested, except his. Which is not surprising. […] We somehow had a split in the workforce due to an opposing opinion” (course participant, 3, t2).

The main argument of the opposing force was the waste of time. They had strong resentment and perceived mindfulness as something esoteric. For the opposing manger, the invested and lost time was one of the biggest issues. (6) The sixth ‘negative’ aspect is described as follows, “[W]hat annoys me is that if people are doing mindfulness they invest time “(Non-participating manager, t1). This argument is understood by many. But most participants believe that the investment is worth it: “I am convinced that in the long run this was a very very good investment. Financially, it was not a big deal. Maybe from a time point of view. I am so satisfied that my employees learned a lot. That was my objective, yes, all is fine” (Course participant, 3, t1). “from an economic point of view, you could say, we lose time […] But I think, the time that you invest here, will pay off significantly later” (Course participant, 3, t2).

Developing employees always takes time and, therefore, the alleged waste of time in meditation is not necessarily a strong argument against the MBSR course

5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

201

and negative effect of it. However, based on these unintended and negative aspects, lessons learned are derived. They serve as inspiration when implementing mindfulness meditation successfully in an organisation. Before deriving practical implications, we take a deeper look at reasons for a poor implementation of mindfulness meditation at ITCare in the following pages.

5.4.2

Reasons for a Weak Mindfulness Meditation Implementation at ITCare

That meditation was not successfully implemented at ITCare can be derived from some observations during the interviews conducted four months after the role out. For example, one course participant had no idea whether other colleagues still meditate. They did not talk about it: “[I] actually don’t know. I would have to talk to my colleagues about it. I believe that there are still some who meditate regularly” (course participant, 6, t2). Another one says, “Well, at the beginning we had this meditation group. I have no idea if it still exists” (course participant, 1, t2). Another hint are the statements of another interviewee. At t1 he felt quite good after the course. He was able to get rid of his headache due to the tensions in his body. The MBSR course relieved him: “I always had tension headaches, shoulder, neck, […]. This had something to do with my body posture. I get tensions in my body when I am stressed […] Somehow, I was able to get rid of all of this in a comparably short amount of time” (course participant, 6, t1).

These positive effects faded away at t2. His stress pain was back and he believes it is due to the lack of mindfulness exercises: “Since a couple of weeks, I do have a little ‘Malheur’ [mishap] with my back and my neck with more headaches and I believe this has something to do with stress. So, a subject of tension in general and that is why, I would like to do more [meditation], also Yoga. […] I must admit that during the time, I did it [meditation] regularly, I was way more relaxed” (course participant, 6, t2).

The willingness and awareness to meditate seemed gone when having visited ITCare the third time. The question is: why? Why are the employees not motivated anymore? Why was it not well implemented? It seemed difficult for the participants to explain why they did not mediate anymore:

202

5

Empirical findings

“I don’t know the reason. You always did something else as an excuse” (course participant, 8, t2) or “Somehow, I wasn’t able to do it. I did it sometimes. But it was only infrequently. I would like to change that” (course participant, 6, t2). This is noteworthy, as nearly all interviewees say how important meditation is to be mindful. For instance, in the focus group, two are absolutely convinced that positive effects are reinforced by meditation: 1: “I believe that meditation would intensify this significantly”. 6: “I agree with you 100 %. […] I am convinced that how you live and what you do will influence your behaviour. I mean that if you change your behaviour and your mindfulness towards yourself, it will affect your surroundings. I am 100 % convinced” (fc.grp, participants, t2). “At some point you will realise how much good it does to you” (course participant, 6, t2).

All participants agreed that the lack of meditation was responsible for the reduction in the effects of mindfulness. For instance, one interviewee admitted that he gets quickly upset. Accepting situations as they are seems more difficult for him at t2. He believes it is because he does not practice meditation: “I am a person that gets excited easily. In some situations, I say, ‘Okay, yes, it’s how it is’. But this is difficult to do from time to time. Yes, I am probably lacking in meditation practice that would say, ‘Listen more to your inner self’, yes” (course participant, 1, t2).

Another interviewee also believes that meditation is the key: “Practice. I believe that is the most important thing on that subject. That you practice sustainably. It starts with the meditation” (course participant, 6, t2).

During and directly after the MBSR course most participants felt very well. They meditated frequently (more than five times a week). Nearly all continued to practice for about two months (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8). Even the employees who work for the managers that did not participate in the course wanted them to continue with their mindfulness activities: (I: Why do you hope that they continue?) “Because, as the others said, you notice a [positive] change. They are simply calmer and more well-balanced. If it does good to them it is always good for the people [surrounding them]” (fc.grp, employees, t1).

5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

203

However, due to the summer holidays and the sickness of one employee who organised regular meditation sessions in the office, the on-going practice disappeared. Only two employees tried to continue (2, 5). They had also periods of no meditation, but their stress levels increased and they started to practice again. For all others, the MBSR course was more a preventive initiative. At ITCare, the intention was not to shift from “problem [sickness] to non-problem [health] (course participant, 3, t1)”. They wanted to learn a stress coping strategy: “We went into it [the course], preventive, absolutely: ‘let’s be ready for the future’” (course participant, 3, t1). The entire course dynamic was therefore unusual. The trainer said it was “A totally different experience. It was always refreshing, lively and never exhausting” (trainer, t1). The trainer gives courses, where attendees are depressed or in a burnout. This preventive characteristic may have influenced the motivation of the employees to continue the implementation process. If someone has a psychosocial problem, they may be more willing to take breaks and meditate than someone who is psychologically healthy. There was no real plan to implement mindfulness sustainably over a long period of time. The intention was, let us try it out and do something good to our employees (course participant, 8, t2). This seems to be one major reason for a weak implementation. The following pages will identify steps to keep in mind when implementing mindfulness meditation in organisations sustainably.

5.4.3

Basics to Keep in Mind When Implementing Mindfulness Meditation

The data analysis revealed several practical suggestions for trainers and change managers, who are interested in implementing mindfulness meditation in organisations. Regular mindfulness meditation is essential for individual and collective mindfulness and the management of the unexpected. This subsection is divided into two further subsections. The first looks at (A) general steps to consider when implementing mindfulness meditation in organisations and the second one (B) at factors to motivate employees to meditate. Steps to consider. (1) A top-down roll out is easier. According to several interviewees, having management support is important: 2: “I think, this makes a difference. If you know that you do NOT have the acceptance from the very top, you would probably not dare to do things. But if you know […]

204

5

Empirical findings

that they [CEOs] value or look after such points, I guess, you are more willing to communicate […]” (fc.grp, participants, t2). 6: “[Imagine I say], ‘I rest for 15 min and I meditate’ and if you don’t have the acceptance from the very top. That’s a problem. They will think, ‘This weirdo goes dancing or what’. That’s why I think it’s great to have top [management] support [here]” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

(2) The middle management’s willingness to participate simplifies an implementation. That is why the CEO encouraged his team leads to join the MBSR program: 3: “It was important for me, that all leaders attend. Because only then it is possible to transport [the message]” (fc.grp, participants, t2). If the management is supportive and meditate, they act as a role model. The CEO, for example, meditated every morning. This influenced the employees, as an interviewee mentions in the focus group: 6: “That you [CEO], for example, went after the mindfulness course was finished, meditating every morning in here, influenced the employees. They say, ‘It can’t be that weird. If he does it often, it can’t be that bad’. This is an inspiring example. It takes away this mystic character” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

Also, the employees realised that their CEO meditated frequently. They spoke about it in their focus group: 1: “At the beginning he meditated afterwards. I don’t know If he still does it”. 2: “He meditated a lot”. 1: “Yeah, he did it frequently”. 2: “A lot after lunch. He called in the group to meditate. In the morning for himself. You could often see the sign [hanging at the door—do not disturb: meditation going on]”. (Fc-grp, employees, t2).

(3) Informing the entire organisation about mindfulness is very important. They should know: what is mindfulness? Why is it practiced? What is it good for? Who is participating and why? These are some of the questions that were not answered to the non-participants. This led to the splitting of the company, as was mentioned above. The management did not properly communicate the implementation. The leadership team just said that they are trying it out, but they did not explain what it was. Probably, also, because they themselves did not know what mindfulness exactly was: “We couldn’t inform beforehand about contents” (course participant,

5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

205

7, t1). This led to a sense of unfairness and lack of understanding among employees. As mentioned by one interviewee: “What would have been nice is to know […] who is allowed to participate? Who decides that? Why are six people allowed to meditate in the morning and others not? They said at the beginning, we try mindfulness out […] I would also be interested in it. And many others, too. They didn’t understand, why only certain people were allowed to participate and others were not asked” (employee of 6, t1).

Additionally, the participants realised that subordinates were confused: “They [colleagues] did say at the beginning, ‘Now they go again meditating! They lie around on Yoga mats!’ and things like that. They were against it. […] But at the end […] they asked, ‘How was it?‘ and they might have noticed how we changed” (course participant, 4, t1).

To counter such negative perceptions, they admitted that a prior information session should have been necessary: “I think that we had too little clarity” (course participant, 8, t1). Even after the MBSR course, they did not talk about the course in a larger plenum: “We didn’t do a follow up information meeting, where we talked about experiences and objectives” (course participant, 7, t1). What they did was to talk about the MBSR training extensively during breaks: “That’s why we purposefully talked a lot about our experiences at lunch. To raise interest” (course participant, 7, t1). One employee did not recognise that the MBSR group addressed other employees. He said: “[T]hey came out of the course and just talked among each other. The rest was somehow excluded, and nobody knew what they were doing. Are they doing fine? Are they doing bad? Because they just communicated among themselves” (Employee of 6, t1).

Various information sessions would have been a good idea—before, during and after the MBSR course. So that rumours, frustration and disappointments could have been prevented. (4) An expert who encourages and supports the implementation is necessary, ideally the trainer. However, other departments can also help, such as the human resource department, the occupational health centre or the work council. It seems that the trainer left ITCare a little bit alone and that the other divisions did not exist in the company. The trainer should have made an information session beforehand for all employees. Also, after the training was over, ITCare must have hired him,

206

5

Empirical findings

so that he could implement mindfulness further. Why did this not happen, needs further investigation. (5) The choice of language appears to be important. The term ‘meditation’ or ‘Buddha’ has (still) a strong esoteric connotation. This may cause resentments and misunderstandings. It is thus preferable to talk about ‘awareness’, ‘mindfulness’ or ‘present moment experience’ when communicating about meditation. An interviewee, who was very sceptic before the training, says how logical mindfulness is and how difficult an esoteric approach would have been for him: 6: “It’s like physics. It has nothing mystic. It’s obvious that if I calm down my mind, it affects my body. That’s totally logical to me. But if he [trainer] would have said, ‘The old white man from the East who said […] or Buddha said you should tralala […]. I would have had problems with that. That’s fully abstract. But the course was totally logical” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

(6) Besides language, there are other steps to consider when implementing mindfulness. One interviewee says that the trainer suggested doing follow-up sessions: “[M]indful evenings or […] follow-up appointments that he does at home—these could take place here [in the office]” (course participant, 3, t1). He also said to set up. “(7) a silent room, or a room where you can meet in the morning from seven to eight and in the afternoon again; Wednesday and Thursday; that you have (8) fix appointments. And also, a (9) second course, where we ask the employees: are you interested?” (course participant, 3, t1). 3: “[…] or to do the mindful day all together. I would like to do this again. And after that day to catch the motivation and start again” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

ITCare transformed a meeting room into a Yoga and meditation area. The fixed appointments did work out for two months. Then they faded away and the appointments became occasional, as it was mentioned above. The second MBSR course was planned shortly after the first one. However, due to colliding appointments between ITCare and the trainer, it took nearly a year before the second course was offered to the employees. By then, motivating employees to meditate was the biggest challenge in the company. The following pages will look at this in more detail. Motivating employees to meditate The biggest challenge when learning mindfulness is to meditate regularly. To sit or lie down and to tune in for a moment. This seems to be a problem for most

5.4 Issues in Developing Mindful Organisations: Lessons From ITCare

207

MBSR course alumni: 3: “[I] talked to [the trainer] and he told me that only very few continue” (fc.grp, participants, t2). This forecast happened at ITCare and most course participants actually stopped meditating afterwards. Four course attendees mentioned the same reason: “[B]ecause I had trouble integrating it into my daily life (course participant, 1, [3, 6, 7], t2). “[D]espite being relaxed and feeling happy afterwards […]” (course participant, 1, t2). It was not on their priority list anymore. Which is ironic because most attendees at t1, directly after the course, were very motivated when asked whether they wanted to continue mediating: “Yes. For sure! Yes” (course participant, 1, t1) or “Yes. Certainly. Yes” (course participant, 7, t1). The question is: why were they not motivated anymore after four months? There are several reasons. (1) First, the MBSR program and the course trainer suggested mediating daily for 45 min. This appears to be a too long period for a business setting: “[E]specially during the week, the task [45 min meditation] was quite demanding and difficult to do” (course participant, 1, t2). Shorter corporate meditation sessions could have been a motivation for some. However, some argue that shorter meditation periods have less positive effects. (2) A lack of group dynamic existed. During the eight-week MBSR training, everyone was part of a closed group with a trainer in a structured format. This was missing afterwards. Meditation sessions were organised, but the commitment and group feeling were missing: “Well, it was very delightful in the group. It was nice. It was somehow a team building measure. But now, where you are on your own […] it is difficult, and I didn’t really continue” (course participant, 4, t2). “You do it more often, when you do it together” (course participant, 7, t2). “What I am missing is the group effect. That is somehow lacking. Everybody has an excuse. I hope that the new course will push us again. Once there are more participants and we are having regular meditation sessions” (course participant, 3, t2).

(3) However, meditating in a group appears to be important, but the timing is equally important, which is the third point. For example, one meditation group was meeting at 07:30 in the morning. This seemed perfect for some (e.g. course participant 3), but too early for others (course participant 1, 4, 6, t2). Either they had to wake up too early because of long commuting hours or they preferred to stay in bed. That is why it is necessary to have several meditation groups. Ideally in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon. So that all preferences can be met (e.g. if some practitioners have kids).

208

5

Empirical findings

(4) Therefore, a larger community is necessary. One where many people mediate, so that there are more partners. This is suggested by one course attendee: “[I] would say, that the critical mass is a bit higher. I think, due to the second course, the likelihood that it [mindfulness] is lasting is extended” (course participant, 7, t2). So that more people motivate each other and that the group dynamic is sparked (course participant, 7, t2). (5) Some interviewees claim a lack of discipline. Participant 6 answers the question: what he needs to meditate more is, “Discipline, in principle it is selforganisation, yes” (t2). He thinks that once he feels the need to mediate, he will do it again: “Now, I would like to meditate and then I do it. Then it will work out. I am not giving up” (course participant, 6, t2). (6) Mindfulness takes time. It may take years until a change becomes observable. This seems to be a problem for several interviewees. One says his motivation was gone because: “I couldn’t see any results. I expect results if I do something, always” (course participant, 4, t2). Another interviewee claims: 3: “Yes, it is not measurable. It’s all feelings. […] I need numbers, I need something. And that is difficult here. I can’t say how would it be without this course? […] How are we doing after the mindfulness course? What would be the difference?” (fc.grp, participants, t2).

The desire for objectivity, to measure everything and the need for ‘instant gratification’ appears to be a challenge when implementing mindfulness. In that sense “What you cannot measure, you cannot manage”. To satisfy positivist managers doing a questionnaire could be helpful. One could ask course attendees to fill it out before and directly after the MBSR training. There are several questionnaire formats that assess the mindfulness of individuals quantitatively. For example, the ‘Freiburg mindfulness inventory’ (Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmüller, Kleinknecht, & Schmidt, 2006), the ‘Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale’ (Brown & Ryan, 2003) or the ‘Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills’ (Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004). Monitoring this is a good supplement when implementing mindfulness in a corporation. (7) Some (4 and 5) said they had trouble meditating: “If I am not good at it, I quickly loose my motivation, somehow” (course participant, 5, t2). It seems that they did not like to mediate. Sitting still in silence was not for them. This is totally okay and has to be respected. Meditation is not suitable for everyone. (8) Other participants did not feel a need to continue meditating. One attendee reports that he did not have the inner drive:

5.5 Summary of findings

209

(I: Why did it become less?) “Well, at the end it depends on your needs. The drive was missing. I didn’t have a situation, where I thought, ‘I need it’. […] Sure, it did well to me. I learned a lot about myself and my body due to this course and the meditation. But the inner desire to do it or wanting to do it, faded away” (course Participant, 7, t2).

If something else is more important than meditation, it has to be respected as well. No one should be obliged to do something, especially to meditate. Coercion or peer pressure can have a negative effect. The following pages summarise the entire data analysis and its results.

5.5

Summary of Findings

The MBSR course influenced openness, knowledge sharing, individual and collective mindfulness at ITCare. These findings are based on a single case study. So there is no ambition to make them universally applicable. Nevertheless, the results indicate the potential of mindfulness meditation in organisations. The below graphic summarises the most relevant effects that mindfulness meditation has on openness (Figure 5.2): Openness is influenced in various ways by mindfulness meditation (RQ1). Employees are more open to new situations, surprises and unexpected events. The main reasons are the cultivation of the beginner’s mind, to non-judge and the cooperation with their colleagues. The capacity to empathise with others is established as well. Mindfulness meditation develops self-awareness, which allows being conscious about thoughts and feelings. Self-awareness is a prerequisite for openness and is, therefore, considered as an inductive finding. Being aware is a crucial step for frankness and empathy. Also, the willingness to be vulnerable is influenced by the MBSR course. Being sensitive holds great potential to develop an individual but also a team.

210

5

Opening the mind, broadening perspecves and dealing with change

Empirical findings

Open for conversaons, situaons and experiences Reduced hesitaon

Worry less and think posive Dealing efficiently with change

Empathy development

Care for human beings Awareness of thoughts & feelings

Self-awareness increased Mindfulness meditaon effects on openness

Self-reflecon in high-pressure situaons Development of trust to yourself & others

Trust developed and comfort with vulnerability

Being vulnerable and accepng it More willing to allow and acknowledge other opinions

Open to others’ opinions encouraged

Open to feedback The ego is less important

Inducve category in italics Results and effects of mindfulness meditaon

Less persistent on own opinion

Willing to share more

Open and honest to others’

Self-confidence developed Being more honest and open in meengs

Figure 5.2 Summary of findings—Effects of mindfulness meditation on openness. (Source: own design)

Managers are often unaware of what they do to others through their negative behaviour. Talking about negativity and disclosing oneself can resolve problems. However, this was the case at ITCare. In other companies, being vulnerable can be negative. Mindfulness meditation also encourages leaders to be open for other’s opinions. They are less ego centred and opinion persistent. They allow other’s viewpoints and decisions are taken collectively. Furthermore, the leader’s willingness to be honest is encouraged. They are willing to tell directly what is bothering them in management meetings. Such behaviour encourages knowledge sharing, which is the second summarised effect of the MBSR course (Figure 5.3): Knowledge sharing is influenced by individual mindfulness learned through meditation (RQ1). For example, ‘how’ a manager listens is influenced by practicing mindfulness meditation. The managers try to be attentive, conscious when the mind drifts away and aware of interpretations. This has several effects on knowledge sharing. The information received is free from preconceptions and regarded

5.5 Summary of findings

211

Awareness of interpretations Asking and listening behaviour (how to)

Mindful listening opens others

Conscious that not listened Increase in concentration

Focus increased

Reduced unaware state of mind (autopilot) Less multitasking: more respect to others Supports attentiveness to listen

Mindfulness meditation effects on knowledge-sharing factors

larger emotional distance to stressful circumstances – allows to grasp knowledge & consider alternatives Calmness supported

Feeling less time pressure when explaining to colleagues Tries to explain complex issues, despite lack of potential knowledge Calmness resonates on employees

Inductive category in italics Results and effects of mindfulness meditation

Kindness and respect cultivated

The way someone communicates influences social relationships Being kind encourages employees to contact team leads and others (again)

Figure 5.3 Summary of findings—Effects of mindfulness meditation on knowledge sharing. (Source: own design)

openly. The incoming information is taken seriously. Employees feel respected and valued due to the attention given to them. They are more willing to participate, engage and share knowledge. Managers multitask less and are in the present moment. Being concentrated increases efficiency, quality and reduces double communication. Moreover, leaders are more willing to take the time and explain something in detail to their trainees and colleagues because meditation reduces perceived time pressure. A win–win situation is created in the long run: the employees grow their skills and can sooner or later work on their own for the organisation. Meditation also increases calmness and kind behaviour. This resonates on other employees, which can create a harmonious working environment where knowledge is shared willingly. Such positive working culture, in turn, supports collective mindfulness. The following graphic summarises the influences meditation has on collective mindfulness and what further explorative findings were made (Figure 5.4):

212

5

Preoccupaon with failure: Addressing and discussing mistakes

Reluctance to simplify interpretaons: Reduce blind spots and embrace diversity

Mindfulness meditaon effects on collecve mindfulness

Sensivity to operaons: Focus and meet daily

Empirical findings

Mistakes are ‘only made’ by the supervisor: A culture of mistakes Mindfulness reduces discomfort, which helps to address conflicts, mistakes and errors Less roune-blinded due to a beginner’s mind Embrace diversity No individual key performance indicators - only corporate goals Daily huddles Increased focus and concentraon

Commitment to resilience: Being adaptable to stress and finding soluons collecvely

Employee resilience and work-life balance is developed

Ability to improvise and be creave

Inducve category in italics Effects of meditaon NOT meditaon related findings

Decisions at (local) expert level: Trust and develop team players

Develop good interpersonal relaonships Trust development

Figure 5.4 Summary of findings—Effects of mindfulness meditation on collective mindfulness. (Source: own design)

Mindfulness meditation influences collective mindfulness (RQ2). Managers feel encouraged to address errors and mistakes. They are self-confident and talk about issues kindly, respectfully and compassionately. Their ability to cultivate a beginner’s mind and be non-judgmental allows them to question their daily work and routines. Diversity is embraced, which helps deal with complexity and unexpected events. Meditation increases focus and attention. This in turn improves reliability and quality as fewer mistakes are made. Additionally, employees develop resilience in an MBSR course. They learn their limits and techniques to bounce back from setbacks. Moreover, open-monitoring meditations can support creativity and improvisation. As mentioned above, trust is developed and the quality of social relationships enhances. These are two fundamental elements for a company to give experts decision-making power, instead of hierarchical structures. Besides the effects of meditation, ITCare had three cultural and structural settings that supported collective mindfulness that are not related to the MBSR course but still worth highlighting. First, a culture of mistakes. Employees were

5.5 Summary of findings

213

not hold accountable for errors. The supervisor had the responsibility, not the employee. Second, there were no individual goals and bonuses—only corporate ones. Having corporate goals reduces an elbow-mentality and supports cooperation among the employees. It also increases flexibility and adaptability. If the company’s direction changes, all employees can adapt to the new course. There is no need to renegotiate individual objectives and bonuses in appraisal interviews. Third, ITCare had daily huddles. Every department met for 15 to 20 min in the morning to inform about tasks, difficulties and opportunities. This gave every employee the chance to be aware of other tasks and challenges and a sensitivity to operation was developed. All interviewees agreed that regular mindfulness meditation is the key for an organisation to become mindful. However, implementing and sustaining the practice of meditation appears challenging. The data indicates the following approaches for a successful implementation (Figure 5.5):

Structural & cultural implementation

Offer an MBSR course Offer follow-up MBSR courses

Motivation

Top management support

Community: daily meditation meetings in groups

Hire an expert/trainer: who supports implementation for a long time period Employee / department in charge with long term plan

Leadership team as a role model

Time for meditation is work time

Middle management participation

Communicate: information sessions, e-mails, news letters, etc.

Meditation sessions on different time slots (morning, afternoon)

Offer customised audios for office (~20 minutes length)

Choose language wisely

Establishing a room of silence

Involve every employee

Do group follow-up sessions

Figure 5.5 Summary of findings—Implementing mindfulness meditation sustainably. (Source: own design)

214

5

Empirical findings

The above graphic is a guideline for practitioners. It does not have the ambition to be complete. Having top and middle management’s support smoothens implementation. They serve as role models and ambassadors for mindfulness. Starting to learn mindfulness with MBSR appears to be a good way. It is a profound and scientifically proven course, where employees and managers learn the foundations of meditation. Regular follow-up sessions must be organised and planned beforehand. Ideally, by several employees in charge, who are supported by an expert or a trainer. Regular meditation meetings, a room of silence, yoga matts, cushions, teachers and audios must be organised. The length of the audios should be approximately 20 min. This appears to be a suitable time frame in a business context. The daily required 45 min from the MBSR program are too long for a business context. To motivate further, group dynamics are important. Meditating together, exchanging progress and difficulties are helpful. Moreover, accepting meditation as part of work time is a suitable step. Employees do not have to clock out. Communication is important as well. Before, during and after the courses, employees across all hierarchy levels must be informed about what mindfulness is. Why is it done, and what are the effects? The choice of language is also relevant. Terms like Buddha, Nirvana, meditation or spirituality evoke preconceptions that close down employees. Despite many positive effects of mindfulness meditation in companies, the MBSR course at ITCare also had unintended/negative effects. Here is a summary of findings that need to be mitigated when implementing mindfulness meditation: (1) Shifting the responsibility to be healthy and resilient onto the individual employees, instead of the company. Some managers started to believe that meditation is a panacea for all ills. If employees meditate more, they must be healthy. But well-being in a company is more complex and also the responsibility of the organisation. To ensure reasonable working hours, enough man/womanpower and enough time is necessary to recover. (2) Most interviewees reported feeling guilty when not meditating, as it did good to them. This is analogous to playing sport or eating healthy food. (3) Mindfulness takes time to evolve. If an employee meditates daily for 20 min s/he will become more resilient, focused, creative, empathetic and compassionate. However, learning mindfulness can take years and despite regular meditations, some still get aggressive when highly sensitive buttons are pushed. (4) When implementing mindfulness, a cultural shift takes place. One that shifts away from performance, performance and performance to a work-life balance

5.5 Summary of findings

215

oriented one. This change can be difficult for some employees causing them to leave the company. (5) The organisation can be segregated into ‘us’ (those who meditate) and ‘them’ (those who do not). Therefore, everyone should have the chance to take part in information events, courses and meditation sessions. (6) Meditating is time consuming. Seeing this as an investment can be challenging for some. It can be useful to see it as a development. A development in insight, creativity, focus and compassion. It is also worthwhile to remember that personal and organisational development takes time. Overall, it can be said that mindfulness meditation influenced openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness. However, the data also shows counter indications. For example, to non-judge, which is a centrepiece of mindfulness, appears to be very difficult for most interviewees. Their mind categorises tremendously fast into like/do not like or want/do not want. Moreover, the effects of the meditation were often based on the feeling that something improved, but the course participants could not give specific examples or describe situations to prove their point. Another reason for the positive results can be the openness of the corporate culture of ITCare. The company already had a very open and positive corporate culture prior to the MBSR course. The employees were willing to participate and the top management was in favour. It is questionable what kind of impact a MBSR course would have in a toxic corporate environment. The aim of this study is to fill a research gap and to contribute to the discourse about mindfulness meditation and collective mindfulness in organisations. This discourse will be elaborated on in following chapter.

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

The previous chapter reported the results about the effects of individual mindfulness learned through meditation on openness and knowledge sharing (RQ1). It also started to analyse the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness (RQ2). The current chapter will continue to elaborate on both RQs, as the aim of this dissertation is to understand whether individual mindfulness learned via meditation can support employees and managers to deal collectively with unexpected events in an efficient way by being more open and willing to share knowledge. The aim here is to identify a relationship between these concepts and to close this research gap (Sutcliffe et al., 2016). This chapter brings together the theory (chapter 2), literature review (chapter 3) and the empirical findings (chapter 5) of this qualitative research. These will be contrasted, discussed and connected to build a conceptual relationship between mindfulness meditation, openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness (6.1). Practical (6.2) and theoretical (6.3) implications are derived. The chapter ends with a reflection on individual and collective mindfulness in organisations (6.4).

6.1

Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

This discussion chapter will merge the results from RQ1 (How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation?) and RQ2 (What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness?). The theory is contrasted with the empirical findings. Two new concepts evolved from the data: mindful openness (6.1.1) and mindful knowledge sharing (6.1.2). Both new concepts will be elaborated on. This sub © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_6

217

218

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

chapter ends by illustrating the relationship between mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing that are learned via mindfulness meditation and collective mindfulness. This will reply to RQ2 (6.1.3).

6.1.1

The Concept of Mindful Openness

Openness and unbiased thinking among employees are essential for a mindful organisation. Surprises often start with an expectation. By holding expectations, individuals “look for evidence that confirms them rather than evidence that disconfirms them” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 17). This subtle behaviour can be a threat to the reliability of an organisation. By continuously searching for evidences that approves the expectation, the recognition that there is a problem for the company might be delayed (i. b. d.). Weick et al. (1999) and Weick and Sutcliffe (2015), therefore, call for a ‘new and more complex form of openness’. This ‘new and more complex form of openness’ is one contribution of this dissertation, by introducing the newly developed concept of mindful openness. Mindful openness is possible as a result of regular (daily) meditation. Due to regular mindfulness meditation, self-awareness and insight is developed. Such self-awareness is the precondition for someone to be open. To be aware of thoughts, feelings and judgments facilitates to change thinking and behavioural patterns (Kabat-Zinn, 2013), which is relevant for learning (Crossan, Lane, & White, 1999). Remaining unaware in an automatic mode hinders openness. Being self-aware of one’s own expectations and judgements is one core element to develop collective mindfulness. An employee who observes events with a neutral mindset is open to changes happening in his surroundings and is less biased to his or her colleagues. Weick et al. (1999) believe that mindfulness is not necessarily triggered by new, but rather by a persistent mindset. A mindset where familiar processes and events are recognised as imperfect and which is capable of novelty. Openness for Weick et al. (2015) is also about revisiting underlying assumptions. This approach is close to the individual mindfulness definitions. By reading those definitions (see section 2.2.1.1) it becomes obvious that openness plays an important role when practicing mindfulness. Sentences like: “[…] with an open attitude toward ongoing events and experiences” (Bishop et al., 2004; Zhang et al., 2013), and “[…] novel distinction-drawing […]” (Langer, 2014b) or “[…] non-judgmental attentiveness […]” (Hülsheger et al., 2013), illustrate that “mindfulness can be conceptualized as a process of relating openly with experience” (Bishop et al., 2004, p. 233). The empirical results, that mindfulness meditation influences openness, are therefore not necessarily surprising. As illustrated in the literature review above

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

219

(section 3.3), Barner and Barner (2011) studied effects of mindfulness meditation on openness to experience and transformational learning in adult development. They conclude that mindfulness leads to an aware, open, calm, and non-judging attitude, which overcomes constraints to openness, to experience and, therefore, to learning. Mindfulness allows staying engaged with challenging life experiences and novelty. The empirical data agrees on this. Unexpected events, like a server breakdown, sick leave of an employee or a traffic jam to an important meeting are dealt with more openly and swiftly. (Negative) unexpected events are dealt with more easily when meditating regularly. Another study investigated the relation of mindfulness meditation and openness among psychologists and their patients (Soler & Araya-Véliz, 2016). The authors conclude that constant meditation leads to deeper and open experiences. The selfunderstanding of the psychologists also changed. Instead of seeing their relationship as expert-patient, they started to see themselves as being two different individuals in the world (co-presence). It is difficult to bridge an analogy to the empirical data here, as the context is very different: business versus psychotherapy. However, a similar change took place in the managers’ behaviour. They started to realise that as a manager, their knowledge is incomplete. That an (unexperienced) employee or apprentice can know much more than what they assumed. Thus, the relationship of leader-employee changed into that of two knowledgeable individuals being co-present. This somehow also affected the power relationship. Instead of having a hierarchical order, a shift towards equality took place. Moreover, the relationship towards work changed. Instead of being top-down and pushing employees further, leaders started to look at their subordinates’ needs and well-being even more after the mindfulness training. The course participants started to value ‘life’ outside of work. Work did not remain as the priority number one anymore. Tasks can be left undone and the managers encouraged their employees to do so. Therefore, one could say that somehow a relational change happened. This would be interesting to further look at in other studies. Cultivating mindfulness takes away fear and anxieties (Hjeltnes, Binder, Moltu, & Dundas, 2015). New and uncertain things are not perceived as a threat or danger. This is confirmed by the data. For example, interviewees were willing to experience new things and try out a whole day of silence during the mindfulness course. Even as they were initially sceptical about this: “Spending a whole day in silence?!”. All interviewees reported the positive impact this experience had on them. Being mindfully open permits engaging into new experiences. Hence, mindful openness is an extension of McCrae (1987) concept of openness to experience that entails individual and collective features. The essence of an employee to be mindfully open is his regular mindfulness meditation routine

220

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

and training. Mindful openness means the ability of an individual and a group to be (self)-aware, (self)-reflective, open-minded, empathetic, liberal, curious to enlarge and examine experiences. It is the ability to trust, be open to others and their opinion, as well as to share new and common knowledge. Being mindfully open allows managing unexpected events more efficiently by being curious for the new. The research gap on the relationship between mindfulness and openness can be reduced and represented by the following graphic (Figure 6.1):

Mindfulness

Individual

1. Open-mind (idea)

2. Experience new (action)

3. Emotion receptivity & empathy (feeling)

4. being liberal (value)

9. (Self )awareness

Present moment

Collective

5. Trust & vulnerable to others

6. Open to others’ opinions

7. Open / honest to colleagues

8. Knowledge sharing (new and common)

Nonjudging

Open to unexpected events

Figure 6.1 The concept of mindful openness. (Source: own design. Inductive categories are in italics. For completion purposes, aesthetic and fantasy must be added. These were two openness facets that were left out in this research project because they were less relevant in a corporate context of an IT firm)

Self-awareness, trust, vulnerability, being open to other’s opinions and being outspoken are inductive categories that emerged from the data. Mindful openness is the new and more complex form of openness that Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) and Rerup (2005) asked for. Mindful openness allows, due to the practice of awareness of the present moment in a non-judging manner, multiple perspectives. Opposing viewpoints are accepted by a mindfully open person. Paradoxes can better be dealt with by being non-judgmental. Embracing paradoxes facilitates dealing with complexity. All above elements are merged and discussed in the final overall connection between openness, knowledge sharing, individual and collective mindfulness in section 6.1.3 below. Another concept that emerged from the data is mindful knowledge sharing, which is presented next.

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

6.1.2

221

The Concept of Mindful Knowledge Sharing

During the literature review, no articles and books were identified that investigated knowledge sharing and mindfulness. Therefore, mindful knowledge sharing is an extension of Nonaka (1994), Blackler (1995), Ipe (2003) and Weick et al. (1999) understanding of knowledge sharing and collective sensemaking in organisations1 . Mindful knowledge sharing refers to individuals and groups, who transfer insights and information in a calm, focused, kind and respectful manner. Daily mindfulness meditation is a prerequisite. The following graphic is an attempt to reduce the scientific research gap between individual mindfulness learned through meditation and knowledge sharing (Figure 6.2):

Mindfulness

Individual knowledge

Individual knowledge Awareness

Knowledge creaon Mind Body

Present moment

Explicit Tacit

Knowledge creaon

Nonjudging

Mind Body

Explicit Tacit

Collecve knowledge Supporng factors to encourage knowledge sharing Trust (strong es)

Reciprocity

Dialogue Openness to other (opinions)

Autonomy

Power relaonships

Kindness & respect

Ask & listen (how to)

Empathy

Language

Calmness

Create sharing opportunies

Culture of work environment

Type of knowledge

Focus

Managing unexpected events together

Figure 6.2 The concept of mindful knowledge sharing. (Source: own design. In italics are inductive factors from the data analysis that support knowledge sharing)

There are 15 factors that support knowledge transfer in organisations; 11 deductive and 4 inductive ones. Kindness, respect, calmness, focus and a mindful 1 The

authors perceive knowledge sharing as a dynamic human process mediated by communication between group members to utilise and transmit explicit and tacit knowledge (see section 2.4).

222

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

listening behaviour are inductive categories that emerged from the data. These factors are positively influenced by mindfulness meditation and support knowledge transfer. The ways in which these are related to knowledge sharing will be discussed in the next section.

6.1.3

Connecting Openness, Knowledge Sharing, Individual and Collective Mindfulness

Mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing are connected with collective mindfulness and its five principles in this sub chapter. The following figure illustrates the overall findings and the relationship between individual mindfulness, openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness (RQ2) (Figure 6.3): This research project identified nearly 50 elements that must be considered when developing a mindful organisation. All elements must be regarded as fluid and interconnected. There are no real boundaries. For example, an open-mind is important not only for detecting failure, but it is also relevant when simplifying interpretations or improvising. The above graphic separates the individual and the collective level. This is a helpful distinction because mindfulness meditation aims first at the individual cognition and mind. Effects of mindfulness training are mainly observable on an individual level. Collective findings are mostly indirect consequences. Both, the individual and the collective mutually influence each other (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Hwang, 2003; Senge, 1990) to form a mindful organisation that learns and adapts. Having studied the leadership team facilitates a better connection between the employee and the collective level. A mindful organisation is an organisation that integrates the five principles of collective mindfulness, where employees meditate regularly and where compassion and kindness are cultivated. The above overview does not claim to be complete, neither does it claim to be universally applicable. It shall only serve as guideline for practitioners who would like to develop a mindful organisation, for researches who are interested to study this phenomenon further and as a foundation for the upcoming discussion. However, not all points will be discussed, only the most relevant ones. In the text below, elements in italics indicate the elements from the above graphic. All five principles of collective mindfulness will be contrasted to mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing in the upcoming pages. Principle one, ‘preoccupation with failure’ is discussed first.

Uncertainty comfort

Inducve findings from the data

Theory in accordance with empirical findings

Loosen hierarchy Know experts

Decisions collecvely

Taking me to explain

Daily huddles

Connuous trainings

Plans are variables

Queson plans

Mediated sensemaking

Conscious of lacking knowledge

Explorave & relevant findings from empirics, 1 but not related to mindfulness course

Power relaonships

Pro-acve communic.

No IPFs

Regular job rotaons

Language

Autonomy & reciprocity

Construcve dialogues

Calmness

Company vision first

Focus & concentraon

Focus on success

Discuss & learn from failures acvely

Focus on failure

Mindful knowledge sharing

Relevant factors from the theory to create a mindful organisaon

Experts know their Trust & weaknesses vulnerability Good interpersonal Decentralizaon relaonships

Creavity

Quick and honest feedback

Empathy & compassion

Flexibility and adaptability

Coping strategy w/ emoons

Awareness of interconnectedness (system thinking)

Awareness (external)

Decide collecvely

Embrace diversity

Divers checkup meengs

Ask & listen

Being scepcal

Open for others opinions

Kind & respecul behaviour

Culvate a beginners mind

Open & honest to others Culture of mistakes

Open mind

Culture of openness & respect

Self-awareness (internal)

Mindful openness

Figure 6.3 The relationship between individual mindfulness, openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness. (Source: own design)

Legend:

Decisions at (local) expert level

Commitment to resilience

Sensivity to operaons

Reluctance to simplify interpretaon

Indi.

Preoccupaon with failure

Indi.

Coll.

Indi.

Coll.

Indi.

Coll.

Indi.

Coll.

Coll.

Collecve mindfulness

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness 223

224

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

6.1.3.1 Failure Detection via Openness and Honesty As already mentioned, one result of this dissertation is that mindfulness meditation leads to an open-mind. This finding is not surprising as course participants learn to cultivate a beginner’s mind. Meditators try to observe everything with fresh eyes (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). This beginner’s mind holds great potential for flexibility and adaptability in companies. Potential errors and opportunities can be detected. Employees who perceive everything with new lenses tend to remain curious. Curiosity is essential for an accelerating world. If we remain curious, changes happen and our interest is fuelled to develop (Hüther, 2018). Creating an organisation of curiosity can form an adaptable system2 . For a curious and beginner’s mind, a non-judging attitude is necessary. Stepping back from categorising allows getting out of an autopilot thinking and supports having a diverse world view (Bishop et al., 2004; Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Such behaviour fosters understanding for one’s own and other’s sensemaking3 . Bodhi (2010, p. 1) believes that individual mindfulness “helps to gain knowledge of things as they really are”. Detached from ideas, beliefs, assumptions and views. Meditation and the practice of non-judging facilitates to re-evaluate the interpretations someone makes. However, this non-judgmental attitude seems to be very difficult. The empirical data also highlights this. Interviewees realised how judgmental their brain is and how it categorises everything very fast. Many evaluations are made unconsciously (Kahneman, 2011; Kuo, 2017). Meditation practice allows one to become aware of the judging mind, according to the interview transcripts and other scientific researchers (Davidson & Begley, 2012; Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Still, more and regular meditation is a prerequisite to cultivate non-judging. Some people argue that it is too time consuming for employees to meditate and may stop their mindfulness programs. However, this and other research has shown that effects of a mindfulness training fade away once participants stop meditating (Keng et al., 2011; MacCoon et al., 2014; Purser & Milillo, 2015). Continuous mindfulness meditation is essential to keep self-reflection alive. Self-awareness and continuous reflection gives the possibility to doubt existing insights and understandings, which is necessary when dealing with a complex world (Kramer, 2007).

2 But

for this, the entire school system must be changed. One in which the overall goal is to fuel curiosity. 3 “Sensemaking involves turning circumstances into situation that is comprehended explicitly in words and that serves as a springboard into action” (Weick et al., 2005, p. 409).

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

225

“Understanding requires an openness to experience, a willingness to engage in a dialogue with that which challenges our self-understanding. To be in a dialogue requires that we listen to the other and simultaneously risk confusion and uncertainty both about ourselves and about the other person we seek to understand” (Schwandt, 1999, p. 458).

Practicing mindfulness meditation helps us to step-back from our thoughts, to seek for understanding and to develop an open-mind. “The ability of leaders to maintain continuous self-reflection in a wider perspective is indispensable when it comes to increase the quality of knowledge created” (Nonaka, 1994, p. 27). An open mind is therefore necessary. Anwar (2016) investigated the impact of openness to experience on knowledge sharing. He studied 185 employees and concluded that openness to experience positively influences knowledge transfer among co-workers. Having an open unbiased attitude to others is key for knowledge sharing (Holford, 2010). The collected and analysed data agrees with this. Managers were more willing to share their knowledge after the mindfulness training. What is new and surprising is the open and honest behaviour towards others due to the MBSR course. One reason for this is the development of self-awareness of the participants. Course attendees become conscious of their limits of being, for example, overworked. Such awareness allows approaching the line managers and seeking help. However, this is the case at ITCare, where a kind and supportive corporate culture was already present. It is questionable whether this would be the circumstance in a toxic corporate environment, for instance in a company where employees’ needs are not respected. Complex political and social forces often corrupt honest reporting and learning from short comings (Weick et al., 1999). Further, several managers noticed that in leadership meetings unpleasant topics were addressed more openly and directly since the mindfulness training. There are different reasons for this. First, interviewees report an increase in self-confidence after the mindfulness course (Neff & Germer, 2013). They dare to say something honestly, as meditators assess situations to be less negative. Second, criticism and an inappropriate tone are taken less personally. Third, an even more kind and respectful behaviour is established. Kindness and respect are apparently obvious factors that promote knowledge sharing. Positive social relationships with strong ties foster cooperation and communication (Atkins & Parker, 2012; Boyatzis & McKee, 2013; Edmondson, 1999; Jafari Navimipour & Charband, 2016; Peticca-Harris, 2018; Pircher Verdorfer, 2019). This finding appears not to be inductive, but it is. What is inductive is that individual mindfulness learned through meditation influences kindness and respect in a corporate context. Managers and employees report developing a gentleness after

226

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

the MBSR course. This is especially helpful when sharing knowledge (Atkins & Parker, 2012). The empirics and theory both show that a friendly and respectful behaviour motivates employees to work (Klimecki, Ricard, & Singer, 2013) and transfer their know-how (Holford, 2010; Ipe, 2003). Fourth, mindfulness meditation facilitates emotional stability (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Brown et al., 2007; Shapiro et al., 2008). Being emotionally stable with a psychological safe environment supports error correction (Edmondson, 1999). Being honest about errors is being open. These are traits that are necessary to manage unexpected events efficiently and collectively. However, it must be said that the entire leadership team at ITCare has a very close relationship. All have worked together for at least three years or more. They call each other (good) friends. A profound base of trust existed before the mindfulness training. It would therefore be relevant to conduct a similar study with a management team that knows each other for a much shorter time period, before drawing final conclusions that mindfulness meditation influences openness and honesty to others. Moreover, it is also questionable if honest and direct behaviour is ‘always’ good. Some information can be insulting or confidential. It depends also on the culture and context when to be outspoken. A special corporate culture at ITCare emerged while evaluating the data: a culture of mistakes. This is not an effect of the mindfulness training, but it is worth mentioning for a mindful organisation and for the strength of qualitative research. Both the CEOs and the entire leadership team follow the philosophy that employees do not commit mistakes. It is the manager who has the responsibility. If an employee does an error, the leader should ask himself: what could I do to prevent this from happening? Employees are not blamed for faults and this encourages them to share problems arising in their tasks. This supports quality. Errors are detected before they become disastrous. Mistakes are a part of human nature and the leadership team tries to live by this principle. The interviewed subordinates feel respected and well treated when admitting mistakes, which creates a psychologically safe environment (Edmondson, 1999). Such culture is directly linked to collective mindfulness and a learning organisation (Garvin et al., 2008). Mistakes and errors must be addressed openly and discussed to prevent small errors from escalating into larger problems. Errors have to be detected early and be integrated into daily operations (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015; Weick et al., 1999). However, ITCare aims at zero mistakes: “What can we do so that this does not happen again. That is the goal” (course participant, 1, t2). This may increase quality. Most companies thrive for this. However, humans are not error free. Pressuring employees to avoid mistakes may lead to false reporting and even lying. Thus,

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

227

ITCare’s positive mistake culture can be endangered in the long run as newly hired employees could think of perfection and a ‘zero’ mistake culture. But, there will always be errors being made (again). This intention is different from Weick et al.’s approach, who recognise that humans are fallible. For them error freeness is not the goal. It is about incorporating mistakes into the company. No one is error free. To manage a surprise is to contain it rather than eliminate it. To be resilient and collectively mindful is to absorb the change and persist (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015; Weick et al., 1999). Creating dialogue opportunities and having high quality conversations supports knowledge sharing. Individual mindfulness is related to better communicative quality during discussions (Barnes, Brown, Krusemark, Campbell, & Rogge, 2007). Beckman et al. (2012) studied the impact of a mindful communication program on physicians. According to them, program participants were sharing personal experiences with colleagues, which reduced professional isolation. Additionally, mindfulness skills improve the ability to be attentive and listen more deeply to patients’ concerns. This allows a more effective response to clients. The empirical data supports these findings. Especially, due to the gentle tone that is learned during the MBSR course. Listening and communicating pro-socially reduces transaction costs, lowers mistakes and increases organisational reliability. Having a respectful dialogue supports knowledge sharing. Similar findings were made by Jones and Hansen (2015) as well as Bihari and Mullan (2014). Mindfulness contributes to a “supportive organizational climate where people can build a big picture through extensive communication and information sharing. The impact of positive employee relations on communication and information sharing has been extensively discussed in the strategic human resource management literature […] To maintain high performance under challenging conditions, high reliable organisations engage in extensive information sharing across organizational levels that helps create an integrated big picture of operations in the moment” (Vogus, 2003, pp. 882).

Mindfulness meditation helps being occupied with failure. On the one hand cognitively, by self-awareness and openness. On the other hand socially, by being kind and honest. How mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing influences principle two, being reluctant to simplify interpretations, will be discussed next.

6.1.3.2 Being Reluctant for Simplifications via Openness to Others’ Opinions Open for other’s opinions is another empirical finding of this dissertation. Interviewees report their willingness to allow and accept other viewpoints, since the

228

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

mindfulness training. There are two main reasons for this. The main reason is being less ego-focused. Pushing one’s own, egocentric interests appears to be less important since practicing mindfulness meditation. This is important for the management of the unexpected. By arguing for and permitting other world views, a dialectical approach can be created. An approach in which paradoxical positions are integrated. This may support developing a more holistic picture of the complex environment (Nonaka, 1994). Many authors on collective mindfulness stress the importance of discussing openly while operating or being in meetings (Carlo et al., 2012; Strike & Rerup, 2016; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Quick and honest feedback is important for a mindful organisation (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). In such dialogues listening is key. All interviewees (1 to 8) and the theory agree on listening to be a very important skill in organisations (Holford, 2010; Okhuysen & Eisenhardt, 2002). However, there is a difference between ‘common’ listening and mindful listening. How someone listens is a new and important finding of this dissertation. While ‘common’ listening focuses on external factors, such as active listening, nodding, attention and interest; mindful listening, focuses on the internal and cognitive side of an employee. Someone who listens mindfully is fully present in the moment and hears the words, without being preoccupied with judgments, stereotypes and old thinking patterns. Practicing mindfulness allows one to return to what is actually said. The interviewees mention that they try to get rid of thoughts, such as, “I know what you mean”, which causes inattentiveness and (false) sensemaking, which is often the case in ‘common’ listening behaviour. Practicing mindfulness increases concentration and awareness (Good et al., 2016)—also when the attention to listen is gone. This allows absorbing more information and knowledge and provides the opportunity to ask, instead of interpreting (wrongly). To ask for what is really meant. This holds great potential for dialogues in teams. Different interpretations can be discussed from different directions and contribute to better understanding. By allowing other opinions and listening mindfully, interviewees report that they embrace diversity and decide collectively. Contradictory opinions are heard, talked about and accepted (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Three mangers say in the interviews that they can make decisions together with their employees. Before the course, they mainly believed in their own opinion and direction. These characteristics support principle two of a mindful organisation. Sensemaking is openly discussed, which facilitates to discover blind spots in the system (Scharmer, 2018). Decisions are taken collectively to mitigate threats and create opportunities for the organisation. This sounds ideal. Employees and managers who listen mindfully. The empirics show that mindful listening is very difficult. Most interviewees admit that

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

229

they have trouble remaining focused and non-judgmental when listening, especially when not meditating. Preconceptions chip in very fast and thoughts distract the concentration. Without the mindfulness training they would not have been even aware of this. Thus, the MBSR course is beneficial and nearly all participants argue that regular (daily) meditation is necessary to train the mind to remain attentive and aware of judgments. The literature agrees on this (Keng et al., 2011; Purser & Milillo, 2015; Vu & Gill, 2018). “Mindfulness […] slows down the speed with which we call something ‘the same’” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 65). Slowing down helps become aware of what is going on and how we simplify in our mind. Meditation is one way to deaccelerate and to realise what concepts, interpretations and judgements exists within us. It provides with the chance to think more diverse and see more options. “And when we sense more differences, we can develop a richer and more varied picture of potential consequences, which can then suggest a richer and more varied set of precautions and early warning signs” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 65). However, spending too much time in meetings and considering alternative points of view can slow down the entire organisation. Therefore, after most sensemaking processes a decision is taken: do we invest? Do we stop production? Do we extend the contract? The entire domain of decision-making is complex. Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) warn from simplifying sensemaking too early and missing out cues that are threats to the reliability. They believe in complexity and to simplify as late as possible in the decision-making process. Different alternatives must be considered as long as possible before narrowing down and taking a decision. Sull, Eisenhardt (2015), Kruglanski and Gigerenzer (2011), on the other hand, believe in intuition and heuristics when dealing with a complex world. The authors argue that two to five simple rules are necessary for future actions4 . These rules are guidelines and checkmarks to take quick decisions. Both approaches are fundamentally different. One values complexity and the other appreciates simplicity. Mindfulness lies in between. It tries to be non-judgmental. Such awareness enables simplification later which would be in accordance with Weick and Sutcliffe’s approach. Being non-judgmental can also help to develop simple rules. Especially when determining bottlenecks for the company an open stance is useful. In this way, a paradox of complexity and simplicity is embraced via mindfulness meditation. Such a paradoxical approach 4 These simple rules are changeable due to learning and unique to the context. There are three

steps for simple rules. First, what are you or the company trying to achieve? Second, what keeps you or the company from your objective? What is the bottleneck? (money, time, lack of skilled employees). Third, create simple rules based on expert advice, own experiences and values (Sull & Eisenhardt, 2015).

230

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

is defended by Kudesia (2019). He perceives the training of mindfulness as a metacognitive practice. A practice that allows understanding unexpected situations more holistically. Metacognitive practice “takes us beyond ‘nonjudgment’ to model how past judgments produce new situations—and how new situations can help people refine or doubt these past judgments” (Kudesia, 2019, p. 419). Kudesia (2019) believes that practicing mindfulness and metacognitive exercises by employees are integral for collective intelligence. The reason is that mindfulness meditation helps to clarify a thought. When employees “respond to situations as collectives, their response can contain a greater intelligence than any one person could possess—and mindfulness may be integral to this collective intelligence” (Eggers & Kaplan, 2013; Kudesia, 2019, p. 419; Woolley, 2011). Understanding knowledge sharing as a first step to form collective intelligence, this dissertation is the first empirical proof that mindfulness meditation supports collective intelligence. However, more empirical studies are needed to make this into a robust finding. How mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing affect principle three: “sensitivity to operation” will be discussed in the following pages.

6.1.3.3 Sensitivity to Operations via Focus Mindfulness meditation helps retain information and knowledge (Ramsburg & Youmans, 2014) and increases focus. This is empirically proven by many scholars (Baas et al., 2014; Brown & Ryan, 2003; Kabat-Zinn, 2013). The interviewees and other researchers believe that improved concentration causes less mistakes (Zhang et al., 2013; Zhang & Wu, 2014). The course participants also think of delivering high quality work, memorise better and be more efficient, by switching tasks less often and by being less distracted (Levy et al., 2012; Mrazek, Franklin, Phillips, Baird, & Schooler, 2013). Multitasking is reduced by bringing attention to the present moment. Doing things simultaneously strains mentally and produces errors (Paridon & Kaufmann, 2010). This dissertation’s empirics also convey the same. Being focused and concentrated allows becoming aware—aware of problems to the reliability of the organisation. Therefore, focus and concentration are key elements of being sensitive to operations (Huber et al., 2015; Mellor et al., 2016). Apart from mindfulness meditation, there are many other factors that facilitate employees to be concentrated. These can be internal factors, such as health, sleep quality, daily conditions and nourishment, or external ones, like noise or constant distractions. For a mindful organisation, certain structural changes are also necessary. Space and offices are required where employees can work in silence and have the opportunity to get

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

231

into dialogues (Ehrlich, 2015). Mindfulness mediation focuses on the cognitive side. Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) and Senge (1990) stress the importance of systems thinking. To think interconnected and to realise that many processes intertwine together: organisational performance depends on employee well-being, product quality, sales or customer satisfaction. All these factors interplay and lead to corporate success. The MBSR training does not teach to think interconnectedly. It is therefore advisable to do training and meditation on systems thinking after the MBSR training. Recognising how everything is interconnected holds great potential for understanding, development and learning of individuals and collectives. Being focused on the one side and recognising interconnectedness on the other can form a corporate strategy that is close to its operations. Collective mindfulness should become part of the company’s vision and code of conduct of an organisation. Not in the sense of thriving for perfection and being able to always manage the unexpected, but by thriving for and knowing that set-backs, errors and changes will happen. Knowing and being aware of the bounded rationality of each employee (Simon, 1972). Being aware of the incomplete knowledge. By being aware of this, cooperation and communication becomes central. Both are relevant for collective resilience and will be discussed next.

6.1.3.4 Develop Resilience via Mindfulness, Compassion and Knowledge Sharing The data and the literature shows that mindfulness meditation develops individual resilience (Chiesa & Serretti, 2009; Klatt et al., 2015; Malinowski & Lim, 2015; Rupprecht et al., 2019; Taylor & Millear, 2016). The main reason is that stress is reduced and calmness is supported (Allen et al., 2015; Hülsheger et al., 2013; Munoz et al., 2018; Shonin et al., 2014; Sutcliffe et al., 2016). Interviewees claim to have developed coping strategies for negative emotions after the mindfulness course. They say they have become more adaptable and flexible in uncertain and uncomfortable situations. For example, the CEO got into a traffic jam on his way to a very important business meeting. According to him, he would have overreacted but because of his meditation practice, he was able to let go of his afflictive emotions comparably fast and to think clearly of alternative solutions. Such flexible attitudes are also observable in another example concerning a department, where the server of the web page broke down. The marketing manager in charge tended to get excited quickly but because of the mindfulness training, he remained calm. This calmness was the main reason why the situation was solved well. The data analysis shows that calmness has many positive effects, such as the possibility

232

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

to ask questions, listen mindfully and get into constructive dialogues. The team lead’s considerate behaviour resonated onto his colleagues and supervisor who notice the behavioural shift as well5 . Collectively, they could analyse the problem, find a solution, agree on the next steps and communicate proactively. The affected customer was informed. This indicates that mindfulness meditation leads to collective resilience. The department was able to manage the unexpected event of a server break down efficiently. However, this was not solely due to mindfulness meditation. Routine, habits, know-how and control mechanisms play an important role for a company to be resilient as well (Levinthal & Rerup, 2006; Rerup, 2009; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). However, in crisis situations employees tend to shift into an automated mode that can be stressed. One that is very efficient, but less reflected. Mindfulness meditation encourages zooming away and looking at the event from a fair distance. A distance in which solution finding is easier. In business corporations, where life-threatening situations are seldom, having a helicopter position can be very useful. However, calm and distant behaviour is also context specific. Depending on power relationships and the value attached to the (undesired) change, a surprise can be ‘breath-taking’ (Raven, 1958). Taking a helicopter position then is rarely possible as the emotional attachment is too strong. Another important social trait for resilience is empathy and compassion. Mindfulness training enriches both—not only for oneself but also for others (Mellor et al., 2016). Compassion for one-self allows one to accept imperfections of others (Zhang, Chen, & Tomova, 2019). Meditation can have a nurturing and healing effect (Hall, Row, Wuensch, & Godley, 2013; Neff & Germer, 2013; Reb et al., 2015a). Empathetic, compassionate leadership and collaboration is essential for organisational knowledge creation and collective resilience (Boyatzis & McKee, 2013; Friedman & Gerstein, 2017; von Krogh et al., 2012). Due to mindfulness meditation and self-awareness, emotional intelligence is developed (Dekeyser, Raes, Leijssen, Leysen, & Dewulf, 2008; Goleman, 2005). The collected data confirms this. The managers say that they are better able to understand themselves and to imagine an employee’s or colleague’s situation after the MBSR course. Emotional intelligence can be understood as an individual’s ability to have awareness of one’s own and others’ emotions, to be able to motivate after set-backs

5 Calmness

appears to be an important behavioural trait. However, is calm behaviour always good? Is excitement and stress not necessary to alert yourself and others? Often you hear that you should remain calm in stressful situations: ‘take a breath; sit down’. Or in life threatening and panic circumstances, such as being pulled out by a rip curl on to the open sea, life guards tell you: ‘try to remain calm and do not panic’. This would be interesting to look upon further.

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

233

and to understand and empathise into others (Goleman, 2005). Emotional intelligence “can lead to honest and sincere exchanges, enabling interactions to be experienced as genuine and respectful which can generate a sense of belonging” (Thory, 2016, p. 63). Such behaviour can support reciprocity and therefore knowledge sharing. These capabilities become increasingly important in organisations (Sadri et al., 2011). Empathetic, compassionate and mindful behaviour increases positive social connections (Glomb et al., 2011). (Uncontrolled) habitual reactions to colleagues may be dysfunctional for cooperation. Reacting adequately to others supports building positive social relationships. Positive social relationships protect employees from stressors, foster their development, lead to better communication and generate creativity (Dutton & Heaphy, 2003). Training a mindful mind and meeting regularly to practice mindfulness together creates a positive working climate, which is characterised by safety, voice and trust (Good et al., 2016). An open, honest, respectful, supportive and empathetic dialogue leads to the development and sharing of complexified knowledge (Cabrera & Cabrera, 2002; Fast, Burres, & Bartel, 2014; Holford, 2010; Vogus et al., 2014; Vogus & Welbourne, 2003). Employees are encouraged to use their ‘voice’ and speak up (Fast et al., 2014). This is also one finding from the data analysis. After the mindfulness course, participants were more willing to say (uncomfortable) things. Knowledge sharing is encouraged and talking about ‘uncomfortable’ information is necessary for a mindful organisation (Holford, 2010). Threats to the system often lie in the ‘small stuff’ that is not respected or considered (Vogus & Rerup, 2018). However, looking at small cues for failure detection can be very time consuming and resource demanding. When should a mistake or an error be escalated? This is a difficult question that needs further consideration in future research. An interesting finding is the effect that mindfulness meditation has on time perception. The day has 24 hours. Due to social acceleration, many people try to do more and more in shorter time periods (Rosa, 2003). As a result, many employees are stressed and may burnout. The meditation program shifted their relation towards time. The means-end rationality (Weber, 1922/1978) changed. The end, the goal, is still relevant, but the means (the process), the time, to-dos, actions to achieve it have also become more important. After the MBSR course, interviewees report that they cannot finish everything (in one day). Time (means) has become more important—not the end. Employees look at the remaining time to finish a task and not the task itself. If time runs out, they leave it for the next day. This thinking shift seems to reduce stress and increase (individual) resilience. For companies, this could be less beneficial in the short run, as employees do not push themselves to finish ‘everything’. In the long run, it is valuable, as blue- and white-collar workers protect themselves and remain healthy. A dilemma, however,

234

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

is that some work cannot be postponed, such as in hospitals or at the airport. Such organisations must have enough employees and resources if they implement mindfulness meditation. Otherwise, employees would become aware of the toxic circumstances (Walach et al., 2007). It seems that mindfulness meditation has a reinforcing effect. If the corporate culture is positive, then mindfulness meditation seems to ignite this positivity further—like in the case of ITCare. If the corporate culture is toxic, employees will become aware of such and eventually change the culture or structure or leave the company (Walach et al., 2007). Mindfulness and mindful leaders influence their subordinate’s job performance and their well-being (Reb et al., 2014). If the company culture is negative, moments of silence during meditation could motivate employees to listen to themselves, leave work undone and eventually quit their jobs. This is hypothetical at this point but would also be interesting to investigate further: what effects does mindfulness meditation have on toxic corporate cultures? Due to this relational shift towards time, the data shows another effect. A surprising one for knowledge sharing. Due to the mindfulness training, interviewees report taking time to explain complex details to their peers, such as software codes (tacit knowledge). Before the MBSR course, this was different. Work had to be finished fast. The managers’ reported that they had often done tasks themselves, instead of delegating it to someone in their team. Reasons for this were the belief that subordinates will not understand and that it would take too much time to clarify. This thinking has shifted after the MBSR course. Explaining (complex) duties creates a win-win situation in the long run. First, knowledge is shared by taking the time. The manager explains the task at hand sufficiently. Second, learning is enabled. Not only on the receiving side, but also on the teaching side. The teacher deepens his own know-how by explaining and being involved. Third, processes, tasks, jobs and to-dos are reflected and reviewed. Taking the time gives the chance to re-evaluate whether current tasks are important and necessary. Fourth, in the short run, this may take time, but in the long run, the apprentices can support the organisation more thoroughly. The learner can take on responsible work faster. Fifth, the student can also give new insights by providing inputs and questioning current ideas. More points of view help deal with complexity. Thus, mindfulness meditation influences knowledge sharing by taking the time to explain. Double loop learning is encouraged (Argyris, 1976). This is empirically proven by Kuechler and Stedham (2018). They implemented a mindfulness training in an MBA class at the university. The authors conclude: “Mindfulness increases learners’ awareness of their own and others’ perspectives and decreases resistance to novel ways of seeing and doing things. This increases the likelihood that transformational learning will occur” (Kuechler & Stedham, 2018, p. 8).

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

235

However, it is not always possible to take the time to meditate or to illustrate something in detail. Sometimes it is necessary to be fast. The context plays an important role here as well. Weick et al. (1999, 2015) and his colleagues believe that improvisation is important in crisis situations to keep operations running. Therefore, creativity is relevant (Goleman, 2013). Creativity is often blocked when people are stressed (Spitzer, 2012a). One could assume that mindfulness meditation enables creativity by being relaxed. Several authors conclude that mindfulness meditation improves insight problem solving, divergent thinking and creativity (BerkovichOhana, Glicksohn, Ben-Soussan, & Goldstein, 2017; Colzato, Ozturk, & Hommel, 2012; Kudesia, 2015; Lebuda, Zabelina, & Karwowski, 2016; Ostafin & Kassman, 2012). However, the empirical data at hand does not reflect this. None of the interviewees reported creative ideas or problem solving while meditating. This was surprising. Therefore, a deeper look into the literature was taken. One explanation concerns the type of meditation that is taught during the MBSR program: body scan, breathing and walking. This type train the focused-attention and not the diverse thinking ability. Therefore other meditation types, such as open-monitoring are necessary (Berkovich-Ohana et al., 2017; Colzato et al., 2012; Lebuda et al., 2016). Hence, a corporate mindfulness program should include open-monitoring meditation as a part of its curricula. The last principle is “deference to expertise despite hierarchical rank”. How mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing influence principle number five will be discussed next.

6.1.3.5 Decisions at Expert Level via Trust Principle five is a large structural and cultural shift. Those employees and teams with the highest amount of expertise should make important decisions. This requires a fundamental change, where hierarchies have to be loosened, departments decentralised and managers must be ‘d’accord’ that experienced operators and experts make decisions, instead of them. A culture where trust and scepticisms can coexist and mutually influence each other. ITCare has such a structure and culture. They are small firm (~35 employees) with a culture of openness and trust. The challenge is to keep up flexibility when growing. The MBSR course is not designed to develop such circumstances. However, trust plays an important role when delegating decisions. Here, the mindfulness course plays a role. The data shows that the training developed trust among the course participants. The main reason is the time spent together during the eightweek course, where emotions and experiences were shared. Another reason is the

236

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

non-judgmental attitude. Stereotypes are realised and diversity recognised. Openness to value diversity has a positive effect on group trust and a negative one on group conflict (Lauring & Selmer, 2012). Luhmann (1973) believes that trust is a mechanism to reduce complexity. In an organisational world where complexity continuously increases, trust among colleagues and supervisors becomes increasingly important. McEvily, Perrone, and Zaheer (2003, p. 97) expect that employees “are more willing to share sensitive and proprietary details about themselves, others, and their unit or organization when trust is in place”. The authors also think that trust helps deal with organisational uncertainties, lowers transaction costs and simplifies decision-making. Trust and trustworthiness is key for knowledge sharing (Alexopoulos & Buckley, 2013; Andrews & Delahaye, 2000; Hofhuis, van der Rijt, & Vlug, 2016; Maurer et al., 2011). Good social relationships will increase the likelihood of knowledge transfer (Gooderham et al., 2011; Reagans & McEvily, 2003; von Krogh et al., 2012). The MBSR course can be regarded as a teambuilding event to establish connection (Lacerenza et al., 2018). However, to build up trust and trustworthiness an MBSR course and teaching individual mindfulness is not enough. Many other factors play an important role, such as time, reciprocity, honesty and empathy. Moreover, trust is a challenging concept for a mindful organisation. On the one hand, it is necessary to rely on others, but on the other hand, too much trust can be a threat to the reliability and a problem for principle two, reluctance to simplify interpretations. In principle two, employees try to identify anomalies in the system, by not believing too strongly in their own and other’s beliefs. A little bit of scepticism is necessary for this. One that questions assumptions and interpretations. Employees need to have an attitude that “all humans are fallible, and that sceptics improve reliability” (Weick et al., 1999, p. 43). Perhaps a profound base of trust allows scepticism to be articulated. Trusting that arguments are considered and respected. Investigating such a relationship would be relevant in future research. The interviewees discussed in one focus group whether any other team building event, such as a Christmas party, a soccer game or tennis match would have had the same results as the mindfulness course. After a long discussion the group concluded that the effects on the development of interpersonal relationships was higher than in other teambuilding measures. All interviewees agree that the MBSR program reinforced the quality of social relationships further, due to the design and contents of the course. As mentioned above, stress, experiences and emotions are key features. Weekly dialogues bring the attendees together. Sensitive information about losses and problems is exchanged. It is questionable if sharing such experiences is good or bad in a corporate context. Especially, when

6.1 Relationship Between Individual and Collective Mindfulness

237

the line manager is in the training as well. In one of those weekly meetings, one manager admitted that he has sleeping problems. Since practicing mindfulness, he can sleep again. Not being able to sleep well has many negative implications, such as poor performance, mistakes and rudeness (Svedberg, Mather, Bergström, Lindfors, & Blom, 2017). Telling this to colleagues shows a lot of trust and a positive group dynamic. This behaviour illustrates vulnerability. Depending on the company, vulnerability can be positive or negative. At ITCare it had a positive impact. The CEOs and teammates were concerned. They wanted to help and identify counter measures to support him. Four months after the MBSR course, the interviewee was still able to sleep well and his stress level at work normalised. It must be mentioned that a high level of trust already existed before the training among the participants. This could have also been one reason for the manager to reveal himself. Moreover, the long-term consequences of his action are unknown. Would the CEO give a new and more demanding job to this employee? This cannot be answered here and in companies with a toxic corporate culture vulnerable behaviour can have a back-firing effect. The reputation of this employee can be damaged, future career steps inhibited or gossip may happen. How vulnerability affects a company would be an interesting subject to investigate in the future as well. Another challenge is that trust can lead to close attachments. At the first glance it seems good that the employees are closely connected to the company they work for. They are committed, motivated and identify themselves with the company. However, the data shows that some have trouble to leave work at work. They feel responsible for the company. For example, one participating manager said ‘ITCare is his life’. He likes the company so much that he would do nearly everything for it. This manager became sick and exhausted three months after the MBSR course. He had trouble to detach himself emotionally. One reason was his lack of meditation. But, the more important reason is his close attachment to the CEOs and the company. The CEOs are described as very kind and supportive. In private life, this would also lead to a feeling of connection. However, in a business context, such attachment can be never ending. There is always something that can be done for the company. An intertwinement between private and business life happens. Where are the boundaries? When is enough? Internal social norms (e.g. work needs to be finished) can cause employees to work harder and harder without recognising their limits. On the one hand, the CEOs of ITCare claim that the employees’ health is most important to them. On the other hand, they say, who wants to work and has fun working can work as much s/he wants to. They do not see a problem with

238

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

that. The leadership team themselves work quite a lot (average 10 hours a day— before the MBSR course). Accordingly, ITCare creates a close bond with its employees without structural limits. Google and Facebook, for example also offer their workers a lot of autonomy and freedom if the work is done. They have the chance to work from home, go to sports during lunch or have free breakfast at the office. This encourages employees to spend as much time as possible at work. A strong identification and connection with the company is created. This appears to be positive at first. But somehow an invisible cage is created where attachment, social norms, rules and values are much more powerful than rigid hierarchies, clear contracts and specific working hours (Barker, 1993). A balance is needed. One that attaches the employees but enables them to focus on their private life as well. That happened after the MBSR course at ITCare. Worklife balance became much more important for all participants. The employees also recognised this. Overworked co-workers and managers are dangerous for the reliability of the company (Weick et al., 1999). The CEOs worked less and they encouraged their employees to do the same. However, structural measures were not installed, such as stop sending e-mails after 18:00 or working only two extra hours per day. Such measures are necessary to protect employees against themselves—to protect them against their own social norms and duties. Workers who are too closely connected to the company can endanger the corporate resilience on a long run. Employees leaving the company due to sick-leave and not respecting their limits is a (long-term) problem (Bödeker & Friedrichs, 2011; Stewart et al., 2003). When meditating, employees can recognise such invisible iron cages and therefore improve their work-life balance. However, structural measures are necessary to allow the workforce cultivate such a balance. Ryan and Deci (2004) believe that mindfulness promotes autonomy. Autonomy can be understood as being entirely independent from the environment (Bandura, 1989). This independence supports self-actualisation, self-esteem and self-development (Deci & Ryan, 1985). It is debatable if complete independence and free will is possible. Philosophers have argued for centuries if freedom is a state of mind. Probably it is both: to be free in the mind and liberated from (negative) thoughts and being free in the environment (e.g. working on something you enjoy, having a home you like). However, mindfulness supports self-regulation (Arch & Craske, 2006; Chiesa, Serretti, & Jakobsen, 2013), and also “allows for a fuller consideration of possibilities and, thus, a fuller endorsement of the action in which one engages” (Ryan & Deci, 2004, p. 454). Therefore, being not so caught up in thoughts and having more options to decide upon gives more (internal) autonomy.

6.2 Practical Implications: Steps Towards a Mindful Organisation

239

The data agrees with this. This autonomy allows creativity, development and knowledge sharing (Nonaka, 1994). However, a corporate culture and structure that support (external) autonomy is relevant as well. External autonomy means, for example home office, flexible working hours, the possibility to work offline or decide which work needs to be done. Harmonising both is necessary. All above discussed factors illustrate a relationship between individual and collective mindfulness. They are also relevant to form a mindful organisation. The steps that need to be taken to form such an organisation will be discussed further in the following paragraphs.

6.2

Practical Implications: Steps Towards a Mindful Organisation

The above section illustrated the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness (RQ2) by using openness and knowledge sharing as cognitive and social connectors (RQ1). The current section will look at reasons for a weak sustainable implementation of mindfulness meditation at ITCare and consider what could have been done better from a personal- and organisational development perspective. Success factors from the theory for personal- and organisational development serve as foundation (see theory section 2.5). Having a qualitative longitudinal research design gives the opportunity to reflect upon lasting effects of the MBSR training at ITCare. The positive results of a more open mind and willingness to share knowledge still existed after four months. However, the effects seemed to be less observable. The main reason is the lack of meditation of nearly all participants. Directly after the MBSR training the attendees felt revitalised, focused and open, but this faded away quickly without meditating (van Berkel et al., 2014). After four months, some interviewees had trouble giving specific examples concerning their mindful openness, willingness to share knowledge or ability to cope with unexpected events. This indicates that mindfulness meditation was not well implemented at ITCare. The transfer of the mindfulness training into job related activities was not very successful (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). This section is structured as follows. It begins with practical steps to consider when implementing mindfulness meditation in organisations sustainably (6.2.1). The section moves on by summarising training and development measures for employees to form a mindful organisation (6.2.2). In part 6.2.3, structural changes are suggested that are necessary to create a mindful organisation. At the end, all practical implications are summarised as ‘steps towards a mindful organisation’ (6.2.4). These shall serve as a road map to form a mindful organisation.

240

6.2.1

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

Implementing Mindfulness Meditation Sustainably in Organisations

Implementing mindfulness meditations in organisations is challenging. Learning meditation sounds very easy but is one of the most difficult things to learn6 (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). The cultural and structural circumstances appear to be positive at ITCare to develop learning and development. A supportive corporate climate exists (Salas et al., 2018), with a psychological safe environment (Edmondson, 1999) and a collaborative management style (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). The leadership team was convinced that mindfulness meditation is beneficial for its employees and the company (Salas et al., 2018). A top down implementation took place, which is very helpful. Before any training starts a need analysis is necessary (Lacerenza et al., 2018; Neuberger, 1991). According to the CEO of ITCare, the aim of the mindfulness course was to develop stress coping mechanisms among his leadership team. He was also curious about the mindfulness course in itself. During the interviews, he did not formulate corporate goals, such as a reduction of sick leave or increase in performance. No real targets existed. For him, the employees’ well-being was key and not so much the company’s objectives. This is in contradiction with the classical understanding of personal- and organisational development, where specific goals are formulated to serve the organisation before conducting personal development measures. What is the purpose of this training? What is the aim? (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Kearns, 2005; Lacerenza et al., 2018; Neuberger, 1991). Maybe this is one reason why the training was not implemented successfully. However, mindfulness meditation only works if there is no specific intention or objective followed—to non-strive (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). When you non-strive, you mediate for the purpose of meditation and not to reach an outcome. That is a paradox: doing something with no intention. Most of us do something to attain a goal. Mindfulness meditation only enfolds its positive effects if you do it without expecting changes (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). This (individual) philosophy of non-striving is in accordance with Weick et al. (1999) (collective) approach. The authors claim that in order to be collectively mindful, it is necessary to aim for perfection and to know that this will never be reached. For example, work hard to build a safe aeroplane, but be aware that it will never be perfect. Following the philosophy of non-striving, the CEO was right to have no specific objectives when implementing mindfulness. 6 Tuning

into silence while meditating can be threatening for some. Listening to the constant distracting thoughts and judgments. It can feel weird to not do anything. To just sit or lie. This is unbearable for some newcomers.

6.2 Practical Implications: Steps Towards a Mindful Organisation

241

Following the approach of personal- and organisational development, the CEO should have formulated clear goals. This dilemma also needs further research to shed light on it. Before implementing mindfulness in an organisation, every affected person should be informed about it. What is mindfulness? Why is there such a training? Such prior information sessions reduce gossip and false interpretations. This was a problem at ITCare. Most employees in the company did not know what mindfulness was and they wondered why the entire leadership team decided to meditate on Friday afternoon. Meditation may still be regarded as esoteric and mystic. Such false conceptions must be talked about beforehand. Having an employee or department who is responsible for the entire role out of mindfulness is necessary (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017). This person should ideally be experienced with individual and collective mindfulness. S/he organises everything, such as rooms, equipment, trainers, scheduling meetings, etc. This facilitates employees to join, especially if a top-down implementation takes place. At ITCare, there was one employee who voluntarily became in charge of organising everything. However, he became sick after two months when the course ended and no one else continued to organise regular meditation sessions. That was the time-period when most participants stopped meditating. One or several back-up persons were missing. Starting the implementation with an MBSR course appears to be a sound and suitable approach. The main reason is that MBSR is a thoughtful mindfulness training and a scientifically proven program (Lacerenza et al., 2018). Participants receive a profound understanding and awareness of mindfulness. They learn how to meditate, cultivate a beginner’s mind, deal with afflictive emotions and communicate mindfully. However, the MBSR program is comparably intimate. A lot of time is spent with colleagues. Delicate topics are addressed. MBSR is not a suitable mindfulness program for every organisation and culture. Participants share emotional experiences. This can be a problem for employees, where colleagues or supervisors attend the same course. In the case of ITCare this was no difficulty. The CEO always started talking first during MBSR course sessions. This helped to create a trustful environment, as the leadership team shared personal experiences. However, this can be a micro political tactic of an attendee to get sensitive information about his peers. It is arguable to which degree an MBSR training is good or bad for an organisation. Another reason for an insufficient implementation of mindfulness meditation is that the MBSR course is designed for private life and not so much for corporate circumstances. A business mindfulness training, aiming at challenges at work is probably more suitable to lure participants. Employees can then relate between

242

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

the training and their tasks at work. At ITCare many participants had trouble to transfer learnings from the MBSR course to job related activities. Especially informal practices (being mindful while doing). This was puzzling to the trainer as well. He said that in most of his courses, participants report and give many examples how they changed their behaviour at work. For example, breathing consciously once the phone rings, drinking coffee aware or analysing the Excel file non-judgmentally. The trainer could not give any explanation. One reason can be that nearly all attendees at ITCare were healthy. There was no need for them to apply informal mindfulness practices at daily work. This, however, needs further investigation. An additional challenge when implementing mindfulness is the belief of a ‘quick fix’. Many managers search for a simple and fast solution for problems. Mindfulness is non-starter here. It is a lifelong learning and development process. This understanding must be clearly communicated. Otherwise, expectations and disappointments are high. Additionally, a competent, skilled and motivated trainer is important (Lacerenza et al., 2018; Salas et al., 2018). One who is experienced with regular meditation practice. The MBSR course at ITCare was conducted by a very experienced and motivated trainer. He has practiced meditation for more than 25 years and implements mindfulness in other organisations. However, he left the company before and after the course comparably alone. He did not do any prior information sessions to the entire company and the follow-up course took place one year later. Another challenge at ITCare was the lack of a tangible follow-up action plan (Lacerenza et al., 2018). No subsequent mindfulness sessions were planned afterwards. Regular follow-up meetings with the trainer were missing. A long-term implementation map is necessary, as the main goal when implementing mindfulness meditation is to facilitate and motivate employees to meditate and practice regularly (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001). All interviewees believe this is central for a mindful organisation. The MBSR course is just the beginning. Follow-up meetings must be organised in advance in two manners to be effective (Lacerenza et al., 2018). First, as daily regular meditation sessions. Any employee who would like to join can do so. The requested 45 minutes of the MBSR program seems too long as daily practice in a business surrounding. That is also one reason why some stopped meditating. Therefore, different interviewees suggest a shorter time period of 20 to 30 minutes. This time frame gives energy and refreshment. For example, in the morning or after lunch. Google, for instance, has a so-called ‘G-pause’. Every day at two o’clock in the afternoon, a guided meditation takes

6.2 Practical Implications: Steps Towards a Mindful Organisation

243

place for 15 minutes. Second, officially organised follow-up meetings are important. The trainer comes in for one or two hours every other week7 . Topics can be discussed and mindfulness deepened. Such follow-up meetings were missing at ITCare. Directly after the course, all course attendees seemed euphoric and motivated to meditate. They met regularly in the first month after the training ended. Unfortunately, this motivation faded away and after four months, most attendees did not meditate anymore. To prevent this, formal regular meetings that can refresh knowledge about mindfulness should be organised. A follow-up on agreed objectives and further steps should also be planned (Belbin & Belbin, 1972; Tannenbaum et al., 1992). These mindfulness sessions should be a part of work time. This allows practicing and transferring the training onto job related activities (Smith, 2011). Employees are then more willing to participate if they do not have to clock out. This was a challenge at ITCare. Meditation breaks were private time. This could possibly be one reason why fewer people meditated after four months. Maybe the employees would have continued more regularly if it was a part of working hours. However, this can become a challenge with other measures, like Yoga, massages or sport. What should be included or excluded as working time? Every corporation must decide on this individually. Another challenge can be the segregation into us (those who meditate) and them (those who do not meditate) (Reb et al., 2015a). Data about long-term effects of a mindfulness course in a company are not available. Therefore, nothing can be said about this potential difficulty. Still, everyone should have the possibility to attend mindfulness classes. At ITCare, such a segregation happened. The reasons were the lack of prior information sessions and the prejudices of some employees. To develop collective mindfulness, the MBSR training is just a small piece of a much bigger program. MBSR alone is not designed to develop the five principles of a mindful organisation. For example, looking for failures in daily operations is not taught. MBSR was originally designed to reduce suffering, stress and pain (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). A corporate program to develop collective mindfulness can start with an MBSR program. Employees learn the fundamentals of mindfulness meditation during the course. However, continuous training is necessary after it (Vogus & Welbourne, 2003). The intention of the training should be to develop a habit among the employees (Rooney et al., 2019). Cultivating mindfulness should 7 The

layout of those follow-up sessions has to fit into the corporate culture. For example, 60 to 90 minutes on a Thursday afternoon. These should take place quickly after the end of the MBSR course (max. one month later) at regular intervals (e.g. every two weeks). One interviewee suggested doing a silent day with the entire company regularly.

244

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

become a habit. This habit was missing at ITCare. Follow-up seminars should include meditation practices on errors, mistakes, fears, opportunities and chances (Hales & Chakravorty, 2016). Individuals and collectives benefit from a (leadership) training “that combines theoretical, skills practice and experiential learning with regular mindfulness practice” (Brendel et al., 2016, p. 1068). However, these leadership training must incorporate compassion, right ethical teaching, pro-social and pro environmental values (Reb, Sim, Chintakananda, & Bhave, 2015b). Otherwise, the mindfulness movement will reinforce a neoliberal capitalistic system. This challenge will be further discussed in the discussion section 6.4. The following subsection looks at further training that is necessary to develop collective mindfulness.

6.2.2

Extending a Mindful Corporate Culture

Creating a mindful and resilient organisation depends on many more development measures. Mindfulness meditation is just one pillar. The literature review and empirical data suggest the following training areas: 1. Individual mindfulness learned through meditation with right values (KabatZinn, 2013); 2. Mindful communication (kindly and respectfully) (D’Aprix, 1996; Hanh, 2013); 3. Fundamentals of a mindful organisation (holistic understanding) (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015); 4. Failure, error and mistake incorporation (how to deal with it) (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015); 5. Resilience training (to be and remain resilient) (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015); 6. Team development (e.g. 5 dysfunction of teams) (Lencioni, 2002); 7. Agile project management with scrum (Schwaber, 2004); 8. Train comfort with uncertainty (Fraher et al., 2017); 9. Knowledge sharing and collective intelligence (Nonaka, 1994). This list is not complete, but is one attempt to develop a mindful organisation. This training shape the company’s culture further. (1) Mindfulness courses have many positive effects as this dissertation has described above. (2) Communication training is necessary. Participants learn ‘how’ to communicate mindfully. The way you communicate determines often how others resonate (D’Aprix, 1996). This can create a positive and constructive working environment, which is relevant for a

6.2 Practical Implications: Steps Towards a Mindful Organisation

245

mindful organisation. (3) all employees have to learn about collective mindfulness. What pillars are necessary to manage the unexpected? What are the five principles? (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). (4) co-workers must understand that errors are not ‘bad’. That it is a part of being human to make mistakes. The way to incorporate and learn from failure will be taught in this training (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). (5) employees will learn during this course how to be and remain resilient. Sport, nutrition, time management and other measures will be explained. Healthy employees who take care of themselves and others are crucial for any organisation. Fit employees make less mistakes (Weick et al., 1999). (6) these are other team development programs. Here all employees learn team building measures. One example, that was made at ITCare, is the five dysfunctions of teams. This may bond employees together and improve their performance. (7) agile project management with scrum is another training where employees learn how to be agile and self-organise. Much work in today’s companies is project based. Learning a method on how to be more adaptable and flexible holds the potential to create a mindful organisation. (8), shall teach comfort with uncertainty (Fraher et al., 2017). When surprises happen employees can adapt faster. In this training employees are urged to fail. For example, pilots are trained in that way in flight simulations. Virtual reality holds great potential to train comfort with failure. The last training, (9) explains and gives a profound understanding on knowledge sharing, collective intelligence and high-quality social relationships. The world has become too complex to find solutions alone. Besides training and cultural changes, structural adaptations need to be taken to form a mindful organisation.

6.2.3

Implementing Structural Changes Towards a Mindful Organisation

Some structural changes were already mentioned above. For example, being more focused on daily operations or creating opportunities for dialogue. Mindfulness meditation has only an indirect effect on structural adaptations. Therefore, this section is not related to effects of meditation, but rather inductive findings from the interviews. ITCare does something noteworthy, which is not related to meditation. The employees do not have assigned yearly goals. They have no individual performance factors (IPFs) that determine their yearly bonus. This is quite unconventional when looking at larger companies like Siemens, Exxon or General Electric. In many corporations’ employees are bound to the assigned yearly objectives,

246

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

such as an increase in sales volume, cost reduction or new customer acquisitions. Not at ITCare. No employee has any individual goals. They have annual corporate goals, such as turnover or cost targets. These are presented in monthly meetings, to ensure transparency and to show the financial situation of the company. If adjustments are necessary, they are taken collectively. This is interesting because in many companies’ individual goals are used as a means to motivate employees to work harder. Such extrinsic motivation can be financial bonuses, free time or promotions (Latham, 2012). However, employees then tend to work for their own benefit and not necessarily in the interest of the organisation. These assigned goals can also create inflexibility for the company. A plan is set. A plan is stiff. To manage unexpected events planning is relevant. Planning is active, flexible and adaptable (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). So individual goals can lead to rigidity of the employee and the company. Another challenge is the cooperation among employees. If every co-worker has individual goals, s/he may be interested to outperform his peers. Cooperation is diminished. By having organisational objectives, support, collaboration and interpersonal relationships count. However, collective goals can also have downsides. What if collective goals are demotivating for some? Some work harder than others and receive the same bonus. They may feel unfairly treated. This problem would be relevant to investigate further. Daily huddles are another noteworthy feature at ITCare that is not related to the mindfulness training. Every morning, each department meets for about 15 minutes. In these meetings each employee briefly presents his tasks for the day, the challenges and problems they encounter. This gives a brief overview what everybody does and where support is needed. Resources can be allocated. These day-to-day meetings appear to be a useful tool when creating mindful organisations—they are regular check-up meetings (Weick et al., 1999). Continuous exchange is encouraged. Employees and managers remain up-to-date of their operations. Adaptations can be taken early. This approach seems to be rooted in agile project management with scrum (Schwaber, 2004). Scrum provides a practical method to deliver value adding projects and products with a flexible approach and little amount of investment. Agile projects are designed in a very close connection with the customer and user. Every two to four weeks the project team decides collectively on actions that need to be done to continue and to improve the project (Azanha, Argoud, Camargo Junior, & Antoniolli, 2017; Schwaber, 2004). A connection between mindfulness and agile project management would also be valuable to investigate. Further structural changes that are necessary to form a mindful organisation but beyond the scope of this research are: loosen hierarchies (Laloux, 2014; Weick et al., 1999), decentralise (Weick et al., 1999), decisions at local and

6.3 Theoretical Implications: Extending Weick et al.’s Concept

247

expert level (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015; Weick et al., 1999), forming interconnectedness (Senge, 1990; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015), mediated sense-making (Strike & Rerup, 2016), regular job rotations (Beardwell & Claydon, 2017; Weick et al., 1999), continuous personal training and organisational development (Argote & Miron-Spektor, 2011).

6.2.4

Summarising the Practical Implications

The following graphic summarises the steps to create a mindful organisation. These measures may help an organisation to deal swiftly with unexpected events (Figure 6.4): This list of training and structural adaptions do not aim to be complete. There are probably other seminars and structural changes that are relevant for a mindful organisation. These are just a beginning and can be supplemented by other programs. Also, the 22 success factors for learning and development from section 2.5 must be considered when developing a mindful organisation. This dissertation contributes to the steps to keep in mind when developing mindful organisations. The graphic above also highlights the potential research gaps. Some of these will be presented in section 7.4 below. Besides practical implications, this dissertation contributes to the theory. The following pages will elaborate on this.

6.3

Theoretical Implications: Extending Weick et al.’s Concept

From a personal- and organisational development perspective, the data and literature show how important mindfulness meditation is for learning and development. Time, stillness and reflection enable one to become (self-) aware and to question assumptions. This can influence triple loop learning in which learners learn how to learn (Flood & Romm, 2018; Hwang, 2003). Therefore, mindfulness meditation should become a part of every corporate training and organisational development measure. Following authors agree on this: Brendel et al. (2016), King and Haar (2017), Lange et al. (2018), Raney (2014), Vu and Gill (2018) and Wasylkiw et al. (2015). Methodologically, it was beneficial to choose a qualitative research design, as most scientific articles on openness are quantitative. By being qualitative in

248

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

Steps to develop a mindful organisation and the ability to manage unexpected events Implementing mindfulness meditation:

Information session

Implementation is a life long process

Daily mindfulness meditation (e.g. 20 to 30 minutes) Customised for company and collective mindfulness with right ethical values

Parameters to consider when implementing mindfulness meditation:

Trainings and cultural development:

Structural changes:

Long term plan MBSR course

Part of working time

Work related skill development

Establish a 'mindful department'

1st follow-up session

Facilities: room of silence, etc.

Mindful communication

Mindfulness part of corporate strategy

2nd follow-up session

Skilled and motivated trainer

Mindful org. and its fundamentals

Only org. vision and goals (not indivi.)

3rd follow-up session

Separate from Religion

Dealing with failure and mistakes

Daily huddles

4th follow-up session

Person/ department in charge to organise

Resilience

Decision at local & expert level

Include all

Team development

Loosen hierarchy

Practice in groups

Agile project management

Mediated sensemaking

Strive for perfection and know to never reach it (non strive)

Comfort with uncertainty & Decision-making

Regular job rotations

Knowledge sharing

Decentralise

5th follow-up session 6th follow-up session xxx th follow-up session

Further structural changes

Underlyings are research gaps

Figure 6.4 Steps to develop a mindful organisation. (Source: own design. Underlined are potential research gaps)

methodology, this work enriches the research on openness, where only few empirical studies on openness exist qualitatively. By being explorative, the findings enrich theory in seven ways. First, it shows that self-awareness is essential to being open. It is one precondition to shift thinking and behavioural patterns. McCrae (1987) concept of openness to experience is extended by self-awareness. This implies that the quantitative questionnaire on openness to experience and the

6.3 Theoretical Implications: Extending Weick et al.’s Concept

249

‘big five’ personality taxonomy can further be extended with questions assessing self-awareness more. The explorative approach of this dissertation extends the discourse on openness, as Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) demanded a ‘new form of openness’. This ‘new form’ is mindful openness. Mindful openness is centred on regular mindfulness meditation and self-awareness. Secondly, in a constantly changing environment, Weick et al. (1999, p. 36) argue that for an organisation to be mindful cognitive processes should be steady: “Unreliable outcomes occur when cognitive processes vary”. The authors believe that mindful awareness and focus is important to ‘understand’, ‘detect’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘revise’ unexpected events. What is missing in Weick et al.’s concept is the how. How to remain cognitively stable? How to remain focused? The authors remain comparably unclear on a practical approach to facilitate focus individually. Mindfulness learned through meditation is the missing how for their theory and the value addition of this dissertation. The data and literature review show that a stable, focused and calm mind can be trained by mindfulness meditation. This mind remains constant in turbulent and changing environments. Meditation is one missing link to collective mindfulness and the management of the unexpected. “[Mindfulness] practice. I believe this is most important in this subject that you practice regularly” (course participant 7, t2). Another interviewee adds: “This is what we try to establish in our company. That we have fix appointments […] to meditate” (course participant 3, t1). Weick et al. (1999) theory must be extended by individual mindfulness learned through meditation. Mindfulness meditation is one precondition for the five principles of a mindful organisation because the cognition of each employee is developed. It is the foundation of cognitive stability that Weick et al. look for. Therefore, Weick et al. (1999) approach to a mindful infrastructure has been extended and modified with individual mindfulness learned through meditation (Figure 6.5): Individual mindfulness learned through meditation is the sixth principle to develop collective mindfulness. This mindfulness meditation influences all other five principles. Mindfulness meditation with right ethical values is an integral foundation. It influences the cognition of employees to a more stable and prosocial one. These skills are crucial to form a mindful organisation and develop the five remaining principles. Employees who can deal cognitively with unexpected events and who engage kindly with each other (Vogus et al., 2014; Weick et al., 1999). Companies should invest in their employee’s and leader’s mindfulness skills (Ceravolo & Raines, 2019; King & Haar, 2017; Lange et al., 2018; Vu & Gill, 2018). Therefore, Weick et al.’s (1999, p. 37) graphic of a mindful infrastructure was modified from a linear process into a circular one. This permits showing the interconnectedness and builds a more holistic infrastructure. These six principles

250

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

Collective Mindfulness Meditative (Individual) Mindfulness Preoccupaon with failure

Reluctance to simplify interpretaons

Sensivity to operaons

Commitment to resilience

Decisions at (local) expert level

Capability to discover & manage unexpected events

Reliability

Figure 6.5 A mindful infrastructure for high reliability modified. (Source: own design, inspired by Weick et al. (1999, p. 37). Grey colours indicate extensions and changes made)

form collective mindfulness, which gives the cognitive, cultural and structural capability to discover and manage unexpected events. These, in turn, develop a reliable organisation. An organisation, that can cope with the turbulent and ever-changing environment. Third, the definition of mindful organisations is extended with mindfulness meditation and compassion: “Mindful organizations [encourage their employees to cultivate mindfulness meditation, compassion and kindness, and they] devote more time than other organizations to examining failure as a window on the health of the system, resisting the urge to simplify assumptions about the world, observing operations and their effects, developing resilience to manage unexpected events, and identifying local experts and creating a climate of deference to them” (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015, p. 150).

Fourth, two research gaps have been reduced. On the one hand, the above discussion illustrates in detail the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness (6.1.3). The discourse on the connection between both levels is enriched by this dissertation. Showing a relationship that has been missed so far (Sutcliffe et al., 2016). On the other hand, this dissertation fills in on the lack of empirical research on mindfulness, openness and knowledge sharing in organisations. This dissertation illustrates a theoretical and empirical bond. It highlights how

6.3 Theoretical Implications: Extending Weick et al.’s Concept

251

mindfulness meditation influences openness and knowledge sharing. Quantitative follow-up studies can support or falsify the inductive findings. Fifth, the data shows that vulnerability can be valuable for an organisation. Weaknesses and problems are detected earlier if employees reveal themselves. This is beneficial to form a mindful organisation in which errors, mistakes and threats are openly discussed. Therefore, a profound culture of trust and openness is necessary. A working climate, where employees can rely on each other without being harmed. Research about vulnerability in companies would be relevant to evaluate further. This research project contributes to that domain. Sixth, to study the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness, a cross-sectional (psychology, HRM and organisational development), multi-level and longitudinal research was necessary. This dissertation forms an integral approach by combining those different layers. Such studies are quite complex and difficult to conduct (Saunders et al., 2016). Using a qualitative approach was therefore suitable. Focusing on one single discipline, point in time or level of analysis is easier (Bryman & Bell, 2007). From that point of view, this dissertation is a methodological contribution. Seventh, Van Dam et al. (2018) criticise that studies on meditation do not consider external data collection instruments. The authors claim that many empirical mindfulness studies are based on self-referential (e.g. questionnaire) designs. This dissertation addressed this methodological flaw by triangulating and asking employees (not course participants) in interviews and focus groups as to how they perceived the changes in their leadership team after the MBSR course. They recognised behavioural shifts, such as an increase in calmness, less stress reactivity, being more attentive and valuing life outside work more. All employees want that their managers continue to meditate. These findings are a value addition from a methodological point of view, as they add an external perspective and eventually some ‘objectivity’8 . These theoretical contributions shall inspire scholars to dig deeper or question some of the findings of this dissertation. A constructive dialogue on mindfulness in organisations is necessary to mitigate the challenges of the 21st century. This discourse will be continued in the following section, which reflects on individual and collective mindfulness.

8 It

is questionable, if ‚objectivity‘ is possible at all. From a positivist perspective, yes. From a social constructivist perspective, no.

252

6.4

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

Reflections on Individual and Collective Mindfulness

Individual mindfulness learned through meditation originates in Buddhist philosophy. Buddhism can be seen as a religion. In a corporate context, implementing religious practices are problematic, as various ethnic and religious groups are represented. Therefore, mindfulness must be detached from Buddhism and spirituality in a corporate context. The practice of individual mindfulness itself by bringing attention non-judgmentally to the present is a trait that can be learned and separated from any religious belief. However, once you start taking interest in mindfulness, many want to know more about it. They may encounter Buddhism and other religions. Separating them completely is therefore difficult in the long run. This may offend other religious groups in organisations. An implementation must therefore be considerate and thoughtful. Some corporations operate in the exploitation mode, where an increased efficiency, productivity and profit is sought. Especially companies listed at the stock market who must pay out dividends are eager to exploit. They try to maximise the outcome and profit. An imbalance often exists, where exploration and inventions have become secondary. Mindfulness meditation holds the potential to bring back a balance—a healthy balance between exploration and exploitation (March, 1991). Calmness, silence and cooperation gives the opportunity to reflect, develop and learn. For example, one leading engineer at Google received his best ideas when meditating. That was one reason for Google to invest into their mindfulness program (Tan, 2012). However, it is questionable whether developing a mindful corporation that is able to manage unexpected events is in contradiction with profit maximisation. For profit maximisation, standardisation, economies of scale and routines are important. In a mindful organisation, on the contrary, a preoccupation with failure and a reluctance to interpretations is necessary. A lot of time and resources are invested to become flexible, to look at near misses and potential threats. Extensive discussions occur and decisions take longer. Employees must be resilient and therefore they need time to recover. It would be interesting to investigate further whether developing mindful organisation is in contradiction with profit maximisation. However, many corporations like SAP or Google crave for mindfulness training. They see the benefits. On the one hand, employees are more relaxed, creative, focused and perform better. On the other hand, it is quite a (time) investment. Mindfulness meditation in organisations seems to be paradoxical: Investment vs. positive effects. The empirical data indicates that both can co-exist in organisations: mindfulness meditation (exploration) and performance (exploitation). More research is necessary to elaborate on this.

6.4 Reflections on Individual and Collective Mindfulness

253

Some argue that mindfulness training can be manipulated to do bad things. Bullying, bossing or firing can be done mindfully (Rosa, 2016a). Perpetrators can use mindfulness meditation as a self-regulatory technique to distance emotionally (Reb et al., 2015b). To distance from negative feelings and bad consciousness. Empirical research on unwholesomeness and mindfulness is lacking. Scholars believe that mindfulness must be implemented together with ‘right’ values and ethical corporate goals (Purser & Milillo, 2015; Vu et al., 2018). Otherwise, meditation can contribute to ‘good’ and ‘bad’ objectives. The responsible person and trainer who implement mindfulness in a company can influence the direction. They have quite some power for the future outcome. The trainer has to teach ‘right’ mindfulness, where pro-social behaviour is a centre piece (Bodhi, 2010). This holds the potential to shift a corporate mindset form a destructive to a constructive one. The empirical data shows that the MBSR course leads to more respect, empathy and compassion. This finding is supported by Ruedy and Schweitzer (2010), who also conclude that mindful individuals take more ethical decisions. Likewise, Vu and Gill (2018) think that mindfulness meditation is more than a technique to reduce stress. The authors believe in its ethical and holistic practice. Davidson and Begley (2012) are also convinced of the good of meditation and humans. However, the trainer and the participants’ values play an important role when mindfulness is being implemented. An analogy can be drawn to teachers, professors, priests and Imams. Those who teach have quite an influence on their community. How they interpret data, theory, science, the Bible or the Koran affects their thinking, behaviour and teaching. Another downside of mindfulness meditation is seen by Purser (2019). He thinks that mindfulness meditation is currently misused in our capitalist society. He thinks that neoliberal structures are reinforced by mindfulness meditation. Purser (2019) claims that employees who meditate and who accept their anxieties and feelings do not change what caused those. Employees start to accept their status quo, may it be a lot of stress, problems with the supervisor or other anxieties. The burden of resilience, stress and health is shifted on to the shoulders of the individual employee. The data gathered for this work agrees on this. It is the responsibility of course attendees to meditate regularly and to handle stress. The responsibility is taken away from the corporations, politicians and the society. Resilience and stress is often seen as a personal problem and mindfulness training is offered to help workers cope with it and work more efficiently and calmly in toxic environments (Purser & Milillo, 2015). This is not the intention of mindfulness meditation. The intention is to liberate individuals

254

6

Discussion and Conceptualisation of the Findings

from suffering and terminate unwholesome circumstances (Bodhi, 2010). Therefore, corporate structures and the culture of an organisation must be changed to become wholesome. Purser (2019) argues further that corporate mindfulness-based programs place societal problems like burnout, social injustice or the climate crisis on the individual level (shoulders). Employees should optimise themselves to remain competitive by meditating. Corporate mindfulness-based programs do not change the system that caused those problems. He believes that the system must be changed to counter the problems of social acceleration. New laws reinforcing the unions, alternative school systems, changing the amount of weekly working hours, regulating financial markets or moving to a post-capitalistic society are approaches to tackle these difficulties. Unfortunately, those in power (politicians, CEOs, fund managers) are not necessarily interested in changing the system, as they are at the top of the hierarchy and profit from it. Being interested in mindfulness for almost a decade now, I believe that mindfulness meditation in organisations will mainly have beneficial effects. People will start to wake-up. To realise that more things and more consumption is not the path to happiness. Consumption fuels a destructive neo-liberal capitalistic system, but it is not the answer for a lasting well-being. Mindfulness meditation holds the potential to be the antidote to neo-liberalism and capitalism. Some believe that mindfulness is a trend. That it will fade away again. I believe it will stay. It is not a trend. Mindfulness meditation forms a silent reLOVEution. A reLOVEution to change the system from within—from bottom-up. Employees and companies start to invest into corporate mindfulness programs. Either to have healthier employees, more resilient co-workers or the ability to manage unexpected events. It is not so much about developing mindful organisations, who can manage unexpected events. It is more about creating ‘kindful’ organisations. Organisations that do good—do good to their employees, stakeholders, the ecology and nature. Companies that operate in the interest of life—both human and animal life. A life well lived by sharing revenues (goods, production, profit) fairly. Where investments are made in line with nature. Mindfulness meditation, compassion and kindness is one way to create a more equal planet, where social acceleration, social injustice and the climate crisis are diminished. This is a dream. This is a vision that must become a reality before pollution and the climate crisis will have its disastrous effect on this planet. Mindfulness is one way to wake up. To wake up and prevent this nightmare scenario from happening. We need more social and kind people and leaders to change this society to a better one. To summarise, this chapter revealed a relationship between individual mindfulness and collective mindfulness (RQ2). It showed how regular mindfulness

6.4 Reflections on Individual and Collective Mindfulness

255

meditation can contribute to build collective mindfulness. Openness (cognition) and knowledge sharing (socially) are connectors between individual and collective mindfulness.

7

Conclusion

What are reasons for this research? What is the contribution of this study? What is new to the scientific and practical world? What are the most relevant findings and its conclusion? Where are the limitations? These questions will be addressed in this last Chapter. It starts by summarising the entire research project (7.1) and moves on by wrapping up the contribution of this study (7.2). The methodology and the results are critically reflected upon in section 7.3. The chapter ends with potential areas for future research (7.4).

7.1

Summary: Starting Point, way of Proceeding and Relevant Findings

Starting point: This dissertation aspired to better understand how individuals and organisations can deal with social acceleration and the challenge of increasing uncertainty. One way is to develop a mindful organisation. An organisation that is capable of managing unexpected events, integrating change continuously and dealing with social acceleration. Finding ways to deal with faster and frequent change will become more and more important for most organisations in the 21st century. Employees and companies face challenges like stress, mental exhaustion or the difficulty to plan ahead. Products, trends, processes and structures within society and its organisations are replaced at an ever-increasing pace (Rosa, 2003, 2013). One approach to tackle these problems is individual and collective mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 2013; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). So far, individual mindfulness has been well studied in the medical and psychological domain. Moreover, empirical research on collective mindfulness is evolving. What is missing is an analysis of the relationship between both the concepts (Sutcliffe et al., 2016). Especially if individual mindfulness learned through meditation is one missing link to manage © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0_7

257

258

7

Conclusion

unexpected events collectively. This dissertation is an attempt to reduce this research gap. In order to study this connection, the effects of a mindfulness training in and on an entire leadership team and its company were qualitatively investigated. Studying such a relationship can be tricky. Therefore, two key parameters to establish collective mindfulness were considered in more detail: openness and knowledge sharing. Openness was chosen because it affects the cognition of an individual. Knowledge sharing serves as a connector between social relationships (Rerup, 2005; Vogus & Welbourne, 2003; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015). Based on these starting points, the following research questions were investigated: RQ1: How does individual mindfulness influence openness and knowledge sharing among team members in a for-profit organisation? and RQ2: What is the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness? Way of proceeding: An eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training was conducted in a small IT organisation. Seven managers (nearly the entire leadership team) and one employee participated in the program. Semistructured interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with all the attendees before the course, directly after it and four months after its end. In order to capture external perspectives on the effects of the mindfulness training, ten semi-structured interviews were carried out and two focus groups were set-up with employees of those managers plus the trainer. A total of 37 interviews were organised over a period of six months. All the interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed with a qualitative content analysis (Kuckartz, 2016; Schreier, 2012). Most relevant findings: Overall, it can be said that individual mindfulness learned through meditation influences openness, knowledge sharing and collective mindfulness. The leadership team became more open (RQ1). They developed self-awareness, an open-mind, more empathy, trust, vulnerability, a willingness to experience new things, honesty to others and an openness to opposing opinions. A new concept—mindful openness—evolved from this analysis. It is an openness in which self-awareness is the precondition for someone to be open. To be mindfully open is to be aware of thoughts, feelings and judgments. It allows one to change thinking and behavioural patterns and to approach the world in a more open manner. Course participants also reported being honest and outspoken to others when the context required it. For example, after the mindfulness course, stressed employees were more aware of being exhausted. They were truthful about this to their managers in a quick manner. This gave the managers an opportunity to provide support, change tasks and structures. Keeping problems to oneself for

7.1 Summary: Starting Point, way of Proceeding and Relevant Findings

259

too long can be a problem for the individual as well as for the reliability of the organisation. The course participants’ knowledge-sharing behaviour was also positively influenced by the mindfulness training (RQ1). How knowledge was being transferred changed. After the MBSR course, the managers became kinder, more respectful, attentive, listened mindfully, patiently, calmly and were willing to take the time to explain something to their colleagues. These are all relevant factors for knowledge transfer, the development of collective sensemaking and the management of the unexpected. These positive leadership traits resonated on their subordinates. They wanted their managers to continue meditating. Whether more knowledge was being shared as a consequence of meditation cannot be said. This is probably impossible to grasp and eventually not necessary to know, as there is always sensitive information that is not meant for everyone, such as confidential projects, re-organisations or private secrets. What kind of knowledge is being transferred is also very context specific. It depends on the (power) relationships, the hierarchical degree, the level of trust and personal attitude. Therefore, more sharing is not automatically better. To keep up these positive effects, continuous mindfulness meditation is essential. The literature highlights this and all course attendees also believed so. Sustaining continuous meditation was, however, difficult at ITCare. Three months after the course ended, nearly all participants stopped meditating. To encourage employees to meditate and to implement mindfulness meditation in a company successfully, the data analysis revealed the following steps: • • • • • • • • •

Gaining top- and middle management support simplifies the implementation; An MBSR course is a reasonable way to start the roll-out process; Planning follow-up sessions are necessary to keep up motivation; Hiring an expert for the entire implementation process; Having an employee or department in charge to organise everything (room, meetings, etc.); Communicating proactively in a neutral language (no esoteric terms); Allowing daily meditations as a part of working hours at different time slots throughout the day; Adapting meditation sessions to shorter time periods (e.g. 20 to 30 minutes); Practicing in groups for further motivation.

Even if the MBSR course had mostly positive effects, the data also shows counter indications. For example, to non-judge, which is a centrepiece of mindfulness,

260

7

Conclusion

appears to be very difficult for most interviewees. Their mind categorises tremendously fast into categories such as like/do not like and want/do not want. Also, the effects were often based on the feeling that something improved, but the course participants could not give specific examples or describe situations. Another reason for the positive results can be the openness of the corporate culture of ITCare. The company already had a very open and positive corporate culture. The employees were willing to participate and the top management was in favour of meditation. Another challenge that the data analysis revealed was a cultural shift that took place. Work-life balance and being human-orientated became more important. Such cultural change can be problematic for some blue- and whitecollar workers. Tensions in the company were the result. Two employees lost their belief in the corporate identity. For them performance is most important in a corporate context. They could not understand why the management went meditating on Friday afternoons and in the mornings. One of them left the organisation and the other felt unhappy. Another downside was that some managers started to believe that the health of an employee is the responsibility of the individual and not so much of the corporation. They believed that meditation is a panacea for all ills: “If employees meditate, they must be healthy”. But well-being of staff in a company is also the responsibility of the organisation, for example by ensuring reasonable working hours, enough (wo)manpower and sufficient time to recover. Another trade-off that the mindfulness meditation brought was the constant guilt that employees felt if they did not meditate. This is comparable to regular sport or healthy nutrition. If one does not do it, one feels culpable. Individual mindfulness learned through meditation is key for a mindful organisation. It is one cornerstone thereof and serves an integral purpose. Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) concept of a mindful organisation is therefore extended by individual mindfulness learned through meditation, which becomes the sixth principle of their concept. Thus, mindfulness meditation is the missing how and an answer to the question: how can employees become cognitively stable to deal with an ever-changing environment? Employees should meditate regularly (daily) to become mindful and enfold the positive effects of it. However, individual meditation on its own is not enough to form a mindful organisation. Routines, mindlessness, habitual learning, structures and plans are also important for a company to be efficient. But, these traits make a company inflexible, therefore, further structural and cultural changes are necessary. The literature and this explorative data analysis identified some steps to form a mindful organisation:

7.1 Summary: Starting Point, way of Proceeding and Relevant Findings

261

• Cognition: implement mindfulness meditation with the right ethical values; • Culture: do personal and organisational development, such as mindful communication workshops, resilience training, agile project management courses, seminars on mindful organisations, etc; • Structure: set-up mindful department, only corporate goals (no individual ones), daily huddles, loosen hierarchies, regular job rotations, decentralisation, decisions by experts, etc. Creating a mindful organisation is a never-ending journey. It is and will never be possible to create a ‘perfect’, highly reliable, performing and a totally mindful organisation. There is no end. Mindful organising is a ‘mean’ to an unreachable end (goal). The idea is to strive for it and have a vision of it but to know that it is not achievable. Following this path allows organisations to manage unexpected events. Concluding, there is a relationship between individual mindfulness learned through meditation and collective mindfulness (RQ2). The reasons (the what) are the cognitive changes and (self-) awareness that meditation brings. Practitioners learn to cultivate a beginner’s mind and to see everything with fresh eyes in a non-judgmental manner. Seeing everything non-judgmentally influences a lot. Especially, when unexpected events happen, they can be dealt with more swiftly. Old thinking patterns are recognised and alternative approaches identified. Stress coping mechanisms are developed and individual resilience increases. Meditators recover faster and are more focused. They remain attentive for longer time periods, which reduces mistakes and double communication. Further, mindfulness meditation influences social interactions and knowledge sharing positively. Kind, prosocial and respectful behaviour allows dealing with surprises collectively. Error reporting, honesty, feedback and open discussions help find solutions for upcoming challenges together. The mindfulness training improved the quality of the social relationships among the participants in this case study. Therefore, organisations must invest in mindfulness-based programs to manage unexpected events collectively. Mindfulness programs in which right ethical values such as compassion and kindness are taught and where employees have the chance to meditate daily.

262

7.2

7

Conclusion

Contributions of this Research Project

Reduced research gaps: By investigating the relationship between individual and collective mindfulness one research gap has been bridged. In addition, studying the effects of mindfulness meditation on openness and knowledge sharing in an organisational context was a novel undertaking by this author. Methodological design: This research project adds methodological value to the existing literature. First, studies that examine the phenomenon of mindfulness in organisations longitudinally are rare. Many scholars stress the importance of such research in this domain. Second, the triangulation is value creating. By interviewing non-participants on the effects of mindfulness meditation on their managers, this work gains an external perspective and reinforces the trustworthiness of the results. Missing triangulation is a strong critique of many studies on mindfulness. Third, conducting a multilevel and cross-sectional study is challenging and rare. This holds the potential to enrich the scientific discourse in this area. Practicality: The literature review and the empirical results encourage employees and managers to develop mindful organisations. First, a guideline is presented in this dissertation that describes steps to form such an organisation. Second, the empirical data shows that there is an effect of individual mindfulness learned through meditation on collective mindfulness. Theoretical value addition: This research contributes to the theoretical discourse in three ways. First, Weick, Sutcliffe and Obstfeld’s concept on collective mindfulness is extended by individual mindfulness learned through meditation. Mindfulness meditation serves as a foundation to form collective mindfulness and becomes the sixth principle of their concept. Second, mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing are presented as new theoretical constructs. Mindfulness meditation and self-awareness are necessary preconditions for both. This implies that the quantitative questionnaire on openness to experience and the ‘big five’ personality taxonomy should be supplemented with additional questions about self-awareness. It is beyond the scope of this research to formulate these questions. Third, the definition of mindful organisations was extended by mindfulness meditation and compassion.

7.3 Critical Reflection and Limitations

7.3

263

Critical Reflection and Limitations

As with any scientific research, there are limitations to the results and the methodology pursued in this work. It is not in the nature of a qualitative research to say ‘yes, there is an effect’, or ‘no, there is none’. Context always plays an important role. The first challenge for this research project was the choice of the ontology. Choosing an ontology determines the entire research project and its outcome because the ‘real’ is interpreted differently (Fleetwood, 2005). At the beginning, I believed in a combination between a critical realist and a social constructivist approach. However, by starting to read and understand different philosophical approaches to reality, doubts came up. On the one hand, critical realists believe that there is (eventually) a reality existing that is embedded in the structures we are living in. A reality “can exist independently of its identification implies it can exist without someone observing, knowing, and constructing it” (Fleetwood, 2005, pp. 198). On the other hand, constructivists believe reality is something multifaceted that is socially constructed by social actors based on their culture and language (Bryman & Bell, 2007). There is no ‘one reality’ for constructivists. So, there is a fundamental difference between both ontologies (Fleetwood, 2005). The researcher had to decide on one ontology and eventually chose critical realism. The reason for this is that critical realists try to mitigate the weaknesses positivism and social constructivism entail. Hedlund-de Witt (2012) puts this into a nutshell. He says that critical realism “shares positivism’s interest in the objective world and identifying causes, yet it diverges radically from it in claiming that the study of the empirical, in-and-of-itself, is too superficial, since it disregards the unobservable generative mechanisms that produce the actual events” (Hedlund-de Witt, 2012, p. 6). Critical realism attempts to mitigate the weaknesses of constructivism by developing non-arbitrary world-views (i.b.d.). Critical realists try to commit and identify a reality at some point so that it can be changed or criticised. Therefore, critical realism honours the creative human subject (constructivism) and also the reality of objects (positivism) (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2018). However, as any ontology, critical realism also has its weaknesses. One critique of critical realism is its confidence with which it assumes an external reality as a point of departure (i.b.d.). Studying mindfulness in organisations in a qualitative way guided this researcher into a specific direction and influenced the choice of methodology. Other approaches were neglected. Another downside of critical realism is its assumption that reality also lies in its structures that divide the population. Power relationships are created and these strongly influence reality (Alvesson & Sköldberg,

264

7

Conclusion

2018). Such a divide is not in accordance with individual and collective mindfulness as both the concepts are integrative and holistic. Collective mindfulness is about embracing paradoxes. But does this also imply that it is therefore possible to allow two distinct ontologies when analysing collective mindfulness? Probably yes because paradoxes embrace the existence of distinct approaches. An integral theory would probably have been the right choice of ontology for this dissertation. An integral theory is an attempt to “include as many perspectives, styles, and methodologies as possible within a coherent view of a topic […]. Integral approaches are ‘meta-paradigms’, or ways to draw together an already existing number of separate paradigms into a network of interrelated, mutually enriching perspectives” (Wilber, 2003, p. xii). However, I found out about this theory very late during this research, when this project was already close to completion. It must be added that philosophers have discussed perception and reality for centuries and this discussion is infinite. But given that, this is a work in organisational studies, therefore, the ontological position was worth mentioning here. However, a detailed discussion of ontology is beyond the scope of this work. The results are based on a single case. They are not necessarily transferable to other cases or universally applicable. The interview results were based on a small group who volunteered for this research. They were not randomly selected and therefore may perhaps eventually be biased. To gain more generalisable results, a multiple-case study research can be applied. Applying this dissertation’s design on other organisations can reinforce or weaken the results of this study. Furthermore, the interviewees recognised effects of the training but those were mainly based on feelings. They had trouble giving specific examples or situations where they applied what they had learned. This was especially the case with the follow-up interviews. This indicates that regular meditation is important to remain mindful, as more examples were given directly after the course. Another reason is that mindfulness meditation is highly subjective. It is very cognitive. In many meditations, senses like vision or touch are abandoned. Eyes are closed. These senses can support learning and may explain why fewer examples were given. Additionally, the trainer conducting the course and the length of the mindfulness training has quite some influence on the outcome of the results. If the trainer is unskilled, it can affect the entire research. For this study, the trainer appeared to be quite competent and the MBSR format a useful length for a mindfulness training. Additionally, the CEOs wanted to do a mindfulness training in their company. They were in favour of meditation. What would the results be if the management was against it? Or if employees initiated such a course without management support? The influence of power relationships was not considered extensively in the results

7.3 Critical Reflection and Limitations

265

section. Future studies could focus on this more thoroughly. Moreover, the research subjects were quite homogenous in terms of their gender, age and origin. This influences the findings. For instance, seven men and only one woman participated in the MBSR course. It would have been interesting to evaluate more female managers. Also, the interviewees were between 27 to 41 years of age. How would much younger (e.g. 21 years old) or older (e.g. 62 years old) employees have experienced the mindfulness course? Further, most course participants had roots in Germany. How would Indians, Japanese or Mexicans see their openness change due to the MBSR training? More group diversity would have enriched the results. An equal balance, across age and tenure would have been wishful. Future studies should try to consider this. All research has its limitations. It is impossible to consider everything. Especially, when analysing Weick et al.’s concept that embraces various layers from routine to novelty, from culture to structure, from individual to collective. However, only a small fraction of it was studied here namely, openness and knowledge sharing. Other layers such as interconnectedness of employees, departments and organisations can be investigated in future research after a mindfulness training. Effects of openness and knowledge sharing on innovation would also be valuable. Literature and results about mindfulness and decision-making was barely considered in this project. Another area that was not analysed and discussed is the entire domain of rewarding error reporting: how does rewarding affect mindfulness meditation and knowledge sharing? Moreover, the research field of risk management was also not considered. This domain opens many factors for the collective management of the unexpected. Further, the entire theoretical research stream of organisational behaviour was only indirectly considered. Taking a deeper look into that domain can also bring new perspectives. From a methodological point of view, it was challenging to grasp mindfulness in organisations. Experiencing mindfulness is very subjective and diffuse. Feelings and perceptions were the main sources of evidence. A qualitative approach was therefore helpful to capture these experiences in words. However, more methodological instruments would have been desirable, such as ethnography. Following the research subjects in their daily work settings could have also been valuable. Upcoming studies can observe formal and informal meetings before and after a mindfulness training and see any changes. Conducting an ethnography would also have been beneficial to better observe the development of the collective level. The focus groups were useful, however looking at meetings, processes and behaviours would have been enriching. Doing an ethnography was difficult, as the organisation being studied was 600 kilometres away from the researcher’s residence. Weekly diaries can also bring

266

7

Conclusion

additional insights on the subjective impressions of the participants. Additional information on changes could have become obvious. The number of course participants limited the research design. More course attendees would have given the opportunity to do a mixed method approach. Questionnaires before the mindfulness training, after it and four months following its completion can look at openness and knowledge sharing from a different angle. But because of the small number of people, it was difficult to look at gender, age and origin due to reasons of anonymity. Keeping anonymity was important and with such a small number of people, interviewee quotes can easily be detected with too much contextual information. Therefore, it would be interesting to investigate how social and ethical characteristics influence mindfulness, openness and knowledge sharing. Further, the overall length of the data collection was six months, which is not a very long period in corporate life. Studying the case for longer would have been desirable. In this perspective, a question arises on labelling this research as a longitudinal study because its total duration of six months is too short. Most studies that are labelled as longitudinal are more than nine months or often span over many years (Saldaña, 2003). However, choosing such a design allowed this project to study change over time. This was one intention of this dissertation. Besides, this research also looked at influences from the individual to the collective. Analysing the other way around can also bring new insights on how a mindful organisation influences individuals. Therefore, another research design would be necessary. For that, a company needs to be identified that claims itself to be mindful. The data can also be analysed differently. A grounded theory can give new insights. Therefore, a broader research question would be necessary. Alternatively, as Yin (2014) suggests an organisational logic model should be adopted. Such an approach can be useful to identify processes and changes that lead, for example, to an increase in performance. This logic model could be used to analyse the data further and identify other patterns or hints. To give insights into tacit and explicit knowledge a semantic data analysis can be useful. Metaphors may indicate unconscious know-how. Weick et al. (1999) suggest to look at processes when analysing a mindful organisation. ‘Process tracing’ can be an additional methodology for future research (Collier, 2011). In which way does mindfulness training influence a process, such as customer service, logistics or sales? The choice of the case can also influence results (George & Bennett, 2005). Based on above analysis and discussion, it can be said that ITCare was a most likely case. It was most likely that the MBSR course would have a positive effect.

7.4 Potential Future Research Areas

267

There are three main reasons for this: first, the management initiated and supported the implementation of mindfulness. Having top-down endorsement simplifies acceptance among the staff. Second, the trainer was skilled, motivated and experienced. He transferred course contents thoroughly and profoundly. Third, a large amount of openness, trust and kindness already existed in the company before the course. A stiff and conservative corporation would probably not be open for a meditation training. It is therefore interesting to study the effects of MBSR training in a company, where pressure and fear are predominant. What impact would the course have there? How would the employees and the management change? What kind of a case would this be? The limitations already suggest some potential research areas. On the following pages, other new and evolving research areas are presented.

7.4

Potential Future Research Areas

The discussion in chapter 6 and the above critical reflection (section 7.3), have already presented different future research areas. Some more suggestions are discussed in the following. Long-term studies about effects of mindfulness meditation in organisations are rare. Conducting additional longitudinal studies with longer time periods can bring new insights. One idea would be to continue the cooperation with ITCare and observe the development of mindfulness in this company for a post-doctoral research project. Investigating effects of mindfulness on external stakeholders (e.g. suppliers, customers) can also be interesting by looking at think-tanks, clusters and contracts. So far, individual and collective mindfulness has focused more on the ‘inside’ and less on the ‘outside’ of an organisation. What effects does a mindful organisation have on society? What effects do mindful organisations have on the economy? For a mindful organisation, employees must learn to meditate sustainably. Keeping up motivation of (healthy) employees to meditate continuously appears to be challenging. Course participants had trouble explaining why it was so hard for them to continue with the regular meditation practice. Research about mindfulness meditation and motivation in organisations is limited. Qualitative explorative studies can generate new knowledge and identify ways of motivating employees to meditate. Another finding of this dissertation is mindful listening—the ability how someone listens. Effects of mindful listening on behaviour in organisations are not well investigated. Questions that could support future research are: what influences does mindful listening have on others? Does mindful listening create

268

7

Conclusion

trust? How can mindful listening be developed further? These research questions can shed light on the domain of mindfulness and collective intelligence in organisations, which is another interesting and insufficiently studied phenomenon. Bohm and Nichol (2013) elaborate on a specific way to have dialogues and listening behaviours that has the potential to form collective intelligence. One question is how does meditation influence David Bohm’s dialogue to form collective intelligence? The practical implications section (6.2.4) suggested different measures to develop a mindful organisation. Some of these are not fully conceptualised for companies. For example, customised meditations for corporations. There exist thousands of meditations. Many relate to the well-being of individuals. Exercises that embrace collectives or a company are few. Therefore, mindfulness audios must be developed and customised to the organisation. Employees must understand a connection between meditation and their work. Practices, where workers can reflect, for example on errors, failures, mistakes, interpretations, interconnectedness, processes, training, developments, decisions, visions and strategies are needed. These exercises must include prosocial motives, such as kindness and compassion. Otherwise, mindfulness meditation becomes a ‘help-yourself-tool’ and toxic structures and cultures are not questioned. Another point is follow-up sessions: what mindfulness follow-up sessions could look like must be scientifically evaluated. What kind of subjects? What kind of meditations? What length is suitable? A suggestion is to consider topics that are related to a mindful organisation, for example, creativity, improvisation, resilience or decision-making. Further, mindful organisation and its fundamentals need to be taught. Weick and Sutcliffe (2015) already provide a good overview of steps that need to be considered. However, their approaches are still top level. More details and how to is necessary for practitioners to understand and train employees to become collectively mindful. For example, principle five about decision at (local) expert level is still a comparably blurred concept. The idea is smart, but its realisation is unclear. What is structurally and culturally necessary do this? How should managers accept to give away their decision-making power? These are some questions that must be answered. Additionally, a mindful department should be established. The idea behind such a unit is to structurally attach mindfulness in organisations. This department would be a service provider. One that supports the implementation of mindfulness throughout the whole organisation. Responsibilities and tasks are already illustrated in section 6.2.4 in ‘steps to develop a mindful organisation’. Other duties and more responsibilities must be researched. Another point is setting up mindfulness as a part of the corporate strategy: what a mindful strategy

7.4 Potential Future Research Areas

269

could look like must be thought about. Parameters like compassion, interconnectedness and wholesomeness must be a part of it. More scientific work is needed here as well. On top of this, further structural changes should be looked at. It would be relevant to investigate, for example, self-organising or Michael Porter’s value chain and question what further structural changes are necessary to form a mindful organisation. How should a marketing department look like? How can a corporate ecological footprint be combined with mindfulness? What skills and human resources are needed? Which adaptations can be made in the logistics department? How would a mindful service be? How is co-creation possible? What role does mindfulness play in times of industry 4.0.? These are some questions that can be addressed in future research. Merging Weick et al.’s theory of collective mindfulness with other (agility) concepts from other scientific fields such as Theory U (Scharmer, 2018) (organisational development), self-managing organisations (Lee & Edmondson, 2017) (less hierarchy), scrum (Schwaber, 2004) (project management), Resonanz (Rosa, 2016b) (sociology) or focusing (Gendlin, 2003) (psychology) can bring additional insights. Studying synergies and relationships of these concepts can generate a more holistic theory of managing unexpected events. Researches on mindfulness and artificial intelligence can also be valuable. Artificial intelligence is programmed in a rational and logical manner. Explorative guiding questions are: what role does mindfulness play for the development of artificial intelligence? How can the science of mindfulness meditation and compassion enrich/inhibit the science on artificial intelligence? These are just a few suggestions. One precondition for openness is self-awareness. Extending and developing the quantitative questionnaire on openness to experience and the ‘big five’ personality taxonomy with (more or deeper) questions on self-awareness would be relevant. This is a separate research project as the questionnaires already include questions on self-awareness. Further, the new concepts of mindful openness and mindful knowledge sharing can be investigated in more detail. Quantitative and qualitative follow-up studies may support, deny or extend those two new concepts. What has been left out in this dissertation is the influence of mindfulness meditation on tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge can become obvious by meditation sessions and long silent retreats. Those give the time to reflect and realise strengths and weaknesses of an individual. Meditation also holds the potential to make tacit know-how explicit. Meditating on skills, such as presentation abilities, sales competencies or listening behaviours can enable to articulate these capabilities and make them explicit. Also, knowledge that is captured in the body can be accessed (Reh et al., 2017; Rooney et al., 2019). Such knowledge depends on physical presence, sentiment and sensory information (Blackler, 1995). The

270

7

Conclusion

mind influences the body and the body influences the mind. Karssiens et al. (2014, p. 238) believe that, by paying attention to the body sensations and the breath, “[s]ensory and experiential knowledge can contribute to the emergence of new cognitive insights in the mind”. More research on mindfulness, embodied knowledge and collective mindfulness is desirable. Reciprocity, the notion of giving and taking in a fair balance, is an important factor for knowledge sharing. No literature was found that investigates the connection between mindfulness and reciprocity. One way to approach this is to take a look at ‘mindlessness’, which can be defined as a state of mind which is characterised by an overreliance on categories, concepts and distinctions drawn in the past (Langer, 1992). Those who are mindless operate with reduced attention in a more automatic and, cognitively and emotionally inflexible way (Chiva, 2014). Mindless individuals are therefore less attentive. They may miss out situations in which a reciprocal behaviour would have been appropriate. This could lead to resentment on the other side. Practicing mindfulness can increase the attention and emotional intelligence (Burnett & Pettijohn, 2015; Kim & Kim, 2017) and therefore the ability to be reciprocal. This, however, is hypothetical so far. More empirical research would be necessary to claim this. Many corporations outsource departments, such as call centres, HR business partners or accounting units. Weick et al. (1999) believe that companies should not re-locate business divisions out of the company to sub-contractors. Even if this saves costs, they are not part of the organisation anymore and probably less mindful. The ways in which way outsourcing affects collective mindfulness is another relevant field for future research. An additional interesting area to study would be the effects of company bonuses assuming that there is one bonus equally shared among the employees. Would this motivate them? What are its advantages and disadvantages? At ITCare, cooperation was supported, as there were no individual performance factors. But, is this the case for other companies too? Looking at this structural shift in future studies would be relevant as well. On the one hand, some criticise mindfulness meditation to be narcissistic and self-focused. Employees sitting down and looking inwards at their thoughts and feelings may appear so. Being narcissistic is a danger for a mindful organisation where collective sensemaking and cooperation are central. On the other hand, others believe that mindfulness is the source of kindness and compassion for others (Bodhi, 2010; Lama, Hopkins, & Napper, 2012). Pursuing meditation on compassion rewires brain circuits and develops kindness to others (Siegel, 2007a). This discussion on narcissists vs. altruists is a controversial one. The data indicates that meditation is not narcissistic. However, kind behaviour is also the result of

7.4 Potential Future Research Areas

271

‘good’ lifelong socialisation. Future research is needed to look at this discourse in more detail. At the end, globalisation, technological developments and social acceleration increase uncertainty and unexpected events for organisations. This dissertation showed that individual and collective mindfulness is one approach to successfully deal with these challenges. Both concepts are unconventional approaches and as Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”.

References

Adler, P. S., Goldoftas, B., & Levine, D. I. (1999). Flexibility versus efficiency? A case study of model changeovers in the Toyota production system. Organization Science, 10(1), 43–68. Adriansen, H. K., & Krohn, S. (2016). Mindfulness for group facilitation: An example of Eastern philosophy in Western organizations. Group Facilitation, (13), 17. Aguinis, H., & Kraiger, K. (2009). Benefits of training and development for individuals and teams, organizations, and society. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 451–474. Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Review: Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107–136. Alexopoulos, A. N., & Buckley, F. (2013). What trust matters when: The temporal value of professional and personal trust for effective knowledge transfer. Group & Organization Management, 38(3), 361–391. Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Conley, K. M., Williamson, R. L., Mancini, V. S., & Mitchell, M. E. (2015). What do we really know about the effects of mindfulness-based training in the workplace? Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(4), 652. Alvesson, M. (2013). Understanding Organizational Culture (Vol. 2). London: SAGE. Alvesson, M., & Sköldberg, K. (2018). Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research (Vol. 3). London: Sage. AMRA. (2018, September 18). Mindfulness Journal Publications by Year, 1980–2017. Retrieved from https://goamra.org/resources/ Andrews, K. M., & Delahaye, B. L. (2000). Influences on knowledge processes in organizational learning: The psychosocial filter. Journal of Management Studies, 37(6), 797–810. Anseel, F., Lievens, F., & Schollaert, E. (2009). Reflection as a strategy to enhance task performance after feedback. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 110(1), 23–35. Anwar, K. (2016). Impact of openness to experience on knowledge sharing under the mediating effect of intention to share and moderating role of interpersonal trust. Jinnah Business Review, 4(2), 30–37.

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature 2021 F. Mielke, Steps towards a Mindful Organisation, Schriften zur Unternehmensentwicklung, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33202-0

273

274

References

Aragón-Sánchez, A., Barba-Aragón, I., & Sanz-Valle, R. (2003). Effects of training on business results. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(6), 956–980. Arch, J. J., & Craske, M. G. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness: Emotion regulation following a focused breathing induction. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(12), 1849–1858. Argote, L. (2011). Organizational learning research: Past, present and future. Management Learning, 42(4), 439–446. Argote, L., & Ingram, P. (2000). Knowledge transfer: A basis for competitive advantage in firms. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 150–169. Argote, L., McEvily, B., & Reagans, R. (2003). Managing knowledge in organizations: An integrative framework and review of emerging themes. Management Science, 49(4), 571–582. Argote, L., & Miron-Spektor, E. (2011). Organizational learning: From experience to knowledge. Organization Science, 22(5), 1123–1137. Argyris, C. (1976). Single-loop and double-loop models in research on decision making. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21(3), 363–375. Arthur Jr, W., Bennett Jr, W., Edens, P. S., & Bell, S. T. (2003). Effectiveness of training in organizations: A meta-analysis of design and evaluation features. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(2), 234–245. Ashforth, B. E., Rogers, K. M., Pratt, M. G., & Pradies, C. (2014). Ambivalence in organizations: A multilevel approach. Organization Science, 25(5), 1453–1478. Atkins, P. W. B., & Parker, S. K. (2012). Understanding individual compassion in organizations: The role of appraisals and psychological flexibility. Academy of Management Review, 37(4), 524–546. Atwater, L. E. (1988). The relative importance of situational and individual variables in predicting leader behavior: The surprising impact of subordinate trust. Group & Organization Studies, 13(3), 290–310. Ausserhofer, D., Schubert, M., Desmedt, M., Blegen, M. A., De Geest, S., & Schwendimann, R. (2013). The association of patient safety climate and nurse-related organizational factors with selected patient outcomes: A cross-sectional survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 50, 240–252. Auty, K. M., Cope, A., & Liebling, A. (2017). A systematic review and meta-analysis of Yoga and mindfulness meditation in prison: Effects on psychological well-being and behavioural functioning. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61(6), 689–710. Aviles, P. R., & Dent, E. B. (2015). The role of mindfulness in leading organizational transformation: A systematic review. The Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(3), 31–55. Azanha, A., Argoud, A. R. T. T., Camargo Junior, J. B. d., & Antoniolli, P. D. (2017). Agile project management with Scrum: A case study of a Brazilian pharmaceutical company IT project. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 10(1), 121–142. Baas, M., Nevicka, B., & Ten Velden, F. S. (2014). Specific mindfulness skills differentially predict creative performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(9), 1092–1106.

References

275

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., & Allen, K. B. (2004). Assessment of mindfulness by self-report the Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills. Assessment, 11(3), 191–206. Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44, 1175–1184. Barker, J. R. (1993). Tightening the iron cage: Concertive control in self-managing teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(3), 408–437. Barner, C. P., & Barner, R. W. (2011). Mindfulness, openness to experience, and transformational learning. In C. Hoare (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Reciprocal Adult development and Learning (pp. 347–362): Oxford University Press. Barnes, S., Brown, K. W., Krusemark, E., Campbell, W. K., & Rogge, R. D. (2007). The role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to relationship stress. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33(4), 482–500. Baron, L. (2016). Authentic leadership and mindfulness development through action learning. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 31(1), 296–311. Bartol, K. M., & Srivastava, A. (2002). Encouraging knowledge sharing: The role of organizational reward systems. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 9(1), 64–76. Beardwell, J., & Claydon, T. (2017). Human Resource Management. A Contemporary Perspective (Vol. 8). Leicester, United Kingdom: Pearson. Becke, G. (2014). Mindful Change in Times of Permanent Reorganization. Berlin: SpringerVerlag. Beckman, H. B., Wendland, M., Mooney, C., Krasner, M. S., Quill, T. E., Suchman, A. L., & Epstein, R. M. (2012). The impact of a program in mindful communication on primary care physicians. Academic Medicine, 87(6), 815–819. Beer, M., Finnström, M., & Schrader, D. (2016). Why leadership training fails—and what to do about it. Harvard Business Review, 94(10), 50–57. Behrens, M., & Bleses, P. (2014). Mindful dialogue is the key! In G. Becke (Ed.), Mindful Change in Times of Permanent Reorganization (pp. 113–127). Berlin: Springer. Belbin, E., & Belbin, R. M. (1972). Problems in Adult Retraining. London: Heinemann. Benson, J. K. (1977). Organizations: A dialectical view. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, 1–21. Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., Ben-Soussan, T. D., & Goldstein, A. (2017). Creativity is enhanced by long-term mindfulness training and is negatively correlated with trait defaultmode-related low-gamma inter-hemispheric connectivity. Mindfulness, 8(3), 717–727. Bhaskar, R. (1975/2008). A Realist Theory of Science. New York, NY: Routledge. Bigley, G. A., & Roberts, K. H. (2001). The incident command system: High-reliability organizing for complex and volatile Task environments. Academy of Management Journal, 44(6), 1281–1299. Bihari, J. L., & Mullan, E. G. (2014). Relating mindfully: A qualitative exploration of changes in relationships through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Mindfulness, 5(1), 46–59. Bingham, C. B., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2011). Rational heuristics: The ‘simple rules’ that strategists learn from process experience. Strategic Management Journal, 32(13), 1437– 1464. Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241.

276

References

Blackburn, R., & Stokes, D. (2000). Breaking down the barriers: Using focus groups to research small and medium-sized enterprises. International Small Business Journal, 19(1), 7. Blackler, F. (1995). Knowledge, knowledge work and organizations: An overview and interpretation. Organization Studies, 16(6), 1021–1046. Bödeker, W., & Friedrichs, M. (2011). Regelungslücke psychische Belastungen schließen. Retrieved from Hans-Böckler-Stiftung – Düsseldorf: https://www.boeckler.de/pdf/ p_mbf_regellungsluecke.pdf Bodhi, B. (2010). The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to the End of Suffering (Vol. 5). Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society Bodhi, B. (2011). What does mindfulness really mean? A canonical perspective. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 19–39. Bogner, W. C., & Bansal, P. (2007). Knowledge management as the basis of sustained high performance. Journal of Management Studies, 44(1), 165–188. Bohm, D., & Nichol, L. (2013). On Dialogue (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Routledge. Bolten, J. (2013). Reziprozität, Relationalität und Mehrwertigkeit. Ein Plädoyer für einen holistischen Kulturbegriff. In A. Johanning (Ed.), Interkulturelle Wirtschaftskommunikation und Forschung und Lehre. München: Iudicium. Bolten, J. (2017). Interkulturalität neu denken: Strukturprozessuale Perspektiven. In C. Rink (Ed.), Interkulturalität – Transkulturalität. Stuttgart: Metzler. Bono, J. E., Foldes, H. J., Vinson, G., & Muros, J. P. (2007). Workplace emotions: The role of supervision and leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(5), 1357. Bordum, A. (2002). From tacit knowing to tacit knowledge–emancipation or ideology? Critical Quarterly, 44(3), 50–54. Bostock, S., Crosswell, A. D., Prather, A. A., & Steptoe, A. (2018). Mindfulness on-thego: Effects of a mindfulness meditation app on work stress and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23. Bourdieu, P. (1989). Social space and symbolic power. Sociological Theory, 7(1), 14–25. Bouw, N., Huijbregts, S. C. J., Scholte, E., & Swaab, H. (2019). Mindfulness-based stress reduction in prison: Experiences of inmates, instructors, and prison staff. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(15–16), 2550–2571. Boyatzis, R. (1998). Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2013). Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion. Boston: Harvard Business Press. Boyne, G. A. (2002). Public and private management: What’s the difference? Journal of Management Studies, 39(1), 97–122. Breedvelt, J. J. F., Amanvermez, Y., Harrer, M., Karyotaki, E., Gilbody, S., Bockting, C. L. H., Cuijpers, P., & Ebert, D. D. (2019). The effects of meditation, yoga, and mindfulness on depression, anxiety, and stress in tertiary education students: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10, 193–193. Brendel, W., & Bennett, C. (2016). Learning to Embody Leadership Through Mindfulness and Somatics Practice. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 18(3), 409–425. Brendel, W., Hankerson, S., Byun, S., & Cunningham, B. (2016). Cultivating leadership Dharma: Measuring the impact of regular mindfulness practice on creativity, resilience,

References

277

tolerance for ambiguity, anxiety and stress. Journal of Management Development, 35(8), 1056–1078. Brinkerhoff, R. O. (2005). The success case method: A strategic evaluation approach to increasing the value and effect of training. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(1), 86–101. Brodal, P. (2004). The Central Nervous System: Structure and Function (Vol. 4). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P. (1991). Organizational learning and communities-of-practice: Toward a unified view of working, learning, and innovation. Organization Science, 2(1), 40–57. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822–848. Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18(4), 272–281. Brown, S. L., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (1997). The art of continuous change: Linking complexity theory and time-paced evolution in relentlessly shifting organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42(1), 1–34. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press Inc. Burnett, M., & Pettijohn, C. (2015). Investigating the efficacy of mind-body therapies and emotional intelligence on work stress in an organizational setting: An experimental approach. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communication and Conflict, 19(1), 146. Busby, J. (2006). Failure to mobilize in reliability-seeking organizations: Two cases from the UK railway. Journal of Management Studies, 43(6), 1375–1393. Bush, M. (2001) Contemplating Corporate Culture: An Interview with Mirabai Bush on Bringing Contemplation into the Inner Sanctum of American Power, from Harvard University to Monsanto./Interviewer: H. Tworkov. tricycle. Bush, M. (2019) Revisiting Corporate Meditation/Interviewer: W. J. B. Agsar. tricycle. Cabrera, A., & Cabrera, E. F. (2002). Knowledge-sharing dilemmas. Organization Studies, 23(5), 687–710. Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2005). Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. Carlo, J. L., Lyytinen, K., & Richard, J. B., Jr. (2012). Dialectics of collective minding: Contradictory appropriations of information technology in a high-risk project. MIS Quarterly, 36(4), 1081. Carlson, E. N. (2013). Overcoming the barriers to self-knowledge: Mindfulness as a path to seeing yourself as you really are. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(2), 173–186. Casile, M., & Davis-Blake, A. (2002). When accreditation standards change: Factors affecting differential responsiveness of public and private organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 180–195. Castelli, P. A. (2016). Reflective leadership review: A framework for improving organisational performance. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 217–236. Catino, M., & Patriotta, G. (2013). Learning from errors: Cognition, emotions and safety culture in the Italian air force. Organization Studies, 34(4), 437–467.

278

References

Ceravolo, D., & Raines, D. A. (2019). The Impact of a mindfulness intervention for nurse managers. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(1), 1–9. Charoensukmongkol, P. (2016). The role of mindfulness on employee psychological reactions to mergers and acquisitions. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 29(5), 816– 831. Chen, Q., Eriksson, T., & Giustiniano, L. (2017). Leading well pays off: Mediating effects and multi-group analysis of strategic performance. Management Decision, 55(2), 400–412. Chiesa, A. (2013). The difficulty of defining mindfulness: Current thought and critical issues. Mindfulness, 4(3), 255. Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: A review and meta-analysis. The journal of alternative and complementary medicine, 15(5), 593–600. Chiesa, A., Serretti, A., & Jakobsen, J. C. (2013). Mindfulness: Top-down or bottom-up emotion regulation strategy? Clinical Psychology Review, 33(1), 82–96. Chiva, R. (2014). The common welfare human resource management system: A new proposal based on high consciousness. Personnel Review, 43(6), 937–956. Chreim, S., Williams, B. E., & Hinings, C. R. (2007). Interlevel influences on the reconstruction of professional role identity. Academy of Management Journal, 50(6), 1515–1539. Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making Sense of Qualitative Data: Complementary Research Strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Cohen, S. G., & Bailey, D. E. (1997). What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research from the shop floor to the executive suite. Journal of Management, 23(3), 239–290. Coleman, J. S. (1986). Social theory, social research, and a theory of action. American Journal of Sociology, 91(6), 1309–1335. Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120. Coleman, J. S. (1994). Foundations of Social Theory. USA: Harvard University Press. Collier, D. (2011). Understanding process tracing. PS: Political Science and Politics, 44(4), 823–830. Colzato, L. S., Ozturk, A., & Hommel, B. (2012). Meditate to create: The impact of focusedattention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 116. Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2015). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory (Vol. 4). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cornils, D., Mucha, A., & Rastetter, D. (2014). Mikropolitisches Kompetenzmodell. Erkennen, Verstehen und Bewerten mikropolitischer Kompetenz. Organisationsberatung, Supervision, Coaching, 21(1), 3–19. Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1980). Still stable after all these years: Personality as a key to some issues in adulthood and old age. In P. B. Baltes & O. G. Brim, Jr. (Eds.), Life-span Development and Behavior (Vol. 3, pp. 65–102). New York: Academic Press. Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Coyle-Shapiro, J. A., & Shore, L. M. (2007). The employee–organization relationship: Where do we go from here? Human Resource Development Review, 17(2), 166–179.

References

279

Crane, R. S., Kuyken, W., Hastings, R. P., Rothwell, N., & Williams, J. M. G. (2010). Training teachers to deliver mindfulness-based interventions: learning from the UK experience. Mindfulness, 1(2), 74–86. Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 491–516. Creswell, J. D., & Lindsay, E. K. (2014). How does mindfulness training affect health? A mindfulness stress buffering account. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(6), 401–407. Crossan, M. M., Lane, H. W., & White, R. E. (1999). An organizational learning framework: From intuition to institution. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 522–537. Cummings, T. G. (2008). Handbook of Organization Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cunningham, D. J. (1992). Beyond educational psychology: Steps toward an educational semiotic. Educational Psychology Review, 4(2), 165–194. D’Aprix, R. (1996). Communicating for Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Daft, R. L., & Weick, K. E. (1984). Toward a model of organizations as interpretation systems. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 284. Dahl, R. A. (1957). The concept of power. Behavioral Science, 2(3), 201–215. Dahl, R. A. (1996). Equality versus inequality. Political Science & Politics, 29(4), 639–648. Dane, E. (2011). Paying attention to mindfulness and its effects on task performance in the workplace. Journal of Management, 37(4), 997–1018. Dane, E., & Brummel, B. J. (2014). Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention. Human Relations, 67(1), 105–128. Davenport, T. H. (1997). Information Ecology: Mastering the Information and Knowledge Environment. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. Davidson, R. J., & Begley, S. (2012). The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live-and How You can Change them. New York, NY: Penguin Group. Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., Urbanowski, F., Harrington, A., Bonus, K., & Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 564–570. Day, R. M., Demski, R. J., Pronovost, P. J., Sutcliffe, K. M., Kasda, E. M., Maragakis, L. L., Paine, L., Sawyer, M. D., & Winner, L. (2018). Operating management system for high reliability: Leadership, accountability, learning and innovation in healthcare. Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, 23(4), 155–166. De Jong, B. A., Dirks, K. T., & Gillespie, N. (2016). Trust and team performance: A metaanalysis of main effects, moderators, and covariates. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(8), 1134–1150. De Jong, B. A., & Elfring, T. O. M. (2010). How does trust affect the performance of ongoing teams? The mediating role of reflexivity, monitoring and effort. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), 535–549. De Long, D., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), 113–127. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York, N.Y.: Plenum Publishers.

280

References

Dekeyser, M., Raes, F., Leijssen, M., Leysen, S., & Dewulf, D. (2008). Mindfulness skills and interpersonal behaviour. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(5), 1235–1245. Denrell, J. (2003). Vicarious learning, undersampling of failure, and the myths of management. Organization Science, 14(3), 227–243. Denzin, N. K. (1978). The Research Act: A Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods (Vol. 2.). New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. Depraz, N., Varela, F. J., & Vermersch, P. (2003). On Becoming Aware: A Pragmatics of Experiencing. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. Devine, D. J. (2002). A review and integration of classification systems relevant to teams in organizations. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6(4), 291–310. Dhiman, S. (2008). Cultivating mindfulness: The Buddhist art of paying attention to attention. Interbeing, 2(2), 35. Dhiman, S. (2009). Mindfulness in life and leadership: An exploratory survey. Interbeing, 3(1), 55–80. Dictionary.cambridge.org. (2017, June 26). Empathy. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cam bridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/empathy Dodgson, M. (1993). Organizational learning: A review of some literatures. Organization Studies, 14(3), 375–394. Donalek, J. G. (2004). Phenomenology as a qualitative research method. Urologic Nursing, 24(6), 516–517. Dor-Ziderman, Y., Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., & Goldstein, A. (2013). Mindfulnessinduced selflessness: a MEG neurophenomenological study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7(582), 1–17. Dresing, T., & Pehl, T. (2015). Interview, Transkription & Analyse (Vol. 6). Marburg: Eigenverlag. Drucker, P. F. (1999). Knowledge-worker productivity: The biggest challenge. California Management Review, 41(2), 79–94. Dutton, J. E., & Heaphy, E. D. (2003). The power of high-quality connections. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive Organisational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Dicipline (pp. 263–278). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Eby, L. T., Allen, T. D., Conley, K. M., Williamson, R. L., Henderson, T. G., & Mancini, V. S. (2019). Mindfulness-based training interventions for employees: A qualitative review of the literature. Human Resource Management Review, 29(2), 156–178. Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. Edmondson, A. C., Dillon, J. R., & Roloff, K. S. (2007). Three perspectives on team learning: Outcome improvement, task mastery, and group process. The Academy of Management Annals, 1, 269–314. Eggers, J. P., & Kaplan, S. (2013). Cognition and capabilities: A multi-level perspective. Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 295–340. Ehrlich, J. (2015). Creating mindful leaders and organizations. People & Strategy, 38(3), 22–25. Eisenbeiss, S. A., & van Knippenberg, D. (2015). On ethical leadership impact: The role of follower mindfulness and moral emotions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(2), 182–195.

References

281

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. Eisenhardt, K. M., & Santos, F. M. (2002). Knowledge-based view: A new theory of strategy. In A. Pettigrew, H. Thomas, & R. Whittington (Eds.), Handbook of Strategy & Management (Vol. 1, pp. 139–164). London: Sage Publications Ltd. Ellinor, L. (2005). Bohm’s journey to dialogue. In B. H. Banathy & P. M. Jenlink (Eds.), Dialogue as a Means of Collective Communication. New York, NY: Springer. Elster, J. (1983). Explaining Technical Change: A Case Study in the Philosophy of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Erturk, A. (2008). A trust-based approach to promote employees’ openness to organizational change in Turkey. International Journal of Manpower, 29(5–6), 462–483. Etymonline.com. (2017a, May 5). Uncertainty. Retrieved from https://www.etymonline.com/ index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=uncertainty Etymonline.com. (2017b, May 5). Unexpected. Retrieved from https://www.etymonline.com/ index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=unexpected Etymonline.com. (2019, August 9). Individual. Retrieved from https://www.etymonline.com/ search?q=individual Fast, N., Burres, E. R., & Bartel, C. A. (2014). Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial selfefficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of Management Journal, 57(4), 1013–1034. Feldman, M. S. (2000). Organizational routines as a source of continuous change. Organization Science, 11(6), 611–629. Feldman, M. S., & Pentland, B. T. (2003). Reconceptualizing organizational routines as a source of flexibility and change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(1), 94–118. Fiol, C. M., & Lyles, M. A. (1985). Organizational learning. Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 803–813. Fitzgerald, E. T. (1966). Measurement of openness to experiences: A study of regression in the service of the ego. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 4(6), 655–663. Fjorback, L. O., Arendt, M., Ørnbøl, E., Fink, P., & Walach, H. (2011). Mindfulnessbased stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 124(2), 102–119. Fleetwood, S. (2005). Ontology in organization and management studies: A critical realist perspective. Organization, 12(2), 197–222. Flick, U., Kardorff, E. v., & Steinke, I. (2000). Qualitative Forschung: Ein Handbuch (Vol. 10). Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rohwohlt Taschenbuch Verlag Flood, R. L., & Romm, N. R. A. (2018). A systemic approach to processes of power in learning organizations: Part I – literature, theory, and methodology of triple loop learning. The Learning Organization, 25(4), 260–272. Flynn, F. J. (2005). Having an open mind: The impact of openness to experience on interracial attitudes and impression formation. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 88(5), 816–826. Foucault, M. (1982). The subject and power. Critical Inquiry, 8(4), 777–795. Fraher, A. L., Branicki, L. J., & Grint, K. (2017). Mindfulness in action: Discovering how U.S. Navy Seals build capacity for mindfulness in high-reliability organizations (HROS). Academy of Management Discoveries, 3(3), 239–261.

282

References

Frank, J. L., Reibel, D., Broderick, P., Cantrell, T., & Metz, S. (2015). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction on educator stress and well-being: Results from a pilot study. Mindfulness, 6(2), 208–216. Friedman, H. H., & Gerstein, M. (2017). Leading with compassion: The key to changing the organizational culture and achieving success. Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management, 5(1), 160–175. Frost, P. J. (1999). Why compassion counts! Journal of Management Inquiry, 8(2), 127–133. Fuster, J. M. (2015). The Prefrontal Cortex (Vol. 5). London: Elsevier. Galbraith, J. R. (1977). Organization Design. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Publishing Company. Garland, E. L. (2013). Mindfulness research in social work: Conceptual and methodological recommendations. Social Work Research, 37(4), 439–448. Garland, E. L., Farb, N. A., R. Goldin, P., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2015). Mindfulness broadens awareness and builds eudaimonic meaning: A process model of mindful positive emotion regulation. Psychological Inquiry, 26(4), 293–314. Gärtner, C., & Huber, C. (2017). Pick up your tools: Integrating tools into a sociomaterial model of mindful organizing. Journal of Management Inquiry, 1–17. Garvin, D. A., Edmondson, A. C., & Gino, F. (2008). Is yours a learning organization? Harvard Business Review, 86(3), 109–120. Gavetti, G., & Warglien, M. (2015). A model of collective interpretation. Organization Science, 26(5), 1263–1283. Gelles, D. (2012). The mind business. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/ cms/s/2/d9cb7940-ebea-11e1-985a-00144feab49a.html#axzz2MuOcUpfA Gendlin, E. T. (2003). Focusing: How to Gain Direct Access to Your Bodies Knowledge (Vol. 3). London: Bantam. George, A. L., & Bennett, A. (2005). Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Gerpott, F. H., Ulrike, F., & Anne, B. (2019). Respectful leadership and followers’ knowledge sharing: A social mindfulness lens. Human Relations, in press, 1–22. Gibbert, M., Ruigrok, W., & Wicki, B. (2008). What passes as a rigorous case study? Strategic Management Journal, 29(13), 1465–1474. Giffin, K. (1967). The contribution of studies of source credibility to a theory of interpersonal trust in the communication process. Psychological Bulletin, 68(2), 104–120. Gläsener, K. M. (2019). Macht und Mikropolitik in multilingualen Teams: Sprachkompetenz als Machtquelle in multinationalen Unternehmen. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler. Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). Discovery of Grounded Theory. Chicago, IL: Aldine. Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1970/2017). Theoretical sampling. In N. K. Denzin (Ed.), Sociological Methods: A Sourcebook (Vol. 2, pp. 105–114). New York, NY: Routledge. Glomb, T. M., Duffy, M. K., Bono, J. E., & Yang, T. (2011). Mindfulness at work. In H. L. J. Martocchio, & A. Joshi (Ed.), Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management (Vol. 30, pp. 115–157). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Gmür, M., & Schwerdt, B. (2005). Der Beitrag des Personalmanagements zum Unternehmenserfolg. Eine Metaanalyse nach 20 Jahren Erfolgsfaktorenforschung. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(3), 221–251.

References

283

Goldberg, S. B., Tucker, R. P., Greene, P. A., Davidson, R. J., Wampold, B. E., Kearney, D. J., & Simpson, T. L. (2018). Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 59, 52–60. Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can Matter More than IQ (Vol. 4). New York: Bantam Books. Goleman, D. (2013). Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. New York, NY: Harper. Golembiewski, R. T., & McConkie, M. (1975). The centrality of interpersonal trust in group processes. In C. L. Cooper (Ed.), Theories of Group Processes (Vol. 131–181, pp. 185). London: Wiley. Good, D., Lyddy, C., Glomb, T., Bono, J., Brown, K., Duffy, M., & Baer, R. B. (2016). Contemplating mindfulness at work: An integrative review. Journal of Management, 42(1), 114–142. Gooderham, P., Minbaeva, D. B., & Pedersen, T. (2011). Governance mechanisms for the promotion of social capital for knowledge transfer in multinational corporations. Journal of Management Studies, 48(1), 123–150. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380. Grayling, A. C. (1995). Philosophy: A Guide Through the Subject. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Grossman, P. (2013). Kindness and compassion as integral to mindfulness. In T. Singer & M. Bolz (Eds.), Compassion: Bridging Practice and Science (pp. 192–207). Munich, Germany: Max Planck Society. Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57(1), 35–43. Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 105–117). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Gupta, A. K., & Govindarajan, V. (2000). Knowledge management’s social dimension: Lessons from Nucor Steel. MIT Sloan Management Review, 42(1), 71–80. Guttman, O., Keebler, J. R., Lazzara, E. H., Daniel, W., & Reed, G. (2019). Rethinking high reliability in healthcare: The role of error management theory towards advancing high reliability organizing. Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, 24(3), 127–133. Hackman, I. R. (1987). The design of work teams. In J. Lorsch (Ed.), Handbook of Organizational Behavior (pp. 315–342). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Hafenbrack, A. C., & Vohs, K. D. (2018). Mindfulness meditation impairs task motivation but not performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 147, 1–15. Hales, D. N., & Chakravorty, S. S. (2016). Creating high reliability organizations using mindfulness. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 2873–2881. Hales, D. N., Kroes, J., Chen, Y., & Kang, K. W. (2012). The cost of mindfulness: A case study. Journal of Business Research, 65(4), 570–578. Hall, C. W., Row, K. A., Wuensch, K. L., & Godley, K. R. (2013). The role of self-compassion in physical and psychological well-being. Journal of Psychology, 147(4), 311–323. Hanh, T. N. (2013). The Art of Communicating. United Kingdom Rider. Hansen, M. T., Mors, M. L., & Løvås, B. (2005). Knowledge sharing in organizsations: Multiple networks, multiple phases. Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 776–793.

284

References

Hargadon, A. B., & Bechky, B. A. (2006). When collections of creatives become creative collectives: A field study of problem solving at work. Organization Science, 17(4), 484– 500. Hartkemeyer, M. (2019, March 1). Dialog Projekt. Retrieved from www.dialogprojekt.de Hecker, A. (2012). Knowledge beyond the individual? Making sense of a notion of collective knowledge in organization theory. Organization Studies, 33(3), 423–445. Hedlund-de Witt, N. H. (2012). Critical Realism: A synoptic overview and resource guide for Integral scholars. Resource Paper. Hernes, T. (2008). Understanding organization as process: Theory for a tangled world. London u.a.: Routledge. Hickey, W. S. (2010). Meditation as medicine: A critique. CrossCurrents, 60(2), 168–184. Hitt, M. A., Beamish, P. W., Jackson, S. E., & Mathieu, J. E. (2007). Building theoretical and empirical bridges across levels: Multilevel research in management. Academy of Management Journal, 50(6), 1385–1399. Hjeltnes, A., Binder, P.-E., Moltu, C., & Dundas, I. (2015). Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 10. Hofhuis, J., van der Rijt, P. G. A., & Vlug, M. (2016). Diversity climate enhances work outcomes through trust and openness in workgroup communication. SpringerPlus, 5(1), 1–14. Hofstede, G. (2017, August 27). Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved from https://geert-hofstede. com/cultural-dimensions.html Holford, W. D. (2010). Knowledge construction and risk induction/mitigation in dialogical workgroup processes. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 5(2), 127–161. Hollnagel, E. (2006). Resilience: The challenge of the unstable. In E. Hollnagel, D. Woods, & N. Leveson (Eds.), Resilience engineering: Concepts and precepts (pp. 9–18). Boca Ranton, FL: CRC Press. Hollstein, B. (2006). Qualitative Methoden und Netzwerkanalyse – ein Widerspruch? In B. Hollstein & F. Straus (Eds.), Qualitative Netzwerkanalyse: Konzepte, Methoden, Anwendungen (pp. 11–35). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011a). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), 36–43. Hölzel, B. K., Lazar, S. W., Gard, T., Schuman-Olivier, Z., Vago, D. R., & Ott, U. (2011b). How does mindfulness meditation work? Proposing mechanisms of action from a conceptual and neural perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(6), 537–559. Homan, A. C., Hollenbeck, J. R., Humphrey, S. E., Van Knippenberg, D., Ilgen, D. R. and Van Kleef, G. A. (2008), “Facing differences with an open mind: Openness to experience, salience of intragroup differences, and performance of diverse work groups”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 51 No. 6, pp. 1204–1222. Huber, K. E., Hill, S. E., & Merritt, S. M. (2015). Minding the gap: Extending mindfulness to safety-critical occupations. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 8(4), 699–705.

References

285

Hülsheger, U. R., Alberts, H. J. E. M., Feinholdt, A., & Lang, J. W. B. (2013). Benefits of mindfulness at work: The role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 310–325. Hüther, G. (2018, January 22). Prof Dr Gerald Hüther „Freude am Leben“ in Feldbach. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvd6zqtrDr0&feature=youtu.be Hwang, A.-S. (2003). Training strategies in the management of knowledge. Journal of Knowledge Management, 7(3), 92–104. Hyland, T. (2015). McMindfulness in the workplace: Vocational learning and the commodification of the present moment. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 67(2), 219–234. Ipe, M. (2003). Knowledge sharing in organizations: A conceptual framework. Human Resource Development Review, 2(4), 337–359. Islam, G., Holm, M., & Karjalainen, M. (2017). Sign of the times: Workplace mindfulness as an empty signifier. Organization, 1–27. Jafari Navimipour, N., & Charband, Y. (2016). Knowledge sharing mechanisms and techniques in project teams: Literature review, classification, and current trends. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 730–742. Jamieson, S. D., & Tuckey, M. R. (2017). Mindfulness interventions in the workplace: A critique of the current state of the literature. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(2), 180–193. John, O. P., & Srivastava, S. (1999). The Big Five trait taxonomy: History, measurement, and theoretical perspectives. In L. A. Pervin & O. P. John (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (Vol. 2, pp. 102–138). New York: Guilford Press. Jones, E. E., Wirth, J. H., Ramsey, A. T., & Wynsma, R. L. (2019). Who is less likely to ostracize? Higher trait mindfulness predicts more inclusionary behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(1), 105–119. Jones, S. M., & Hansen, W. (2015). The impact of mindfulness on supportive communication skills: Three exploratory studies. Mindfulness, 6(5), 1115–1128. Juberg, M., Spencer, S. D., Martin, T. J., Vibell, J., da Costa Ferro, A., Kam, B., & Masuda, A. (2019). A mindfulness-based intervention for college students, faculty, and staff: A preliminary investigation. Clinical Case Studies, 18(3), 185–199. Judge, T. A., Ilies, R., Bono, J. E., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), 765–780. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: Theoretical considerations and preliminary results. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4(1), 33–47. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness (Vol. 4). New York, NY: Bantam Books. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2015). The Science of Mindfulness Meditation, for More Focused, Creative, and Empathetic Business Leaders. GLOBIS. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.you tube.com/watch?v=j1H0shxy5NQ Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A. O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L. G., Fletcher, K. E., Pbert, L., Lenderking, W. R., & Santorelli, S. F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am J Psychiatry, 149, 936–943. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

286

References

Kang, M., Selzer, R., Gibbs, H., Bourke, K., Hudaib, A.-R., & Gibbs, J. (2019). Mindfulnessbased intervention to reduce burnout and psychological distress, and improve wellbeing in psychiatry trainees: a pilot study. Australasian Psychiatry, 27(3), 219–224. Kant, I. (1781). Kritik der reinen Vernunft (Vol. 1). Riga: Johann Friedrich Hartknoch. Kanter, R. M. (1981). Power, leadership, and participatory management. Theory into Practice, 20(4), 219–224. Karelaia, N., & Reb, J. (2015). Improving decision making through mindfulness. In J. Reb & P. W. B. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in Organizations: Foundations, Research, and Applications (pp. 163–189). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Karssiens, A. E. A., van der Linden, C., Wilderom, C. P. M., & Furtmueller, E. (2014). Embodied mind knowledge in leadership practice: Creating space in patterned thoughts and behaviors. Journal of Management Inquiry, 23(3), 231–241. Kearns, P. (2005). From return on investment to added value evaluation: The foundation for organizational learning. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(1), 135–145. Kegan, D. L., & Rubenstein, A. H. (1972). Measures of trust and openness. Comparative Group Studies, 3(2), 179–201. Keng, S.-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041–1056. Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006), 932–932. Kim, D. H. (1993). The link between individual and organizational learning. Sloan Management Review, Fall(35), 37–50. Kim, H., & Kim, T. (2017). Emotional intelligence and transformational leadership: A review of empirical studies. Human Resource Development Review, 16(4), 377–393. Kim, S., & Lee, H. (2006). The impact of organizational context and information technology on employee knowledge-sharing capabilities. Public Administration Review, 66(3), 370–385. King, E., & Haar, J. M. (2017). Mindfulness and job performance: A study of Australian leaders. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 55(3), 298–319. Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1979). Techniques for evaluating training programs. Training & Development Journal, 33(6), 78. Klatt, M. D., Buckworth, J., & Malarkey, W. B. (2009). Effects of low-dose mindfulnessbased stress reduction (MBSR-ld) on working adults. Health Education & Behavior, 36(3), 601–614. Klatt, M. D., Steinberg, B., & Duchemin, A.-M. (2015). Mindfulness in motion (MIM): An onsite mindfulness based intervention (MBI) for chronically high stress work environments to Increase resiliency and work engagement. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 101(e52359), 1–11. Klein, K. J., Ziegert, J. C., Knight, A. P., & Xiao, Y. (2006). Dynamic delegation: Shared, hierarchical, and deindividualized leadership in extreme action teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 51(4), 590–621. Klimecki, O., Ricard, M., & Singer, T. (2013). Empathy versus compassion. In T. Singer & M. Bolz (Eds.), Compassion: Bridging Practice and Science (pp. 272–287). Munich, Germany: Max Planck Society. Kotsou, I., Mikolajczak, M., Heeren, A., Grégoire, J., & Leys, C. (2018). Improving emotional intelligence: A systematic review of existing work and future challenges. Emotion Review, 1–15.

References

287

Kowal, S., & O’Connell, D. (2013). Zur Transkription von Gesprächen. In U. Flick, E. v. Kardorff, & I. Steinke (Eds.), Qualitative Forschung. Ein Handbuch (Vol. 10). Reinbek: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag. Kracauer, S. (1952). The challenge of qualitative content analysis. Public Opinion Quarterly, 631–642. Kramer, E.-H. (2007). Organizing Doubt: Grounded Theory, Army Units and Dealing with Dynamic Complexity. Denmark: Copenhagen Business School Press. Kramer, R. M., & Tyler, T. R. (1996). Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Kruglanski, A. W., & Gigerenzer, G. (2011). Intuitive and deliberate judgments are based on common principles. Psychological Review, 118(1), 97–109. Kuckartz, U. (2016). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse: Methoden, Praxis, Computerunterstützung (Vol. 3). Weinheim: Beltz Juventa. Kudesia, R. S. (2015). Mindfulness and creativity in the workplace. In J. Reb & P. W. B. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in Organizations: Foundations, Research, and Applications (pp. 190–212). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Kudesia, R. S. (2019). Mindfulness as metacognitive practice. Academy of Management Review, 44(2), 405–423. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2015.0333 Kuechler, W., & Stedham, Y. (2018). Management education and transformational learning: The integration of mindfulness in an MBA Course. Journal of Management Education, 42(1), 8–33. Kump, B. (2019). Beyond power struggles: A multilevel perspective on incongruences at the interface of practice, knowledge, and identity in radical organizational change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 55(1), 5–26. Kuo, M. (2017, February 1). Consciously combating unconscious bias. Science. Retrieved from https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2017/01/consciously-combating-unconsciousbias Küpers, W. (2015a). Phenomenology of the Embodied Organization: The Contribution of Merleau-Ponty for Organizational Studies and Practice. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Küpers, W. (2015b). Zur Kunst praktischer Weisheit in Organisation und Führung: Die Relevanz von Leiblichkeit, Emotionen und Intuition für eine integrale Weisheitspraxis. In M. W. Fröse, S. Kaudela-Baum, & F. E. P. Dievernich (Eds.), Emotion und Intuition in Führung und Organisation. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien. Küpers, W., & Pauleen, D. (2015). Learning wisdom: Embodied and artful approaches to management education. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(4), 493–500. La Forge, P. G. (2000). Four steps to a fundamental ethical vision through meditation. Journal of Business Ethics, 28(1), 25–34. Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., & Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 517–531. Lacerenza, C. N., Reyes, D. L., Marlow, S. L., Joseph, D. L., & Salas, E. (2017). Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1686–1718. Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage in Human Consciousness: Nelson Parker.

288

References

Lam, A. (1997). Embedded firms, embedded knowledge: Problems of collaboration and knowledge transfer in global cooperative ventures. Organization Studies, 18(6), 973–996. Lama, D., Hopkins, J., & Napper, E. (2012). Kindness, Clarity, and Insight. Boston, MA: Snow Lion. Lange, S., Bormann, K. C., & Rowold, J. (2018). Mindful leadership: Mindfulness as a new antecedent of destructive and transformational leadership behavior. Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO), 49(2), 139– 147. Langer, E. J. (1992). Matters of mind: Mindfulness/mindlessness in perspective. Consciousness and Cognition, 1(3), 289–305. Langer, E. J. (2014a). Mindfulness: Da Capo Press. Langer, E. J. (2014b). Mindfulness forward and back. In A. Ie, C. Ngnoumen, & E. Langer (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of mindfulness (pp. 7–20). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Langer, E. J., & Imber, L. (1980). Role of mindlessness in the perception of deviance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 360–367. Langhof, J. G., & Güldenberg, S. (2019). Servant Leadership: A systematic literature review— toward a model of antecedents and outcomes. German Journal of Human Resource Management, in press. LaPorte, T. R., & Consolini, P. M. (1991). Working in practice but not in theory: Theoretical challenges of "high-reliability organizations". Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART, 1(1), 19–48. Larson-Garcia, C., & Dane, E. (2018). Mindfulness: A Practice for improved middle manager decision making. Academy of Management Proceedings, 1. Latham, G. P. (2012). Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice. London: Sage. Latour, B. (1986). The powers of association. In J. Law (Ed.), Power, Action, and Belief: A New Sociology of Knowledge (pp. 264–280): Routledge Kegan & Paul. Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2012). Openness to diversity, trust and conflict in multicultural organizations. Journal of Management & Organization, 18(6), 795–806. Lebuda, I., Zabelina, D. L., & Karwowski, M. (2016). Mind full of ideas: A meta-analysis of the mindfulness–creativity link. Personality and Individual Differences, 93, 22–26. Lee, M. Y., & Edmondson, A. C. (2017). Self-managing organizations: Exploring the limits of less-hierarchical organizing. Research in Organizational Behavior, 37, 35–58. Lencioni, P. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Leonard-Barton, D., & Swap, W. C. (2005). Deep Smarts: How to Cultivate and Transfer Enduring Business Wisdom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press. LePine, J. A., Colquitt, J. A., & Erez, A. (2000). Adaptability to changing task contexts: Effects of general cognitive ability, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Personnel Psychology, 53(3), 563–593. Lepuschitz, J. K., & Hartman, V. L. (1996). Meditation and psychosocial adaptation: An exploratory study. Current Psychology, 15(3), 215–222. Leroy, H., Anseel, F., Dimitrova, N. G., & Sels, L. (2013). Mindfulness, authentic functioning, and work engagement: A growth modeling approach. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 82(3), 238–247.

References

289

Levinthal, D., & Rerup, C. (2006). Crossing an apparent chasm: Bridging mindful and lessmindful perspectives on organizational learning. Organization Science, 17(4), 502–513. Levitt, B., & March, J. G. (1988). Organizational learning. Annual Review of Sociology, 14, 319–340. Levy, D. M., Wobbrock, J. O., Kaszniak, A. W., & Ostergren, M. (2012). The effects of mindfulness meditation training on multitasking in a high-stress information environment. Paper presented at the Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2012. Lewis, M. W. (2000). Exploring paradox: Toward a more comprehensive guide. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 760–776. Li, M., Mobley, W. H., & Kelly, A. (2016). Linking personality to cultural intelligence: An interactive effect of openness and agreeableness. Personality and Individual Differences, 89, 105–110. Liou, Y.-h., & Daly, A. J. (2014). Closer to learning: Social networks, trust, and professional communities. Journal of School Leadership, 24, 753–795. Lübbe, H. (1998). Gegenwartsschrumpfung. In K. Backhaus & H. Bonus (Eds.), Die Beschleunigungsfalle oder der Triumph der Schildkröte (Vol. 3). Stuttgart: Schäffer/Pöschel. Luhmann, N. (1973). Vertrauen: Ein Mechanismus der Reduktion sozialer Komplexität (Vol. 2). Stuttgart: Enke. Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Rawlings, N. B., Ricard, M., & Davidson, R. J. (2004). Longterm meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice. Proceedings of the National academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101(46), 16369–16373. Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163–169. Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Rawlings, N. B., Francis, A. D., Greischar, L. L., & Davidson, R. J. (2009). Mental training enhances attentional stability: Neural and behavioral evidence. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29(42), 13418–13427. MacCoon, D. G., MacLean, K. A., Davidson, R. J., Saron, C. D., & Lutz, A. (2014). No sustained attention differences in a longitudinal randomized trial comparing mindfulness based stress reduction versus active control. PloS one, 9(6), 1–10. Madsen, P., Desai, V., Roberts, K., & Wong, D. (2006). Mitigating hazards through continuing design: The birth and evolution of a pediatric intensive care unit. Organization Science, 17(2), 239–248. Malik, F. (2006). Führen, Leisten, Leben: Wirksames Management für eine neue Zeit. Frankfurt/Main: Campus Verlag GmbH. Malinowski, P., & Lim, H. J. (2015). Mindfulness at work: Positive affect, hope, and optimism mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, work engagement, and wellbeing. Mindfulness, 1–13. March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87. Marques, J., & Dhiman, S. (2009). Vipassana meditation as a path toward improved management practices. Journal of Global Business Issues, 3(2), 77. Martín-Asuero, A., & García-Banda, G. (2010). The mindfulness-based stress reduction program (MBSR) reduces stress-related psychological distress in healthcare professionals. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 13(2), 897–905.

290

References

Maurer, I., Bartsch, V., & Ebers, M. (2011). The value of intra-organizational social capital: How it fosters knowledge transfer, innovation performance, and growth. Organization Studies, 32(2), 157–185. Mayer, R. C., Davis, J. H., & Schoorman, F. D. (1995). An integrative model of organizational trust. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 709–734. Mayer, R. C., & Gavin, M. B. (2005). Trust in management and performance: Who minds the shop while the employees watch the boss? Academy of Management Journal, 48(5), 874–888. McCrae, R. R. (1987). Creativity, divergent thinking, and openness to experience. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 52(6), 1258–1265. McCrae, R. R. (1994). Openness to experience: Expanding the boundaries of Factor V. European Journal of Personality, 8(4), 251–272. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 81–90. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1997). Conceptions and correlates of openness to experience. In R. Hogan, J. A. Johnson, & S. R. Briggs (Eds.), Handbook of Personality Psychology (pp. 825–847). San Diego: Academic Press. McElroy, T., & Dowd, K. (2007). Susceptibility to anchoring effects: How openness-toexperience influences responses to anchoring cues. Judgment and Decision Making, 2(1), 48–53. McEvily, B., Perrone, V., & Zaheer, A. (2003). Trust as an organizing principle. Organization Science, 14(1), 91–103. Mellor, N. J., Ingram, L., Van Huizen, M., Arnold, J., & Harding, A.-H. (2016). Mindfulness training and employee well-being. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 9(2), 126–145. Merton, R. K., Fiske, M., & Kendall, P. L. (1990). The Focused Interview: A Manual of Problems and Procedures (Vol. 2). New York: Free Press. Mesmer-Magnus, J. R., DeChurch, L. A., Jimenez-Rodriguez, M., Wildman, J., & Shuffler, M. (2011). A meta-analytic investigation of virtuality and information sharing in teams. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 115(2), 214–225. Michel, A., Bosch, C., & Rexroth, M. (2014). Mindfulness as a cognitive–emotional segmentation strategy: An intervention promoting work–life balance. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(4), 733–754. Milliken, F. J. (1987). Three types of perceived uncertainty about the environment: State, effect, and response uncertainty. Academy of Management Review, 12(1), 133–143. Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1982). Tracking strategy in an entrepreneurial firm. Academy of Management Journal, 25(3), 465–499. Morgan, D. L., & Scannell, A. U. (1998). Planning Focus Groups. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Moss, S. A., McFarland, J., Ngu, S., & Kijowska, A. (2007). Maintaining an open mind to closed individuals: The effect of resource availability and leadership style on the association between openness to experience and organizational commitment. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(2), 259–275. Mrazek, M. D., Franklin, M. S., Phillips, D. T., Baird, B., & Schooler, J. W. (2013). Mindfulness training improves working memory capacity and GRE performance while reducing mind wandering. Psychological Science, 24, 776–781.

References

291

Mu, E., & Butler, B. S. (2009). The assessment of organizational mindfulness processes for the effective assimilation of IT innovations. Journal of Decision Systems, 18(1), 27. Mucha, A., Frieß, W., Jarren, J., & Rastetter, D. (2015). Schützt strategisches Handeln vor den negativen Folgen von Stress? Zur Bedeutung mikropolitischer Fähigkeiten als Gesundheitsressource in entgrenzten Arbeitskontexten. Arbeit. Zeitschrift für Arbeitsforschung, Arbeitsgestaltung und Arbeitspolitik, 24 (3+4), 111–128. Munoz, R. T., Hoppes, S., Hellman, C. M., Brunk, K. L., Bragg, J. E., & Cummins, C. (2018). The effects of mindfulness meditation on hope and stress. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(6), 696–707. Murnighan, J. K., & Conlon, D. E. (1991). The dynamics of intense work groups: A study of British string quartets. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36(2), 165–186. Mussel, P., Winter, C., Gelleri, P., & Schuler, H. (2011). Explicating the openness to experience construct and its subdimensions and facets in a work setting. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 19(2), 145–156. Ndubisi, N. O. (2012). Mindfulness, reliability, pre-emptive conflict handling, customer orientation and outcomes in Malaysia’s healthcare sector. Journal of Business Research, 65(4), 537–546. Neff, K., & Germer, C. (2013). Being kind to yourself: The science of self-compassion. In T. Singer & M. Bolz (Eds.), Compassion: Bridging Practice and Science (pp. 290–312). Munich, Germany: Max Planck Society. Neuberger, O. (1991). Personalentwicklung. Stuttgart: Ferdinand Enke Verlag. Nikander, P. (2008). Working with transcripts and translated data. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 5(3), 225–231. Nocera, J. (2019, August 5). Lawsuits Against Bayer are Sprouting like Weeds. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-09/lawsuits-against-bayerare-sprouting-like-weeds Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37. Nonaka, I., & Teece, D. J. (2001). Managing Industrial Knowledge: Creation, Transfer and Utilization. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Nonaka, I., Von Krogh, G., & Voelpel, S. (2006). Organizational knowledge creation theory: Evolutionary paths and future advances. Organization Studies, 27(8), 1179–1208. Oakley, B., & Sejnowski, T. (2018). Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens. New York, NY: Penguin. Okhuysen, G. A., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2002). Integrating knowledge in groups: How formal interventions enable flexibility. Organization Science, 13(4), 370–386. Olivera, F. (2000). Memory systems in organizations: An empirical investigation of mechanisms for knowledge collection, storage and access. Journal of Management Studies, 37(6), 811–832. Ostafin, B. D., & Kassman, K. T. (2012). Stepping out of history: Mindfulness improves insight problem solving. Consciousness and Cognition, 21(2), 1031–1036. Oxforddictionaries.com. (2018, October 23). Openness. Retrieved from https://en.oxforddic tionaries.com/definition/openness Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (Vol. 3). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

292

References

Pénin, J. (2013). Are you open? An investigation of the concept of openness for knowledge and Innovation Revue Économique, 64(1), 133–148. Perridge, D., Hefferon, K., Lomas, T., & Ivtzan, I. (2017). “I feel I can live every minute if I choose to”: Participants’ experience of a positive mindfulness programme. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 14(4), 482–504. Perry III, D. A., Olson, B., Blessner, P., & Blackburn, T. D. (2016). Evaluating the systems engineering problem management process for industrial manufacturing problems. Systems Engineering, 19(2), 133–145. Perry, R., & Sibley, C. G. (2013). Seize and freeze: Openness to experience shapes judgments of societal threat. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(6), 677–686. Peticca-Harris, A. (2018). Managing compassionately? Managerial narratives about grief and compassion. Human Relations, 1–25. Pettigrew, A. M. (1990). Longitudinal field research on change: Theory and practice. Organization Science, 1(3), 267–292. Piedmont, R. L. (1998). The Revised NEO Personality Inventory: Clinical and Research Applications. New York, NY: Springer Science and Business Media. Pircher Verdorfer, A. (2019). The paradox of serving: Can genuine servant leadership gain followers’ respect for the leader? Evidence from Germany and Lithuania. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 33(2), 113–136. Polanyi, M. (1966). The Tacit Dimension. New Yourk: Anchor Day. Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York, NY: The Free Press. Porter, M. E. (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations. New York, NY: The Free Press. ProQuest. (2016, June 8). Summon – Discovery System. Retrieved from https://media2.pro quest.com/documents/Report-Summon-Publishers.pdf Purser, R. E. (2019). McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. London: Watkins Media Ltd. Purser, R. E., Forbes, D., & Burke, A. (2016). Handbook of Mindfulness: Culture, Context and Social Engagement. Switzerland: Springer. Purser, R. E., & Loy, D. (2013). Beyond mcmindfulness. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-purser/beyond-mcmindfulness_b_3519289.html Purser, R. E., & Milillo, J. (2015). Mindfulness revisited: A buddhist-based conceptualization. Journal of Management Inquiry, 24(1), 3–24. Putnam, L. L., Fairhurst, G. T., & Banghart, S. (2016). Contradictions, dialectics, and paradoxes in organizations: A constitutive approach. The Academy of Management Annals, 10(1), 65–171. Qiu, J. X., & Rooney, D. (2017). Addressing unintended ethical challenges of workplace mindfulness: A four-stage mindfulness development model. Journal of Business Ethics, 1–16. Quaglia, J. T., Brown, K. W., Lindsay, E. K., Creswell, J. D., & Goodman, R. J. (2015). From conceptualization to operationalization of Mindfulness. In K. W. Brown, J. D. Creswell, & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of Mindfulness: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 151– 170). New York, NY: Guilford Publications. Ramanujam, R., & Roberts, K. H. (2018). Organizing for Reliability: A Guide for Research and Practice. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

References

293

Ramsburg, J. T., & Youmans, R. J. (2014). Meditation in the higher-education classroom: Meditation training improves student knowledge retention during lectures. Mindfulness, 5(4), 431–441. Raney, A. F. (2014). Agility in adversity: Integrating mindfulness and principles of adaptive leadership in the administration of a community mental health center. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42(3), 312–320. Rastetter, D., & Jüngling, C. (2018). Frauen, Männer, Mikropolitik. Geschlecht und Macht in Organisationen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag. Raven, B. H. (1958). Legitimate power, coercive power, and observability in social influence. Sociometry, 21(2), 83–97. Ray, J. L., Baker, L. T., & Plowman, D. A. (2011). Organizational mindfulness in business schools. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(2), 188–203. Reagans, R., & McEvily, B. (2003). Network structure and knowledge transfer: The effects of cohesion and range. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48(2), 240–267. Reb, J., & Atkins, P. W. B. (2015). Mindfulness in Organizations: Foundations, Research, and Applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Reb, J., Narayanan, J., & Chaturvedi, S. (2014). Leading mindfully: Two studies on the influence of supervisor trait mindfulness on employee well-being and performance. Mindfulness, 5(1), 36–45. Reb, J., Narayanan, J., & Ho, Z. W. (2015a). Mindfulness at work: Antecedents and consequences of employee awareness and absent-mindedness. Mindfulness, 6(1), 111–122. Reb, J., Sim, S., Chintakananda, K., & Bhave, D. P. (2015b). Leading with mindfulness: Exploring the relation of mindfulness with leadership behaviours, styles, and development. In J. Reb & P. W. B. Atkins (Eds.), Mindfulness in Organizations: Foundations, Research, and Applications (pp. 256–284). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Reh, S., Van Quaquebeke, N., & Giessner, S. R. (2017). The aura of charisma: A review on the embodiment perspective as signaling. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(4), 486–507. Rerup, C. (2005). Learning from past experience: Footnotes on mindfulness and habitual entrepreneurship. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 21(4), 451–472. Rerup, C. (2009). Attentional triangulation: Learning from unexpected rare crises. Organization Science, 20(5), 876–893. Rerup, C., & Levinthal, D. A. (2014). Situating the concept of organizational mindfulness: The multiple dimensions of organizational learning Mindful Change in Times of Permanent Reorganization (pp. 33–48). Berlin: Springer. ResearchGate. (2018, October 17). Publications: Ellen Langer. Retrieved from https://www. researchgate.net/profile/Ellen_Langer2/research Roberts, K. H. (1990). Some characteristics of one type of high reliability organization. Organization Science, 1(2), 160–176. Roberts, K. H. (2018). Advancing organizational relibality. In R. Ramanujam & K. H. Roberts (Eds.), Organizing for Reliability: A Guide for Research and Practice (pp. 3–16). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications. Roche, M., Haar, J. M., & Luthans, F. (2014). The role of mindfulness and psychological capital on the well-being of leaders. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(4), 476.

294

References

Rooney, D., Küpers, W., Pauleen, D., & Zhuravleva, E. (2019). A developmental model for educating wise leaders: The role of mindfulness and habitus in creating time for embodying wisdom. Journal of Business Ethics, in press. Rosa, H. (2003). Social acceleration: Ethical and political consequences of a desynchronized high–speed society. Constellations, 10(1), 3–33. Rosa, H. (2013). Social Acceleration: A New Theory of Modernity. New York, West Sussex: Columbia University Press. Rosa, H. (2016a, December 20). Achtsamkeit löst die Probleme nicht. Retrieved from https:// ethik-heute.org/achtsamkeit-loest-unsere-probleme-nicht/ Rosa, H. (2016b). Resonanz: Eine Soziologie der Weltbeziehung. Berlin: Suhrkamp Verlag. Rosenkranz, M. A., Lutz, A., Perlman, D. M., Bachhuber, D. R. W., Schuyler, B. S., MacCoon, D. G., & Davidson, R. J. (2016). Reduced stress and inflammatory responsiveness in experienced meditators compared to a matched healthy control group. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 68, 117–125. Röthlin, P., Horvath, S., Birrer, D., & grosse Holtforth, M. (2016). Mindfulness promotes the ability to deliver performance in highly demanding situations. Mindfulness, 7(3), 727–733. Rowlinson, M., Booth, C., Clark, P., Delahaye, A., & Procter, S. (2010). Social remembering and organizational memory. Organization Studies, 31(1), 69–87. Ruedy, N. E., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2010). In the moment: The effect of mindfulness on ethical decision making. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(S1), 73–87. Rupprecht, S., Koole, W., Chaskalson, M., Tamdjidi, C., & West, M. (2019). Running too far ahead? Towards a broader understanding of mindfulness in organisations. Current Opinion in Psychology, 28, 32–36. Rupprecht, S., & Walach, H. (2016). Mindfulness at work: How mindfulness training may change the way we work. In M. Wiencke, S. Fischer, & M. Cacace (Eds.), Healthy at Work—Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 311–328). Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer. Ryan, K. E., Gandha, T., Culbertson, M. J., & Carlson, C. (2014). Focus group evidence: Implications for design and analysis. American Journal of Evaluation, 35(3), 328–345. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2004). Autonomy is no illusion. In J. Greenberg, S. L. Koole, & T. A. Pyszczynski (Eds.), Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology (pp. 449–479). New York: The Guilford Press. Sadri, G., Weber, T. J., & Gentry, W. A. (2011). Empathic emotion and leadership performance: An empirical analysis across 38 countries. The Leadership Quarterly, 22(5), 818–830. Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (2001). The science of training: A decade of progress. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 471–499. Salas, E., Reyes, D. L., & Woods, A. (2018). Team training in organizations: It works—when done right. In L. Argote & J. M. Levine (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Group and Organizational Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Saldaña, J. (2003). Longitudinal Qualitative Research: Analyzing Change Through Time: Rowman Altamira. Salvato, C., & Rerup, C. (2018). Routine regulation: Balancing conflicting goals in organizational routines. Administrative Science Quarterly, 63(1), 170–209. Santorelli, S. F., Meleo-Meyer, F., Koerbel, L., Blacker, M., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2017). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Authorized Curriculum Guide. University

References

295

of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society Worcester, MA. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research Methods for Business Students (Vol. 7). Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited. Schachtel, E. (1959). Metamorphosis. New York, NY: Basic Books. Scharmer, C. O. (2018). The Essentials of Theory U. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Scharmer, C. O., & Kaufer, K. (2013). Leading from the Emerging Future: From Ego-System to Eco-System Economies. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (Vol. 4). San Francisco: JosseyBass. Schmidt, S. (2015) Im Gespräch: Vom Meditieren in der beschleunigten Leistungsgesellschaft. Kulturveränderung oder Konsumprodukt?/Interviewer: B. aktuell. Buddhismus aktuell. Schreier, M. (2012). Qualitative Content Analysis in Practice. London: SAGE. Schreyögg, G., & Geiger, D. (2007). The significance of distinctiveness: A proposal for rethinking organizational knowledge. Organization, 14(1), 77–100. Schwaba, T., Luhmann, M., Denissen, J. J. A., Chung, J. M., & Bleidorn, W. (2018). Openness to experience and culture-openness transactions across the lifespan. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 115(1), 118–136. Schwaber, K. (2004). Agile Project Management with Scrum. Redmond, Washington: Microsoft press. Schwandt, T. A. (1999). On understanding understanding. Qualitative Inquiry, 5(4), 451–464. Scott, J. (2013). Social Network Analysis (Vol. 3.). London: SAGE. Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (Vol. 30). New York, NY: Currency and Doubleday. Shapiro, D. H. (1992). Adverse effects of meditation: A preliminary investigation of long-term meditators. International Journal of Psychosomatics, 39(1–4), 62–67. Shapiro, S. L., Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders, T. (2008). Cultivating mindfulness: Effects on well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64(7), 840–862. Shonin, E., Van Gordon, W., Dunn, T. J., Singh, N. N., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). Meditation awareness training (MAT) for work-related wellbeing and job performance: A randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 12(6), 806–823. Shuffler, M. L., Diazgranados, D., Maynard, M. T., & Salas, E. (2018). Developing, sustaining, and maximizing team effectiveness: An integrative, dynamic perspective of team development interventions. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 688–724. Siegel, D. J. (2007a). The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. Siegel, D. J. (2007b). Mindfulness training and neural integration: Differentiation of distinct streams of awareness and the cultivation of well-being. Social and Affective Neuroscience, 2(4), 259–263. Siegel, D. J. (2012). The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Simon, H. A. (1972). Theories of bounded rationality. In C. B. McGuire & R. Radner (Eds.), Decision and Organization (pp. 161–176): North-Holland Publishing Company. Singer, T., & Bolz, M. (2013). Compassion: Bridging Practice and Science. Munich, Germany: Max Planck Society.

296

References

Smith, I. C. (2011). A qualitative investigation into the effects of brief training in solutionfocused therapy in a social work team. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 84(3), 335–348. Smith, W. K., & Lewis, M. W. (2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium model of organizing. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 381–403. Soler, M. F. S., & Araya-Véliz, C. (2016). The influence of mindfulness in the openness to understand and learn about the consultants in psychotherapeutic contexts. A qualitative study from the therapist’s perspective. Mindfulness & Compassion, 1(2), 84–93. Soliman, F., & Spooner, K. (2000). Strategies for implementing knowledge management: Role of human resources management. Journal of Knowledge Management, 4(4), 337–345. Spitzer, M. (Producer). (2012a, May 5). Prof. Dr. Manfred Spitzer Keynote: "Ist Kreativität lernbar?". Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv16azw2MVo Spitzer, M. (Producer). (2012b, July 7). Wie Kinder lernen und was man darüber wissen sollte. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vujELzwcdpQ Srivastava, A., Bartol, K. M., & Locke, E. A. (2006). Empowering leadership in management teams: Effects on knowledge sharing, efficacy, and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(6), 1239–1251. Stevens, P. E. (1996). Focus groups: Collecting aggregate-level data to understand community health phenomena. Public Health Nursing, 13(3), 170–176. Stewart, J., & McGoldrick, J. (1996). Human Resource Development: Perspectives, Strategies and Practice. London: Pitman. Stewart, W. F., Ricci, J. A., Chee, E., Hahn, S. R., & Morganstein, D. (2003). Cost of lost productive work time among US workers with depression. JAMA, 289(23), 3135–3144. Strike, V. M., & Rerup, C. (2016). Mediated sensemaking. Academy of Management Journal, 59(3), 880–905. Sull, D. N., & Eisenhardt, K. M. (2015). Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Sundaramurthy, C., & Lewis, M. (2003). Control and collaboration: Paradoxes of governance. Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 397–415. Sutcliffe, K. M., Vogus, T. J., & Dane, E. (2016). Mindfulness in organizations: A cross-level review. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3, 55–81. Svedberg, P., Mather, L., Bergström, G., Lindfors, P., & Blom, V. (2017). Are time pressure and sleep problems due to thoughts about work risk factors for future sick leave? European Journal of Public Health, 27(Supplement 3). Swanson, R. A. (2001). Assessing the Financial Benefits of Human Resource Development. Cambridge, MA: Perseus. Swieringa, J., Wierdsma, A., & Swieringa, J. (1992). Becoming a Learning Organization: Beyond the Learning Curve. Wokingham: Addison-Wesley. Tan, C.-M. (2012). Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace). New York, N.Y.: HarperOne. Tannenbaum, S. I., Beard, R. L., & Salas, E. (1992). Team building and its influence on team effectiveness: An examination of conceptual and empirical developments. Advances in Psychology, 82, 117–153. Tannenbaum, S. I., Mathieu, J. E., Salas, E., & Cohen, D. (2012). On teams: Unifying themes and the way ahead. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(1), 56–61.

References

297

Taylor, J. R., & Van Every, E. J. (2000). The Emergent Organization: Communication as its Site and Surface. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Taylor, N. Z., & Millear, P. M. R. (2016). The contribution of mindfulness to predicting burnout in the workplace. Personality and Individual Differences, 89, 123–128. Thompson, J. D. (2010). Organizations in Action: Social Science Bases of Administrative Theory (Vol. 7). New Brunswick, USA: Transaction publishers. Thory, K. (2016). Developing meaningfulness at work through emotional intelligence training. International Journal of Training and Development, 20(1), 58–77. Townsend, D. M., Hunt, R. A., McMullen, J. S., & Sarasvathy, S. D. (2018). Uncertainty, knowledge problems, and entrepreneurial action. Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), 659–687. Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222. Treadway, M. T., & Lazar, S. W. (2010). Meditation and neuroplasticity: Using mindfulness to change the brain. In R. A. Baer (Ed.), Assessing mindfulness and acceptance processes in clients: Illuminating the theory and practice of change (pp. 186–205). Oakland, CA: Context Press. Troster, C., & van Knippenberg, D. (2012). Leader openness, nationality dissimilarity, and voice in multinational management teams. Journal of International Business Studies, 43(6), 591–613. Tsai, W. (2002). Social structure of "coopetition" within a multiunit organization: Coordination, competition, and intraorganizational knowledge Sharing. Organization Science, 13(2), 179–190. Tummers, L., Steijn, B., Nevicka, B., & Heerema, M. (2016). The effects of leadership and job autonomy on vitality. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 1–23. Ulrich, D., & Smallwood, N. (2002). Seven up. People Management, 8(10), 42. Valentine, S., Godkin, L., & Varca, P. E. (2010). Role conflict, mindfulness, and organizational ethics in an education-based healthcare institution. Journal of Business Ethics, 94(3), 455–469. Vallabh, P., & Singhal, M. (2014). Buddhism and decision making at individual, group and organizational levels. Journal of Management Development, 33(8/9), 763–775. Valorinta, M. (2009). Information technology and mindfulness in organizations. Industrial and Corporate Change, 18(5), 963–997. van Berkel, J., Boot, C. R. L., Proper, K. I., Bongers, P. M., & van der Beek, A. J. (2014). Effectiveness of a worksite mindfulness-related multi-component health promotion intervention on work engagement and mental health: Results of a randomized controlled trial. PloS one, 10(3). Van Berkel, J., Proper, K. I., Boot, C. R. L., Bongers, P. M., & van der Beek, A. J. (2011). Mindful "vitality in practice": An intervention to improve the work engagement and energy balance among workers; the development and design of the randomised controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 736–736. Van Dam, N. T., van Vugt, M. K., Vago, D. R., Schmalzl, L., Saron, C. D., Olendzki, A., Meissner, T., Lazar, S. W., Kerr, C. E., & Gorchov, J. (2018). Mind the hype: A critical evaluation and prescriptive agenda for research on mindfulness and meditation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(1), 36–61.

298

References

Van den Hurk, P. A. M., Giommi, F., Gielen, S. C., Speckens, A. E. M., & Barendregt, H. P. (2010). Greater efficiency in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(6), 1168–1180. van der Zwan, J., de Vente, W., Huizink, A., Bögels, S., & de Bruin, E. (2017). The effects of physical activity, mindfulness meditation, or heart rate variability biofeedback on executive functioning, worrying, and mindfulness. Biological Psychology, 129, 383–384. van Dongen, J. M., van Berkel, J., Boot, C. R. L., Bosmans, J. E., Proper, K. I., Bongers, P. M., van der Beek, A. J., van Tulder, M. W., & van Wier, M. F. (2016). Long-term cost-effectiveness and return-on-investment of a mindfulness-based worksite intervention: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 58(6), 550–560. Van Wijk, R., Jansen, J. J., & Lyles, M. A. (2008). Inter-and intra-organizational knowledge transfer: a meta-analytic review and assessment of its antecedents and consequences. Journal of Management Studies, 45(4), 830–853. Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (2016). The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (Vol. 2). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Vich, M. (2015). The emerging role of mindfulness research in the workplace and its challenges. Central European Business Review, 4(3), 35–47. Virgili, M. (2015). Mindfulness-based interventions reduce psychological distress in working adults: a meta-analysis of intervention studies. Mindfulness, 6(2), 326–337. Vogus, T. J., & Rerup, C. (2018). Sweating the “small stuff”: High-reliability organizing as a foundation for sustained superior performance. Strategic Organization, 16(2), 227–238. Vogus, T. J., Rothman, N. B., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Weick, K. E. (2014). The affective foundations of high-reliability organizing. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(4), 592–596. Vogus, T. J., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). The safety organizing scale: Development and validation of a behavioral measure of safety culture in hospital nursing units. Medical Care, 45(1), 46–54. Vogus, T. J., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2012). Organizational mindfulness and mindful organizing: A reconciliation and path forward. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11(4), 722–735. Vogus, T. J., & Welbourne, T. M. (2003). Structuring for high reliability: HR practices and mindful processes in reliability-seeking organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(7), 877–903. von Krogh, G., Nonaka, I., & Rechsteiner, L. (2012). Leadership in organizational knowledge creation: A review and framework. Journal of Management Studies, 49(1), 240–277. Vu, M. C., & Gill, R. (2018). Is there corporate mindfulness? An exploratory study of Buddhistenacted spiritual leaders’ perspectives and practices. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 15(2), 155–177. Vu, M. C., Wolfgramm, R., & Spiller, C. (2018). Minding less: Exploring mindfulness and mindlessness in organizations through Skillful Means. Management Learning, 49(5), 578– 594. Walach, H., Buchheld, N., Buttenmüller, V., Kleinknecht, N., & Schmidt, S. (2006). Measuring mindfulness—the Freiburg mindfulness inventory (FMI). Personality and Individual Differences, 40(8), 1543–1555. Walach, H., Nord, E., Zier, C., Dietz-Waschkowski, B., Kersig, S., & Schüpbach, H. (2007). Mindfulness-based stress reduction as a method for personnel development: A pilot evaluation. International Journal of Stress Management, 14(2), 188–198.

References

299

Wasylkiw, L., Holton, J., Azar, R., & Cook, W. (2015). The impact of mindfulness on leadership effectiveness in a health care setting: A pilot study. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 29(7), 893–911. Watson, S., & Hewett, K. (2006). A multi-theoretical model of knowledge transfer in organizations: Determinants of knowledge contribution and knowledge reuse. Journal of Management Studies, 43(2), 141–173. Watson, T. J. (1994). Managing, crafting and researching: Words, skill and imagination in shaping management research. British Journal of Management, 5, S77–S87. Weber, E. U., & Johnson, E. J. (2009). Mindful judgment and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 53–85. Weber, M. (1922/1978). Economy and society. In G. Roth & C. Wittich (Eds.), Economy and Society: An outline of Interpretative Sociology. Berkely: University of California Press. Weick, K. E. (1979a). Cognitive processes in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 41–74. Weick, K. E. (1979b). The social psychology of organizing (2 ed.). Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in Organizations (Vol. 3). London: Sage Publication Inc. Weick, K. E. (2005). Managing the unexpected: Complexity as distributed sensemaking. In R. R. McDaniel & D. J. Driebe (Eds.), Uncertainty and Surprise in Complex Systems: Questions on Working with the Unexpected (pp. 51–65). New York: Springer. Weick, K. E. (2009). Making Sense of the Organization: The Impermanent Organization (Vol. 2). USA: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Weick, K. E., & Putnam, T. (2006). Organizing for mindfulness: Eastern wisdom and Western knowledge. Journal of Management Inquiry, 15(3), 275–287. Weick, K. E., & Quinn, R. E. (1999). Organizational change and development. Annual Review of Psychology, 50(1), 361–386. Weick, K. E., & Roberts, K. H. (1993). Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(3), 357–381. Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2006). Mindfulness and the quality of organizational attention. Organization Science, 17(4), 514–524. Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2015). Managing the Unexpected: Sustained Performance in a Complex World (Vol. 2). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (1999). Organizing for high reliability: Processes of collective mindfulness. Research in Organizational Behavior, 21, 81–123. Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), 409–421. Wilber, K. (2003). Foreword. In F. Visser (Ed.), Ken Wilber: Thought as passion (pp. xi – xv). Albany: State University of New York Press. William Swierczek, F., & Jousse, D. (2014). Adam Smith as Bodhisattva? A metta analysis of global leadership. Journal of Management Development, 33(8/9), 786–796. Williams, J. M. G., Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The Mindful Way Through Depression. New York, N.Y.: The Guilford Press. Williams, P. G., Rau, H. K., Cribbet, M. R., & Gunn, H. E. (2009). Openness to experience and stress regulation. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(5), 777–784.

300

References

Wilson, B. M., Mickes, L., Stolarz-Fantino, S., Evrard, M., & Fantino, E. (2015). Increased false-memory susceptibility after mindfulness meditation. Psychological Science, 26(10), 1567–1573. Wilson, J. M., Goodman, P. S., & Cronin, M. A. (2007). Group learning. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1041–1059. Wittchen, H.-U., Jacobi, F., Rehm, J., Gustavsson, A., Svensson, M., Jönsson, B., Olesen, J., Allgulander, C., Alonso, J., Faravelli, C., Fratiglioni, L., Jennum, P., Lieb, R., Maercker, A., van Os, J., Preisig, M., Salvador-Carulla, L., Simon, R., & Steinhausen, H.-C. (2011). The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the brain in Europe 2010. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 21(9), 655–679. Woo, S. E., Chernyshenko, O. S., Longley, A., Zhang, Z.-X., Chiu, C.-Y., & Stark, S. E. (2014a). Openness to experience: Its lower level structure, measurement, and cross-cultural equivalence. Journal of Personality Assessment, 96(1), 29–45. Woo, S. E., Chernyshenko, O. S., Stark, S. E., & Conz, G. (2014b). Validity of six openness facets in predicting work behaviors: A meta-analysis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 96(1), 76–86. Woolley, A. W. (2011). Responses to adversarial situations and collective intelligence. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(7), 978–983. Wrong, D. H. (1968). Some problems in defining social power. American Journal of Sociology, 73(6), 673–681. Wu, Y. C., Lin, B. W., & Chen, C. J. (2013). How do internal openness and external openness affect innovation capabilities and firm performance? Ieee Transactions on Engineering Management, 60(4), 704–716. Yan, Z., Waldman, D. A., Yu-Lan, H. A. N., & Xiao-Bei, L. I. (2015). Paradoxical leader behaviors in people management: antecedents and concequences. Academy of Management Journal, 58(2), 538–566. Yang, J.-t. (2007). The impact of knowledge sharing on organizational learning and effectiveness. Journal of Knowledge Management, 11(2), 83–90. Yin, R. K. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (Vol. 5). California, USA: SAGE publications. Yin, R. K. (2016). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish (Vol. 2). New York & London: The Guilford Press. Zaleznik, A. (1970). Power and politics in organizational life. Harvard Busines Review, 49. Zhang, J., Ding, W., Li, Y., & Wu, C. (2013). Task complexity matters: The influence of trait mindfulness on task and safety performance of nuclear power plant operators. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 433–439. Zhang, J., & Wu, C. (2014). The influence of dispositional mindfulness on safety behaviors: A dual process perspective. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 70, 24–32. Zhang, J. W., Chen, S., & Tomova, T. K. (2019). From me to you: Self-compassion predicts acceptance of own and others’ imperfections. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, in press, 1–15. Zhang, Y., Waldman, D. A., Han, Y.-L., & Li, X.-B. (2015). Paradoxical leader behaviors in people management: Antecedents and consequences. Academy of Management Journal, 58(2), 538–566. Zivnuska, S., Kacmar, K. M., Ferguson, M., & Carlson, D. S. (2016). Mindfulness at work: Resource accumulation, well-being, and attitudes. Career Development International, 21(2), 106–124.