Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation 9783319295879

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Leadership Convergence: The Dawn of Practical Wisdom Marcos Cajina Heinzkill

Abstract

Technological savvy people know that to get the most out of the latest software program, it is necessary to have the appropriate hardware architecture with which to maximize its use. Simply put, the effectiveness of the most robust software without the adequate hardware is disappointing. Equally, leaders who solely focus on developing leadership competencies without upgrading their thinking will fail to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment. Upgrading thinking means that leaders can no longer rely on logic alone to resolve the current complex systemic problems organizations face. Logic alone will not help humanity survive the current planetary voracious exploitation. The chapter suggests there is a scientific approach that enhances the interplay of three human primary neural biological centers (i.e., cerebral, cardiac, and enteric), resulting in an improved neural congruence and a state of coherence. It is from this state of coherence that the highest practical expressions of creativity, compassion, and courage in leadership emerge and give access to a source of wisdom that logic alone cannot apprehend (Soosalu and Oka 2012). Leaders who simultaneously practice multibrain leadership and improve leadership competency converge the inner and outer dimensions of leadership into a single powerful beam of light. I theorize such convergent leaders can create in organizations a global coherent positive environment where teams – with the aid of greater than human intelligent machines – provide solutions to what today seems unsolvable problems.

M.C. Heinzkill (*) Renewal Company, Madrid, Spain e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_2-1

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Keywords

Amygdala • Altruism • Cardiac • Coherence • Convergence • Creativity • Compassion • Courage • Empathy • Enteric • Prosocial • Wisdom

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Are We Doomed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Convergent Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Developing a Higher Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Developing Inner Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breathing Still to Facilitate Inner Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading also with the Intelligence of the Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading with Gut Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading with Practical Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction The size and complexity of the current climate global challenge, the acceleration of scientific paradigm shifts, and the creation of greater-than-human intelligence machines (Kurzweil 2005) will irredeemably change the way we understand leadership. Executives who resist investing time and energy in growing as leaders will inexorably career derail. Understandably, many managers so immersed in the difficulties of delivering in a volatile market environment and caught in the intricate web of details of corporate policies, lose sight of the long-term implications of their jobs and fall into a state of business pessimism (Kurzweil 2005). Furthermore, many employees working under alarming pressure opt to disengage or actively disengage trying to appease their intense experience of distress, survival, and victimhood (Crabtree 2013). These might be signs of profound business change, individual transition, and societal transformation. The challenges leaders face seem to be more similar than different (Gentry et al. 2013). It is deceitful, however, to see such challenges, even if they are directly in front of us to the point that many experts consider leadership is going through a crisis (World Economic Forum 2015). The difficulty is that people “view the new through old lens” (Oshry 2007, p. 106), or expect change to be “much like the present” (Kurzweil 2005, p. 10). As a result, executives remain blind to the new possibilities (Black and Gregersen 2008). Employees see their part of the system but not the whole (Oshry 2007), they feel what happens to them but do not understand how their behavior impacts others. Many cynically do not accept how they are part of the problem (Diamandis and Kotler 2015) but blame others for the problems they suffer. In the light of the above, some experts might misdiagnose the current situation hoping that playing with the organizational chart or trying to fix, replace, repress, or

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dismiss talented people will release organizations from the urge to transform. Similarly, many individuals entrench and hide in the sense of collectivity that defines and imposes a dominant line of thought that makes them feel secure and safe. As a consequence, senior executives feel “over their heads” (Kegan 1994; Anderson and Adams 2016), the workforce feels oppressed, and the middle managers are torn apart by the opposing forces of directors and employees (Oshry 2007). Employee engagement declines (Crabtree 2013) and extraordinary business results no longer impress dissatisfied customers. Some executives try to release their agony by putting other people under constant pressure. Too much pressure only makes things worse as shown in Fig. 1. Unperceptibly, leaders might be deteriorating performance instead of building the necessary capacity to survive the white waters of turbulent times.

Are We Doomed? Dr. Albert Einstein is believed to have said: “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I am not sure about the universe.” (Good Reads 2016). Some scholars have contended that intelligent people can act stupidly when interacting with other people (Cippola 1991, 1988; Oshry 2007). Moreover, humans show at times severe lack of empathy (Rifkin 2009) and display a lack of emotional intelligence when most in need (Goleman et al. 2002). Many people focus on tribal expansionism instead of developing human system literacy (Logan et al. 2009), creating highly toxic environments (Frost 2003). In such toxic environments, it is

Performance

Building Capacity • Strength • Endurance • Flexibility • Resilience

Downslope • loss of perception • loss of self-esteem • impaired relationships • non-specific ill-health

Pressure

Fig. 1 Pressure and Performance. Source: Watkins, A. (2016). 4D Leadership: Competitive Advantage Through Vertical Leadership Development, Fig. 3.4, UK: Hogan Page Limited, p. 88. Reproduced with permission of Complete Coherence Limited. http://www.koganpage.com/product/ 4d-leadership-9780749474645

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tough to show conversational literacy (Glaser 2014) to align efforts and experience high-quality interpersonal connections (Dutton 2003). Many analysts would argue that there is something fundamentally wrong in the way executives operate. Also, many consultants would contend that it is the manager who creates the uplifting or toxic business environments within which they operate. Interestingly, few accept the fact that ultimately – if they are not mindful – it is the environment they have created that controls their behavior. Put differently, it is common to underestimate the influence environment has on our behavior: “our environment is a nonstop triggering mechanism whose impact on our behavior is too significant to be ignored” (Goldsmith 2016, p. 27). If we accept that the environment is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, it is reasonable to agree with Professor Manfred Ket de Vries (2005) from INSEAD business school who posited, “there is relentless pressure on executives to transform their way of thinking to accommodate present-day realities while achieving stellar bottom-line results” (p. 4). Is then transformation a matter of competency or consciousness? Consider for a moment letting go of the dependency on just cognitive-based rational logic to solve problems and the impact including the heart-based and intuitive gut-based ways of knowing – that constitute the inner systemic neural network that all humans possess – to your decision-making process. You might experience that what seemed impossible to resolve at a certain level of intelligence suddenly becomes evident at a higher level of knowledge. As Eliezer Yudrowsky published in 1996 in his work Staring into the Singularity: “Move a substantial degree upwards, and all of them will become obvious” (as cited in Kurzweil 2005, p. 35). Leaders who activate and integrate the three largest neural networks (i.e., the cognitive, cardiac, and enteric) are accessing a higher level of consciousness from which to solve pressing problems.

Convergent Leaders Historians seem to agree that a turning point in western human evolution happened with the famous dictum: cogito ergo sum - – “I think. Therefore, I am” of René Descartes, who “promulgated and defended the idea that the human body functions like all other bodies in nature according to mechanical principles” (Lynch 1938, 1985, p. 6). The separation of the body from the soul gave birth to modern science. This paradigm shift seriously questioned the official way of looking at things and gave birth to a new way of looking at data with which to deal more efficiently with reality. However, the separation of soul and body might have contributed to thwarting the desire of scientists to engage in heart-based dialogue instead of head-based analysis alone delaying the experimentation of the language of the heart until the findings of James Lynch saw the light in 1985. Suffice to mention the extraordinary connection between human communication and the cardiovascular system Lynch (1938, 1985) researched: “as soon as begins to speak, one’s blood pressure increases significantly, one’s heart beats faster and harder, and microscopic

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blood vessels in distant parts of the body change as well. Conversely, when one listens to others speak or truly attends to the external environment in a relaxed manner, then blood pressure usually falls, and heart rate slows, frequently below its normal resting levels” (p. 5). Moreover, Lynch posited that humans are interrelated and the separation of mind and body is the cause of suffering: “a major source of stress arises from a breakdown in dialogue and a blindness to the links between human communication and bodily functions: that is, when one is emotionally isolated” (p. 13). Even today, the ideas of Descartes are omnipresent in our way of thinking to the point that influential scientist and luminaries continue to treat the body as a purely mechanical entity, leaving to the spiritual traditions and religions the responsibility to deal with the mysteries of the soul. Conversely, in the business environment, the predominance of the head neural center over the cardiac and enteric neural networks has permeated our understanding of leadership. It is reasonable to argue that business is run – predominantly – from the head cognitive neural network. Furthermore, executives with a high intelligent quotient are more likely to promote to higher ranks than those with high emotional quotient. It is from this watchtower that high-powered cognitive leaders regard compassion as a softening competency to avoid. Also, courage is often mistaken with cruelty and seldom included in recruitment profiles sent to headhunting firms. Notice that I have written head hunting companies. No trace of the heart here! As advanced, a convergent leader integrates the cognitive (i.e., head), cardiac (i.e., heart), and enteric (i.e., gut) neural centers to more effectively lead. Multibrain leadership results in the practical use of wisdom. A convergent leader understands the need to meld leadership growth(Watkins 2014, 2016) with leadership competency development(Lombardo and Eichinger 2009). These methods result in exponential leadership effectiveness improvement and breakthrough business performance as posited by researchers Robert Anderson and William Adams (2016) in their pioneering work Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results. In their research, authors tied leadership competencies to levels of leadership maturity resulting in a practical roadmap that allows executives grow and increase business performance. According to Anderson and Adams (2016), a more mature leader will strive to develop the ability to relate, improve self-awareness, strengthen authenticity, deploy systemic awareness, and reinforce the focus on achieving results. Such leader embodies the vision and necessary courage to engage in intelligent conversations that promote better team alignment. I propose that converging leaders are better equipped to deal with the present challenges humanity faces, as these leaders focus simultaneously on maximizing profits (head-creativity), improving the well-being of people (heart-compassion), and ensuring the sustainability of the planet (gut-courage). In my view, a convergent leader is naturally empathetic (Rifkin 2009; De Waal 2009), compassionate (Lilius et al. 2005), altruistic (Ricard 2015); courageous (Anderson and Adams 2016), creative, and innovative (Dyer et al. 2011). A convergent leader is at his/her “highest expression” (Soosalu and Oka 2012) when deeply congruent within. Congruent means that the three neural centers of the head, the

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heart, and the gut are working together. Notwithstanding, Robert Anderson and William Adams (2016) defended: “it is the inner game that runs the outer game” (p. 250). The above is not a new idea. From ancient times, the education of scholars and sages included the development of consciousness and competency (Yogananda 2004). It is only recently that the need to develop both awareness and skill has strongly echoed (Anderson and Adams 2016; Watkins 2014, 2016). Great companies are investing in developing multibrain leaders who can deal with systemic complex contexts. Such leaders demonstrate not only competency but a strong character (Dotlich et al. 2006) to the point of leading organizations that endears customers.

Developing a Higher Consciousness In the World Forum of Spiritual Culture held in 2010 in Astana, Kazakhstan, it was said: “In a world whose pace and complexity is ever increasing, where we face more and more personal and social challenges, there is a call for lifting individual and global consciousness. People want to make more intelligent choices, so daily life is more tenable, personal and global relationships are stronger and more meaningful, and the future of our planet is assured”(Nelson, as cited in McCraty, 2015, p. 45). There is an ample debate about what constitutes an effective leader. Leaders around the world with whom I have had the privilege to engage in strategic conversations seem to agree that an effective leader is a purpose-driven executive who translates ideas into a compelling vision, and articulates a strategy that allows managers decide how to ensure flawless execution. Furthermore, effective leaders seem to be systemic, display conversational intelligence, and are cognizant of how to build high-quality connections. Finally, moving away from an auto-pilot reactive behavior, effective leaders walk the talk, and transition to higher level of consciousness from which to overcome the pull of unreflected beliefs that ignite the fear to change. Clearly, not for the faint of heart! The fast pace of change organizations and leaders experience requires learning agility. Again, Anderson and Adams (2016) come to our rescue with what they have coined The Leadership Imperative and explained: “The development of leadership effectiveness must, at a minimum, keep pace with the rate of change and the rate of escalating complexity” (p. 42). The consequences of The Leadership Imperative are that developing effective individual mind-framesand collective intelligence is a business imperative, a priority strategy for leaders to help organizations efficiently adapt to the complex challenges they face. It is important to notice that: “The organization will not perform at a higher level than the consciousness of its leadership” (p. 43). Regrettably for some, reaching a higher standard of neural integration requires the courage to let go of safety: “There is no safe way to be great. Moreover, there is no great way to be safe. Transformation requires courage” (Anderson and Adams 2016, p. 164). Notwithstanding, courage seems to be a characteristic of the enteric neural

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network and has an intelligence of its own that helps us make sound decisions (Soosalu and Oka 2012). The Universal Model of Leadership proposed by Anderson and Adams (2016) emphasized three core types: (a) the Heart or Relational, (b) the Will or Achiever, and (c) the Head or Awareness and Authenticity evolving sequentially through different stages of leadership maturity. The focus is not: “asking leaders to change their type-their core nature-it encourages leaders to evolve that essential nature into higher-order Structures of Mind” (capitals in original, p. 229). Consequently, the vertical development proposition highlights the need to include and transcend liabilities going against the popular approach of just leveraging strengths: “It does not ask managers to become different, but to develop their strengths to higher levels of maturity and mastery. It does not ignore weaknesses but works with them to foster deeper insight” (p. 228), “with each evolution of the Structure of the Mind, leaders leverage their core strengths and gifts while jettisoning the liabilities of the earlier Structure of Mind. In so doing, they become more effective even as life gets more complex” (capitals in original, p. 229). In adult development literature, some researchers have named the transitioning from one level of maturity to the next higher level vertical development (Petrie 2014; Watkins 2014, 2016).

Developing Inner Coherence Coherence is a state of functioning in which the different human systems (i.e., nervous, hormonal, and immune) are working in synchronization and balance. There is extensive scientific research conducted by the HeartMath ® Institute that demonstrates how performance varies according to the predominance of sympathetic or parasympathetic autonomic nervous system compared to when the autonomic nervous system is in homeostasis or balanced. The term homeostasis was coined by Dr. Walter Cannon in 1929 in his book Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear, and Rage. What sages knew intuitively modern science is now validating: “psychophysiological coherence is characterized by heart rhythm coherence, increased heart-brain synchronization and entrainment of diverse physiological oscillatory systems, is associated with increased emotional stability, improved cognitive performance, and a range of positive health-related outcomes” (Childre and McCraty 2002, p. 13). Individuals can readily learn how to self-regulate to produce more active self-induced healthy states: “using heart rhythm coherence feedback training, individuals can readily learn to self-generate the coherent mode and sustain genuine positive emotional states at will, thus establishing an internal environment that is conducive to fostering spiritual experience” (Childre and McCraty 2002, p. 13). While it is true that specific breathing rhythms enhance coherence for short periods of time, the importance of inner harmony in positively impacting social coherence can be easily understated: “harmony along the walls of one’s social

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membrane is dependent on one’s internal harmony, and vice-versa” (Lynch 1985, p. 201). There is sound research available today that demonstrates the variation of blood pressure when breathing coherently (Elliot and Edmonson 2008) and how individual internal coherence speculates social coherence (Childre et al. 2016). It is reasonable to believe that the need to collaborate in business depends not only on the desire to debate ideas but on the individual ability to create internal coherent states that contribute to the creation of an external global coherence environment from which to hold heart-head-gut-based dialogues. In the light of the above, it is reasonable to deduct that a discrepant innerhuman system can only promote the forming of external toxic environments that severely deteriorate team performance and individual well-being.

Breathing Still to Facilitate Inner Coherence While executives perform under increasing pressure, not many invest any time learning to breathe still. What do I mean by breathing still? Recent research leads to believe that people can easily learn how to self-regulate the emotional state. People can also create an efficient positive inner environment via coherent breathing that creates heart rhythms that directly enhances physical and mental performance (Elliot and Edmonson 2008; Childre et al. 2016). Coherent Breathing is as easy as keeping an equal rhythmic breathing pattern when inhaling and exhaling. There is no need to retain the breath or forcing yourself into this pattern. With practice you can enhance the experience of coherence by placing your attention around the heart area and generating a positive feeling. Alternatively, some people use kinaesthetic and touch their chest on the heart area. SCPosing is a free phone application designed to experience a more calmed state in just 2 minutes. Enter i-Tunes or Google store to download the “SCPosing” app for free. The importance of taking responsibility for our internal environment derives from the thought: “Every individual’s energy affects the collective field environment” (Childre et al. 2016, p. 127). The idea of resonance and resonant leadership (Boyatzis et al. 2006) builds upon the notion that within a group the emotions and intentions of each person “feed the field” (Childre et al. 2016, p. 127). This energetic feeding has either an elevating or detrimental effect on teams and executives (Vianello et al. 2010). The positive or negative vibratory field created by individuals within an organization may thwart the best intentions of driving a company toward a culture of love (Fernández-Aráoz 2014). In other words, each one of us is responsible for allowing our moods, sentiments, feelings, and physiology to determine the quality of our thoughts and the effectiveness of our behavior. A convergent leader consciously chooses to increase its vibratory tone and coherence state to positively impact leadership and lead from a higher order from which to deliver breakthrough business performance.

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Achieving a higher vibratory frequency can be attained through the practice of coherent breathing (Childre et al. 2016; Elliot and Edmonson 2008) and developing the power of stillness as spiritual lighthouses Thich Nhat Hanh and Eckhart Tolle suggest. Coherent Breathing ® was introduced in 2005 as a formal method for cultivating psychophysiological balance. Since then, there is a much better understanding of the physiology of breathing and the importance of regulating the nervous system in reaching high performance. The central nervous system consists of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that regulates automatic bodily functions (e.g., digestion, hormonal, immune systems) and the somatic nervous system that is attributed to be more consciously controlled. At the same time, the automatic nervous system (ANS) is subdivided between a sympathetic branch and a parasympathetic brand, the former being responsible for activating the fight and flight response to external stimuli and the latter for deactivating body processes and nervous influences to soothe and recharge. When the nervous system is in equilibrium “equal sympathetic and parasympathetic emphasis” (Elliot and Edmonson 2008, p. 15), the body reaches a state of equilibrium or homeostasis-facilitating performance. The average breathing frequency in a healthy adult is 17–19 respirations per minute, whereas the optimal breathing rate is between five to six breaths per minute (Elliot and Edmonson 2008). According to researchers Stephen Elliot and Dee Edmonson (2008): “a growing body of evidence suggests that many modern ills are rooted in autonomic nervous system imbalance, specifically, sympathetic overemphasis and parasympathetic under-emphasis. There is high correlation between excessive sympathetic activity and anxiety, depression, attentional disorder, chronic muscle tension, sleep dysfunction, and hypertension” (p. 24). To this end, Coherent ® Breathing is “both simple and complex to practice” (p. 36). In essence, it involves “conscious breathing at the nominal frequency of 5 breaths per minute with conscious relaxation” (p. 37); that is, a 6-s inhalation cycle followed by a 6-s exhalation cycle followed by a strong intention to relax: “we must first breathe slowly and deeply, then begin relaxing” (p. 40).

Leading also with the Intelligence of the Heart It was Dr. James Armour who introduced the term, “heart brain,” in 1991 by showing the complex nervous system the heart has that qualified as a little brain. Since then, there is growing pioneering scientific research around the intelligence of the heart – beyond the typical view of the heart being a pumping blood organ – its impact in heart-head communication, how positive emotions like love, caring, and compassion activate a state of coherence (McCraty 2015). Ancient philosopher, Blaise Pascal, asserted in his Penseés: “The heart has its reasons that reason knows not of. . . Do you love by reason?” (Pascal, as cited in Lynch, 1985, p. 29).

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When the heart, head, emotions, and physiology interact in a balanced manner, they are in “heart coherence” (Childre et al. 2016, italics in original, p. 67). An increase in internal coherence facilitates the access to intuitive intelligence (McCraty et al. 2004a, 2004b), where the breathing rhythm and heart beat seem to resonate at the same frequency (Childre et al. 2016). Research also suggests that the state of our internal physiology determine the quality, amplitude, intensity, and stability of the feeling of our emotions and how these affect our behavior and performance as Fig. 2 suggests (Watkins 2014, 2016). It seems that our inner state of coherence touches others and affects their internal state of others making it possible for emotional contagion and resonant interaction or “social coherence” to occur (Childre et al. 2016, italics in original, p. 71). Therefore, our inner state contributes to creating a positive environment or a toxic environment where negative emotions and stress are multiplied by the interaction of incoherent people working together. As a consequence, executives feel the suffering associated with working in such toxic environments and want to alleviate its pernicious effects by building resilience and intelligently managing their energy. There is a desperate need to offset the devastating consequences of escalating stress (McCraty et al. 2003) has on current employee high disengagement indexes (Crabtree 2013). Healing the negative impact a toxic working environment has on individuals is not so easily done as Dr. Gantt demonstrated around the 1960s when he discovered how long it took for the autonomic nervous system for a dog to recover from extinct conditioned reflexes applied by electrical shocks in the forepaw of a dog. Petting the dog was the fastest way to abolish both the conditioned and unconditioned cardiac reflexes to electric shock. Humans are not dogs, and yet, soothing seems to counterbalance the pernicious effects of the threat-affect regulation system (Depue and Morrone-Strupinsky 2005). By the way, there is nothing more threatening to a leader

Activation passion enthusiasm motivated

Fight Nor-adrenaline

Flight Adrenaline

120 bpm

Positive Emotion

Negative Emotion

DHEA `Anabolic state´

content receptive interested

angry frustrated anxious

Cortisol `Catabolic state´

60 bpm

apathy inattentive detached

Relaxation

Fig. 2 Emotions and Performance. Source: Watkins, A. (2014). Coherence: The Secret Science of Brilliant Leadership. London. UK: Hogan Page Limited, p. 203. Reproduced with permission of Complete Coherence Limited

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than to admit in a toxic business environment that he/she does not have the answer to a pressing problem.

Leading with Gut Intelligence The highest expression of the gut intelligence is courage; the courage to act, to mobilize, to decide (Soosalu and Oka 2012). The dictum at Silicon Valley: “fail early, fail often, fail forward” (Basulto as cited in Diamandis and Kotler 2015, p. 77) is a faithful reflection of what it takes to innovate and shake up the organizational inertia. However, many executives are afraid of not learning fast enough, reluctant of taking risks, nervous when erring, frightened of being ridiculed by also scared peers, stiffed when called upon to step out of their comfort zone, and paralyzed when risking their annual bonuses and perquisites linked to their position in the hierarchy. As Emory University neuroeconomist Gregory Berns wrote: “Fear prompts retreat. It is the antipode of progress” (as cited in Diamandis and Kotler 2015, p. 108). Making decisions in an uncertain world is particularly difficult to do. Experiencing fear when deciding leads to make wrong choices. Israeli Nobel Prize winner, psychologist Daniel Kahneman extensively researched why deciding is an act hampered by internal thought limitations and biases. In essence, Kahneman (2002) distinguished two generic modes of cognitive function: “an intuitive mode in which judgments and decisions are made automatically and rapidly, and a controlled mode, which is deliberate and slower” (p. 1). Together with colleague Amos Tversky, Daniel Kahneman (1973) identified many cognitive biases and cognitive shortcuts that save time and energy by subconsciously simplifying the decision-making process. These patterns of thought create some resistance to see reality as it is that lead to profound and recurrent errors in the process of reflection. Contrary to popular belief, many teams in business never agreed about how to decide despite the fact that they operate on limited information and limited time to make important decisions. This circumstance is what Kahneman and Tversky referred to as judgment heuristics. The brain is always sorting and selecting information to secure survival. It is evident that the business world produces a staggering amount of information in a phenomenally short period. Every day the amygdala is triggered by the hundreds of emails executives read. The job of the amygdala is to filter out anything perceived putting survival at risk. Once the amygdala perceives something as a threat, it triggers primal emotions like fear to signal out the need for protection. Of course, we know that any fear response amplifies the perceived danger and keeps attention focused on one thing only: danger. Executives focused on fear are keener on holding a pessimistic view of reality and blind themselves of seeing the opportunity at hand to thrive. It is not surprising then to learn how executives find it difficult to make sound decisions in a world of increasing uncertainty. The desire to improve the world is rooted on developing prosocial behaviors such as empathy, compassion, and altruism (Rifkin 2009; Lilius et al. 2005; Ricard 2013). The bad news is that the development of prosocial behavior is slow compared to the

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instant reaction of the amygdala to any perceived threat. In fact, Tibetan monk and scientist Matthieu Ricard (2015) affirmed: “If compassion without wisdom is blind, compassion without action is hypocritical” (p. 7). People want to win and are afraid of losing. In fact, the loss aversion pushes executives to play, not to lose, in the illusion that by avoiding losing they can win (Anderson and Adams 2016). Under pressure, intelligent, talented team members can act stupidly behaving in such a way that all parties lose (Cippola 1991). Not only this is stupid but keeps leaders trapped in the pessimistic cycle of hopelessness (a.k.a. nothing can change this, this is the way things are around here) stuck in a mindset that does not correspond to the fast development of technology. In the Japanese martial arts, the lower neural center (gut) is called HARA. It is the center of courage, and from this, the graceful movements of Aikido emerge. It is well known to the aficionado, the code of honor the samurai warriors followed in battle when rather than surrendering to the enemy they died honorably by following the ritualistic suicidal act of Seppuku or cutting open the guts with a small sword. Leaders today are engaged in a struggle for survival that requires the highest expression of courage in taking necessary decisions that might not win a popularity contest. Moreover, courage drives us to act, and it gives us the necessary determination and strength to endure despite the primal emotions the amygdala might trigger. Executives will need courage if they want to raise their consciousness and invest in vertical development programs. I am speaking about the courage to self-empower beyond thinking conditioning, act with authenticity, and build the willingness to let go of past hurt feelings, old ideas, and damaged relationships.

Leading with Practical Wisdom While Aristotle defined wisdom as: “intuitive reason combined with scientific knowledge” (as cited in Soosalu and Oka 2012, p. 273), the classical Chinese medicine textbooks had recorded the Heart Head communication as early as 200 B.C. In fact, Daoist practice affirms the intertwined relationships between the three minds or tan-tiens; namely, the head or center of observation, the heart or center of consciousness, and the gut the center of awareness/feelings and how the gut brain does similar things than the gut brain. Interestingly, in the Japanese culture, KOKOROこころ means the mind of the heart. In recent times, researcher Doc Childre and his team (1996) at the HeartMath Institute ® posted: “It is through the heart intelligence that we acquire emotional maturity and heal the brain’s circuitry” (p. 17). In Europe, renowned professor and psychiatrist Enrique Rojas argued: “the goal of sentimental education is to enjoy a healthy balance between head and heart, between affection and rationality” (El objetivo de la educación sentimental es lograr un buen equilibrio entre corazón y cabeza, entre lo afectivo y lo racional, text in original, 2016, p. 3). Furthermore, McCraty and his team argued that when the rhythm of the heart is in harmony, the perceptual faculties of the brain perform better (1995a). Therefore, it is reasonable to

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defend that positive feeling of love, care, appreciation, and compassion are what create balanced and harmonious heart rhythms (McCraty et al. 1995b). Regrettably, a child raised in a family environment with insufficient love, or a teenager who has witnessed uncensored acts of bullying at high school, or as a youngster learned of undetected cybernetic harassment at university, is not keen to regard Compassion or Courage as a desirable business competency when becoming an adult. Researchers Childre and McCraty (2002) suggested executives would be better off holding an intentional focus to self-generating positive emotions as means to prolong psychophysiological coherence despite external hardship conditions and toxic environments. Many managers might perceive the world they operate in as turbulent. Rightly so, leaders cannot ignore the effects of the economic meltdown, radical climate shift, and escalating global terrorism. Should it be true that the brain is biased towards the negative as means to secure its survival (Rozin and Royzman 2001), it is imperative to learn how to focus on possibilities rather than on problems alone (Diamandis and Kotler 2015). For decades, executives have focused mainly on doing more with less (i.e., efficiency) rather than finding out what the right thing to do was (i.e., efficacy). Deceased long best-seller author Dr. Stephen Covey (1932–2012) introduced habits of effectiveness (i.e., doing the right thing right) as a distinctive leadership characteristic. Let us take Compassion as an example. Compassion to be active requires the comprehension of the “causes of suffering” (Ricard 2015, p. 32). Finding the profound cause of suffering is not as obvious as it might seem and requires discernment (the head neural center) and not just emotional resonance (the heart neural center). A leader who integrates the three neural center will become aware of the possibility of eliminating suffering and activate practical wisdom to turn pity into compassion. So instead of afflicting more suffering to the suffering caused, he/she finds ways to return kindness to harm, not as an act of weaknesses but as a courageous act rooted in wisdom. A practical, wise leader uses his/her discernment to develop policies, strategies, and actions (the gut center) designed to help dissipate the suffering present in working toxic environments (Frost 2003). In fact, Blaine Bartlett and David Meltzer in Compassionate Capitalism (2016) stated: “business is nothing less than a spiritual discipline” (preface, para 5). One way of eliminating suffering is exemplified by a magnate, engineer, inventor, and investor Elon Musk, co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla Motors. Musk’s vision is to eliminate the current high levels of CO2 in the air (reducing respiratory suffering) by designing and manufacturing electric-powered vehicles (efficacy) that are affordable to purchase (efficiency) that eliminate Co2 emission (effectiveness). Tesla Motors recently launched a mid-size electrically powered vehicle called to revolutionize the car industry and accelerate the elimination of Co2 car emissions. I am sure as fascinating as these examples might seem, many organizations and executives might choose to resist change and deny the need for a paradigm shift. Transformation happens first individually (Black and Gregersen 2008) or it does not

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happen. That is what happened to Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, who discovered a light shiny new metal in Italy at the time Tiberius was the Roman emperor. Tiberius – who had treasured a fortune that feared to lose with the invention of this metal that shines like silver – had Plinius beheaded instead of embracing and exploiting the discovery. Consequently, humanity had to wait for two millennia to benefit from the excellent qualities of this metal modern metallurgist named Aluminum. I wonder how many brilliant heads have been repressed, depressed, or let to leave corporations and how much more time can companies survive without leveraging the talent they had – in the first place – hired. Maybe like bauxite needs electrolysis to become aluminum, people might need an inner alchemy to transform into a lighter new leader who acts in a flow state and uses practical wisdom to decide instead of logic alone. Try the following exercise and be aware if any inner alchemy takes place. In the beginning, when doing this exercises negativity may intensify. Do not worry. With practice your ability to attune to the energy of the heart will increase and with it, your capacity to let go of emotional upset. Be patient and compassionate with yourself: 1) Choose a situation that has recently triggered some unrest at work (tension, emotional upset, etc.). 2) Observe the feeling as you allow to re-experience it (enough so that you are aware of the feelings). 3) Accepting that beneath all emotional upset are judgments (i.e., a mismatch between what is and what it should have been) seeking resolution (i.e., return to the comfort, safety, and control of the comfort zone), explore any judgments you have placed against yourself or another. Be specific. 4) Take a deep breath and focus on your heart area. Bring a feeling of joy, peace, or stillness by reconnecting with an image of nature, a symbol of peace, a pet, or a baby. Anything that elicits positive feelings in your heart area will suffice. 5) Hold the intention to let go of any self-judgment or judgment to others as you inwardly let go of the emotional upset or hurt. 6) Replace the pain with self-appreciation, warmth, or a tender feeling. Intensify the positive regard as you let go of the hurt or upset. No need to retain, analyze, or understand. Just let it go. 7) When complete, appreciate your willingness to refresh the emotional toil you were experiencing and the desire to let go and forget. 8) Reconnect with the warmth in your heart area and take a last deep breath. When you feel ready, resume your day.

Conclusion Disillusioned enough with the dysfunction of poor leadership, many employees seem trapped in the paranoia of toxic business environments (Frost 2003). To participate in the transformation of consciousness that will revolutionalize the world of business, one must engage in the pronoia and act with greater creativity,

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compassion, and courage. Pronoia is the understanding that the world is fundamentally friendly. On the other hand, Paranoia is the belief the universe is conspiring against one (Breznsy 2009). However, the motivation to change behavior cannot rely solely on extrinsic rewards or coercive sanctions. Money at some point loses its effectiveness and so does fear. Organizations that embrace the theory and practice of personal and organizational transformation will facilitate the emergence of Convergent Leadership. To help develop – at par – the inner and outer dimensions of leadership, team leaders, and human resources professionals might want to consider the following: First, by adopting internal practices such as coherent breathing and contemplative practices such as mindfulness, companies will help executives become more resilient and efficient in their decision making. What is more, an executive with a weakened nervous system will maladapt to high-stress levels, which will affect the quality of his or her cognitive, emotional, and physiological synchronization. For instance, I recently engaged in an executive coaching process with a senior officer who had been suffering from high stress over the last few months due to regular episodes of rage and violence exercised by his mentally disabled teenager together with a peak of workload and company growth. The resulting energy depletion had affected the performance of the executive to such an extent that the manager seriously considered resigning as a valid means to respond to the uncontrollable fury of the youngster and the overwhelming panic of the wife. The thought behind this option was to liberate the necessary time and focus on supporting the family address the all-consuming ill will and hatred demonstrated by the child and the intense frustration of his wife that was eroding the quality of the marital relationship. A very honorable and compassionate intention indeed absent of the significant psychophysiological efficiency, emotional stability, and enhanced cognitive function to optimize performance. To help the executive make a sounder decision on the best course forward, we engaged in a generative coaching intervention with the purpose of aligning the head, the heart, and the gut neural networks and find the necessary internal psychophysiological homeostasis to deal with the challenging situation. To this end, the executive accepted the invitation to practice coherent breathing techniques coupled with holding a positive emotion such of appreciation that would optimize cognitive processes, emotions, and behavior. Since the heart is uniquely positioned to integrate and communicate information across systems independently from the brain, the heart has its own intrinsic nervous system that sends signals to the brain affecting the homeostatic regulatory centers in the brain. Such balance positively influences the perceptual, cognitive, and emotional processing of the challenges the executive was facing both at home and at work. After a period of 4 months of daily breathing practice, the psychophysiological inner balance improved which allowed the executive make better decisions on how to respond to his situation. As a result, the manager began the transition to a new job within the same company, sought the necessary professional aide to deal with the daily episodes of violence of his son more effectively, and pumped refreshed loving energy out into the exhausted marriage. Albeit the situation has not changed, yet the response of the executive to

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the situation is far more productive than when the coaching engagement began. In summary, the disciplined used of heart-based biofeedback tools had proved lifesaving, and life-enhancing is leading to changes in reducing high blood pressure, but also in re-balancing his emotional life, marital relationship, the family dynamic, and work performance. In short, the company has retained a valuable executive team member, and the family found a more internally balanced committed loving father and husband. Second, by encouraging the mastery of higher level competencies such as relations, self-awareness, authenticity, systemic awareness, and achieving (Anderson and Adam 2016), executives will refine their ability to lead teams and boost business performance regardless of turbulent markets and exponentially technological advancements. Teaming is particularly relevant to our discussion, as it suggests that changes in quality of relations, such as those generated by social coherence, impact the ability of the team to learn: that is, it changes the speed by which teams resolve problems and complete tasks. I hypothesized that working on competencies alone will prove insufficient to offset the interplay of the forces affecting the workplace; namely, (a) technological growth, (b) information duplication, (c) climate change, and (d) market globalization that put leaders under acute stress. To understand the importance of learning agility, it is relevant to refer to the Leadership Imperative as articulated by Anderson and Adams (2016). Let the following example illustrate my point. A brilliant executive who had worked diligently on developing her competencies following a classic 360 feedback report led to gradual progress. Frustration was in the rise and organization patience started to dwindle. Consequently, the need to approach the situation from an entirely different perspective prompted the search of a coaching intervention that went beyond traditional transactional engagements. Generative Coaching aims to develop capacity more than competency. To this end, the exploration of the reactive and creative leadership maturity levels (Anderson and Adams 2016) proved efficient to identify themes and patterns that helped unraveled the behavior that perpetuated the status quo. Inadvertently, the executive was actively engaged in her own sabotaging process despite her good intentions to improve. After three very intense months of personal work, the team is reporting some progress. Propelled by this dynamic measurement, the executive is engaged in simultaneously developing both her competency and capacity to more effectively lead her team and herself. In my view, it is reasonable to argue that expanding capacity is just as important as the traditional approach to competency development. Third, the draft of internal policies will not suffice to encourage transformation. People need the freedom to explore options. Highlighting, the interconnectedness of people can promote a collective coherent environment that fosters the pursuit of interpersonal growth and competency development in a culture that allows working with a purpose. Regrettably, I see many organizations continue to see teams as a distant, passive concept. Instead, the practice of teaming as presented by Amy Edmonson (2014) from Harvard is proving more relevant in creating the right learning environment that fuels performance. Teaming promotes the basic safety to explore, network, experiment, and learn new ways to endear customers. To this end,

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it is relevant to invest in the development of healthy environments rather than issuing well-written communications that inspire nobody. Negative emotional states like fear to speak up can lead to emotional exhaustion and energy depletion. By contrast, positive emotional states promote cognitive efficiency and physiological regeneration. Recent neuroscience discoveries point out that inspiration is a function of the heart, and not a cognitive process (Soosalu and Oka 2012). Bringing the heart back into business will help alleviate the current toxicity many organizations desperately try to hide. There seems to be a need to balance the overdependence on the head so present in today’s organizations. Fourth, a convergent leader is best prepared to discover a new intelligence that allows executives participate in conversations that change the world: “To get to the next level of greatness depends on the quality of our culture, which depends on the quality of our relationships, which depends on the quality of our conversations. Everything happens through conversations” (Glaser 2014, p. xv). Many-if not mostcorporate environments do not encourage this high-quality conversation and perpetuate the selling, telling, and yelling communication inefficiency (Glaser 2014). It is reasonable to believe that the development of such supportive environment will liberate teams in organizations from whatever limiting conditioning impedes finding the innovative solutions the world so desperately needs. Put in another way, companies require more dialogue than debate. The healthy practice in the dialogue of suspending judgment suffices to express views and ideas more openly. Such empowerment activates team brain power and eschews collective folly and group thinking. On the other hand, debates accelerate people entrenching in divergent points of needs, defending the need to be right, and creating silos that impede the flow of communication necessary to activate collective brain power. Different thinking requires convergent practices facilitated by professionals that can help teams reach a decision that is proactively embraced by its members. Policies alone will prove ineffective to teach people how to dialogue. Lastly, it is my wish that the practice of convergence leadership in business might help transform the understanding and practice of leadership and facilitate the greater transformation of societies into the greater peace and prosperity the world so heartfeltly desires.

Cross-References ▶ A Protocol of Continuing Spiritual Exploration by Executive Leaders ▶ An Integral Approach to Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Personal and Organizational Life ▶ Enabling Innovation with Human Values: A Recipe for Transformation ▶ Global Leadership Through the Lens of Spiritual Leadership ▶ Prosocial Leadership: The Transformative Power of Others Directed Leadership Behavior ▶ Transformative Leadership

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References Anderson B, Adams W (2016) Mastering leadership: an integrated framework for breakthrough performance and extraordinary business results. Willey, Hoboken Bartlett B, Meltzer D (2016) Compassionate Capitalism: A Journey to the Soul of Business. Best Seller Publishing, Pasadena, CA Black S, Gregersen H (2008) It starts with one: changing individuals changes organizations. Upper Saddle River. Wharton School Publishing, New Jersey Boyatzis R, Smith M, Blaize N (2006) Developing sustainable leaders through coaching and compassion. Acad Manag Learn Educ 5(1):8–24 Breznsy R (2009) Pronoia is the antidote for paranoia, revised and expanded: how the whole world is conspiring to shower you with blessings. North Atlantic Books, San Rafael Childre D (1996) Teaching children to love: 80 games & fun activities for raising balanced children in unbalanced times. Planetary Publications, Boulder Creek Childre D, McCraty R (2002) Psychophysiological correlates of spiritual experiences. AAPB Biofeedback Winter 2001:13–17 Childre D, Martin H, Rozman D, McCraty R (2016) The heart intelligence: connecting with the intuitive guidance of the heart. Waterfront Press. Retrieved from Amazon.CEU. ISBN-10: 1943625433 Cipolla CM (1991) Allegro ma non Troppo. [Fast, but not overly so] (Editorial Crítica, Trans.) Barcelona, Spain. Original published (1988). Allegro man non Troppo. SocietáEditriceIlMulino, Bolonia Crabtree S(2013) Worldwide, 13% of employees are engaged at work. http://www.gallup.com/poll/ 165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspx?version=print. Accessed 12 Jan 2016 De Waal F (2009) The age of empathy: nature’s lessons for a kinder society. Random House, New York Depue RA, Morrone-Strupinsky JV (2005) Aneurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding. Behav Brain Sci 28:313–395 Diamandis P, Kotler S (2015) Bold: how to go big, create wealth, and impact the world. Free Press a Division of Simon & Schuster, New York Dotlich D, Cairo P, Rhinesmith S (2006) Head, heart, and guts: how the World’s best companies develop complete leaders. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Dutton J (2003) Energize your workplace: how to create and sustainhigh-quality connections at work, University of Michigan Business School Management Series. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Dyer J, Gregersen H, Christensen CM (2011) The innovator’s DNA: mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators. Harvard Business Review Press, Boston Edmonson A (2014) Teaming: how organizations learn, innovate, and compete in the knowledge economy. Jossey Bass Pfeiffer, San Francisco Elliot S, Edmonson D (2008) Coherent breathing: the definitive method. Theory and practice. Coherence Press, Allen. ISBN 0-9786399-3-6 Fernández-Aráoz C (2014) Creating a culture of unconditional love. Harvard Business Review. http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/creating-a-culture-of-unconditional-love/. Accessed 10 Jan 2014 Frost P (2003) Toxic emotions at work: how compassionate managers handle pain and conflict. Harvard Business School Press, Boston Gentry WA, Eckert Regina H, Stawiski SA, Zhao S (2013) The challenges leaders face around the world: more similar than different. Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA Glaser J (2014) Conversational intelligence: how great leaders build trust and get extraordinary results. Bibliomotion, Brookline Goldsmith M (2016) Triggers: sparking positive change and making it last. Profile Books LTD., London Goleman D, Boyatzis R, McKee A (2002) El líder resonantecrea más: El poder de la inteligenciaemocional. [Original name in English: the new leaders]. Plaza y Janés, Barcelona

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Good Reads. (2016) Quotable Quotes. On Albert Einstein. http://www.goodreads.com/author/ quotes/9810. Accessed 10 Jan 2016 Kahneman D (2002) Maps of bounded rationality: a perspective on intuitive judgment and choice. Nobel Prize Lecture. Princeton University, Department of Psychology, New Jersey. http://www. nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2002/kahnemann-lecture.pdf. Accessed 6 Apr 2016 Kegan R (1994) In over our heads: the mental demands of modern life. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Ket de Vries M (2005) Leadership group coaching in action: the Zen of creating high-performance teams. Acad Manag Exec 19(1):61–96 Kurzweil R (2005) The singularity in near: when humans transcend biology. Penguin Group, New York Lilius J, Kanov J, Dutton J (2005) The transformative potential of compassion at work. In: Cooperrider D, Fry R, Piderit S (eds) New designs for transformative cooperation. Stanford University Press, Stanford Logan D, King J, Fischer-Wright H (2009) Tribal leadership. Kindle edn. Harper Collins, Pymble, Australia Lombardo M, Eichinger R (2009) FYI. For your improvement: a guide for development and coaching. For learners, managers, mentors, and feedback givers. Lominger International: A Korn/Ferry Company Lynch J (1938, 1985) The language of the heart: the human body in dialogue. Basic Books, New York McCraty R (2015) Science of the heart: exploring the role of the heart in human performance, vol. 2, Boulder Creek: HeartMath Institute. https://www.heartmath.org/research/science-of-the-heart/ details/. Accessed 27 Jan 2016 McCraty R, Atkinson M, Tiller WA (1995a) New electrophysiological correlates associated with intentional heart focus. Subtle Energies 4(3):251–268 McCraty R, Atkinson M, Tiller WA, Rein G, Watkins A (1995b) The effects of emotions on shortterm heart rate variability using power spectrum analysis. Am J Cardiol 76(14):1089–1093 McCraty R, Atkinson M, Tomasino D (2003) Impact of a stress reduction program on blood and emotional health in hypertensive employees. J Altern Complement Med 9(3):355–369 McCraty R, Atkinson M, Bradley R (2004a) Electrophysiological evidence of intuition: part 1. The surprising role of the heart. J Altern Complement Med 10(1):133–143 McCraty R, Atkinson M, Bradley R (2004b) Electrophysiological evidence of intuition: part 2. A system-wide process? J Altern Complement Med 10(2):325–336 Oshry B (2007) Seeing systems: unlocking the mysteries of organizational life. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco Petrie N (2014) Future trend in leadership development. Center for Creative Leadership, Greenboro, North Carolina, USA Ricard M (2013) Plaidoyerporl’altruism: La force de la bienveillance. [trans: Altruism: The power of compassion to change yourself and the world] (2015). Little, Brown and Company. Hachetter Book Group, New York Rifkin J (2009) The empathic civilization: the race to global consciousness in a world in crisis. Penguin Group, New York Rojas E (2016) La Inmadurez sentimental del hombre [trans: The sentimental inmaturity of men]. Diario ABC, p 3, Madrid, Spain Rozin P, Royzman E (2001) Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion. Personal Soc Psychol RevPersonal Soc Psychol Rev 5(4):296–320 Soosalu G, Oka M (2012) mBraining: using your multiple brains to do cool stuff. mBIT International Pty Ltd. Printed by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Tversky A, Kahneman D (1973) Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Oregon Research Institute. Office of Naval Research Advanced Research Projects Agency. Springfield, National Technical Information Services. U.S. Department of Commerce. https://scholar.

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google.es/scholar?hl=en&q=kahneman+1974&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=. Accessed 5 Apr 2016 Vianello M, Galliani E, Haidt J (2010) Elevation at work: the effects of leader’s moral excellence. J Posit Psychol 5(5):390–411 Watkins A (2014) Coherence: the secret science of brilliant leadership. Kogan Page Limited, London Watkins A (2016) 4D Leadership: competitive advantage through vertical leadership development. Kogan Page limited, London World Economic Forum (2015) Outlook on the global agenda. http://reportsweforumorg/outlookglobal-agenda-2015/top-10-trends-of-2015/3-lack-of-leadership/. Accessed 7 Feb 2016 Yogananda P (2004) The second coming of Christ: the Resurrection of the Christ within You. A revelatory commentary on the original teachings of Jesus, vol 1–2. Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles

The Co-created Classroom: From Teacher/ Student to Mentor/Apprentice Michael B. London and Bill Van Buskirk

Abstract

The classroom can be an exciting place full of the potential for transformational learning. However, this possibility often remains at the level of wishful thinking. This paper describes transformational teaching and learning in practice and the migration of relationships from teacher/student to mentor/apprentice. Moreover, we reimagine the classroom as one that is co-created by instructor and students, transforming the learning space and leading to meaningful relationships, growth, and development. Keywords

Active learning • Assessment • Coaching • Collaboration • Communities of practice • Course design • Culture change • Empowerment • Engagement • Experiential learning • Feedback • Intrinsic motivation • Leadership • Learning community • Mentorship • Peer evaluation • Tacit knowledge • Teaching • Transformation • The will

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Engagement and the Transformational Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Managing One’s Own Engagement in the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Partnering with the Elephant in the Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Transforming the “Teacher/Student” Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Mentor/Apprentice Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The Classroom as a Community of Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 M.B. London (*) Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, USA e-mail: [email protected] B. Van Buskirk La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_7-1

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The Student as “TA” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Engaging the Will of the Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intervention #1: The Poetry Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intervention #2: Coaching for High-Impact Class Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intervention #3: Student-Facilitated Sessions and Their Effect on the Development of the Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intervention #4: Continuous Evaluation, Self, Others, and the Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction The nature of business suggests a mind-set that is both practical and value driven. It carries the notion of a “bottom line”, that one should set goals and create the most appropriate and effective structure to realize them. It is mission driven in that the best businesses have some important reasons for being that really matters to people. And business also requires us to recognize the importance of listening deeply to the stakeholders that surround it and to get in sync with the concerns and motivations of the people that are its lifeblood. When businesses live these realities, they become relevant and are usually able to grow and to prosper over time. In some ways, the business classroom is separated from these qualities of the business world, and it can quickly get out of sync with the heartfelt concerns of its stakeholders, including students, parents, companies, etc. Parents care deeply about employment and career concerns and academia often downplays all this. This can make some question the relevance of higher education to their interests and concerns. In addition, pressures to publish can make faculty question the importance of teaching. Intense graduation requirements can put so much focus on checking off boxes and earning grades that the actual learning becomes the ground and not the figure. As educators we know the value of helping our students to learn the essential facts and concepts that are the vocabulary of our academic disciplines. But beyond this, our larger challenge is to make the classroom come alive and to create the potential for “transformational learning,” which we define as an enthusiastic experience that causes students’ lives to be different or better in some way that feels important. However, at times we may feel that the norms of undergraduate education are not conducive to this. Faculty and students can start to settle or lower their expectations. Many of us become educators, because we know that the classroom can be an exciting place full of the potential for transformational learning. We most likely have experienced this in our own schooling and also had glimpses of it as we now lead our own classrooms. Teachers are passionate people, and we have a natural yearning to have our work go beyond the transactional practices of covering material, grading, and motivating students to meet deadlines and do their work. In our heart of hearts, we hope to develop our students and to see them develop new capacities, to expand their thinking, and to go beyond constraints and barriers to relating and be effective

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with all kinds of people. We want our class to be one that students look forward to coming to and one that really touches their lives in a significant and meaningful way. However, as we face the constraints of the traditional classroom, we also know that some of the potential for transformation often remains at the level of wishful thinking. This paper describes my own journey of discovering a more meaningful way to engage students in teaching organizational behavior and leadership classes. My class size is approximately 16 students, which is smaller than at many colleges, so larger class sizes may require further innovation to make conducive to the co-created classroom. While examples are detailed from my own classes, I believe that there are opportunities for transformational teaching and learning in all disciplines and that it is a worthy challenge to look for the possibilities. My hope is that it might inspire you to innovate in your own way and to rekindle your desire to transform the classroom and try some new approaches in working with your students. This paper represents years of collaborative work done with my writing partner, Bill Van Buskirk. Bill serves the work as thinking partner, writer, and scholar in developing the method and thinking, while I serve as teaching practitioner, innovator, and data collector. Our many invaluable discussions move this thinking forward and challenge the ingrained assumptions that hold the work back.

Engagement and the Transformational Classroom No transformation happens without students being deeply engaged. Kurt Lewin (1947) talked about the change process as requiring an “unfreezing” and then a “refreezing.” The engagement in the classroom then has to be strong enough that an “unfreezing” of thinking, practice, habit, relationship, perception, or attitude might actually occur. So, as an instructor, I view it my job to help my students to engage with the course material with urgency and to find their own meaningful connections to it. When this happens, the classroom environment invariably comes alive. This aliveness is palpable and becomes a fertile ground to all kinds of individual, interpersonal, and group transformation. Students find themselves with new curiosities. Students start relating to peers they had felt distant from. Intellectual concepts start to seem relevant and relatable. Skill areas that seemed like weaknesses become possibilities or even strengths. When these things start happening, you know that the classroom environment has become transformational. Transformational teaching then means always looking to connect to the intrinsic motivations of the students and the energy in the group that is potentially there. This is similar to making music. To sing and play a song and not feel it does nothing for either the singer or the audience. The master musician, like the great teacher, brings the music to life and draws people to it, uplifting everyone in the process. As educators, we must also connect ourselves to the course material and give it a context in which to live and breathe. But as we bring our whole selves to this endeavor, we must also manage our own vulnerabilities, and this can be a challenge.

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Managing One’s Own Engagement in the Classroom A key challenge in facilitating the co-created classroom is in deciding when and how to engage with students. The instructor needs to be vulnerable enough to connect with students on a human-to-human level but removed enough to maintain a formal role that protects the integrity of the learning environment. It is still a classroom and looking out for students as they share more of themselves with each other and with you is of paramount importance. Setting boundaries can be challenging because while opening things up is clearly a necessity for maximizing engagement, safety is a must. So when students move into dialogue that borders on therapy, the instructor should refocus discussions on the work, building skills, careers, and course material. In my own development, I’ve increasingly become more transparent in the classroom but, in doing so, have discovered that a key challenge is to keep myself grounded so I maintain the ability to hold the space. Some topics in my courses are emotionally charged and can trigger my own thoughts, feelings, and issues. For example, if we are discussing sexism or racism and I myself am triggered by the discussion, then my own ability to provide a safe environment for the students to explore and learn may be impaired. Therefore, deciding when and how to engage is important. Recently, during a student led presentation on “gender in leadership,” I was asked to role play an interaction to reconsider my position and to change my behavior. In the role play, she immediately threatened to escalate the situation. We debriefed the role play and I suggested that she might try to analyze what might be underlying her boss’s behavior so that she might hopefully change it without escalating the situation. At this point, I could feel her getting frustrated as she snapped, “I don’t really care what his feelings are.” In thinking back on this interaction, I realize that I had put myself into a situation where I was playing too many roles at once: teacher, role play partner, and feedback giver. And in trying to understand her reaction, I realized that my response might have come off as invalidating her legitimate concerns. It made me rethink putting myself in a situation in which I’m role playing such a charged issue, especially given my own power position in the classroom. In this case, the class needs me to be more removed from the action so I can hold the space for them to freely engage and learn from their experience.

Partnering with the Elephant in the Room When teaching, at times it may seem like there is no intrinsic interest at all and that all the students care about is their grades. One must reject this cynicism and continue to open to the potential energies in the classroom space. We will refer to that hidden, latent energy, the “elephant in the room.” When we are teaching, there is always an elephant in the room. The “elephant” represents everything that is “unspoken” that carries energy for the students. Some elephants are external to the classroom but effect it, while others emerge during the learning. In a group of undergraduate seniors, the elephant might be that they are all about to graduate and are feeling

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scared and alone in taking their next step. No one talks about this in class, but it is a hovering backdrop that is striking in its silence. Or sometimes the elephant is an event taking place in the world, as in a controversial election. After a racially charged event in the news, it might be fear and vulnerability about the diversity in the class and how different students might feel. Or it might have to do with the course work itself. If students are supposed to be working on a group project but some are procrastinating, there might be some uneasiness about disappointing the professor – about being “found out.” Or perhaps “rush” is going on in the sororities and fraternities. Here, the students might seem distracted from the course work, but they are actually alive and present to the compelling challenges that they are experiencing in there extra-curricular activities. Other times the elephant takes the more diffuse form of tacit knowledge students have acquired, dense, rich stores of knowledge in the back of their heads that might parallel the major themes of the course material we are studying. Experiences in internships, relationships, and family life all have potential connections to organizational behavior/management/leadership concepts but may go unexplored. If we welcome this tacit knowledge and lived experience, students are happy to share it, and they delight in learning from their peers when it is grounded in real, felt, passionate experience. If we treat these “elephants” as interference, distraction, or threat to our own position of “knowledge sharer,” then they quickly retreat to the safe ground. In the traditional classroom, these elephants are often viewed as a distraction from the material being discussed in class. Instead of viewing them this way, we can transform the classroom by bringing these rich sources of energy into the dialogue and connect them to the material we are teaching. And we can take it a step further by teaching the students the skill of surfacing hidden sources of meaning and having them do this for each other. When this becomes a shared goal for the class, things start to get really exciting. Students are in one of the most amazing times of their young lives. They are exploring their identities, falling in and out of love, playing with possible futures, saying goodbye to childhood, establishing independence, dealing with how the world sees them, learning about their strengths and weaknesses, and finding out what really matters to them. Accessing these energies can fill the classroom with connection and vibrancy. Instead, we often try to manufacture an interest in our courses in ways that may seem artificial to our students, despite our best efforts to be relevant. We ask them to come to our interests instead of reaching out to theirs. Meanwhile, the elephants call for their attention and we lose a ready source of energy, motivation, and passion. Since many of these concerns are often viewed as “nonacademic,” it actually takes energy to not talk about them and to “check them at the door,” so we can do what we are here to do. But what if these stories, curiosities, and life challenges were not a distraction to the classroom but a part of the lesson plan? What if our job was not to distract students from them but to collaborate with our students to find creative ways to connect and to allow the elephants to graze in the course material? We can name the elephant and use it, and there is energy and passion there. There is relevance and connection and a personal stake. Many of them can be turned into real-life case studies with analysis, theory application, and role plays. So as instructors, we need to

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look for the “elephants” we can bring in to our particular course material. In most fields, there are fertile bridges to bring in the student’s life stories and concerns. And we can share that responsibility by making it a class objective to create a culture conducive to sharing. In the field of “organizational behavior,” we have already come a long way down this path. Kolb’s notion of experiential learning (2005) permeates our teaching methods, and most instructors use experiential learning exercises, case studies, and various discussion methods to energize the students and make learning enjoyable. Still, the instructor usually owns the power in the room and students are largely passive unless called upon to take part. And with these power dynamics at play, if the students are not being graded on an activity, there will be insufficient extrinsic motivation, and they are often not intrinsically motivated to do the work.

Transforming the “Teacher/Student” Relationship Transformational teaching requires us to rethink our role as instructors. Students will share almost anything with a mentor, but in most teacher–student relationships, interdependence and trust are simply not there. The challenges of faculty to student mentorship were highlighted for me when I was with a group of friends having an informal discussion about significant mentors we had experienced in our lives. When someone asked who our most significant mentors in undergraduate school had been, few reported having any at all. It wasn’t that there weren’t excellent teachers at the schools we attended, but that the faculty that might have potentially become mentors never actually got to know us as people, our goals, strengths, and challenges. There was never an occasion for these faculty to take a sincere interest in our individual development and to guide us in a way that could make a significant difference in our lives. My friends further went on to say that there had been extracurricular mentors that had helped to shape them in an important way, but not faculty. This struck me and let me to question whether the classroom really was a fertile ground for mentorship. And if it isn’t, then what are we really doing? This challenging conversation reinforced the struggle I felt earlier in my teaching career. When I first thought about manifesting more meaningful relationships in the classroom, I thought that I would simply offer my coaching services to students and that they would gladly take advantage of them. After all, I had a consulting practice coaching executives outside the college and was offering to show my students the same care and concern as my clients. I was surprised and disheartened when only a few responded to this invitation. I might have concluded that they were disinterested but later realized that creating a mentor relationship is like a building that gets built one brick at a time and does not come from a wide sweeping and impersonal invitation. True mentorship relationships need time and care to develop and are not created by a generalized invite. And further, they need to have real and present involvement in shared and co-authored work to take root.

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The traditional power relationship between teacher and student can be very confining. At times, the teacher is viewed as the all-knowing expert and the student, the hungry mouth to feed. This dynamic is hardly conducive to empowerment and building new competence and confidence in the student. Teaching in a more traditional way, I never really got to experience the work of the student by working alongside them, so the whole relationship was one of reporting on life, rather than living it together. When the master plumber works with the novice apprentice, the whole idea is for the novice to eventually be able to offer the same quality as the master. As wisdom and competence are built, the relationship is affirmed and the advantages to both are clear; the master gets inexpensive help and the apprentice eventually becomes a master. Their stake in each other is clear. Many students never have an apprentice relationship like this during college, and so there is no expectation for this role and also a limited ability to know how to manifest and function in it. And because it breaks the norms of the usual professor/student relationship, there is bound to be some resistance, even if in the abstract, it might sound advantageous and refreshing. Anything new carries its own discomfort and new norms and expectations need to be nurtured. So I asked the questions, how do we create the occasion for mentorship, where can I meaningfully engage with my students and collaborate despite our differing levels of expertise, age difference, and disparate roles? What would create the conditions for us to work together toward something worth struggling with, toward something that demanded our utmost commitment and creativity and give us a relatively equal stake in the outcome? And what could we collaborate on that would seem real and compelling? A natural interdependence comes with focusing on the course itself as a shared goal. The reality is that we spend more hours together in a term than most of us have with some of our friends and extended families. We also expend great effort on assignments and class-related activities, and making this all enjoyable, engaging, relevant, and meaningful is a natural, shared concern. We have a common stake in co-creating the classroom, sharing responsibility for the course material, and building a classroom community to support learning. Adding to our interdependence is a collective interest on building skills, reaching our potential, and attaining success. The skills associated with classroom design and management have clear and practical application to many careers, i.e., commanding a room, presenting yourself with confidence, building a group, presenting material, forming relationships, building trust, public speaking, conducting oneself at meetings, getting work done on time, collaborating with a partner, sharing power, earning respect, appropriate disclosure and storytelling, listening, etc. Since adopting a pedagogy of co-creating the classroom, the difference is dramatic. Where just several years earlier I was inviting students to be coached and having no one show up, I am now constantly meeting with students and serving as a mentor to many. We now have meaningful work to do together, and there is a real and organic context for our mentor/apprentice relationship to begin, grow, and prove to be of value. When the students did not respond initially to my invitations for mentorship, I might have falsely concluded that they were disinterested in their own

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development. In truth, everyone wants a mentor if they can reasonably believe that it will be a positive and constructive relationship. And I personally find that stepping into mentorship is a great privilege and a meaningful life of service. However, creating the occasion for this relationship to flourish is where things get challenging. For those teaching courses related to management and organizational behavior, we are well positioned to use the wisdom of our field of study to optimize our teaching life and to make our teaching work as meaningful as possible. Just as the field of organizational development emphasizes meaningful participation in the process of managing change and the sharing of power, co-creating the classroom requires us to do the same.

The Mentor/Apprentice Model We’ll begin this description of how the mentor/apprentice relationship takes shape with a story from a recent organizational behavior course. The context is a class of 16 students taking a required course for their major at Muhlenberg College, a liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. We’ll break it down step by step so you can think about how this reframing of the teacher/student relationship might be applied in other teaching, consulting, and training contexts. The topic of the day was “culture.” It is useful to note that the design for the class was the one proposed by two of my students who were serving as teaching apprentices or “TAs” for the day. In the class structure, each student has a turn at this, and it involves reading, strategizing, and having several meetings with me to hash out ideas and to explore what might engage and ignite the class in relation to the topic. This is not a “delegation” of teaching responsibility, but instead I teach the class with the students, with them taking the lead. I make myself a partner in co-leading the session so I can add richness to the discussion and support the TAs’ efforts. The knowledge that “I have their back” serves as a comfort in taking on the design and facilitation of a 75-min session which can be daunting to an undergraduate student. In our preparation meetings for this session, several “games” and “exercises” were proposed by the “TAs,” as well as clips from TV shows (The Office), etc. While these initial ideas might have produced an enjoyable session, I saw little possibility for transformational learning in the design. I also sensed that the TAs had not yet immersed themselves in the material and challenge, so there was a superficiality in the air. So in my role as “coach,” I opened a dialogue with the two students about how they viewed the culture of our own class. Once the discussion got going, they remarked that while there was a norm of acting cordially toward one another, the students did not yet feel safe enough to really disagree with each other or to act candidly and that our class held a dynamic that was really a microcosm of the entire college’s larger community of subcultures. They noted that these subcultures were represented in the form of athletes, Greek students (fraternity and sorority), theater people, etc. They noted that the walls between these subcultures were palpable and greatly affected seating arrangements, who interacted with whom and the overall

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classroom dynamic. The TAs had some curiosity and energy around this and ultimately decided to explore it in the session as both a way of learning about how subcultures operate within a dominant culture and as a service to the classroom community in moving them past some barriers that they thought were effecting the potential of the class to work effectively together. They viewed this as an “elephant” in the room, as these dynamics were noticed and felt by most of the students but not discussed publicly. When the day of the class arrived, the TAs and I began by presenting some content about culture from the textbook and some additional reading they had done. They then elicited a discussion about the overall campus culture. It was interesting that during the discussion, no one brought up the subcultures at the college or their presence in the class dynamics. This confirmed our suspicion that it was indeed an “elephant in the room.” The TAs then rearranged the seating of the room to group people they thought were in particular subcultures and asked each to meet and describe the artifacts, values, and basic assumptions of their particular campus subculture. I noted that at this point, the energy of the room seemed to explode when the subcultures were acknowledged, and students immediately began opening up and acting more candidly. Soon, the students’ out of class personalities began to clearly infiltrate the classroom culture. The rest of the class period was spent looking at how subcultures exist within dominant cultures and how this was playing out in our own class, on campus, in organizational life, and in society. They also drew the link to performance in the workplace and had a discussion about how this all might affect our ability to function as a class and learn with and from each other. Then the TAs reformed groups to have one representative from each culture and charged them with comparing the different subcultures around various cultural dimensions and characteristics. It was striking when in the debrief one of the student athletes in the class described in detail the ways in which he had been enculturated into the football team culture, from being recruited, then initiated, how they ate meals together, worked out together, went out together, etc. He remarked that if he had not had this class, he never would have really gotten to know any of the other students in the class, despite seeing them on campus, being in courses together, etc. He acknowledged that he enjoyed his own subculture but was also aware of opportunities lost. There were also questions posed about how this way of being might affect the challenges of working with people in the future in their careers and building trust with coworkers, clients, and customers. This was a poignant moment for the group, and several acknowledged that walls were coming down and that they really appreciated the opportunity to hear about each other’s lives and the subcultures they lived in. At the end of class, I handed out a feedback form for each student to write about the session and to give direct feedback to the two TAs. I later met with the TAs for a debrief of the session and we read the comments together and reflected on what had taken place. The TAs were happy about the session but also came up with several ways they might improve the design and their facilitation in the future. We ended with my own comments about each TAs performance and in asking them to give

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each other some feedback. Each was then charged with writing a reflective paper about the experience, analyzing what occurred. This paper will then be posted on their ePortfolio as evidence of their work. I share this story to illustrate the quality of engagement I’ve found to be readily available with undergraduate students and also how we might use the energy and vitality of the students’ own relationships with each other to transform the classroom. The excellent design for the class on culture was largely created by the students for the students out of something they felt and observed in relation to the assigned topic. It was also the product of their own creativity, their interactions and chemistry with each other, and research and reading they did in preparation. This was further enhanced by some coaching and interaction with me that challenged them to think and to get in touch with what might make for a meaningful session. And in the process, the evaluation component which in the traditional classroom is centralized to the instructor became broadened to include their classmates which added to the meaningfulness, vitality, and excitement of the whole experience. While I ultimately assign the grade to their session and reflection paper, they are also deeply concerned with what their peers think. This becomes a source of building poise and confidence, identifying workable challenges for growth and enhancing identity. By reading actual written feedback, they see in the data what others notice and appreciate and also behaviors that might get in the way of them meeting their career goals. In the co-created classroom, the instructor holds the space for student interaction, encouraging them to operate with their full maturity and invest in both the class and each other. He/she supplements the student’s tacit knowledge with academic depth and serves as a role model for how to engage people in discussion, exploration, and meaningful storytelling. And he/she serves as coach and mentor in allowing students to shine and to facilitate a great experience for their classmates.

The Classroom as a Community of Practice The foundations for rethinking our course design come from the literature on communities of practice (CoP). Course design is commonly understood as the arrangements of learning goals, course material, assignments, due dates, and experiential exercises summarized on a syllabus. We imagined that the traditional classroom design could be significantly augmented by the use of tacit, often underutilized resources embedded in the culture of the classroom (Wenger 1998; Lave and Wenger 1991). By culture, we refer to how students make sense of course material against the backdrop of their personal histories, relationships with one another, interests and skills, work experience, ambitions for the future, athletic involvements, etc. These resources are, to a large extent, tacit and underutilized in most classrooms (Wenger 1998; Lave and Wenger 1991; Rogoff 1999; Brown and Duguid 2000). Yet they are charged with lived emotion, passion, and vitality that metaphorically parallel the content of the course. Communities of practice are learning groups oriented to discovery of new knowledge. They rely on apprentice-like relationships between members and on

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inventing new practices through which they achieve their ends. COPs have become valued in knowledge-intensive industries where proprietary knowledge is key to competitiveness and where knowledge contained within established organizational routines often proves inadequate (Barney 1991; Barney and Hesterly 2006; Wenger and Snyder 2000; Dawson et al. 2006; Shaw and Stacey 2006; Stacey 2004). In response, communities and organizations build the capacity to generate homegrown knowledge relevant to strategic, cultural, and organizational issues. These efforts require culture changes in which work groups embody enhanced creativity and commitment (Wenger et al. 2002; Wenger 1998; Lave and Wenger 1991). The extraordinary vigor and liveliness found in COPs has inspired us to incorporate selected elements of the CoP into our classrooms. Over the course of 6 years, incremental attempts to introduce these elements have grown into our design of the co-created classroom. Similar to CoPs, in the co-created classroom, students discover and invent knowledge that is new to them (and to some extent to the professor). This task is initially experienced as beyond their competence. As they learn course material, they collaborate with the professor to design and conduct most of the class sessions in a manner that is exciting as well as informative. We have found that this approach generates high enthusiasm, improved course ratings, high attendance, a more intense willingness to get involved, and a sense of relevance. In reflection papers at the end of the term, students report an increased sense of confidence as they get over their stage fright and learn how to “command the room.” They also delight in being an integral part of a true learning community, closer to the ideals of what college might be. Transitioning to a co-created classroom involves culture change with elements that are at once subtle, complex, and outside the range of student awareness. We draw inspiration from ten dimensions commonly found in CoPs: domain difficulty, emergence, learning-by-doing, dispersed expertise and authority, tacit knowledge, high engagement based on openness to new members, intrinsic motivation, informal communication, learning at the level of identity, and the invention of new practices (Wenger et al. 2002; Wenger 1998; Lave and Wenger 1991; Clark and Stewart 2012; Retna and Ng 2011; Hara and Schwen 2006). In the co-created classroom, tacit knowledge is embraced and efforts are made to focus material on the real-life opportunities, challenges, and dilemmas of students. Marrying course contents to the tacit knowledge of students puts it into context and is then viewed as useful and vital. Task-relevant knowledge is often encoded in personal meanings: hunches, skills, rules of thumb, intuitions, images, and interpretations of events (Von Krogh et al. 2000). Tacit knowledge encompasses ways of organizing, operating, and thinking that individuals may have not articulated to themselves or to each other (Polanyi 1967). It is often accessed through personal experiences: stories, jokes, metaphors, skits, gesture, drawings, songs, rituals, and the imaginative layout of work spaces. (Von Krogh et al. 2000, p. 176). It is shared by direct observation of how a task is done, by storytelling of successful solutions of difficult problems in the past, by imitation of more accomplished members, by hints, and by outright experimentation (Von Krogh et al. 2000, p. 83; Retna and Ng 2011; Orr 1990; Lave and Wenger 1991). The classroom becomes transformed when

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these resources to make tacit knowledge become available and central to the work of the class. With the community of practice metaphor in mind, the classroom then can be experienced as a community with true interdependence because neither expertise nor authority can be centralized in a single individual. While the instructor has a special role in the group, there is the expectation that all members must learn from one another. Due to the open-ended nature of the group’s tasks, members both give and take direction from one another. Leadership is more facilitative than directive and members act as apprentices to the leader. The teacher acting as the leader of the community of practice provides both opportunities to participate in the work and resources to support learning, but much direction comes from members (Lave and Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998; Brown and Duguid 2000). To decentralize power, the design and running of sessions are, as much as possible, carried out by students themselves in partnership with the professor.

The Student as “TA” In this model of co-creating the classroom, each student serves as a teaching apprentice or “TA” for the course, which provides a framework for collaboration between the professor and students. This can be done with individual students or in pairs. While it may seem simpler and more efficient to delegate the classroom presentation and facilitation to the student, this would run counter to the goals of the cocreated classroom as this would greatly reduce occasions for shared work, apprenticeship, and mentorship. Delegation can also rob the class of the benefit of the instructor’s experience and remove a rich source of data for the professor: to have the experience of working directly with student partners on a complex task. In the role of TA, students invariably showcase both their issues and their strengths, and the professor then has the opportunity to model a way of working assertively and collaboratively with the students. And in classroom sessions, students invariably pick up on the “moves” of the professor, and these become part of the body of knowledge for all students to draw from. The collaboration between the professor and TAs requires give and take and for the professor to both assert him/herself while giving the students room to lead. Keeping the overall experience of the class in the forefront, the professor makes choices based upon what will serve the class best, and TAs are encouraged to do the same. The students in fact may be better equipped than the professor to find stories that are relatable and interesting for the class that relate to the concepts. They also might think of exercises that are in line with the interest levels and context of the students. In addition, when they take risks, it has a different symbolic meaning than when the professor shares personal data. Students are also challenged to make interventions that will allow for the development of the class as a learning community. The professor brings a wealth of experience gained from a graduate studies, research, and practice. Together they make a potent team.

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Engaging the Will of the Class In many classroom environments, there is a battle of “wills.” The professor tries to get the students to work, and the students either succumb to the power of the professor or resist. In the co-created classroom, there is a sincere attempt to engage the will of students. In TAs’ sessions, students are asked to not only deliver material but to energize, engage, and mobilize the class. This requires engaging the “will” of their classmates. This includes both the more disciplined side of the “will,” often called “will power,” and the more expressive side often called “the wish.” (London 1991) The disciplined will is at play in class preparation and in keeping people focused during the session. If the students need to have done some prework for the session, then the TAs need to find a way to encourage them to do it. During the session, their efforts are more directed toward engaging “the wish” and making the classroom come to life. The immediate nature, high desirability, and excitement of “the wish” exhibit a sort of clarity and desire that transcends logic and rationality. Rollo May (1969) asserted that every act of will starts when a wish is conscious and addresses a presently felt need. This viewpoint is akin to Freud’s notion that nothing but a wish can set the mental apparatus in motion. And the more the students come from “the wish,” the more energy there will be. So the role of the TAs becomes to look for ways to engage “the wish” of their peers. For example, in my organizational behavior class, I had two student “TAs,” Steven and Erika, who designed class with me about power and influence. The two students came up with an exercise in which their peers had to build a tower out of some materials that they provided. They announced a prize for the winner and separated the class into groups to do their work. They also introduced several original touches into the exercise in which each group was given monopoly money, and groups could purchase additional items at a “store” they created. They could buy various items and also use coupons that allowed them to affect the tower building of other groups. The class evolved into a near pandemonium as groups increasingly tried to win, forgetting the usual norms of being in a college classroom. In the end, one of the groups found themselves in an ethical conundrum. Would they use their earned coupons to topple another group’s tower in order to win? They did. As you can imagine, this offered great food for class discussion about many subjects pertinent to the course. And it was brought up in future class sessions as part of the shared lore of the group. A wide range of phenomena happened in the space of 75 min, as groups formed alliances against other teams, and the class allowed themselves to be ordered around by two student TAs who minutes before had just been their peers. Each student in the exercise also got individualized feedback about their performance in the building groups. Overall, the session was a powerful design, further enhanced by the fact that it was generated, created, and implemented by students in collaboration with the professor. Beyond the value of the exercise, this feeling of student empowerment reinforced the dynamic of co-creation and transformed the classroom. It was as much how it got created than what was created that carried the power to get full involvement from the students and the possibility of

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more and better class sessions to come. In debriefing with Steven and Erika, they reported being amazed by what had transpired but also self-critical. They mentioned that they could have managed their time better and highlighted more of the behaviors that resulted, pairing them more succinctly to theories. I interpreted their self-criticism in the face of a session that had been very successful, an artifact of the maturity they had been elevated to. Their standards for themselves had grown to the point that were working on subtle nuances. At the end of the debrief, I asked them to give feedback to each other, asking each, “If someone asked you what it’s like to work with the other TA, what would you say? What strengths did he/she show in working with you and what would you want even more of? In the discussion, each praised the other. But an issue emerged where Erika had been holding back her own ideas and felt the need to defer to Steven’s opinion. He told her that he would rather she be more assertive in sharing her own ideas and that they spurred his own thinking. So this became another learning point as they think about working relationships and the subtle dynamics that occur. Overall, the design and facilitation of this session visibly tapped into the “wish” of the students. They began to act in an unguarded manner and to show their instincts. Later this became material for thoughtful analysis of what had occurred and lived human behavior to use as a text for analysis. The learning for Steven and Erika as TAs was both content and process rich. They took on what felt like a big challenge in designing a class with their professor, learning to collaborate with each other and finding their poise and confidence to deliver a product to a group they felt a stake in. Afterward they were asked to apply theory in writing a reflective/analytical paper. They also had the experience of making an intervention into a group’s development and had a chance to distinguish themselves among their peers. All this creates an upward spiral where the next pair of TAs will want to keep the bar growing ever higher. Students in their early twenties are potentially very mature but can also be immature. The structure brings out their potential maturity and then inspires others to follow suit. The experience described above was early in the term and also then created the possibility of classroom experience being different than the norm. What else might happen in the rest of the term? It also deepened the relationship between students as they began to respond to each other’s leadership; to deal with each other’s values about winning, losing, and competition; and to show each other in real time how they exercise power. And since the exercise was largely designed by the students in collaboration with me, their teacher, it was uniquely theirs. They now clearly saw themselves as cocreators of the classroom and a place where almost anything is possible. Students report that the variety and novelty of having different student TAs in each class creates a freshness that keeps them engaged throughout the semester. One student remarked, “I think what I liked most about your classes was the fact that no class was ever the same. By having students serve as TAs, it made coming to class more interesting because you never know what class will be like. As someone who has ADD, I find interactive learning to be much more beneficial to me than a standard lecture.”

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The co-created classroom can be realized through a series of interventions. There are certainly other interventions possible that might be even more appropriate for different courses or to make use of the instructor’s unique personality and skills. These have been developed over 5 years and refined. They are designed to empower students and build a strong classroom culture migrating a shift from teacher/student to mentor/apprentice.

The Interventions Intervention #1: The Poetry Gallery In our experience, most students carry with them a complex, powerful, and unconscious default image of what constitutes a college class. Therefore, it is important to introduce a “frame-breaking” experience to open up possibilities and to begin to see new potentials in what the experience might be. We have found that the Poetry Gallery exercise is a great way to set a tone for this transition. In addition, students find a deeper engagement with classmates, intrinsic motivation, and learning at the level of identity. Finally, students participate actively in inventing practices through which the class takes shape. The Gallery is comprised of two equally important elements: a setting and a set of activities. The setting is designed to capture student attention immediately upon entering the room. We post approximately 75 poems on the classroom walls. Poems are displayed in oversized fonts on brightly colored sheets of paper. We provide live or recorded instrumental music to provide a calming, unobtrusive background that supports quiet browsing of the poetry. First, participants silently browse the gallery. Next, they select a poem that speaks to them. They share their poem with one other student and tell why they selected it. Time permitting, participants read their poems to the whole group and talk about what the poems evoked in them. Next, participants engage in a freewrite exercise. For 8–10 min, participants write on a theme without self-critique or hesitation. Finally, those members who choose to do so can perform their freewrites for the group. Research on the Poetry Gallery (Van Buskirk and London 2008, 2012) has found three major effects: personal transformations, group empathy and trust, and enhanced connection to the course material. Students report that the Gallery intensifies and clarifies personal and interpersonal experience. For example, a shy student chose a poem that expressed his faith and feelings of strength he gets from his religious life. This is not something he would typically talk about with peers, especially in a business class. During the Poetry Gallery, he surprised himself by taking the risk to pick this poem and then to talk openly about it with another student of a different race and gender. She was surprised by his sensitivity and they opened up to each other. This then gave him confidence to read his poem to the whole class. He reported in a reflection paper that it took courage for him to break his usual self-censorship. The class was surprised and delighted by the sensitivity and strength of his description. His peers then felt challenged to rise to his example as the

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group suddenly became a safe place to talk about difficult things. Later in the term, they found themselves able to address many undiscussables in terms of the course material (i.e., how social class of students affects peer relationships, spending habits and perceptions of social loafing in student working groups). This arc of personal discovery, social bonding, and enhanced relevance of the course material is a common occurrence.

How the Gallery Facilitates the Migration to the Cocreated Classroom While the Gallery by itself is not enough to generate the culture change we seek (it is a one-time experience in a 14-week semester), it orients students to the kinds of changes they will experience in the rest of the class, and it is a vital stage-setter for the other three interventions. Below, we briefly sketch how the Gallery supports change along each of the ten dimensions. These insights have been obtained though student reflection papers after the Gallery and at the end of the course. The Gallery is also a gateway experience toward dispersed expertise and authority. In the Gallery, the directive role of the professor is greatly reduced. He or she provides little initial explanation or guidance beyond telling arriving students to wander the room reading the poems on the walls “as if they were at an art gallery.” As a result, students create their Gallery experience. This experience also introduces students to ideas of tacit knowledge and learning. As they browse, select, and share poems, students encounter a great deal of personal material that they have not shared in other classes (or may have been completely unaware of). These include values, relationships, future ambitions, crises, work experience, athletic or artistic skills, conflicts, and changes. As they share these responses with others, and as they write their own proto-poems in the freewrite, students begin to encounter and appreciate what they have been missing in previous classes. One of the most common student responses in reflecting on the Gallery is the increase in engagement with others. As students hear others talk about “issues close to their own heart,” they respond with great appreciation. As they feel heard by others, the sense of trust in the class increases exponentially. Stereotypes fall away as students get to know one another on a more personal and nuanced basis. They discover and appreciate one another’s depth of feeling, integrity, and in many cases, poetic sensitivities. Although participation in the Gallery is initially required by the professor, as students participate in the Gallery, they quickly own it. In the climate of engagement that occurs, students report making choices to take risks related to sharing, freewriting, and performing. In student reaction papers, students rarely mention grades as a significant factor. Intrinsic motivation, first experienced in the Gallery, is later built into other interventions. The Poetry Gallery also is an intervention into identity. Learning occurs at levels deeper than mere content. Students commonly report experiencing themselves differently. The surfacing of tacit material, unanticipated depth in others, the climate of high trust, and decisions about risk-taking in participation often prompt students

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to view themselves in a different light. They begin to wonder if they should share more of themselves in other groups, if they should seek out community more intensely, or if poetry might have some value in other settings (Van Buskirk and London 2012).

Intervention #2: Coaching for High-Impact Class Sessions In the typical classroom, personalized attention through coaching is unlikely to occur. Firstly, the instructor has no direct experience working with the student, so the coaching would be based upon self-report or worse, the instructors own guess about what the student needs. By partnering with students on the TA session, a great opportunity presented itself where the coaching had a reason, a context, and a reallife working outcome to live in. The second reason for coaching is that many of our students are ill equipped to handle the responsibility and maturity required to TA for a class session. We found that they needed the coaching to uplift them and to bring out their potential. As they stepped up and succeeded, the relationship could take on a more mature character. So the coaching provides quality control and developmental potential and brings the student-professor relationship to a place of real mentoring. Immediately after the Gallery (in the third or fourth week of the semester), coaching sessions are organized. Initially, students are given the challenge of working with a peer and the instructor to design and facilitate one 75-min class session. They read the material assigned to the class. They also read an additional article on the topic and set goals for the session. These goals are multidimensional including the content of the topic, skill practice, and engagement of peers, furthering the development of the class as a learning community and personalizing the material. They then work with the professor to craft a design, execute, it and get feedback from both peers and the professor. While most students have had to give presentations in the past, few have been challenged with creating a session of this magnitude and with this much responsibility. Coaching students to lead effective sessions involves addressing three issues: (1) diagnosing the class and what it needs, (2) using of self (usually in the form of personal narratives), and (3) negotiating the role of the professor.

Diagnosing the Class In the first coaching session, students learn to tailor content and pedagogy to what the class needs. At this point, the professor asks a series of questions to elicit tacit perceptions of the class so far. For example, a group might choose an activity at random such as showing a film clip from Office Space. Here, the instructor might say, “That would certainly be fun, but what will you do with it that will have some impact?” At this point, the professor tries to put the audience into the picture. He asks questions such as, “What have you noticed about the class?” or “What does this class need?” or “What has been your favorite presentation so far.” Or “In this topic what

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are your classmates most knowledgeable about, and what can you give them that will really add value?” Another approach is to focus on the student’s relationship to the content area. With students who have read the article, the professor asks the question: “What is the most interesting part of the article?” “What is the message of this article that students need to hear?” The professor then challenges the pair to think about how they might respond to the class’s needs. These questions are designed to encourage student TAs to be audience centered and to take responsibility for the potential impact of their session. This inquiry usually results in them reframing their challenges from “How do I present information?” to “What is the impact I want to have on individuals and the group.”

Use of Self The second goal of the coaching session is for students to “use themselves.” This step builds on the Gallery workshop and reflection paper where students have had significant experiences of tacit knowledge becoming explicit. The professor encourages them to put themselves into the topic and to share their own stake in the material. Usually, this involves finding personal or work-related stories that connect in some way to the topic and have the potential to spark classroom discussion and inquiry. Particular emphasis is placed on stories that contain a modicum of personal vulnerability. We have found that shared vulnerability often triggers strong identification, curiosity, and interest from the class. As part of the coaching session, the professor encourages students to share their own stories early in the presentation, prior to asking their classmates to take risks. Finally, students and the professor rehearse the story in full and explore possible exercises that might engage the class even more. In rehearsing presentations with the professor, students reduce risk and transform vulnerability into confidence. Once students have connected their stories to the material and to the current state of the class, they are in a position to choose an exercise from the text, to modify an exercise from a previous session, or to invent something completely new: In a session on influence, one student, a prominent member of the football team, repeatedly talked about his coach. It was clear that this man had been an important figure in his life and that he had learned a great deal about leadership from him. However, the student was confused because, while he had viewed his coach to be a role model, his language, judgmental attitude, and aggressive manner were inconsistent with how influence was described in course readings. The student also found a disconnect between how he acted on the football field and the gentler way that he and his classmates influenced each other. Yet he was fascinated by the way his coach acted and wondered if there was some way to incorporate aspects of this style in his presentation. I suggested that he talk to his partner as his coach spoke to him. The result was both amusing and exciting as he transformed into his coach. We decided to use this as the basis of an exercise. The class was initially shocked by his manner, but this role play led to a great discussion where students

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challenged their assumptions about political correctness, boldness, the risks involved in being assertive and how they interacted with each other in group projects.

Negotiating the Role of the Professor The diffusion of expertise and authority in the co-created classroom does not mean that the professor is passive. In fact, he/she participates actively as a partner in the presentation as well as a guide. The relationship to the student resembles a master/ apprentice arrangement where the teacher participates actively in the work at the same time he teaches (Lave and Wenger 1991). The precise nature of this collaboration, however, varies from case to case as the professor’s role is tailored to the needs of the dyad. In some cases, the professor provides music, in others class management expertise. In all cases, he/she “has the student’s back” in case anything goes wrong. The professor as partner tends to assure a level of trust with the presenters that infuses them with confidence and, according to student reflection papers, contributes to quality presentations. How Coaching Sessions Facilitate the Migration to the Co-created Classroom Coaching challenges student notions about what it means to prepare for a presentation. In the coaching, the professor encourages the TAs to diagnose the state of the class as a learning community and to view their session as an opportunity for intervention. They are also encouraged to be innovative in creating their own designs that emerge from the students’ own experiences and perceptions. Dispersed expertise and authority are thus enacted by negotiating the professor’s role. An ethos of learning by doing emerges as students take increased responsibility for the task. They report learning about the course material as they discover together how to engage a large group in learning important lessons about itself. In addition, tacit knowledge is evoked and used as students diagnose the class and learn how to use themselves in their designs. The solo TA or dyad, along with the professor, often generates a high level of engagement in the coaching session itself as students gain confidence in the relevance of their experience, in the skills they discover in rehearsing presentations, and in the assurance that the professor is there to support in case anything goes wrong. Motivation shifts significantly from extrinsic to intrinsic as students experience real growth, engagement with the professor and, in some cases, the beginning of a professional trajectory (i.e., how these skills might apply in the future (Wenger 1998). Student identities are enhanced through the discovery of unanticipated relevance of heretofore tacit skills to professional tasks. In response to these experiences, students begin to ask themselves who they are, who they might become, and what they might accomplish in the future (Clegg et al. 2005). They learn to bring their “whole selves” to the work, discovering that memories of work experiences, athletic triumphs and disappointments, or forgotten artistic skills can make their presentations come alive.

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Presentations improve Classmates are engaged

More students are willing to take risks

People see roles as rewarding

TAs get positive feedback and appreciation

Trust builds

Fig. 1 Cycle of support

Intervention #3: Student-Facilitated Sessions and Their Effect on the Development of the Class As they find alignment between concepts, personal stories, and experiential exercises in coaching sessions, most students discover new strengths and gain confidence. However, it is in the sessions themselves that the class as a whole begins to shift into a co-created classroom. Effective class sessions drive the development of a more highly engaged culture. To describe the progression of the classroom culture, we developed two models of interlocking virtuous cycles: a cycle of support and a cycle of aspiration (Figs. 1 and 2). The cycle of support (see Fig. 1) usually unfolds in a sequence of five steps. The first step is an early sequence of exciting session designs. For this reason, students judged to be the most active or skillful participants in early classes are the first to present. Next (step 2), effective early sessions elicit appreciation from peers that supports trust, spontaneity, risk-taking, and engagement. As early presenters are rewarded by positive feedback, others see that presenting can be a safe and exciting experience (step 3). As the semester continues, trust builds in the class (step 4), and more students build vulnerability into their presentations. As students model their efforts on earlier work, presentations are characterized by increasing self-disclosure and creativity which further galvanize student attention in a virtuous cycle of support:

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Step 1 Engaging Presentations

Step 6 Genuine interest about how to facilitate engagement

Step 2 A High Bar Is Set -Students Take The TA Role Seriously

Step 5 Students own the class - it is their's

Step 3 Competition becomes more challenging to stand out Step 4 Students Feel Accountable they don't want to let the class down

Fig. 2 Cycle of aspiration

One student was a football player. He told the story of having been the backup quarterback, with the expectation of waiting his turn to be the starter and star of the team. However, he was passed over for a younger player. In his presentation on the topic of motivation, he talked about what it was like to continue being a backup and how it was difficult to prepare for games, help the starter and do the other activities expected of the back-up. He also raised the question of how the relationship with his coach evolved and what he might have done differently to earn more respect and credibility. The class was mesmerized by this account. There were many athletes in the class who could easily empathize with his feelings. The high level of self-disclosure in this story and the supportive response of the class tended to create a heightened trust that encouraged others. Early high-quality class sessions generate a second virtuous cycle, the cycle of aspiration (see Fig. 2). As the semester unfolds, the culture of the classroom encourages students to equal or exceed efforts of their peers. Like the cycle of support, the cycle of aspiration begins with engaging early presentations. However, in addition to triggering positive feedback, these presentations set a “high bar” that

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motivates others to take the class more seriously (step 2). Third, class sessions tend to improve as students learn from one another. Fourth, presentations create expectations to which students feel accountable and which they want to exceed. A mix of accountability and competition shows up often in coaching sessions later in the semester. Students don’t want to be the weak link in a strong chain. They bring to coaching sessions an urgency to find a way to succeed, and they more easily see the professor as a guide and partner who “has their back” during the class sessions. Fifth, students own the class more and more for its own sake. Traditional concerns of grades and social approval become less salient as each dyad commits to adding value to the class. It is not enough to be a “talking head” or an entertainer. Most of the later presenters have enjoyed their class experience and become curious to learn how to make similar presentations. Sixth, this virtuous cycle of gratitude for the efforts of peers, increasing standards of excellence, and increasing accountability creates an increasing curiosity about how to create engagement in those who have yet to present. As these two cycles mature, they tend to reinforce each other. As the group gets more supportive, presentations improve. Compelling stories are easier to come by as students see that risk-taking is increasingly supported by the class. A growing climate of trust supports the vulnerability and risk-taking that makes presentations both exciting and effective. The result is a culture where students work together in an atmosphere of high trust to produce an ever-improving product. The cycle of support and the cycle of aspiration work together to create the emergence of a collaborative classroom culture. Student TAs work collaboratively with the professor as mentor in facilitating classroom facilitated, confronting a domain that is at once highly difficult and emergent. Together, the cycles support students in responding to these challenges: the cycle of support generates an atmosphere of trust and risk-taking which, when embraced, supports the presentation of highly engaging presentations, a central factor in both cycles. Likewise, the cycle of aspiration generates a sense of accountability and competitiveness that motivates students to take on the task of making highly engaging sessions and to support others in their efforts. Dispersed Expertise and Learning by Doing As the professor steps back from a command and control role, and as students take on more responsibility and leadership, they find the knack of conducting and participating in a series of engaging classroom sessions. As the cycles of aspiration and support mature, students get more involved and learn more and more by “doing.” They begin discover their own expertise. They learn course material in the context of mastering the art of skillful facilitation. They borrow (and adapt) techniques from one another such as role plays, skits, stories, and the skillful use of classroom exercises. In this sense, the culture of the class resembles the culture of a community of practice where members freely consult each other based on perceived expertise and interest instead of organizational role.

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Tacit Knowledge In addition to borrowing pedagogical devices, students also engage in deeper modes of role modeling. They borrow aspects of personal style that include humor, vulnerability, risk, musical talents, and personal revelations. This expanded repertoire of tacit knowledge constitutes an expanding resource available to the class. As the cycles of aspiration and support emerge, they energize the classroom community. As students respond to each other on both academic (aspiration) and personal levels (support), individuals become highly engaged with one another. As they learn about the course material and the mechanics of course design, they also learn about one another’s values, challenges, skills, relationships, struggles, etc. As a result, students get engaged by one another’s sessions on many different levels, and a rich network of intrinsic motivation becomes part of the experience. Students are motivated by social bonding, responsibility to the group, professional growth, and increased confidence in their presentation and facilitation abilities. Many report in student evaluations that the experience of high-quality, self-revealing class sessions make them think more seriously about their own academic and personal identities. Finally, the cycles of support and aspiration support the invention of many new practices of session design and facilitation. Students have invented dramatic skits, written songs, confronted the class with workplace dilemmas, apologized for “bad behavior” in a previous class, devised a model of “speed dating,” and many other surprising approaches. The plethora of invented practices is similar to what is found in highly functioning communities of practice. It also reinforces the value of the cocreated classroom and a sense of ownership, pride, belonging, and identity emerge.

Intervention #4: Continuous Evaluation, Self, Others, and the Class Evaluation of student sessions is not an afterthought but an integral part of every class session. It is not a discrete judgment made by the professor but occurs as a stream of assessments made by every student on the presentations of every other student. As such, it is an important driver of the culture change. Members evaluate themselves, other class members, their presentation partners, the professor, the feedback they receive, and the course itself. In this dense network of evaluation, students begin to enact a classroom that is different from anything they have experienced before. The Evaluation Process Explicit evaluation begins after each class session when each student writes feedback to the presenters at the end of each class. In these comments, they answer three general questions: What did you like about the presentation? What did you get out of it? What could the presenters have done better? These notes are written immediately after the performance while the students’ reactions are fresh. Since we are trying to gauge not only the academic quality of the performance but its effect on engagement, we want feedback to be

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immediate. For this reason, the rubric is kept simple and focuses on direct experience. Next, the TA or TA’s for the session meet with the professor immediately after the class (if possible). They are initially asked the questions, “What went even better than you thought it might?” “What would you do differently?” Then they take turns reading the notes aloud. This allows them to “feel” the feedback as well as understand it. This can be a difficult moment, and the professor acknowledges both positive and negative comments (or disagrees with them). He/she is quick to praise what went well. Students are encouraged to explore their reactions. Partners are asked what they make of it. Next, partners give each other feedback. This is important because one’s partner has firsthand knowledge of the collaboration. Sharing this is not part of the usual social norms of student collaboration, but the professor’s prompts legitimize it and create a space for meaningful sharing and feedback. A good prompt to get things going is “If someone asked you what it is like to work with Jim, what would you say?” Follow-ups can mine the data for more specifics. “You mentioned that Jim was a creative thinker. How would you describe the way he uses his creativity in your meetings together?” This step is also a chance to clear up misconceptions between partners. The dynamics of debriefs vary but are always powerful moments of reflection and learning. Even when the partnership is less than optimal, the potential for transformational learning is there: Ella was very structured, accountable, and controlled, while Marie was unreliable and charismatic. Throughout the project I noticed Ella being very upset with her partner. When the presentation was over, she was horrified, though the presentation on the whole was pretty good. Marie had gone off the design and used valuable time going off on what felt like a long tangent. Marie began the feedback. She talked about how Ella was the best partner that she had ever had, and that she had learned so much in working with her. She acknowledged her for carrying the project and gave a heartfelt thank you. I was watching Ella’s face during this, and it was as if it had melted. Gone was the stony hurt and anger, replaced by compassion and a sense that she was somebody’s hero.

It is only after this sequence of activities, peer notes, reading notes aloud to the professor, professor feedback, student responses, and feedback between partners, that the professor gives a grade for the presentation. He usually does this on the spot, although occasionally he waits to read the student’s reflective paper on the experience. After students get their grade, they have a chance to respond according to whether they think it is fair. It is important that they have a chance to present their own point of view since the feedback comes from so many different angles, and their take on their performance can be different from the professor’s. Immediacy and comprehensiveness of feedback are implicated in both the cycle of support and the cycle of aspiration through which the culture of the class is enacted. In student notes, negative comments are couched in terms of how the presentation could be improved or in how this student might reach his/her potential. This language lowers defensiveness and most students are avid to learn how their presentation could have gone better. When the notes are overwhelmingly positive, many presenters are disappointed at the lack of constructive criticism.

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Writing evaluative notes after every presentation affects the audience members as well as the presenters. It focuses everyone’s attention on the act of evaluation in every class. Students who have not yet facilitated a session as TA prepare their own sessions with the knowledge that peer evaluation will be part of the picture. This motivates students to pay careful attention as they seek to learn something they can use in their own presentations. For students who have already served as TAs, ongoing evaluation of others is an opportunity to reflect on what they have already done. After leading, students return to the participant role. Here they often reflect on their session in light of subsequent class sessions. For some, this extended evaluation is an important way to continue to work on issues raised in the feedback session. The continual ongoing evaluation in the class strongly contributes to the way the students perceive and think about the sense of the course as a co-creation. These changes cut across most of the dimensions we have sketched so far. It problematizes the domain by involving students in the act of assessment to a much greater degree than they had previously experienced. This intensification of evaluation is yet another difficulty students must negotiate during the course of the class. Students learn to give and receive feedback more intensively and more personally than ever before. Moreover, continual evaluation under these conditions tends to make assessment an emergent process. The sheer number of the judgments made by peers provides emergent models against which students evaluate the action. This is very different from traditional classrooms where students are usually given a rubric for peer evaluations. In this case, the rubric itself evolves as the class progresses. Dispersed expertise and authority are also bolstered by the evaluation process, as the voice of the professor is one of many to which students must pay attention. Moreover, the placement of professor feedback at the end of the evaluation process provides maximal opportunity for students to judge themselves and one another before the professor weighs in with his/her opinion. The chance to question and influence the professor’s judgment further empowers students. Evaluation in the collaborative classroom tends to support the emergence and utilization of tacit knowledge. On the spot evaluations, the profusion of notes, feedback from one’s TA partner, the professor, and the ongoing “feedback” one gives oneself during the rest of the semester tend to surface a variety of tacit judgments, reactions, disagreements, and reevaluations of one’s performance. As the class goes forward, these tacit elements inform the design of later classroom sessions, feeding the upward cycle. Similar to a community of practice, the skill and knowledge of each individual in the class are elevated along with a collective capacity to learn and effectively participate. Challenges that were a struggle at the beginning of the term become much easier later in the term. Students who are uncomfortable participating report finding a new ease and flow in being active. Students who fear public speaking find themselves actually enjoying leading a session. Students who previously would read off PowerPoint in a stilted fashion begin speaking extemporaneously. And the ability to go back and forth between the personal, the practical, and the academic becomes a collective competency.

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Evaluation also supports high engagement within the class as a whole. In a class of 16 students, the presenters will receive 16 notes of feedback. This lends a weight to peer opinions that most students find unique. As the semester wears on, they care more and more about what peers think of their TA sessions. The fact that students continue to make sense of what they have heard in light of later presentations and that they experience a certain level of angst relative to their upcoming sessions point to evaluation’s effect on engagement. One of the most unexpected results in our work has been the change in student orientation to grades vs. feedback. Students are disappointed when feedback is “too easy,” they parse positive feedback for critical suggestions, and they continue to work with feedback they’ve received in future classes. Finally, working with the professor to make sense of the feedback provides another intrinsically motivating element. The experience of being so continuously involved in evaluation creates an expansion of the student’s professional identity (Clegg et al. 2005). In reflection papers, students talk about how the dual role of being judges and judged changes how they think about their role as students. Many find this role empowering as they make judgments that are at once more consequential, more critical, and more empowering than ever before. Many students envision taking this heightened criticality into the workplace where they imagine giving feedback that balances caring and fairness. While students do not invent the evaluation scheme, it immerses them in a wide range of practices that changes how they view classroom evaluation. Writing notes, receiving notes, and working through reactions with the professor force them to deal with the actual impact of their presentations on their peers. They must deal with the possibility that their class session might be boring, disturbing, or confusing. They must deal with these reactions in direct interaction with the professor, who acts as a facilitator and a judge at the same time. However, they are not passive recipients, even when they themselves are being evaluated. Reacting to notes from the class, giving and receiving feedback from their partner, and checking self-evaluations against this wealth of feedback amount to a more richly nuanced evaluation than any they have ever experienced (this is a common response in evaluation papers and focus groups). For the instructor, evaluation becomes a vibrant process of thinking critically about choices made in preparation, design, and implementation and how they resulted in what actually occurred in the TA session. While most sessions are highly successful, the few that are disappointing can be challenging for both the professor and student. I recently had a student who seemed unaware that a disconnect had happened during her session. At one point, she became long winded and students began avoiding eye contact with her and disengaging. In our debrief, I let the written feedback speak for itself, and as we read each note, together, we validated or invalidated the comments. This built a shared understanding and a co-inquiry that I thought helped her to take in the feedback and to not feel overwhelmed by it. Then we discussed how the disconnect occurred and how her long-windedness is an ongoing issue and some ways she might work on being more concise and powerful

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in her communication. As we discussed, I tried to make sure she felt supported as we looked at what is a very significant issue for her that might affect her career aspirations. In the end, her grade on the assignment became secondary and getting control of the issue became of greater importance. I found myself feeling vulnerable in the interaction, since I did not know how much directness she could handle and worried about crossing her sensitivity line in looking at something as central as the way she comes off to her peers and their judgments about her behavior. I also added some criticism of how she had acted in our preparation sessions and this felt risky to do, given the disconfirmation she was already experiencing. However, I also needed to make sure I told her the truth and did not shrink from the difficulty of helping her to face issues that could derail her career. Continual evaluation primes students to reflect deeply on the process of the class. At the end of the course, they write reflection papers on the course as a whole. These consist of open-ended questions designed to provide a window on how the class worked from their point of view. Students routinely integrate course material, personal experience, and the dimensions and interventions described in this paper. We provide three quotes that exemplify many of the processes that occur in the course. After each quote, we highlight the dimensions and the interventions contained within it: Douglas McGregor’s ideas of Theory X and Theory Y were present in our class in a big way. As a student, I felt empowered in this class to create my own experience. I felt more loyalty to the teacher and to the class when I was given respect as a person and was able to input my own ideas. Whenever I went into the professor’s office, I knew that he would listen to my ideas and take them into serious consideration. He let us implement our own ideas even if they weren’t ideas he would have chosen. Because he let me have the power to control my own work, I felt a greater desire to perform well so as to keep the balance of respect between us. (CoP dimensions: diffusion of authority, invention of practice, intrinsic motivation. Classroom interventions: coaching). I came prepared to the coaching sessions every time because I wanted to rid myself of a stereotype that I believe I helped facilitate. I felt that people at Muhlenberg underestimate my intelligence because I am a football player. The other football players and I always sit together in class usually wearing sweats or some type of athletic attire with Muhlenberg football somewhere on it. I also do not help my case by coming late to class and not speaking up more. . .. One thing I will never forget is when one student brought up the Poetry Gallery we had done earlier in the semester. He said to me that he thought I was just a jock who played football, but when he heard what I had to say about my father and how he was always there for me, it changed his opinion. The evaluation process kept me involved. I was engaged in all of the sessions because I knew I had to provide feedback at the end of class. Since I would be receiving feedback from these same people down the road, I wanted to give the most genuine and helpful commentary I could provide. This reminded me of the 360-degree feedback we read about in class. It increased the focus of not only the students but of the presenters as well because they had to present material in ways that appealed to class members as well as to the professor.

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Conclusion In exploring the possibility of co-creating the classroom with students, we must deal with our own basic assumptions based upon our own experiences, anxieties, and fears. For example, some would argue that collaboration sounds good but that students care primarily about their grades and therefore are not to be trusted to share power. A deeper look tells us that this obsession with grades is more of a symptom of a greater problem than an inevitable reality. Grade obsession is a symptom of a learning environment that has grown rote and/or cynical. It is also a sign that students are bored with how we are engaging them. Some faculty are great lecturers, but students report anecdotally that they just get too much of it. And when there is nothing there to engage students at a larger level of concern, they focus on how they are being judged and on dealing with authority. These are not their only concerns, just the ones they focus on when there is nothing else going on that is particularly urgent or compelling. Another roadblock to collaboration with students is the fact that tenure considerations often de-emphasize the relative importance of teaching and leading some faculty to feel that putting greater energy into their teaching might not yield personal or professional rewards. Given these dynamics, the desire to innovate in the classroom must come from our own intrinsic desire to have meaningful work. In many cases, students pay huge sums of money and take on debt to go to colleges and universities and can reasonably expect that their development be a priority of the faculty. If the reward systems don’t line up with this, we are not a slave to them but can set our own priorities for what is important. The co-created classroom offers some exciting possibilities for transformational learning and for a classroom experience that students love. On a personal level, teaching in this way has not only made my classes better but also given me a renewed sense of purpose about my work. Since adopting this approach, I can now say that I am truly developing my students and that what they take from our classroom experience has enriched their lives. It has also been a place for me to connect with students and enjoy those relationships in a clear and productive way. They know what my work with them is and why I do it, and they understand their role and embrace it. This allows students to get value from both me and their peers in a way that respects boundaries but that also carries accountability. Earlier in my career, I was less clear about what my relationship was to them and now realize that they were confused as well. Finding this clarity in intent and approach has made all the difference in making the work come alive. The details of this work were developed in a particular context, but the frame of co-creation has potential for transformation in other types of college settings as well as in consulting, training, and organizational life. My hope is that you feel inspired to find your own story in this pursuit and to find a way to co-create your own learning environment.

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Cross-References ▶ Clarifying the Relationship Between Transformative Teaching and Transformative Learning ▶ Coaching as a Process for Personal and Organizational Transformation ▶ Creating a Flow Organization to Lead Into the Future ▶ Graduate Management Education: The Value of Contemplative Practice in Leadership Development ▶ Identity and Meaning in Transformation ▶ Leader Self-Development, Maturation, and Meditation: Elements of a Transformative Journey ▶ ReVisioning the Way We Work: A Heroic Journey ▶ Self-Knowledge: The Master Key to Personal Transformation ▶ The Role of Self-Awareness in Personal Transformation ▶ Transformative Leadership

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London M (1991) Orientations in the classroom. J Manag Educ 15(3):313–324 May R (1969) Love and will. W.W. Norton and Company, New York Mintzberg H (2004) Managers not MBA’s: a hard look at the soft practice of managing and management development. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco Orr J (1990) Sharing knowledge and celebrating identity: war stories and community memory in a service culture. In: Middleton DS, Edwards D (eds) Collective remembering in society. Sage, Beverly Hills, pp 169–189 Polanyi M (1967) The tacit dimension. Doubleday, New York Retna KS, Ng PT (2011) Communities of practice: dynamics and success factors. Leadersh Org Dev J 32:41–59 Roan A, Rooney D (2006) Shadowing experiences and the extension of communities of practice: a case study of women education managers. Manag Learn 37:433–454. Sage Roberts K (2011) Imagine deep learning. Mich Sociol Rev 25:1–18 Rogoff B (1999) Introduction: thinking and learning in context. In: Rogoff B, Lave J (eds) Everyday cognition: its development in social context. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–8 Schwartz M, Abbott A (2007) Storytelling: a clinical application for undergraduate nursing students. Nurse Educ Pract 7(3):181–186 Shaw P, Stacey R (eds) (2006) Experiencing risk, spontaneity and improvisation in organizational change: working live. Routledge, London Stacey R (2004) Complex responsive processes in organizations: learning and knowledge creation. Routledge, London Van Buskirk W, London M (2008) Inviting the muse into the classroom: poetic license in management education. J Manag Educ 32(3):294–315 Van Buskirk W, London M (2012) Poetry’s deep intelligence: a qualitative approach for the OB classroom. J Manag Educ 36(5):636–668 Von Krogh G, Ichijo K, Nonaka I (2000) Enabling knowledge creation: how to unlock the mystery of tacit knowledge and release the power of innovation. Oxford University Press, New York Wenger EC (1998) Communities of practice: learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Wenger EC, Snyder WM (2000) Communities of practice: the organizational frontier. Harv Bus Rev 78(1):139–145 Wenger EC, McDermott R, Snyder WM (2002) A guide to managing knowledge: cultivating communities of practice. Harvard Business School Press, Boston Zboralski K (2009) Antecedents of knowledge sharing in communities of practice. J Knowl Manag 13:90–101

A New World Is Already Here: Lessons from Radically Different Organizations Lenette Schuijt

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transition Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristics of a Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Old Resists the New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Paradigm Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Organizational Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Explosion of Alternative Ways of Organizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristics of Undercurrent Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mind-Set: Unconditional Trust in People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose Is Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employee Self-Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling Real Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simplicity and Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Horizontal Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mutual Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-creation and Permanent Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organic Sharing of Information and Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Case Study: Buurtzorg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mind-Set: Unconditional Trust in People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose Is Leading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Employee Self-Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling Real Autonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simplicity and Flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Horizontal Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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L. Schuijt (*) Crystal River Consultancy, Amersfoort, Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2016 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_16-1

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Mutual Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-creation and Permanent Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organic Sharing of Information and Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Role of Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Dynamic Between Leaders and Followers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leadership in Undercurrent Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pioneers for a New World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transforming Bureaucracies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Failing Attempts to Transform Bureaucracies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Integral Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Experiments, Systems, and Landscape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting an Undercurrent Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transform Your Discontent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Find Your Internal Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From Flame to Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-create with Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intelligent Disobedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Abstract

In the past 15–20 years, hundreds of experimental organizations have been initiated, from start-ups to collectives and cooperatives to networks and communities. Together, these organizations, however small in size and scope, can be viewed as an “undercurrent” of a new organizational reality. These new forms of organizing are based on radically different premises and depart from a totally different paradigm. This new paradigm gives way to creativity and innovation and requires a personal transformation of the leaders and/or initiators. This chapter first provides a philosophical overview of how the organizational paradigm is shifting. It then describes nine characteristics that set undercurrent organizations apart from classic bureaucracies and illustrates this with the case study of “Buurtzorg.” It also describes a few characteristics of leadership within undercurrent organizations. To draw lessons from undercurrent organizations, we first discuss to what extent and how bureaucracies can implement the principles from undercurrent organizations. This chapter concludes with lessons from undercurrent ways of organizing for those who want to start their own, pioneers for a new time, and with the personal transformation that such a start would require from them. Keywords

Transition • Transformation • Paradigm shift • Undercurrent organizations • Pioneers

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Introduction In the past 15–20 years, hundreds of experimental organizations have been initiated, from start-ups to collectives and cooperatives to networks and communities. Together, these organizations, however small in size and scope, can be viewed as an “undercurrent” of a new organizational reality. I call this an undercurrent as many of these initiatives are small, local, and hardly visible, yet they greatly influence our thinking of organizations and ways of organizing. The undercurrent points to that which is arising, although it is hard yet to define what it is. Undercurrent organizations are those organizations that are founded on radically different premises than regular organizations and depart from a totally different paradigm. They were set up out of frustration with the current way of organizing and aim at fulfilling their mission through different ways of organizing. Undercurrent organizations are a perfect illustration of the vital bottom-up dynamics so characteristic of transition times, and it is not a surprise we see so many of them arising these days. Most people working in organizations are fed up with the dominance of the system world that was created to enhance the work of professionals, but has become a barrier to good work: rules, formats, protocols, technologies, spreadsheets, structures, and administrative procedures. The system world aims at efficiency, productivity, and profits. Professionals miss a focus on the heart of the work: making a difference for clients with their products and services. They are frustrated because they cannot deliver the good work they know is not only possible but also wanted deeply by the client. They can’t provide that because of strict procedures, long decision-making channels, and financial targets to be achieved. Many employees also are fed up with the pace of work, which prevents them from genuine attention for the client and from reflection on possible innovation. Many people who work in large organizations are tired, with a high rate of burnout. Courageous people use their frustration to break away from the bureaucratic world and start something new. In section “Case Study: Buurtzorg” of this chapter, you can read how the founder of Buurtzorg left his job in a large, bureaucratic healthcare organization to start a new one, from scratch. Undercurrent forms of organizing are based on radically different premises and depart from a totally different paradigm. This paradigm gives way to creativity and innovation and requires a personal transformation of the leaders and/or initiators. This chapter first provides a philosophical overview of the transition times we live in and the paradigm shift that is happening in many domains (section “Transition Times”). It shows how the organizational paradigm is shifting. In section “A Paradigm Shift,” I describe undercurrent organizations that are built on a new organizational paradigm. I will discuss nine characteristics that set undercurrent organizations apart from classic bureaucracies in section “Characteristics of Undercurrent Organizations.” In section “Case Study: Buurtzorg,” I will illustrate these

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nine characteristics in the case study of “Buurtzorg.” Section “The Role of Leaders” describes characteristics of leadership within undercurrent organizations and points to the pioneering character of leadership in transition times. To draw lessons from undercurrent organizations, in section “Transforming Bureaucracies,” I will discuss to what extent and how bureaucracies can implement the principles from undercurrent organizations. In section “Starting an Undercurrent Organization,” I will formulate some lessons from undercurrent ways of organizing for those who want to start their own. This chapter also describes the personal transformation that pioneering a new world requires. I close this chapter with a summary of my findings and final conclusions.

Transition Times We live in a dynamic world, often described as a VUCA world: volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (Johansen 2007). Secure answers and solutions have become illusions; we each have to find our ways in constantly changing contexts. We are pioneers, finding creative and innovative solutions, failing and learning quickly, and turning inside to find our own moral compass. We live in a time of major worldwide transitions. A transition is a radical, irreversible transformation of (a part of) society and its structure, culture, and practices (Rotmans and Loorbach 2008).With this definition, I consider transitions from a complex systems theory perspective. A transition is a fundamental change in a societal system, whether it is a nation, a town, a community, or a company. A transition therefore involves a reversal of our thinking, acting, and organizing, a process that takes one to two generations (Rotmans 2012). A transition is the result of developments in different domains. In other words, a transition can be described as a set of connected changes, which reinforce each other but take place in several different areas, such as technology, the economy, institutions, behavior, culture, ecology, and belief systems. A transition can be seen as a spiral that reinforces itself; there is multiple causality and coevolution caused by independent developments (Rotmans et al. 2001).

Characteristics of a Transition A transition is a period of construction and destruction in which all groups fight for their place in society, to protect their own identity (Rotmans 2012). During a transition, everyone is confused, discontent, or even in despair. A sense of chaos is inherently part of a major transition. There is no specific enemy to be afraid of, but everyone is aware that certainties and privileges are disappearing. Nothing is quite the same and we can’t rely on the truths we held dearly for a long time. Nobody, not even our leaders, have an overview of what is happening and in what direction things are developing. Although some people may have a sense of the new, and these are usually not the leaders, politicians, and presidents, this is not a utopic image of a new society. Rather, they intuit what is arising.

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Characteristics of a transition Collective sense of discontentment Instability, insecurity and chaos No clear direction or overview Vital and passionate bottom up dynamics Creative people break through well established patterns New concepts and business models change the economic landscape Conflicts and power struggle between existing and new order Rotmans (2012)

Fig. 1 Characteristics of a transition

Sometimes there is large step forward, as when people come up with a disruptive technology (like mobile Internet) or break through current business models (such as the electric car by Tesla). These new concepts threaten the established business world and greatly influence the way of thinking about products, society, and environment. Slowly, new concepts and ideas, however diverse and diffuse, become visible. The old order is gradually making way for the new, but it is unclear where the new may lead us. Professor Jan Rotmans (2012), who studied numbers of historical transitions, argues that we are currently going through a major transition (Fig. 1). Our society is changing fundamentally in a number of ways. First of all, there is a change in the way society is governed: instead of a centralized organization, we’re moving toward decentralized or horizontal ways of organizing. We can see this in the way start-ups are organized, for example. The top-down power structure that our society has been based on in the past is changing to a bottom-up power structure. The policymakers of the future will be enterprising citizens. More and more people are organizing themselves in loose structures. Partly because people don’t feel at home at the big and impersonal corporations anymore, but also because for many people it’s their only option since companies have economized their human capital by dismissing people.

The Old Resists the New Historical transitions have taught us that old structures and institutions resist the new order as long as possible. Classic organizations and institutions have a vested interest in protecting their power. Built on hierarchy, bureaucracy, separation of thinking and doing, and top-down management, they continue to do what they did for 200 years and even tighten their control focus. Their ambitious change programs produce more of the same and the changes are cosmetically at best. Managers, staff members, employees, and consultants feel trapped in a system that nobody wants, but nobody seems capable of changing.

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Interestingly enough, this phenomenon occurs in business, finance, health care, education, academia, and governmental organizations. The specific form may differ; yet everywhere we see a mixture of overly bureaucratic systems, leading to customer dissatisfaction and frustration; perverse incentives, such as introducing markets in the public health domain; fraudulent practices; and alienation and fossilization where organizational means become an end in themselves. Most classic organizations no longer fulfill their original purpose, which is to serve customers with a product, or service that contributes to one of their needs. As a result, many of these classic organizations have gone bankrupt or are in stormy weather. If they stick to their traditional principles, they may not exist anymore in 10 years’ time. Only those that will embrace parts of the new order may survive. Institutions, such as trade unions, professional line of industry organizations, traditional media, and political parties, will have to reinvent themselves or disappear completely. At the same time, we see thriving alternative ways of organizing that defy these very principles. Organizations like Gore & Associates and Buurtzorg illustrate that radically different ways of organizing, such as purposeful goals, co-creation with clients, employee autonomy, and innovative business models, are not only possible but often more successful than their classic counterparts. This points to a paradigm shift in our thinking about organizations and organizing.

A Paradigm Shift Thomas Kuhn (1962) showed that science did not advance only by steady progress, but advanced the most by occasional revolutionary explosions of new knowledge, each revolution triggered by introduction of new ways of thought so large they are called new paradigms. In the first stage of a paradigm shift, there is no longer consensus regarding important theories, and there are even conflicting or incompatible theories. Even though theories evolve, using these can no longer solve major problems. In the second stage, using a different mental framework solves some problems. Pioneers, who step outside the beaten paths, confront us with our assumptions and show that fundamental alternatives are possible. For example, the British economist Tim Jackson works on an alternative for the economic “growth” theory, by pleading for low productivity (Jackson 2009). Exceptions are recognized within existing theories, although they do not lead to a radical change of a theory. Paradigm shifts do not happen overnight, as it takes time before scientists accept that their models have become obsolete. This is a tipping point. In the third stage of a paradigm shift, academics finally accept that attempts to integrate exceptions in the existing theories fail and start to explore new theories.

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New Organizational Paradigm In recent years we have seen an explosion of organizational theories, none of which seems to explain the success of an organization or enable fundamental change. Consultants and organization development experts advocate contradicting strategies and interventions. This points to the first stage of paradigm shift. Sometimes however, case studies of alternative organizations point to ideas and concepts from a different mental framework. A young start-up may consider their semifinished products not as something to be protected, but publish them freely and invite customers to provide feedback or even to make their own improved version. Where the old adage advocates competition, these new concepts promote sharing information as a way of progress. Such out-of-the-box ways of thinking, resulting in successful alternative organization practices, often become the point of reference in their industry, as we will see with Buurtzorg, a Dutch health-care organization. However, there is no general acceptance in academia yet of the value of employee autonomy and other organizational principles. This points to the second stage of paradigm shift.

New Perspectives We learn from historical transitions that new ideas and concepts come from the bottom up. Creative people, frustrated with the results of old thinking, break through existing systems and invent radically different forms. They start something new out of frustration with the existing order. For example, the founder of Buurtzorg, Jos de Blok, was a manager in a classic health-care organization and was frustrated with the many protocols, procedures, and administrative baggage that kept his employees from providing good care. New frameworks may also arise from using our common sense, rather than following system logic. While system logic creates efficiency by dividing tasks in various departments, common logic brings together all those involved in a problem to find a solution together. The younger generation, which has no vested interest in the existing order, often triggers us to explore alternative approaches. Raised in the Internet era, these young men and women don’t want to work in a 9–5 bureaucratic job where their ideas need to pass through channels of command to be heard. With their different work/personal life balances, their desire for open communication and sharing of information, their collaborative networks, and ease with information technology, they challenge organizations to review their concepts of organizing (Myers and Sadaghiani 2010). And of course, there are always curious, creative minds, which dare to look beyond the horizon and come up with provocative questions and original ideas, such as the Dutch student Boyan Slat, who invented a system for concentrating and catching plastic debris driven by ocean currents. He won a prize for Best Technical Design at Delft University of Technology and has established a foundation, The

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Ocean Cleanup, to further develop and eventually implement the technology (Winter 2014).

Explosion of Alternative Ways of Organizing For many people, the new perspectives remain invisible as traditional media are not interested or do not take them seriously. Classic organizations tend to mock new approaches as naive and amateurish. Energy collectives have been disregarded by the fossil energy industry, banks have ignored credit unions, and the government has dismissed citizen collectives for a long time. Yet in recent years, there has been an explosion of new alternative organizations. In the Netherlands, there are more than a hundred health-care cooperatives run by citizens; over 500 local energy collectives, in which citizens collectively generate, buy, and distribute green energy in their community; more than a hundred “broodfondsen,” which are collectives of independent entrepreneurs who provide each other with financial help in case of illness; hundreds of physical breeding grounds, such as Seats2meet; and literally thousands of digital platforms that provide mutual help, such as Thuisafgehaald, where members can see which neighbors have cooked an extra portion of food that they can come and buy. Furthermore, there are hundreds of new companies and organizations, such as Buurtzorg, and existing organizations in transformation. All of these initiatives are based on radically different organizational principles.

Characteristics of Undercurrent Organizations It is exactly this explosion of alternative ways of organizing that inspired me to study them. I wanted to know what inspired their founders, what ideas and concepts do they use, and what is the impact on clients and employees. I have made an inventory of new ways of thinking and organizing by collecting over 50 case studies of alternative organizations and by interviewing leaders and coworkers in 20 organizations that I came across as a consultant or was referred to by others. The organizations ranged from schools, start-ups, family enterprises, a hospital, cleaning companies, local authorities, health-care organizations, a supermarket, a bank, citizen collectives, and mental institutions to electrotechnical installation companies and internationally operating manufacturing companies. Also, I used material that was collected in a study on Innovative Labor Organizations at the University of Antwerp (Marichal and Maenen 2015). The data were organized in categories such as structure, decision-making, and communication. From there it became obvious that all the interviewed alternative organizations had four characteristics in common. Many case studies shared these four characteristics, although not all of them. Five more characteristics were shared by at least ten interviewed organizations and most of the case studies. The total set of nine characteristics was then used to study five more alternative organizations, as a result of which the naming of the characteristics was slightly adapted. In the next section, I

A New World Is Already Here: Lessons from Radically Different Organizations Fig. 2 Characteristics of undercurrent organizations

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Characteristics of undercurrent ways of organizing 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Mindset: unconditional trust in people Purpose is leading Employee self-organization Enabling real autonomy Simplicity and flexibility Horizontal connections Mutual accountability Co-creation and permanent innovation Organic sharing of information and knowledge

Schuijt (2014)

will describe these nine characteristics (Fig. 2). The examples come from my own research; those from case studies are referenced at the end of the chapter. I use the term “undercurrent organizations” to describe those organizations that are founded on radically different premises than regular organizations and that depart from a totally different paradigm. They are different from “Edgewalker Organizations” (Neal 2011) that seek to be on the leading edge, are curious about what is emerging just over the horizon, support creativity and innovation, and nurture the human spirit. Undercurrent organizations are innovative mainly in their organizational form, not necessarily, although this is often the case because of the passion of the founders, in products or services. Buurtzorg basically provides the same services as other home care organizations, yet the way they organize themselves to deliver that care differs considerably from classic home care organizations. I also use the term “ways of organizing,” since the concept of “organization” is at issue here. I have found loose groups of people with a common goal, professionals working together between organizations rather than in an organization or individuals all around the world working as a team, without being paid for their work. These groups and individuals form an “undercurrent” in our society. They are an illustration of the vital bottom-up dynamics so characteristic of transition times, and they point to that which is arising, although it is hard yet to define what it is.

Mind-Set: Unconditional Trust in People When Jean-Francois Zobrist became the new CEO of the French copper company FAVI, it was a bureaucratic, top-down managed company (cited in Carney and Getz 2009). His middle managers were convinced that the employees weren’t very capable and refused to take responsibility. When Zobrist spoke with the employees, they pointed to structures that treated them like children, such as elaborative request forms for maintenance parts, instead of their own stock. Zobrist asked the middle managers to act as if their employees were competent and willing. This led to major changes: no more time clocks, handbooks and registrant procedures, nor more separate sales and HR departments. Teams are now responsible for all the

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production, sales, and service processes for a specific client group. Motivation is such that, if necessary, employees visit a client with a problem even during the weekend, while no manager or procedure requires them to. Undercurrent organizations often have leaders with a different mind-set. They have a complete and unconditional trust in the competencies and responsibility of people. Therefore, they refuse to think for others, but develop strategy and solutions together, and they abolish any structure or system that undermines this trust. The way managers think of their people is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you as a leader believe that your coworkers are inherently lazy and rather not work, they will start to behave accordingly. If the leader believes that coworkers naturally want to work and do their best, they will start to act that way. This theory X and Y (McGregor (1960) appears to be a major factor that differentiates classical from alternative ways of organizing. The old model is based on mistrust and control, whereas the new principles focus around trust and co-creation. Another type of mind-set we often find in classic bureaucracies is the fixed mindset (Dweck 2006). From a fixed mind-set, we believe that our talents are limited, that we should find work within our possibilities, and that we should avoid making mistakes by taking on too exciting new challenges. Managers with a fixed mind-set tend to refine employees to narrowly formulated job descriptions and help them develop only within a small range of activities. From a growth mind-set however, we believe that our talents are not limited, that we can constantly learn and develop. It is our own attitude or perseverance that will make us grow through new challenges. Managers with a growth mind-set give trust and encourage their employees to take new steps. Managers with a growth mind-set are more likely to give their employees autonomy, help them learn from their mistakes, and give them responsibility.

Purpose Is Leading It is well known that organizations driven by purpose do a good job. For instance, Kotter and Heskett (2011) have shown how purposeful, value-driven companies outperform their counterparts in stock price by a factor of 12. In the absence of purpose, a company’s leadership is likely to have greater difficulty in motivating employees, and customers are likely to have difficulty connecting with the company. Yet, it is not a concern for performance that brings undercurrent organizations to focus on purpose as a leading mechanism. Rather, they want to move away from the undermining effect on the system world of structures, report systems, and administrative procedures that has become the central focus of so many classic organizations. System logic, rather than professional arguments, dominates strategy and decision-making. With its procedures and spreadsheets, the system world attempts to improve the professional work by making it more efficient, profitable, and productive. The assumption, for example, is if nurses follow the quality and safety procedures, patients will recover better and faster. In contrast, the professional world is focused on what is right for a specific client, given the purpose of the organization. Employees ask: “What contribution can we

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make to this client, given what we are here for?” Professionals use their expertise to offer clients what they need. Most professional workers do not experience the system world as supportive to their professional work, but instead often hindering their ability to deliver good quality. In undercurrent organizations the purpose, rather than the system world, is the central focus. Strategy and decisions are driven by the purpose of the organization, not by efficiency or productivity criteria. In schools it is the child that learns, in youth organizations it is helping adolescents master their life, and for a cleaning company it may be providing hospitality for their client. These organizations do have administrative procedures, decision-making structures, and report systems, but these are all in place to support the professionals fulfilling the purpose. It is the purpose that gives direction to the employees, not efficiency reasons. It is the purpose that decides which performance indicators are used, whether to replace an old machine or not, which extra business is taken on. All structures and procedures are created to support the purpose. In all of the researched alternative ways of organizing, whether a network, a community, a start-up, or a cooperative, the primary focus is on fulfilling the organizational purpose. The purpose is well known among employees; they own and embrace it; it is much more than a beautifully phrased mission statement. In fact, it is a good understanding of the purpose that gives the employees direction when they are given autonomy (see below). Managers need to keep the purpose alive and formulate the desired results within that purpose; how these results are achieved is up to the employees to decide.

Employee Self-Organization Once it is clear what the purpose of the organization is, employees need to have maximum room to fulfill that purpose. This means that employees are responsible for results and are capable of influencing factors that are relevant to achieving these results. They get enough space to perform their work, make decisions, and coordinate with others. This is the principle of self-organization, where conditions are created to fulfill the purpose and achieve results, and any structure arises organically out of the interactions among stakeholders. The resulting organization is wholly decentralized, and as such, the organization is typically robust, able to survive, and capable of self-healing and self-repairing perturbations. In most undercurrent organizations, autonomy does not mean individual autonomy, but team autonomy to perform a complete and whole set of tasks for a specific client or group. In education this may mean all teachers working with a grade level, in a car producer this may mean teams of mechanics producing a specific car type, while home care teams may be grouped in a location or community. The principle of self-organization in organizations is not new. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Tavistock Institute worked on industrial democracy, and two of its researchers studied on the use of “autonomous work groups” in British coal mines (Trist and Bamforth 1951). They coined the concept of sociotechnical systems, a

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theory that was further developed in the 1980s and 1990s in the Netherlands, where several experiments took place with self-directed work teams (De Sitter 1981). The central idea in all these theories is that the separation between thinking and doing is dissolved. The climate of the 1950s and 1980s, however, was not very favorable. In a difficult economic time, management’s attention was geared toward short-term economic success and an emphasis on efficiency and mass production. Although they were exceptions, there have always been organizations that have embraced some form of employee autonomy, such as Gore & Associates (cited in Hamel 2007), which has a flat team structure, where every employee is an associate who can decide which project to work on, as long as they achieve the agreed results. In the Netherlands, the JP van den Bent stichting is a mental health institution where professionals have great freedom to do independently what is necessary for clients. In spite of the success of organizations with a high degree of autonomy, this hasn’t become mainstream. Even recently, with the market demanding more flexibility and lower response times, some form of employee autonomy has become more popular in theory, while in practice the lines of command and control still stay in place. (See also section “The Role of Leaders.”)

Enabling Real Autonomy The managers of a large educational institution had decided to work with selfdirected work teams. A year later, both managers and teams were frustrated and the quality of teaching was decreasing. When I analyzed the situation with the team leaders, it quickly became obvious why it didn’t work: some basic conditions for working with self-directed teams weren’t fulfilled. There was no team budget, nor did the teams have an overview of revenues and costs. The teams had no access to information about student registration, student progress, and dropout rate. Staff departments kept coming up with new projects that the teams were supposed to implement. It was clear that the teams weren’t equipped to actually take responsibility. If teams are held responsible for their results, they must be able to know and influence the factors that have impact on the results. They must have the necessary mandates, management information, and support systems that managers in a classic organization have. Teams need to know their productivity, client satisfaction, profit, sick leave, return on investment, employee satisfaction, and quality control statistics. Undercurrent organizations that work with self-directed teams successfully have redesigned all the organization structures, systems, and procedures in such a way that all employees have access to relevant information on the quality and results of their work and have instruments at their disposal to adjust and correct. First of all, these systems are no longer geared for exercising control, but for supporting employees in their work. For instance, employees in an electric installation company each have a tablet that provides all the information so they can make a financial proposal for the client or negotiate prices with them on the spot. Workers in a

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cleaning company can set up their own schedules, signal a problem such as a defect toilet, and order new cleaning products when necessary. Second, procedures and mandates need to be adjusted. The nurses in a small-scale unit of an institution for the elderly, who are a self-directed team, now have a team credit card. This allows them to purchase anything needed within the group of elderly, whether it is a new light bulb, flowers for the residents, and an apple pie to celebrate an anniversary, or to repair a broken wheelchair.

Simplicity and Flexibility The fifth characteristic is a simple and flexible structure that supports the purpose and allows employees to fulfill that independently. Gore & Associates, mentioned above, provides an example. This company has no organization chart and no formal functions or decision-making channels. Teams are formed around projects and dissolve when the project is accomplished. Those involved most with the project take the necessary decisions. Everyone can lead a project; there are no formal leaders. A simple and flexible structure means less, or even zero, management levels; a reduction of most staff departments; short decision-making channels; a free flow of information to everyone involved; a reduced number of meetings; and the use of smart technology to prevent bureaucratic hassle.

Horizontal Connections The sixth characteristic is that in undercurrent organizations information flows horizontally. As these companies refuse to fall back on hierarchy to coordinate the work or to resolve issues, they create horizontal connections throughout the organization. Within the teams, employees discuss, resolve, and decide anything directly related to the team task or the functioning of the team. They decide on service rates, investments, what training they need, which new team member to hire, and what conflicts to resolve. Coordination among the teams, which in a bureaucracy is taken care of by the manager, requires different forms. Morning Star, for instance, a Californian producer of canned tomatoes, designed a horizontal form of coordination, in which employees formulate every year what they each intend to contribute to the company mission and how they are going to achieve that. They align their statements with their colleagues and make agreements among each other (Hamel 2011). Horizontal connections among the teams may exist around a specific expertise. A nursing home has expert groups around bedsores and diabetes; a bank has formed a community of practice around new mobile technology. Often, new forms of exchanging and sharing information are put in place by means of a digital platform. The professionals of the Danish Arup Architects can access all technical and design

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information, which allows them to work with colleagues all over the world (cited in Birkinshaw 2010). Furthermore, leaders in undercurrent organizations facilitate meaningful connections by bringing together a group of people who will resolve a tough issue. One undercurrent leader brought together consumers of gas and telecom companies to join forces and form a counterweight to large utilities companies. His organization Krachtenbundel Jip can achieve more transparency and fairer rates.

Mutual Accountability The seventh characteristic of undercurrent organizations is horizontal accountability. Even though the term self-organization suggests casual and nonbinding relations, there is no such thing in undercurrent organizations. Even in self-directed teams, the results and the quality of the work are monitored and measured. Yet, the way this is done is radically different from that in classic organizations. The most important difference is that employees are not held to account by their superiors, but they hold each other to account. For instance, within Sensire, a Dutch homecare organization, teams do audits for other teams. Each team may invite another team to evaluate their performance in order to learn and improve their work. Rather than judging the audited team, the audit team takes co-responsibility for the ongoing development of their colleagues. A second difference is that instead of “key performance indicators” from the system world, the organization chooses relevant indicators from the company purpose. To honor the professionalism of their employees and their company purpose of hospitality, Dutch cleaning company Hago Next uses only two criteria, the client’s experience of cleanliness and the cleaner’s satisfaction. Thirdly, these organizations review each employee’s and each team’s contribution to the overall results. This review replaces the classic performance review so often used in bureaucratic organizations. Effectory, a Dutch staffing agency, designed an online 360-degree feedback system for team members to review each other’s performance on three criteria, among which contribution to overall purpose and results is one.

Co-creation and Permanent Innovation Instead of internal research and development departments, undercurrent organizations tend to develop their products and services together with their clients. That is the eighth characteristic of undercurrent organizations: co-creation and permanent innovation. The Danish toy producer Lego invites its users to develop new creations, to improve online instructions, and to expand the products to new client groups. Innovation happens in interaction with the customers. Because of their close contact with and responsibility for a specific client group, employees are naturally involved in innovation. Not only does innovation become a horizontal process, involving

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everyone in and outside the company; innovative solutions are shared with the larger public, contrary to classic organizations, which tend to keep their innovations a secret until the release of the product. The Dutch 3D printer company Ultimaker makes all their software codes and blueprints available on the Internet and invites their customers to suggest improvements. This way, the company improves its product constantly at low cost, and it makes products that totally fulfill their customers’ needs. Also, innovation in undercurrent organizations is not a task performed in a specific department; it is the responsibility of every employee. Because a team of employees are responsible for the whole of services to one client group, employees get direct feedback from their clients, they know what works well and what could be improved. Together, in their teams, they come up with new solutions. For instance, one team in a company producing pipes to transport hot and cold water came to the conclusion that there were issues constantly in old houses with its low cellars and basements. They invented a bendable pipe and constructed a prototype. As this turned out to be a success, they used horizontal communication to spread the news to other teams.

Organic Sharing of Information and Knowledge This leads to the ninth and final characteristic of undercurrent organizations. Whereas in traditional organizations information and knowledge are valuable assets to protect, in undercurrent organizations information and knowledge flow freely. Often, these organizations have abolished regular meetings and invented more inspiring ways to exchange knowledge and information, such as a 10-min morning briefing, digital discussion platforms, standing-up encounters around high tables, informal Friday afternoon meetings, webinars, visits to client locations, learning lunches, open days with suppliers, CEO blogs, videoconferencing, internal workshops by coworkers, and so on. British Telecom has initiated Dare2Share, an online platform where professionals can share their information, expertise, and experience in the form of 10-min podcasts. Colleagues do not have to attend a session, but view and rate these podcasts at their own convenience. In this section, I have described nine characteristics of alternative ways of organizing, which set them apart from hierarchical, bureaucratic organizations. They are put specifically in this order, from most important to less important. Or rather, they are in the order of what comes first. Without a genuine belief in the maturity of coworkers, a manager would not be ready to give them full autonomy. And without a focus on the organization’s purpose, it is of no use to redesign the company’s administrative systems; they would still be undermining the coworkers’ ability to take professional decisions. In alternative ways of organizing, the nine characteristics usually come all at once and strengthen each other. I will illustrate that with a case study in the next section.

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Case Study: Buurtzorg In the following section, I will describe the interplay of the nine characteristics described above, in a case study of a very successful undercurrent organization Buurtzorg, a Dutch home care organization, which has attracted international attention for delivering high-quality and relatively low-cost care in an organization without any manager. I will first give a general overview of the organization, followed by an analysis based on my research, where each of the nine characteristics of undercurrent organizations will be discussed.

History Jos de Blok and his wife Gonnie, dissatisfied with the delivery of health care by traditional home care organizations in the Netherlands, founded Buurtzorg in 2006. They started with a team of four highly trained and all-round nurses, who took responsibility for the home care of 50–60 patients in Hengelo, a middle-sized town in the eastern part of the Netherlands. Soon more teams followed, and within a year, Buurtzorg was known as an organization where care professionals signed up spontaneously and in large numbers. Five years later, there were 500 teams, over 5,000 employees and a yearly turnover of 180 million euros. In 2016, the organization has more than 10,000 nurses, with teams in the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, and the USA. In spite of this size, Buurtzorg still works without managers or team leaders and has a small support staff of only 20 persons. There are no call center and no headquarter; there are no targets and no bonuses. There is no communications department, not even an HR department. Last year, Jos de Blok took the initiative – with two partners – to start a new medical insurance company, Zorgeloos. And recently, Buurtzorg took over an almost bankrupt home care organization of 12,000 coworkers. The first thing he did after the takeover was to raise the nurses’ salary.

Mind-Set: Unconditional Trust in People Jos de Blok, founder and CEO of Buurtzorg and a nurse himself, observes the mindset in classic organizations: Often, managers think that their professionals cannot think strategically, that they don’t have a vision. But professionals have plenty of ideas! They come up with thousands of solutions, but they are not heard, because managers think that they are the ones who need to come up with ideas and then “sell” these to the professionals. It is my experience that managers often have very few good ideas. They got their job because they are compliant and adjust well to a system, not because they are in any way visionary. (Bregman 2016)

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Buurtzorg’s mission: To change and improve the delivery and quality of home health care through the leadership and collaboration of the community nurse, allowing individual clients to receive the kind of care they most need, where they most want it, and thus avoid more costly institutional care for as long as possible.

Fig. 3 Buurtzorg’s mission

De Blok has a different mind-set. He sees his coworkers as intrinsically motivated professionals who are the best placed to know how to do their work. I want an organization where people have a lot more ownership of what happens with the client. It is really quite simple: you need to let people with expertise do what they think is the right thing. In his case: community-based nurses should have a central role – after all they know best how they can support specific circumstances for the client. The autonomy of nurses in self-directed teams allows for the best solutions to promote independence and the quality of life for the clients. It also allows nurses to practice to their highest level of training.

Purpose Is Leading Buurtzorg was set up from the conviction that it is possible to provide high-quality care if highly trained nurses have the freedom to adapt their services to the different client needs. The Buurtzorg professionals advocate “presencing care,” respecting the lifestyles, the life courses, and the context of their different clients. They even hesitate to use the word “client” as this suggests that they deliver a standard product and have a standard process that they are trying to optimize (Fig. 3). How does this purpose work in daily practice? An example is if a client has had a stroke, regular home care organizations would translate this event into a care need of x number of hours and find a way of efficiently delivering that extra care. This usually makes the client more dependent on the care providers. From Buurtzorg’s mission, the professional nurses have the freedom to find out how the client will best recover, given their lifestyle, preferences, and family conditions. They will not automatically administer extra care, but, for instance, support the family to help the client. This way, the client stays in control and can enjoy the same quality of life, in spite of the stroke. The focus of Buurtzorg is not on production, as in many regular home care organizations; it is on a quick recovery of the clients’ independence.

Employee Self-Organization Whenever there is a minimum of four nurses who want to set up their own unit in a new city or geographical area, Buurtzorg supports them in setting up their own self-

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directed team. The organization itself does not set up new teams. A new team finds its own office and finds furniture to decorate it. They establish contacts with those who refer clients to home care (general practitioners) and familiarize themselves with the stakeholders and existing networks in their area. The teams are made up of two levels of training: half of the team consists of highly trained and all-round nurses and the other half of assistant nurses, who perform some but not all of the tasks. Together they form a self-directed team, responsible for every aspect of the home care in a specific area (▶ Home Care by Self-Governing Nursing Teams: The Netherlands Buurtzorg model). They do the intakes; they provide medical care but also many support services, such as dressing and bathing, that are usually delegated to lesser-trained and cheaper personnel; they send invoices and manage the financial part of their work; and they hire new nurses and coordinate with other stakeholders, such as hospital and doctors. The teams decide about hiring a new team member and about further education. Teams are available day and night, with different shifts, and clients see mostly the same faces, as a team is never larger than 12 persons.

Enabling Real Autonomy A simple and streamlined organization supports the teams with modern IT technology. They provide them with real-time information directly connected to the care process, in a form that empowers the teams to take decisions: an overview of income and costs on one A4. The team results are online visible for everyone. The technology also reduces administrative overhead. If a team has issues that it cannot resolve, it can invite a regional team coach. There is one coach for every 25 teams. Instead of intervening, the coach helps the team to solve the issue by itself, allowing the team to become stronger and better problem solvers. To further enable the teams to take responsibility, all the teams have been trained in conflict management and in solution-driven interaction. This method focuses on using everyone’s input toward a practical solution. Given the professionals’ tendency to discuss principles, this practical method highly facilitates the weekly team meetings.

Simplicity and Flexibility Jos de Blok often argues that it is very easy to make something more complicated, but it is hard to make something easier. “Managers love complexity. That makes their job more interesting and allows them to say that they are needed to manage the complexity” (Bregman 2016). Buurtzorg tries to keep things simple (Nandram 2014). The organization has a very small staff (8% overhead, compared to an average of 30–35% in other home care organizations). This staff is focused mainly on providing the necessary information technology and on negotiating with large medical insurance companies. The fact that the nurses are all-round, and that the

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team is responsible for all aspects of the home care, provides flexibility in work arrangements. For instance, after a fall and a broken hip, a client may need more care in the beginning than budgeted, but far less later on, when the client is more used to the new situation. Other clients may need little care, but over a long period of time. This flexibility meets both nurses’ and patients’ needs. The personalized attention and team approach also allows individual clients to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible, avoiding more costly institutional care.

Horizontal Connections Coordination within the teams is a natural process. For example, where hierarchical and bureaucratic organizations always have staffing problems during the summer, the Buurtzorg teams have usually agreed on their planning by February. The nurses also organize three conferences a year, where they share their knowledge with people from other teams and they help start new teams. Study groups are formed bottom-up and professionals sometimes travel to other teams to discuss a difficult case. Also, Buurtzorg has formed partnership with primary care (general practitioners) and insurance companies to ensure a smooth interface between the initial call for help and the final reimbursement of health expenses.

Mutual Accountability As Buurtzorg has decided to deliver tailor-made care for all clients, there are no categories of “care products” and no need to register each of them, like in regular home care organizations. The team members only register the time they spent with each client. The number of hours is weighed against the overall amount of indications (quantity and quality of financed care). The teams know how much money comes in per hour, and they have a clear overview of their own costs, such as accommodation. They manage their own finances. New teams are trained in the financial system and are allowed some time to get to the point of breakeven. The overview of all team results on the Buurtzorgweb allows comparison and triggers teams who are doing less well to get some advice from financially more successful teams (De Blok and Pool 2010).

Co-creation and Permanent Innovation The nurses are responsible not only for current client needs but also for preventing future problems. They continually improve and innovate their work, in interaction with their clients. They designed an experiment of simplifying the needs assessment, registration, and accountability process. The experiment showed that this reduces the intake by 15 min and offers more flexibility after the intake.

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Organic Sharing of Information and Knowledge Buurtzorg nurses communicate via Buurtzorgweb, an internal digital platform, where the teams can exchange experiences, ask questions, and share ideas. They can find information about treatments and medication; they share information about clients and keep in touch with the small support staff. They also register their hours and they make their planning via the platform. It is a simple tool, not to gather information for headquarters, but to support the teams with relevant information and knowledge.

Results While it is customary in Dutch home care to divide the many tasks among different employees, some of which are less trained and therefore cheaper, the Buurtzorg approach empowers nurses to deliver all the care that patients need. And while this has meant higher costs per hour, the result has been fewer hours in total. By changing the business model of home care, Buurtzorg has accomplished a 50% reduction in hours of care, improved quality of care, and raised work satisfaction for their employees. KPMG concluded in a quantitative analysis in 2013 (KPMG 2015), in which Buurtzorg was compared to other home care providers, that Buurtzorg achieves high quality at a lower than average cost. The study found that Buurtzorg ranked among the best home care agencies in the country on measures of patientreported experiences while providing substantially fewer hours of care than the average home care organization (108 h vs. 168 h per patient year). The Buurtzorg organization has won many prizes, among others the prize for the most satisfied workforce of any Dutch company with more than 1,000 employees (8, 7 where the average score is 7). For 5 years in a row, they were the preferred employer in the category of companies with more than 1,000 employees (Huijbers 2010). Buurtzorg is the most successful example of an “undercurrent organization.” Perhaps, given its size and impact, we shouldn’t speak of an undercurrent organization anymore, but it certainly started out as such. People from other organizations declared Jos de Blok was crazy and that his idea would never work. Yet the organization has proven that, with new ways of organizing, it is possible to provide a better service to more satisfied customers at a lower cost. This success has not gone unnoticed. Many other home care organizations in the Netherlands, and even other health-care organizations, want these kinds of results and try to imitate the organizational model. They start implementing self-organized teams, only to find out that there is a lot of resistance among nurses. In section “Transforming Bureaucracies,” we will look into that issue. Why is it that classic bureaucracies find it hard to transform themselves into flat, horizontal ways of organizing? But first we will take a closer look at leaders in undercurrent organizations.

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The Role of Leaders As we have seen, the organizational principles in undercurrent organizations are radically different from those in hierarchical, bureaucratic organizations, principles that are still exceptions to the rule. And although there are thousands of alternative organizations, cooperatives, networks, communities, and start-ups, most of them are still small in size and impact. The mainstream paradigm in organizations continues to advocate hierarchy, a separation between thinking and doing, control and top-down management, and system-driven key performance indicators, while the organization’s purpose seems to have disappeared to the background. We are in the middle of a paradigm shift, and in daily practice we see numerous exceptions to the existing organizational theories. In this transition time, two radically different worlds are coexisting, while the old world seems to maintain its power position, and the new world is focused on showing that a different approach actually works. For the new world to gain territory, it is important to disseminate information on all these new perspectives and to encourage all those who are frustrated with the old models to be leaders for a new world as well. What is the role of leaders in this paradigm shifting process? Are we heading toward new perspectives on leadership as well? Do we still need leaders in an era of self-directed teams and horizontal processes like co-creation? That’s what we’ll cover in the next section. In section “Leadership in Undercurrent Organizations,” I will present some findings on leadership in undercurrent organizations.

New Dynamic Between Leaders and Followers Traditional leadership theories all assume that leadership occurs in a person, someone with specific traits or qualities. Accordingly, people in leadership positions are usually selected because of their supposed superiority over others. Until now this was the strongest incentive to follow a leader; we tend to grant people in a hierarchical position the authority to lead us. In this transition time however, our leaders are no wiser than we are. They have no better answers to the challenges we meet everyday. Often even their wellintentioned promises merely illustrate how much they have lost touch with reality and to what extent they are stuck in the illusion of malleability. They believe everything in the organization is happening because of them. The dynamic between leaders and followers is changing rapidly (Drath 2001). The Internet has democratized information, and the resulting greater transparency has made us more critical of leaders. Leaders need to take into account all kinds of stakeholders; the issues on their plate are more complex and the basis for their leadership is constantly being contested. Does this mean we are going toward the end of leadership, as Kellerman (2012) suggests? Based on my research in undercurrent organizations, I don’t think so. But it is the end of hierarchical leadership, synonymous with exercising control over others. With the exception perhaps of some situations where authoritarian leadership styles

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are still effective, urgent or dangerous situations such as crisis or war, or contexts where the leader has a lot more information than the employees, we will see a growth of shared or nonhierarchical leadership. Undercurrent organizations are not leaderless organizations; they are full of leaders. But it is a different, more relational kind of leadership. In these new organizations, leadership is the result of interactions between dedicated stakeholders, trying to influence each other in order to solve challenges posed by their dynamic environment. More than before, leadership is a creative interplay between people driven by passion. Who leads and who follows may change each moment. As Buurtzorg manages itself, Jos de Blok spends most of his time connecting people around his passion and communicating with them, influencing their ideas and choices.

Leadership in Undercurrent Organizations The founders of undercurrent organizations are not lonely wolves, ahead of the pack. Typically, they connect people and ideas, mobilize knowledge, co-create, facilitate, find creative solutions, and inspire. Most undercurrent leaders I have spoken to do not see themselves as leaders at all. None of them had the ambition to be a forerunner and they are not visionaries. They just believe in something enough to be willing to give it a chance. They just begin. It’s not that they have no ambition or ego. They do, except they are driven more by their passion than by their ego, and they use the ego to make their dreams come true. They have no fancy office on the tenth floor; they rather seek personal connections with others. Undercurrent leaders lead in a horizontal way and encourage people around them to take the lead. Jos de Blok actively refuses the role of a managing director. Rather, he encourages his professionals to organize their work independently, while he focuses on the context in which his professionals need to work. A leader in an undercurrent organization can be anyone. Employees in various places all give direction to the organization. From their commitment to the company purpose and their clients, they take initiatives, help colleagues, come up with innovative solutions, etc. Undercurrent organizations, with their focus on autonomy and selforganization, allow teams to become “mini companies” inside the organization. In the following section, I describe some typical traits of leaders in undercurrent organizations. They are based on my conversations with them, as well as on interviews that were published in journals or magazines.

Driven by Passion Why would anyone want to change the relationship between doctors and patients? Why do two successful IT specialists start a new business that hires only people with autism or Asperger? The leaders I have come across in the undercurrent are all driven by passion and conviction. They know what is important to them and go for it. Integrity in living their values is more important to them than winning over others to believe the same. Often, this passion comes from personal circumstances. The IT

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specialists both have autistic sons and wanted to create a workplace suited to their needs. The founders of Hago Next cleaning company were fed up with the public tenders where lowest price was the main criterion. They stopped bidding and instead developed an innovative concept to break through the negative price spiral in the cleaning industry, to normalize the work pressure and show more respect to the cleaners. Undercurrent leaders transform their discontent, even if it takes a deep personal crisis before they get there. It leads them to find out what is really important and to go and create that. Theo Hoppenbrouwers, the CEO of a Dutch electric installation company founded by his father, had a burnout from taking too much work on his own shoulders. While he was away, his employees made sure the company stayed on track. This was very confronting, as Theo believed the company relied on him. After some inner work, he came back with a new mission: joy and health for all employees. He transformed his company into self-directed teams based on market segments and gave his employees the autonomy they had taken during his absence.

Connectors Leaders in undercurrent organizations are real connectors. From the very start, they look for people to help build the new organization. They do not try to do everything alone; they like to work and create together. Because their passion comes from an authentic passion, they are capable of inspiring others. Leaders in undercurrent organizations, as they work from different business models and organizing principles, realize that they alone cannot make a difference in changing the context. Therefore, they actively seek other companies, institutions, and stakeholders and invest in sustainable relationships with them. Their connections often break through classic dividing lines in sectors: they work with competitors or people from very different domains. They are Edgewalkers (Neal 2006), people who walk between worlds and have the ability to build bridges between different worldviews. They have a strong inner life and are also very grounded and effective in the everyday material world. Together with stakeholders around them, these undercurrent leaders work to change the thinking in their line of industry. Jos de Blok is not just the founder of Buurtzorg; he communicates in all kinds of media and speaks throughout the country about transforming health care. He even travels to Sweden, Belgium, the USA, and Japan to help people setting up local teams. He created a network of people who share his concepts of local home care and connects people around his passion. Another example is Rene Kesselaar, CEO of a Dutch construction company. He wants to change the construction industry with its nontransparent procedures into transparency, fair business, trust, and cooperation. He invited all stakeholders involved in a new construction project to come together and discuss the whole construction process, including deadlines, pricing, and margins. By showing that a different approach is possible, he transformed the dominant thinking in his industry.

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Unconventional Undercurrent leaders are all mavericks: they show an amazing independence of thought and action, and they refuse to adhere to the policies of a group to which they belong. By refusing hierarchical and bureaucratic principles, they force themselves to constantly invent new paths to design their new business. They want as few regulations as possible, as rules stop professionals from thinking for themselves. They want everyone to be a leader and to come up with their own decisions. As they are entering new territory, they often violate existing rules, thereby provoking the old world of hierarchy and bureaucracy, whether intentional or not. They have the courage to break through old models and display radically different ways of thinking. When Jos de Blok said he wanted no managers at all, nobody believed this was possible. Showing that it is very feasible, even with 10,000 professionals, undermines existing logic. It is not surprising that undercurrent leaders spend a major part of their time battling with the outside world to create the circumstances in which their company can at least experiment with a new approach. Says Henk Oosterling, who created Rotterdam Vakmanstad, a project to give youth a better start on the labor market by enhancing their craftsmanship: “The pace and rhythm in which I work, is not that of the bureaucratic mills. So if you want something: don’t discuss too much with them. They think of me as a loose cannon. But I do have a direction: as long as I can make a difference for these kids, I just go my own way!” This characterizes the new perspective on leadership in the undercurrent: don’t make elaborate plans or try to convince officials; just start, see how far you get, and then see who you need to get on board for your plans. While this may sound risky for old world leaders, undercurrent leaders accept that there are no certainties and that they will fail. Stumbling blocks are part of the game and just inspire them to be more creative in finding a way around them.

Pioneers for a New World Undercurrent leaders do not have the answers, yet they move forward. They are insecure and confused, yet to choose to act. Leadership in the undercurrent world looks like pioneering: not knowing any better than anyone else and choosing to take steps nevertheless. Undercurrent leaders are true pioneers, daring to tread unbeaten paths, without being able to use other people’s directions or experiences. They build a bridge while walking over it. Pioneers cannot fall back on proven methods or approaches. They know more or less where they want to go, but not exactly and certainly not how. They find their way, by just beginning, experimenting, and learning while doing.

No More Waiting for Others The essence of pioneering is not waiting any longer for other people to provide answers or directions, but taking control of the situation with a group of other people. Van den Brink et al. (2012) uses the concept of “best persons”: professionals who are

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Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble -makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the statusquo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. (Apple advertisement)

Fig. 4 Ode to pioneers

committed to make a difference, who show courage and an entrepreneurial attitude, and who take leadership. They do not expect others to have the wisdom or to take decisions; they simply begin. And that is what many people desire in this transition time, even if it is frightening: to do things differently, do things better, use their intuition and common sense, and do what they truly believe in, with other people who want the same. Pioneering is adventurous: in a VUCA world nothing is fixed. Because nobody knows what to do and how, there is a pervasive appeal on the spirit, imagination, and creativity of pioneers. This gives a tremendous joy: when you pioneer, there are no mistakes, only a shorter or longer way. Pioneering is exciting because all eyes are on the innovative forerunners. Will they succeed? What will come out of this? Pioneering can be confronting also, as there are always people to criticize pioneers. That they want too much, that what they want is simply not possible, and has been tried before. Some people reject pioneers because they don’t stick to rules and procedures. Pioneers let go off beaten tracks and that can be threatening for others. It is like walking on a tight rope: if you make it to the other side, you are a visionary and a genius, if you tumble off, you’re the village idiot and others are right, they told you so (Fig. 4).

Champions of Transition Times Pioneers are very important in transition times. They are the strategic agents that show, by their deeds, that radically different approaches are possible. Front-runners or pioneers make alternative approaches visible; their initiatives proliferate, even though they remain exceptions that challenge the existing models, for example, someone like the Dutch student Boyan Slat, who was mentioned in section “New Perspectives.” In the tipping phase, new solutions and ways of organizing scale up, initiatives become networks and movements, and institutionalization starts happening. The smart strategies and good timing of pioneers begin to have an impact on the systems level: technologies, infrastructures, social practices, and organizational arrangements that slowly get institutionalized. The often-weird ideas that the pioneers came up with are being adapted by other people and by organizations.

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Today, many home care organizations want to implement the same concepts that Jos de Blok and his organization Buurtzorg have developed. They are trying to institutionalize self-directed teams. Of course this only works if the administrators and directors genuinely transform their old mind-set and not implement a cosmetic new structure. Yet, the Internet has proven that the use of a new technology can indeed shift people’s mind-sets.

Transforming Bureaucracies In the past few decades, numerous attempts have been made to introduce new ways of organizing in classic bureaucratic organizations. Companies like DuPont, Cisco, Scott Bader, Rolls-Royce, Herman Miller, ABB, and BSO have consciously experimented with other forms of organizing. Although some of these organizations have been transformed successfully, and are still being managed in a non-bureaucratic way, like Semco, Gore & Associates, and FAVI, most companies have gradually fallen back on old principles and habits. Why is it that so many attempts at transforming classic bureaucracies have failed? And how can innovative ways of organizing, such as we see in undercurrent organizations, be implemented successfully in these organizations? Can the lessons from undercurrent organizations be translated to large hierarchical companies, and if so, how? In this section I will first offer some explanations for the failure to genuinely transform bureaucracies. Then I will offer an approach that according to Milgrom and Roberts (1995) makes it possible to transform even large hierarchical institutions. I will discuss this approach from my experience as a consultant working with these large bureaucracies.

Failing Attempts to Transform Bureaucracies An explanation by Parker (2002) is that large bureaucratic organizations are very good at incorporating criticism and change activities, for instance, by developing a coaching leadership style, but at the same time holding on to essential bureaucratic principles such as top-down control and uniform rules. Such organizations absorb change activities to better control them. Instead of loosening the hierarchy, attempts at participative leadership often lead to a strengthened bureaucracy, because there is a larger gap between employees still managed authoritatively and those higher educated employees who have more to say. Some organizations, such as General Motors, decided to decentralize, but did that not to humanize the company, but because the environment had become so unpredictable that employees closer to the client needed to get more autonomy to take the right decisions. Another explanation for the failure of many transformations is that they were focused on a few aspects only, such as more democratic decision-making process or a flat structure. Other factors, such as management habits, appeared a lot more difficult to change. Rolls-Royce in the UK was a pioneer in self-directed teams, but after a while the teams fell back on the old “command and control.”

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According to Kuipers et al. (2010), an integral perspective is missing with most change or transformation processes. A change in structures without a change in HRM procedures of accountability lines will sooner or later fail. Another explanation is the mind-set of the decision-makers, who may view the organization too much as a machine, in which one can simply replace one part by another, more advanced part. Yet if you consider the organization as a living organism, it is evident that a change of one aspect always involves change in others. From a systemic perspective, an organization is an integrated and self-renewing community. Milgrom and Roberts (1995) have looked into innovative forms of organizing and came to the conclusion that new ways of organizing are only successful if the whole system is transformed, consistently and coherently. Their so-called complementarity theory is based on mutual exchange and dependencies between technical, organizational, and other factors. Complementarities are potentially strengthening effects among factors, when they are dealt with at the same time and coherently. The effect of more employee autonomy, for instance, is enhanced when management steers toward strategic goal.

Integral Approach According to this theory, there is complementarity between activities in a company if strengthening one activity leads to the strengthening of other activities. Reducing the number of management layers, following this theory, leads only to better results if another transformation is happening at the same time. Implementing such a change in isolation can, according to the researchers, even lead to a decrease in results, although Pettigrew and Whittington (2003) point to the fact that when implementing a new structure, new processes, and organizational forms, the results will at first decline and only in the long term show improvement. This is what they call the J curve. Milgrom and Roberts (1995) found that IKEA company, for example, has a high level of complementarity, which means that purchasing and distribution, products, client service, sales, and logistics are all aligned. Because all the aspects are integrated and well aligned, this way of working is hard to imitate as a success formula by other companies. From my own research comes the example of Sensire, a Dutch care organization, which was part of an almost bankrupt bureaucracy when it split off and management decided to follow a different course. The organization took an integral approach to put the relationship between those who need care and those who offer it, central in their organization. The philosophy was that good care exists when clients can formulate what they need and health professionals can use their expertise to provide that. In order to make that relationship successful, only highly trained all-round nurses performed intakes. Teams were formed around those nurses and were given autonomy to provide whatever care was needed. A similar process in the staff and management sections strengthened this process. A new relationship was established, between the teams asking for help and management and staff providing what was

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needed. This led to a decrease of staff and management functions. Also, administrative procedures were adapted and team members wrote new handbooks. The chief executive, although intent from the beginning with his vision and values, had to change habits, as did the staff. The organization started this transformation in one area of their health services, home care, but when they saw it was getting successful, they extended the experiment to the whole organization.

Discussion That organizational transformation is only successful when all aspects are integrally changed may sound like a cliché. Yet many organizations, in their urge to imitate the success of others, tend to change only outer characteristics, only to find out that it doesn’t work. One educational institution implemented cooperative structures and procedures, but their reward system was still based on individual performance. A technical company decentralized decision-making, yet the managers forgot to formulate clear goals and criteria for performance. A new way of organizing is not just a matter of giving more autonomy and responsibility to employees. It is about transforming several aspects at the same time, in their mutual dependencies. This requires an enormous investment in time, patience, energy, discipline, and perseverance. Says Maarten van Rixtel, CEO of the abovementioned Sensire: For me this implies propagating what I stand for and believes in. But also, show in a logical and inspiring way that the ‘old way’ doesn’t work and that need is necessary. Otherwise this company will expire. In practice, this means talking a lot. I have all kinds of dialogue with the coworkers, such as walk-in hours, email and phone, lunch meetings and town hall meetings, in which I listen to what they come across and which ideas and solutions they have. (Zomerdijk and van der Zwan 2009)

Transforming a large hierarchical organization paradoxically requires strong leadership from a systemic perspective. Such leaders are capable of holding on to long-term vision while supervising and aligning numerous, mutually influencing change activities. It can be done, as is shown in the example of Theo Hoppenbrouwers (section “Driven by Passion”). Yet it requires a fundamental belief in the necessity of changing old habits and ways of thinking, a strength that is often reached only after a deep personal transformation. Although transformation of a large bureaucracy is possible, I have become quite skeptical about transformation in large organizations. Not only is the process very demanding on all of those involved, usually it does not serve the interests of the executives and owners, who often want the organization to be profitable in the short term. In addition, a real transformation is also regularly blocked by middle managers, whose identities are often based on controlling others. They have to face not only being dismissed but also being drawn into an existential crisis.

A New World Is Already Here: Lessons from Radically Different Organizations Fig. 5 Experiments, systems, landscape

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landscape Momentum

systems

experiment

experiment

experiment

experiment

I have come to believe that transformation can only come from outside the established bureaucracies. It arises in places where people truly believe in the talents and capabilities of people to take initiative and responsibility. It arises in places with no restraints to try out new forms. Only in these places can people experiment with different principles from an integrated perspective. Of course this may happen in parts of bureaucratic organizations, such as pilots or skunk works, where the rules of the old world don’t count. For instance, cleaning company Hago created a separate company, Hago Next, to experiment with a new way of organizing. To be successful, new forms need time to develop in their essence, with no compromise and no other interests.

Experiments, Systems, and Landscape This conviction that transformation can only come from outside bureaucracies, based on my experience with large bureaucracies, is supported by the transition concepts by Rotmans (2012). He points out that as pioneers and their experimental organizations gain success, this gradually transforms the landscape and ultimately the systems (Fig. 5). In contrast to what is often thought, transitions do not happen because experiments (by pioneers) change the systems (technology, structures, practices, policies), and this ultimately changes the landscape (ways of thinking, mind-sets, global trends). This is the scenario that I sketched earlier, where organizations try to imitate the success of experiments, yet from an old mind-set, which leads to failure. In transitions, it is the other way around: experiments gradually change the landscape, the larger context of societal value sets and mental models in our society.

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New theories are embraced and taught in universities and business schools. The paradigm shift is taking place. As this happens, the systems gradually start to change accordingly. It is the success of the experiments that transforms the thinking of what is. In the preceding sections, I have discussed why it is so difficult to transform classic bureaucracies. Several explanations were offered and an integral approach was suggested and discussed. In the following section, I will describe how the ways of organizing described in section “Characteristics of Undercurrent Organizations” can be realized outside of, or at the edges of, large bureaucracies.

Starting an Undercurrent Organization Anyone living in this transition time may feel insecure and confused at times. We may be discontent with the world around us, yet not knowing how to make it better. We may feel frightened, angry, desperate, and powerless. Most of us tend to look at others for answers, but even our leaders stubbornly hold on to old principles that once worked. Many of us wake up in the morning, overwhelmed by the complexity of this world in transition, and ask ourselves what we can do or who we can be in the circumstances. We are all needed in this transition time to develop the new that is arising. What is it to be a leader, if it’s not a hierarchal position in a large company? How can we help to move our organizations in new directions? How do we get from being a frightened person to someone building toward a new world? In this section I describe some suggestions, both from personal experience and from interviews with undercurrent leaders.

Transform Your Discontent The feelings of discontent are the source of transformation. Transformation always begins with something that “doesn’t sit right.” As we take these feelings of discontent seriously, we may discover that underneath is a desire for something different. Quirijn Bolle used to work in a large Dutch supermarket where he discovered how the food industry works. He felt he was selling garbage and that he was being manipulated with bonuses to keep his mouth shut. After being angry for a while, he decided he wanted to do things differently, even if he would lose his attractive salary. He quit his job and went to set up an alternative supermarket, selling biological products at fair prices. Once his first shop became a success, he set up more supermarkets. His ambition is to change the business model in the food industry, allowing all parts in the food chain to profit equally. So if you wake up in the morning with a heavy heart, or you drive home from work, worried and angry about the things you’ve experienced, take your worries and anger seriously. Delve into your feelings to find what it is that you miss and that you

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Fig. 6 Internal compass

passion

talents

purpose

vision

values

long for. Then try to give words or images to what your soul whispers to you in a soft voice, so as to give it substance. Then start to communicate about your desires.

Find Your Internal Compass From what you discovered in trying to uncover the desires underneath your frustration and discontent, you now need to take things a step further. You need an internal compass, consisting of your passion, your talents, your vision, and your values (Fig. 6). These elements help you discover your purpose in life. In these transition times, there are no outer road signs that indicate the way to go, so you will have to develop your own, from the inside out, not by asking yourself what the world needs, but by asking what makes you come alive or, rather, what makes it worthwhile for you to live in these dynamic times. What does truly matter to you? What do you value? What images do you have of a better world around you? What does it look like? The more you are able to formulate these elements in words, or even in a written statement, the more it will help you find direction in a world in transition. It will also help you when you meet opposition from other people. Edward Doorten was frustrated with the regular gas stations where he’d fill his car with petrol. His vision was to open the first sustainable gas station in the Netherlands. One of his talents is perseverance. After 10 years of difficulties, he finally opened Green Planet, his climate-neutral gas station, providing only green gas, in November 2013. The gas station is also built sustainably, and it generates its own energy by means of wind turbines from regional garbage.

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From Flame to Form Undercurrent leaders look for ways to make their ideas concrete. Other than classical leaders, they do not assume that they can create from their desks. Rather, they find their way step by step in a chaotic world. They are entrepreneurial in the sense that they start, even if they have no clear strategy. It is not coincidental that entrepreneurs usually operate outside the confines of traditional hierarchy and need some free space to develop their ideas. It is not optional either; entrepreneurs are practical people who wish to translate their ideas into reality. They are neither leader nor follower; rather, they are focused on realizing their ideas. They get more excited by the gap between dream and concrete products than by policy plans. To transform an idea into a concrete form, pioneers need to develop their imagination and inner compass and at the same time be grounded in the material world. Pioneers in the undercurrent world are not lonely inventors in an attic; however, they go out and meet people with whom they can realize their ideas.

Co-create with Others Transforming an unconventional idea into a concrete form within a skeptical environment is something that cannot be done alone. Pioneers need people around them to help build the ideas and dreams from scratch. They look for people who share their passion but have different, complementary perspectives and skills. They like to connect and network and collect people around them to co-create something new. Co-creation starts with a conscious not knowing and a collective orientation. How do you build an organization without managers? What does an organic supermarket look like? What kinds of IT activities are young adults with autism really good at? How do we build a green gas station, what would it sell, and what not? This open way of searching and finding together can unlock a surprising collective wisdom, which can lead to fundamentally new ideas and new people to cooperate with. To be an organic supermarket that aims to change the whole food chain, which suppliers will we work with and what does that cooperation look like? Undercurrent pioneers are usually not the ones who know, but the ones who have a dream. Therefore, you don’t have to draw back if you have no idea how to make your dream come true. Once you know what your dream is, you need the right people around you. Undercurrent pioneers know that structures and business plans don’t create anything new; meeting new people does have that potential. I know an entrepreneur who searched for 5 years to find a way to recycle certain forms of plastic. All he did was talk to people and present his ideas. Ultimately, he had found the right technology and the partners to provide that; he found ways of collecting and recycling and people who could help him with legal matters. So go out, find people who share your dream or who get excited by your vision, yet have a different perspective, a different network of people around them, or

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different skills. Meet them with an open mind, be authentic, and don’t hide behind a formal role, to create a connection in which creativity can flow.

Intelligent Disobedience The director of an old people’s home was worried, because her professionals were complaining that the rules in their work made no sense and were often counterproductive. She decided to abolish all rules, except for two. The first was to follow the purpose of the organization, which is to provide the environment for people to live a happy old age. The second was to use your common sense and your experience as a professional. The professionals were happy, but she had a new problem: how to explain this to the Inspection, to the Department of Health, and other stakeholders? Her organization might be reprimanded or even sued. She then decided that this would have to be her full-time work. As the organization could perfectly manage itself, she would spend all her time talking to all stakeholders, trying to convince them of this new approach and to find new solutions. If you are a pioneer, you will curve out new paths and enter new territory. You may find yourself puzzled with things no one has ever worried about before. You cannot get to a new world by using the well-known methods and procedures, and you will not get there if you let yourself be restrained by rules of the old world. Some professionals in bureaucracies become pioneers exactly because they stop adhering to the methods and rules of the old world. They have the courage to let go of old habits, and by taking their distances from these self-evident patterns, they are forced to reinvent themselves and their ways of working. It is not that they defy the rules because they are rebels. They stop adhering to rules when there is something larger at stake, when abiding by the rules would cause a dangerous situation. They do not follow the rules blindly, but use their intelligence to distinguish when – in the interest of the organizations’ purpose or the safety of the client, following the rule would not be a good idea. They disobey the rules when following them would mean going against their common sense, their conscience, or the purpose of the organization. Professional disobedience is not following the rules because the professional standards you were trained in are threatened by the rules. They do not do so lightheartedly; they are willing to take responsibility for the consequences. They may see their disobedience as a conscious intervention to change a fixed mind-set and together with others look for new ways of organizing things. In this section I have given some suggestions for those who would like to help roll the ball toward a new future. If you are frustrated with the system you work in, you always have a choice, to stay and comply or to leave and create something different. That doesn’t require charisma, a high education, or lots of experience. Anyone can make the step, even at the edges of large bureaucracies. Those who have the courage to do will be the ones that change our ways of doing and ultimately our ways of thinking.

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Conclusions This chapter demonstrates the transition time we are in. Most of us are insecure and confused, discontent with the world we know and not knowing in what direction we are headed. It is a sign of the times that in the past 15–20 years we have seen hundreds of experimental organizations arising, from start-ups to collectives and cooperatives to networks and communities. These alternative ways of organizing can be seen as the front-runners of a new era. The thinking behind these ways of organizing points to a paradigm shift in organizational theories. Together, these new and alternative ways of organizing, however small in size and scope, can be viewed as an “undercurrent” of a new organizational reality. They are based on radically different premises, and depart from a totally different thinking about organizing, which gives way to creativity and innovation. In this chapter I have described this undercurrent with many examples, among which are the case study of Buurtzorg, one of the most successful undercurrent organizations in the Netherlands, and nine typical characteristics. Of those nine, the two first are essential: without a different mind-set and a focus on the organization’s purpose, we will fall back on hierarchy and bureaucracy all the time. This is what I point out in the section on transforming bureaucracies. Although it would be wonderful if large corporations could learn from the lessons of the undercurrent, the reality shows that most bureaucracies are rather resilient to the kind of fundamental transformation happening in the undercurrent. Transformation in the organizational paradigm can, in my view, only come from alternative organizations outside the established world, where they are not hindered by old principles and habits. These new ways of organizing influence the way of doing in organizations, ultimately the way of thinking about organizations, which ultimately changes the entire society, including its classic bureaucracies. We must therefore support undercurrent organizations, either by communicating about them in the old world or by actively working in them and by upscaling the often-small initiatives. The implication is that we can all play a major part in transforming our society: by transforming our discontent with the old world into a desire for new things and then build that new world together with like-minded people with different skills and perspectives. In this chapter I have given some suggestions how to be such a pioneer in the undercurrent world. I have demonstrated that although it can be confronting to step out of the comfort zone of complaints and anger, it is very exciting to actually build a new world step by step. We live in a confusing but also very exciting time.

References Birkinshaw J (2010) Reinventing management. Smarter choices for getting work done. Wiley, San Francisco

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Activating the Corporate Soul Ruediger Fox

“When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Abstract

Having transitioned from a locally confined endeavor to a complex nonlinear dynamic system, our global economic environment increasingly requires organizations to constantly transform. But more and more often traditional change projects fall short of expectations as huge amounts of energy are burned in fighting internal resistance or employees’ disconnect in the process. Transforming companies from inside instead of enforcing change from outside can lead to a much more lasting impact but requires a new evolutionary level of leadership that transcends our traditional mental models of management. Soul-driven Leadership is able to activate the core elements of the Corporate Soul through an inclusive process, setting free the necessary self-stimulating inner drive for integral change to happen. It helps a collaborative culture to emerge and aligns the organization towards a common purpose, making transformation “exothermic” and sustainable. Through a process of “Merging the Souls,” it can even ensure that in acquisitions and merger processes, relationships are rapidly rebuilt “below the waterline” so that a new organization can instantly pick up momentum.

R. Fox (*) GCH-Institute (Hamburg/Zell am Moos), Zell am Moos, Austria e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_23-1

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Keywords

Acquisition • Agile • Autonomy • Corporate soul • Merger • Merging the souls • Organizational transformation • Soul-driven leadership • Trust • Values

Contents Overheating Organizational Transformation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Challenging Our Mental Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organizational Transformation from Inside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Anatomy of the Organizational Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leadership Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leading from Within . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Soul-Driven Mergers and Acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Volition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A New Quality of Organizational Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Overheating Organizational Transformation? In a world where movement is valued much more than presence, where change has overtaken the positive connotation of consistency, and where speed has become the master scale for success, some terms that were previously used only in a selective manner are almost omnipresent nowadays. In this spirit, we tend to use the notion of transformation – in line with the Latin roots of the word – in a rather undifferentiated sense to mean any process whereby something changes its form from one state to another. Predominantly focusing on the outcome, we rarely look at some of the specific differences that characterize the process itself during the transition. However, looking closer at various kinds of transformations, we can generally distinguish between two classes that fundamentally differ in their origins: one type is based on an autonomous process that only needs an initiating trigger to then perpetuate, independent of any external influence – whereas the other type vitally depends on an intentional creator and his/her continuously directed intervention. This differentiation is well known in physics and chemistry, manifested for example in exothermic vs. endothermic reactions, and has in its abstract form, in terms of human identity, been one of the fundamental questions of philosophy, religion, and science for centuries. However, the secularization of our daily realities, together with a highly evolved human sense of self as an all-powerful shaper of its environment, has pushed this quest beyond our regular awareness. We seem to unconsciously assume that the nature of the transformation is dependent on its context – whether it originates from a singular impulse and then naturally emerges in the presence of an appropriate space for evolution – or responds

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to an outer force continuously applied to an unsatisfactory status quo with a determined intention to overcome inertia. Observing a caterpillar pupate and reappear in the form of a butterfly, based on the fact that we are unable to identify any outside influence permeating the cocoon, we most naturally conclude that such a transformation is driven by some sort of “magical” inner programming – one of the yet to be fully decrypted secrets of evolution that is the outcome of millions of years of mutation and selection. On the other hand, looking at things that are human-built, our most obvious assumption is that a form of outer drive is also needed to further chance its composition, inner functioning, behavior, or shape. Although this is rather logical for any inanimate element in our human world, it seems that we extend this general supposition to any form of human built organization and derive all our leadership strategies from that basis. Particularly in an industrialized world that has reached an unprecedented level of speed of change, it seems obvious that any transformation in this context requires an external force and guidance in order to ensure a timely adjustment to the constantly evolving realities. Even assuming that some inner sense for survival might trigger certain autonomous initiatives, the apparent generally slow speed of evolution seems by its sheer nature to be insufficient to ensure our timely adaptation to such a dynamic environment. Consequently, organizational change nowadays has become a topic that is strongly related to the avatar of an active and powerful leader (and his/her executing troops), either in its original authoritarian manifestation of early military-like systems, in its pacesetting version in the highly competitive environment of the past decades, or in a more inclusive form of transformational leadership that has become the latest evolutionary variant for cutting edge management. What is common for all manifestations of this kind of leadership is a high focus and dependence of the process on the personality of the leader him /herself, as much as on a managerial system that enables the active and controlled propagation of influence top-down into the behavior of the organization. But despite a continuous stream of sophisticated program management tools and an increasing army of external consultant support, it would appear that this widespread approach for organizational transformation has reached the limits of its capabilities. With the growing size of companies and a rising frequency of necessary changes in direction, more and more organizational transformation processes are failing as they either overstretch the ability of the organizations to collectively adapt and follow or are slowed down by a rising level of active organizational resistance until they come to a complete stop. Furthermore, an increasing frequency of such change projects tends to expose the employees to an emotional rollercoaster. As a result of the induced centrifugal forces, people either hold on even more strongly to what they had known in the past or – with shrinking adhesion – they let things go, resulting either in dramatically rising levels of presenteeism, or high levels of fluctuation, especially with frustrated talents leaving the organization.

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As a result, the more a transformation is enforced top-down, the more it leads to a fast dissolution of the change energy the further down in the organization the change process penetrates, leaving many projects with little sustainable impact and nothing but a high bill.

Challenging Our Mental Models Rather than pushing even harder on the accelerator, it might therefore be wise to look at the fundamental assumptions that are at the roots of this approach in order to evaluate them in the current economic context and eventually seek for potential alternatives. To begin with, it can be presumed that the strategy for driving organizational change from outside is not a subjective preference of individual managers or a wish to voluntarily invest an extraordinary amount of their energy. It results instead from the tacit collective assumption in business that an organization is by default unable to autonomously develop the capabilities required to adjust to a changing environment from inside. Looking at the conditions for change to happen in an organizational context, three fundamental prerequisites can be identified: the creation of sufficient drive for movement within the organization itself, the choice of the right direction, and the need for alignment of the entire organization on this path. All three of them are assumed in traditional management thinking not to be accessible without an appropriate external intervention. Our traditional mental models of employees are very straightforward on all those criteria: • Humans in a work context are generally presumed to be driven mainly by the external rewards they receive in return for their performance; in the absence of such a motivator, they are expected to fall back into passivity as their default mode. • Furthermore, employees are assumed to have the need to be directed and guided through clear hierarchical structures. As a natural consequence of performance based organizational selection processes, the level of competence to give appropriate guidance is expected to increase with the level of hierarchy – expecting the best results from subordinates when they follow their leadership. • And lastly, organizational alignment appears to depend on consistent control due to the complexity of most organizations and a strong work-sharing practice – but mainly due to a fundamentally assumed lack of reliable commitment. On this basis, most organizations are built on hierarchies where leadership decides on the right strategy and drives change through a process of a systematic induction of those strategies top-down into respective targets that can be tracked and surveyed – in line with the philosophy expressed by Robert S. Kaplan and David Norton (1996), the inventors of the Balanced Scorecard, which states that “you can

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only manage what you can measure.” In the recent decades, this has become an unquestioned mantra of modern management. But while this leadership strategy was the secret to success in a world where we could base our executive business strategies on an almost Newtonian predictability of the future, where process robustness was the key efficiency standard for eliminating waste through lean thinking, and where we aimed predominantly for transactional performance, it is increasingly becoming a hurdle for agility in a globally connected world. In an interrelated dynamic and complex system environment where relevant framework conditions drastically change almost daily, even the most sophisticated strategies will be outdated long before their consistent implementation. As a result, failure is less and less often an outcome of a wrong direction chosen initially but rather the result of the inability to respond rapidly and adjust to unpredicted situations on the way. Furthermore, the complexity and the high variability of the needs to respond appropriately to the reality increasingly hinder us from specifying the required processes in advance in sufficient detail and precision. Organizations that attempt to manage their business through rules and regulations are more and more often likely to fail, as they tend to burden themselves with unbearable levels of administration. By the time full implementation has taken place, the prerequisites have already changed and therefore might call for quite different reactions than the ones specified. Lastly, in a world where the Digital Revolution now follows the Industrial Revolution, not only are mechanical activities being transferred to machines but more and more administrative processes are also becoming digitalized. While this leads to a shrinking scope for factual differentiation, the pressure to excel and innovate remains. Thus, the key success factors for organizations are increasingly becoming those remaining activities that can never be standardized: the ability of their members in the areas of cognitive performance. Yet while we all recognize that innovation as much as the ability to maneuver within a world of interwoven networks are becoming key for success, the associated prerequisites in competences like creativity, or the ability to shift from fierce selffocused competition to collaboration by emphatic balancing of mutual interests, can neither be taught nor tracked by any controlling system.

Organizational Transformation from Inside The inability of farsighted strategies, optimized processes, and tight control to build sustaining organizational resilience in the future is obvious, and consequentially, the current approach of driving organizational change from outside is reaching quite naturally the limits of its efficacy. At the same time, the vital need for organizational transformation to cope with the dynamics of today’s environment remains unchanged.

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In the absence of impactful external means, it might therefore be wise to question the initial mental models of human behavior in an organizational context that have led to these strategies and investigate whether in reality organizational transformation, similar to other transformation processes, could alternatively be driven from within. In line with the identified three prerequisites for change, this quest can be broken down to the same core questions that are relevant for externally induced transformation to happen: What inner factors could drive an organization to move forward? What inner lodestar can guide an organization to choose its direction? and What inner guardrails can align all individuals of an organization into a common direction? To begin with, questioning the first assumption that people mainly work for their financial income, the outstanding work of Viktor Frankl (2006) has already provided us with sufficient proof that beyond any material motivation, one of the most powerful drivers for human motivation is man’s search for meaning. While this is generally accepted and can easily be observed in such industries as social services or the arts which are known for their high level of personal engagement and low level of income, unfortunately most of today’s organizations completely lack any potential in this regard. This has been caused by two factors that became the core pillars of the economic success story of the past century: extensive work sharing in conjunction with specialization and the reduction of the notion of success exclusively to financially quantifiable short-term performance criteria. In the search for increasing efficiency, most activities in today’s working life are broken down to individual tasks and consolidated in such a way among the organizational members that through maximizing repetition, a steep learning curve can be achieved. While this Tayloristic system has led in the past 150 years to an unprecedented increase in transactional efficiency, the connection between the respective task and the overall purpose of the organization has become largely lost. Lacking this connection to the overall organizational mission, work from the perspective of the employee has necessarily shrunk as a consequence to its mere function of providing the means for living and has resulted in a pattern of individuals striving to achieve this task in the most efficient way possible. The apparent correlation between performance and financial compensation that is one of the core assumptions of today’s leadership is therefore not a fundamental part of human nature but the self-induced result of a disconnect between most individual work-related activities and any meaningful function in a higher context. With organizations becoming increasingly aware of this shortfall, attempts have been made in recent decades to mask this deficiency through powerful vision statements. But in most cases, the effect has been rather limited, as these statements are rather generic in nature and – explicitly or implicitly – still focused ultimately on the maximization of financial results. Consequently, they rapidly came under the obvious suspicion that they were only nicely disguised attempts of the leadership to further increase performance to the sole benefit of the shareholder – not much to hold

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on to in a search for meaning within a work context that on a factual basis represents for most people more than half of their waking hours. In order to provide meaning in a form that could activate an inner drive, such a vision would need to comply with three essential criteria: the ability to transcend purely organizational interests and targets, an ambition that is coherent with the essential values of the majority of the members of the organization, and the possibility for individuals to relate to it in a way that each separate task can be understood as an impactful contribution in the larger context. To fulfill those factors, the organizational activity must be first of all understood within the next higher level of system complexity. Only in the larger social and ecological context can a reflection about purpose credibly transcend the sphere of self-focus. While this reaches far beyond the traditional definition of organizational responsibility, it is a vital prerequisite for the creation of meaning. Solely on this basis can the organization understand its overall activity, reaching out towards a positive purpose that is able to resonate with its members’ concepts of meaningfulness. Rather than dictating the mission of the organization top-down, only processing a reflective exercise through an intensive and inclusive internal process can ensure that the purpose aligns with the specific cultural context of the entire organization, so that its impact is able to unfold. At the same time, such a process also helps to reestablish the relationship between individual activities and the larger context. From its start onwards, it will initiate a healing process for the broken connection between work and purpose. Yet having identified a purpose of the organization that is able to attract the full autonomous buy-in of all its members, a twin process is needed to also allow the second necessary criteria for transformation to emerge: the ability to step back from prescribed fulfillment of tasks and activate an autonomous inner capability of all organizational members to make the best possible decisions in the light of a highly dynamic context. The increasing striving for “Agile Organizations” as the latest cutting-edge denominator for the next level of organizational efficiency is being marketed as the perfect turn-key solution for this challenge. Derived from “Scrum,” an iterative and incremental software development process to confront increasing system complexity and requirement dynamics, yet, this new management trend is foremost an acknowledgment of the fact that the current method of hierarchical leadership has reached its limits of efficiency and is unable to cope with the dynamics of the outside environment. But it appears rather naïve and wishful thinking to claim that by simply loosening the structures, organizations that have been led for decades through instruction and control will instantly develop the ability to autonomously act in a self-driven, agile way, as some mainstream management consulting suggests (Aghina et al. 2015). Despite its linguistic similarity, agility is by far not the opposite of stability, and learned helplessness will not disappear overnight only by enlarging the maneuvering space. Eliminating traditional rigidity in a process-driven and controlling environment will above all initially create instability.

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Until an organization is able to relearn taking independent action within the newly gained autonomy in a systematic way, the sudden lack of explicit guidance will instead lead to passivity, as any self-initiated decision-making is traditionally associated with taking the risk of making mistakes – which in turn is directly related to the concept of penalty in our hierarchical organizations. As a consequence, one of the primary conditions for the functioning of autonomy is the establishment of a bidirectional culture of trust: trust by the supervising function of the ability of the individual to choose and also make the right decision, as well as trust by the individual that he/she will be protected in his/her decisionmaking by the higher hierarchies so that whatever the outcome of any of his/her well-intended decisions, he/she doesn’t run the personal risk of being penalized. While this doesn’t sound complicated, it is important to recognize the sequence of events in this trust-building process as part of the human nature. In any hierarchical relation, a relationship built on trust always needs to be initiated by the higher level in an authentic way in order to first create a safe environment that allows trust of the employee in the newly gained autonomy to gradually build up. Consequentially, the process of building a bidirectional culture of trust is sequential with two distinct phases, starting with a leadership initiative of those in power that creates the foundation for the reciprocal reaction to gradually emerge. For leadership that has been trained to control (and quite often is exposed to a system of control and punishment itself), this requires a fundamental shift in mindset, especially under circumstances when accountability cannot be delegated at the same time as autonomy. Therefore, creating a culture of trust primarily demands the preparedness of leadership to cope with uncertainty, to openly acknowledge appropriate competence in others even on a lower level of hierarchy, and to bear the risks of mistakes occurring despite best intentions. The latter one is particularly fundamental, being a core factor in the evolutionary process of nature, but it requires a shift toward trusting the process and its actors as a collective, rather than relying on the execution of determined incremental tasks. Only on such a basis will newly created autonomous spaces allow the emergence of an overall understanding of the individual roles within the organizational purpose, and the volition that can motivate each member of the organization to autonomously orient him /herself towards the best possible direction and activate an inner drive to even walk the extra mile. Organizations that are able to relate individual activities to a common “higher purpose” – beyond the direct organizational goals – and enrich a loosened hierarchical rigidity with a culture of trust can activate an inner drive that guides transformation in the right direction. They will also exceed by far what traditional monetary motivators and hierarchical structures can achieve, as by shifting from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation, they are able to initiate a phase shift from a mindset of demonstrated performance to an ambition for authentic engagement. Having in this way identified an alternative path to initiate drive and ensure direction in an organization, only one more factor is required in order to initiate transformation from inside: the ability to align the organization on a joint journey.

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Insofar as the identification of a purpose that transcends the shareholders’ interest and a leadership style that is built on trust already represent a challenge to our current management mindset, creating an aligned culture needs a further principle shift in what we have learned so far to be naturally associated with the role of the individual in a striving organization. Based on initial models of economy and the practical analogy to the early discoveries of Charles Darwin, competition and the survival of the fittest has become inseparably associated with organizational success. After the initial focus on the outward-facing relationships with the economic environment, gradually this strategy was also embraced as a core factor of success for the inner functioning of an organization. Promotion based on best competence, bonus schemes that award positive results and penalize mistakes, as well as comparative feedback across teams are only a few selected symbols of this mindset. What has been overlooked so far is that a process of selection out of the best available alternatives is only one of the secrets of success of natural evolution. Two more forces are required in order to avoid stagnation and ultimately extinction: the capability to innovate by creating completely new alternatives as well as the ability to cooperate. These have been largely underestimated in an organizational context due to their much less aggressive nature. While the first one is closely associated with the possibility of making mistakes and forms part of the trust culture described previously, the latter one has especially been seen as rather contradictory to competition and as such has been considered as the weaker option. But recent research in game theory has clearly proven that cooperation, while it might not be the most successful short-term strategy in individual interactions, is by far the winning strategy for sustaining success in the long run (Nowak and Highfield 2012). And it is the massive increase in the speed of interactions through new means of connectivity and the uncontrollable influence of social media feedback that has transformed our environment in a way that what had long-term implications some decades ago has become the new short term: social as well as economic interaction accelerate in an unprecedented way and force us to establish relationships that are able to sustain such a high frequency of interactions over time. While we need to rapidly shift our learned evaluation process of “taking the best for me” in relational interactions to cooperation in the light of this new situation, the weakest point of this strategy is the risk taken by whoever offers collaboration who may find that his/her counterpart has not shifted to the same approach yet and will attempt to cheat in order to achieve the best short-term outcome for him /herself. Although this remains a big risk in game theory within loosely related systems, the transparency and longevity of organizational relations provide the ideal ground for a collective shift in this regard. By determining a common framework of potential actions collectively through the establishment of a robust foundation of shared values, a strong culture of cooperation can be built on solid grounds that are not exposed to the constant risk of defection.

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Consequently, a common set of shared values is the third element for transformation from inside to occur. It will allow active cooperation between the members and keep the entire organization aligned towards a joint movement. However, a key prerequisite for this is again a wholehearted buy-in of all members of the organization into those values. A top-down educational process of predefined value codices might achieve a certain level of superficial compliance, but it will not by far be enough to build a solid basis for cooperation to emerge naturally. What is needed instead is a joint and inclusive process for any organization to identify its core values in order to ensure that the concept of superficial compliance is replaced by authentic commitment. In summary, if we are prepared to leave some of our mental models of human behavior in an organizational context behind – namely the need for a pure focus on shareholder value and the notion of ego-focused competition as the sole strategy to success – organizational transformation does not necessarily need to be enforced from outside. Instead, we can access the alternative option to initiate transformation from inside and even get the chance to achieve much more sustainable results. All that is needed is to identify the three core elements of an organization that lead to this transformation process from inside and accompany the organization in the process of living them in its full expression: a shared purpose that transcends the organizational goals, the appropriate conditions for the collective volition to emerge, and a foundation based on core values that are uncompromised by its members.

The Anatomy of the Organizational Soul In religions, mystical traditions as well as in philosophy, the uncarnate essence that characterizes a specific living being is typically designated as its “soul.” It comprises moral, spiritual, as well as philosophical convictions that influence thinking, decision-making, and action, independent from external factors. Like individuals, also organizations have lasting, nonexplicit traits that are shared by the majority of the collective, often vaguely denominated as culture. Independent of their assumed origin – a timeless impulse from the founding idea, a collective learning process during history, or the merging of convictions of its recruited members – they are characteristic for that specific organization, determine collective mental models, generic decision tendencies and actions and therefore represent the “Soul” of the organization. Due to the specific but timeless nature of the above described three essential elements of an organization that enable a transformation from within, a shared purpose, the core values and the collective volition can be considered as the key ingredients of what can be described as such an “Organizational Soul” or “Corporate Soul”: • The Purpose of the organization is an ambition outside and above the organization itself. It shifts the focus from what the direct organizational outcome is to what it does to relationships within and beyond its scope and defines a role within

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the next higher system in which the organization is embedded – one that transcends the organizational interests and relates its mission to a greater good. If an organization has a purpose, it is aligning to the needs of society, to the needs of the ecological environment, and perhaps to the needs of even higher orders of complexity. As such, it offers meaning and meaningful action to all members of the organization. On this next level of complexity, the purpose of a car manufacturer would be elevated towards the advancement of sustainable human mobility; the one of a food company to the provision of healthy nutrition to humanity as a whole. • Values shape communities. As they represent the unquestionable foundation of the organization, they allow for social cohesion to emerge and bind people together around what is most important to them. They are the cultural pillars of the community and – implicit or explicit – form the guide rails for behaviors and decisions but also shape inner attitudes. Forging relationships between people, departments, and teams and developing a deep and true understanding of the values embedded in the collective culture is crucial to building a community. Values in this form differentiate strongly from striking generic normative claims as they represent unique and uncompromising building-blocks specific to the organization that are shared by everybody and determine internal and external relations and characterize unique traits of the specific organization, e.g., “we care for each other,” “we lead by example,” . . . • The Volition of an organization represents the subjective driver and leads to a reservoir for engagement that is not accessible by external motivational means. It propels individuals to work with passion from their heart and no longer consider work as work but rather as service for a vision that reaches beyond their selfinterests. Its foundation is a context shift from enforced external direction to selfdetermined action to allow willpower to express itself. Being shared by the members, the volition is also the mainspring of team motivation. It is at the heart of a collective work-culture that inspires and encourages. Such conditions like “we thrive when we are empowered by trust” or “we thrive when we focus our determination on our purpose” describe the essence of what transforms motivation into action in the organization. As these three pillars of the Corporate Soul are still rather abstract in nature, they need to be simultaneously translated into necessary competences and concrete action plans that reflect their tangible expression in order to be able to manifest these timeless foundations within all organizational ambitions, actions, and relations. Therefore, two more elements build the dynamic bridge to the operational reality of the organization: • Capacities are the strategies that deliver the values, purpose, and whys of the organizational function. Capacities need to be built in order to translate the intangible qualities of the Soul in a way that they are able to guide an emerging reality. Capacities consist of skills and abilities, attitudes and behaviors, as well as spiritual insights and knowledge. For the organization, this means that it has to

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create the conditions for the individual to engage in a continuous learning process of translating the values, purpose, and volition into reality. Capacities are dynamic. When the experiences of acting in the current reality are connected to a deeper understanding of the values, purpose, and volition, the organization will often realize that it needs to elevate existing capacities or consider new ones. • Action Frameworks are the products and services that flow out of purpose, volition, and values and are enabled by the capacities developed in the organization. It is only through our actions that a soul speaks. When the actions are a result of all the above, others will recognize the organizational ambition. Products and services may change as a result of increasing capabilities to engage for the purpose; new products may emerge or they may simply stay but rise in their explicit quality. To summarize, the key elements of the integral anatomy of an Organizational Soul are the Purpose, the Values, and the Volition of the organization, as well as the core Competences and an Action framework. As highlighted before, each of these elements of the Organizational Soul cannot be prescribed top-down in a normative way but needs to emerge from the organization, ideally through an inclusive, collaborative process in order to reflect the true essence of the collective. This is valid for its timeless elements of Purpose, Values, and Volition as much as for its dynamic expressions in the form of Capacities and Action Frameworks. This appears to be in major contrast to a traditional leadership culture that attempts to achieve predefined results through a largely enforced top-down process. But what type of leadership is required to build such a space for transformation from inside to emerge?

Leadership Evolution The entirety of human history is a history of leaders who have left their imprint on society, with positive consequences but often also with negative ones. What has been understood as “good leadership” or “good governance” has changed over time, although the discussion about it has never stopped. Countless theories arguing the pros and cons of each leadership style have been published, while new labels continue to be invented, attempting to reflect the respective level of societal maturity and consciousness. What is true for society has an equal relevance for economy. A broad range of leadership styles can be identified that characterize business organizations. In a governmental context, the restriction to the national playing field and the direct dependence on the respective power constellation has led to a constant variation of manifestations, from an evolutionary progress to a cultural regression. Business leadership, on the other hand, with its constant exposure to external competition has followed a rather continuous evolution, striving for constantly increasing

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efficiency. Leaving fluctuations in speed and temporary periods of stagnation aside, business can be predominantly seen as a history of continuous progress, as any regression of one of its players is immediately penalized by its perishing. With some degree of simplification, four distinct phases in this economic evolution can be identified, each phase adding one additional layer of complexity to the leadership challenge of navigating through them (Fox 2017). For centuries in human history, economy could be considered more or less static. With the exception of occasional inventions, the main driver for sustainable success was the handover of traditional knowledge from one generation to the next. Due to the focus on maintaining and perfecting those specific skills, the corresponding organizational forms were either individual artisanal operations or small in size and largely family-based, typically led by the most experienced person in the specific domain. With the growing urban population and the massive expansion of mass production possibilities enabled by the industrial revolution, the focus shifted towards rapidly increasing the transactional output. Due to the efficiency gains from standardization and work-sharing, new multilevel hierarchical organizations rapidly emerged that aimed to ensure consistency through high levels of control and order. Speed became the main characteristic of this phase. The pace of the individual in initially completing a predefined task, and later assuming a duty at least within the tight constraints of predefined processes, emerged as a new dimension of limited individual autonomy. Heightened competition changed this world in the last decades of the last century and resulted in the need for multidimensional success strategies for markets, processes, and products, in a constant challenge to “win the race.” Prescribed task fulfillment increasingly needed to be replaced by a process of objective setting that required finding a balance between a multitude of – partly competing – success factors. Not speed, but the need for continuous acceleration further uplifted the dominant focus for any business endeavor. While still largely segmented within functional organizational silos, this enforced a further increase in the autonomy for the employees in order to keep pace. But nowadays, further effort is needed to maintain a leading position, especially as regularly disruptive changes do redistribute the cards overnight. In an attempt to ensure maneuverability in an increasingly complex environment, hierarchical decision processes, and individual performance are reaching their limits. Agile, cross-functional collaboration is required to further improve the organizational output. With the transition to the twenty-first century, we have left the realm of static competence, linear speed, and multidimensional acceleration and entered a level of economic evolution where performance within complex systems requires co-creative autonomy on a very new level, one that is able to activate collective engagement. To summarize, leadership in a business context can be historically clustered in four main phases that are representative of gradually increasing levels of autonomy for the individuals within the organizational environment (see Table 1).

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Table 1 The four phases of economic evolutions (Fox 2017)

Phase Dimensions Economic Focus Design Method

Economy 1.0 pre Adam Smith Static Copy

Economy 2.0 19th/20th century Linear Accelerate

Economy 3.0

Economy 4.0

after 1980 Multidimensional Win the race

Repetition

Learning curve

TQM, lean

21st century Dynamic Systemic lead within networks Dynamic adaptability

While this offers a helpful classification of leadership styles within the business context, it needs to be remembered that – as outlined earlier – any increase in organizational autonomy is by far not a singular step but rather a complex process of human relations within their hierarchical dependencies. Conditional to a healthy emergence of autonomy within an organizational context is an appropriate respective trust relationship between the leader and the subordinate, as only on this basis can control be lifted without the imminent threat of an undesired outcome. While this trust relation needs to be mutual, the asymmetrical power relationship requires that it can only evolve in two discrete steps. Even though the aim of agile organizations is that actions and decisions within a space of autonomy are undertaken by the subordinates, the vital prerequisite for such action to be intrinsically initiated is the credible belief of each individual that he/she has the full trust and protection of the leader (Narayanan 2012). As a consequence, an increasing level of autonomy needs to be initiated by an authentic granting of trust by the leader to the employee. Only on this basis can a reciprocal level of trust of the subordinate towards his/her supervisor emerge. Those two steps are vital in every phase of leadership evolution. Therefore, economic history can be generally classified into four phases of increasing autonomy, each consisting of those two separate sub-steps of top-down trust granting and bottom-up emergence of trust that are necessary for the expansion of autonomy onto the next level, resulting in eight distinct evolutionary levels of leadership qualities. For each of these levels, certain key typologies can be identified and distinguished that best describe each of those stages, albeit with a certain level of generalization, when looking at the many types of leaders across different (organizational) cultures (Fox 2017): 1. Self-focused Leadership (no trust, no autonomy): The self-focused leader embodies an almost dictatorial style of leadership. He/she is exclusively focused on his/her personal interests and is largely self-absorbed, expects people to serve him/her, and takes impulsive and unpredictable decisions based on a narrow world-view that excludes rather than includes the interests of others. If he/she is surrounded by others, they need to spend the larger part of their time serving him/her (and the leader’s ego) personally, instead of getting the work done.

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While this style serves the needs of imminent survival, it is barely suitable for any form of organization, as it neither leaves space for autonomy where individual engagement could expand beyond simple obedience nor does it create any preconditions for a mutual trust relationship. Its sole focus is the fulfillment of prescribed tasks that quite often lack any strategic logic in the interest of the whole. 2. Affiliate Leadership (little trust top-down, no autonomy): The rather kin-focused affiliate leadership is characterized by, and focused on, the creation of an inner circle of influence. It generates harmony among the closest affiliates, who are treated like family members, but it lacks ambition for integration with what lies outside of the kin. The leader is seen as a caring patriarch who leads and motivates through promoting the sense of belonging, via inclusion or exclusion. Loved and/or hated by the people, the affiliate leader triggers strong emotions and identification. Rituals, tradition, and a particular code of conduct are valued dearly and often passed on from one generation to the next, with the expectancy that they will continue. This is also what makes the organization rather slow to adapt, especially in a dynamic and increasingly complex environment. While no autonomy is granted, a certain level of trust granted by the leader to the immediate affiliates at least creates some preconditions within the kin for retrospective trust to emerge. As this trust is up to the personal discretion of the leader, it still does not form a sustainable and solid basis for the organization. Success remains therefore often limited to a local sphere of influence, while the outside world is often considered to be an adversary, which makes this organization still very vulnerable. 3. Authoritarian Leadership (little trust, little autonomy): The authoritarian Leader, often also referred to as commanding or autocratic, acts out of a position of unlimited power from where he/she commands and expects full obedience to the policies, procedures and goals he/she dictates. Committed to a particular ideology or target, there is virtually no lateral autonomy in the organization but a high level of pressure and control, ensuring compliance with the prescribed direction. Only the speed needed for completion leaves space for individual variation. The assumption with this style of leadership is that people need to be led by a strong hand, and that without force and intimidation, employees would not deliver, and would abuse their freedom, leaving the organization in a highly unproductive state. However, although it is efficient in delivering the maximum transactional performance, this leadership style determines a preset direction. While it replaces constant task control with regular progress review, the corporate culture that is based mainly on fear does not allow deeper levels of trust to build up that would foster authentic personal engagement, knowledge sharing, or innovation. Furthermore, the high level of pressure quite often puts little focus on regeneration and makes an unsustainable use of its employees. 4. Regulating Leadership (limited trust top-down, little autonomy): A regulating (respectively administrative) style of leadership is based on the assumption that only reliable and lean processes lead to quality and efficiency, and they need to be highly regulated. Any potential human lateral variation is eliminated as it is

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considered imperfect in quality compared to the best possible process design. There is a clear hierarchical organizational structure that prescribes and enforces a defined code of conduct on every level. The employees turn to the rules and processes for guidance instead of to a specific leader, and this mirrors the bureaucratic and mechanistic concept that lies beneath this style of leadership. The leader him /herself is rather invisible and represented more through the subordinates who execute his/her will. High levels of auditing activities and process documentation are characteristic for such organizations, which often refer to the need for safety or the next higher authority as justification for the high degree of formalism. While the leadership style relaxes slightly towards granting trust in the employees to voluntarily follow the direction, the number of rules, regulations, and processes that replace direct task control slow the organization down, especially in increasingly complex environments. The missing space for creativity and knowledge sharing, and the constraint to linear autonomy only within the tight constraints of the processes still massively reduce its innovation performance, although job security is very high and creates a certain level of collective confidence. 5. Pacesetting Leadership (limited trust top-down, limited autonomy): Pacesetting (also designated transactional) leaders are highly driven by their personal ambition for success. They want more done in less time and they push the organization to keep up with their pace. Using extrinsic rewards such as high bonus systems to motivate their people, they bring the rules of the marketplace into the organization, by inducing and pushing internal competition between their employees. Alignment and identification is created in order to streamline the forces to win the race against the competition in the market. Autonomy is expanded in such an environment – as long as it is focused on the success of the company and as long as the employees show high levels of engagement and commitment. On the other hand, the conviction the leader has of his/her own outstanding skills and knowledge hinders him/her from granting an extensive amount of trust in the capabilities of other people. While this style of leadership creates a highly dynamic and efficient environment that welcomes ideas and innovation within the constraints of preset mental models, the level of performance pressure on the individual is extremely high and drives organizations to the limits of what they can bear. Trust is accessible to the extent that the individual employee feels recognized in its competences, but he/she remains constantly threatened by an increasing pressure to improve. 6. Participatory Leadership (increasing trust top-down, limited autonomy): A Participatory Leader cares deeply for all employees, making their well-being and development a major objective of his/her leadership effort. Employees are guided in a coaching fashion that aims for empowerment and self-responsibility. As the leader trusts fully in the competence of his/her people, the level of autonomy in this organization is quite high, even though the coaching attitude of the leader remains a principle directive influence. Relatedness is also valued highly, so a lot of time is invested in community- and team-building as well as in co-creative learning.

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While this leadership style is able to create the foundation for a mutual trust relationship, the decision-making typically takes a very long time and is achieved through a broad democratic involvement that aims for collective consensus. As a consequence, within an omnipresent dynamic of the economic environment, it fosters an omnipresent doubt in the sustainable resilience of the organization. While the well-being factor of the people as well as their self-confidence in this organization is normally very high, the organization itself often lacks agility and dynamism in the market place; it easily becomes overly self-absorbed as a collective, risking efficiency-loss on many levels. The leader considers him / herself more part of the collective and leads from “behind the curtain,” which can create a “leadership vacuum.” 7. Transformational Leadership (increasing trust top-down, increasing autonomy): Transformational Leaders are characterized by their integrity, and a strong charismatic and caring personality that, once experienced, is never forgotten. This style of leadership can create a farsighted vision and is deeply committed to an overall mission that implies a higher purpose and serves a greater good. The leader leads by example, living in the way that he/she asks the people to do, thus functioning as a role model that people look up to and follow. He trusts all employees, considering them as competent, appreciates their expertise, and fosters their personal growth. As a result, they are granted a high level of lateral autonomy and are deeply involved throughout the entire scope of any transformation process – from the identification of the need for change to the creation of an inspirational vision to the execution of the necessary change – and as such also creates the conditions for tailored autonomy. While this organization offers a corporate culture of trust, innovation, and confidence, with a great impetus for positive change, it still often lacks continuity, as its success is strongly tied to the personality of the leader, even after he/she leaves. 8. Soul-driven Leadership (full trust top-down, increasing autonomy): Soul-driven Leadership combines the skills of a transformational leader with the inner attitudes and characteristics of a “Servant Leader” (Greenleaf 1977). Rather than focused on his/her own view of the ideal strategy to pursue, the leader is deeply committed to the Corporate Soul of the organization. He/she serves the greater good as well as its people through values-guided decisions and actions that display a high level of wisdom, maturity, and humility. The employees feel seen and appreciated and strive to contribute to their fullest capacity within their broad scope of autonomy. Ultimately by disconnecting the strategy from his/her own world-view, this leader transcends the need for leadership (and the attachment to his/her persona) altogether by creating a self-learning and empowered organization that accepts and respects the Corporate Soul as the guiding principle for all actions and decisions, carrying forward sustainable change independently from the person in power. While any situational organizational subcontext naturally calls for a tailored style of leadership and any generalization can only provide generic guidance, one can still see that each of these styles represents a discrete developmental stage in an

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Fig. 1 Qualitative overview of the key eight phases of leadership evolution

evolutionary process in terms of granted autonomy and the level of mutual trust and corresponds to a respective evolutionary level of our economy (see Fig. 1). Due to the high level of autonomy required and the associated need for mutual trust to transform an organization from inside and lead it towards a sustainably selfmotivated state of agility, creativity, and passion, it is ultimately the Soul-driven Leader that has the competence and skills to embrace the challenges. And it is his/her ambition to transcend leadership in its classical form that is able to create sufficient space for self-organizing systems to emerge that are the precondition for any transformation from inside.

Leading from Within As outlined before, the main elements for an organizational transformation process from the inside aim to have the same impact as the core factors of change that are the focus of a transformation process induced from the outside: The connection to a purpose within the next higher system of complexity provides direction, the inner

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volition drives the organization forward and the common values align everybody on a common path. What fundamentally needs to shift compared to a transformation from outside is the perceived “locus of causality” in the eyes of the employees for individual action. While traditional change is typically initiated by a leader and the individual can fully lean into the hierarchical order, a transformation from inside is foremost a collective elevation process of the entire organization from the bottom-up. Individuals’ actions are therefore no longer motivated by a striving for compliance with predefined behaviors established by higher level hierarchies, or by an ambition to meet expected preset targets, but emerge from an inner voluntary engagement and a conviction to be able to make an impact to the benefit of the collective purpose – founded on the confidence in the permission to take appropriate action. For most organizations that are predominantly built on a command-control culture, this shift represents a fundamental difference for both leadership as well as the organizational culture itself. While the soul-driven leader represents the ideal level of excellence in the economic leadership evolution that is able to support a transformation from inside, its competences and skills also require an equivalent high level of consciousness within the organizational culture and its members to flourish under such leadership. Consequently, in most cases the transition from a habit of externally induced transformation to the emergence of inner transformation is not a digital switch in culture but requires a synchronized transition process that is comparable to an accelerated form of the leadership evolution described before. Step by step, trust needs to be built while autonomy is gradually increased. The speed of progress in such a process is not only dependent on the organizational size but also largely on the experienced leadership history and the respective starting conditions and can easily be slowed down, especially by the tacit presence of organizational leadership traumata. A soul-driven leader needs therefore not only the ultimate competences to transcend leadership in a highly trust-based environment but has to integrate all previous levels of leadership skills in a healthy way in order to apply them during the transition in specific circumstances and gradually accompany the organization on the evolutionary path towards its full capability for transformation from inside through appropriate means. Four key phases have shown to be a helpful framework to accompany such a transition step by step: Drive: Developing a culture of authentic communication As all internal organizational relationships are built on a mutual exchange between individuals that is highly determined by the honesty of its expression, the primary skills that need to be developed, as a prerequisite for transformation from inside, comprise a culture of authentic communication. In the light of the fact that most hierarchical cultures are foremost power-focused, internal communication though is often far from being authentic, but rather misused as a means to exercise power within a constant competitive struggle to win. The primary focus of the leader should therefore be to ensure a shift from manipulative to meaningful

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conversations, as this is key to enabling open and frank dialogue about the inner reality of the organization and to obtaining a collective understanding about what is needed for progress to occur. Direction: Expanding energy towards the Corporate Soul Once this initial step of cultural change has reached a state where it has entered broadly the organizational relationships and has also become contagious, the organization – initially composed of individuals – has reached a state where it is ready to transform into a movement. At this point, the organization needs to be guided from a rather procedural cultural change focus on authentic relations towards a more content-oriented striving where the direction of actions becomes the center of orientation. Building on the insights discovered during the identification of the organizational purpose, a more soul-oriented discussion about how it can continuously improve its manifestation in the world can emerge. Naturally, conversations around the core purpose of the organization will revert to the questions on the necessary means for its manifestation and should build the natural ability to determine the capacities and actions needed for the next incremental step to occur. Alignment: Creating and embracing new models After this new culture has been able to find roots, the focus can be further elevated towards a more systematic approach to the organizational manifestation. Rather than initiating a constant flow of individual actions, the leader can further elevate the discussion towards a coordinated attempt to create new, more appropriate models. This includes a process of learning to think in systems in order to properly read reality in its full complexity, a conscious dialogue to challenge existing mental models as much as a controlled process to prototype, experience, and learn from new ways on managing the existing reality. Evolution: Elevating the perspective Finally, the evolutionary process of cultural transformation should be completed by developing the capability of critical and honest self-reflection and as such transit into continuously improving progress. Through the evaluation of what has been done before, the organization will learn how to increasingly create meaning and learn from its actions. Once established as a regular habit, this last step will ensure that the organization will remain vigilant and gets aware of changes within their environment that open new opportunities to progress – independent of the personality of the leader. The role of a leader in this process consequently moves from being the initiator towards being an enabler and ultimately to that of a servant to the Soul of the organization, whose final task is to create the optimal framework conditions that allow the individual to personally grow towards his/her best possibilities and to fill in his/her space within the organization. At the same time, the leader needs to accompany the organization on the path to high autonomy and mutual trust, while he/she remains the guardian of the Corporate Soul. This not only requires a completely new set of leadership skills but especially represents a challenge for the personality of the leader. In our fast-moving economy,

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the pressure for short-term results is continuously increasing, preventing most leaders from maintaining a long-view on the development of their organizational culture. Furthermore, our ambition to be able to measure results in a tangible form and directly attribute them to individual actions prevents us from focusing on creating the vital prerequisites for nonquantifiable targets – even if their importance is obvious. In the absence of reasonable measurements for innovation performance, collaboration, or the quality of client relations, most organizations instead limit themselves to transactional measures that are contained in their usual controlling tools and make decisions accordingly – often against their own convictions. Despite numerous attempts in the recent years to include competencies like empathy, collaboration, and empowerment into management skills, the avatar of an ideal leader is still predominantly characterized by its strong fact-based analytical abilities, its toughness to take difficult decisions in a challenging environment, and its visible impact on the organization. Training the organization to properly read the reality and trusting it to autonomously respond in the best way to a dynamic environment, refraining from direct intervention, and withdrawing from the imminent self-attribution of success, therefore requires a highly developed personality that can withstand external pressure and is prepared to take high personal risks in today’s leadership environment – at least until the performance criteria for leadership success are enriched by those yet unquantifiable factors that are decisive for sustainable success in a complex and dynamic environment.

Soul-Driven Mergers and Acquisitions The process of transformation from inside does not only expand the ability of an organization to better adapt to the dynamics of a changing environment but is also able to facilitate change beyond the familiar borders. In an economic reality where acquisitions and mergers have become a daily occurrence, this approach is also very helpful when it comes to changes of ownership and especially in the case of consolidation of previously independent organizations – one of the major root causes for organizational traumatization. What seems to be commonly recognized in a family context, when remarriage or adoption challenges a child’s personality with a complete new emotional and social context, has yet barely entered into one of the most impactful domains of corporate transformation. While acquisitions and mergers have become a huge business for many large consultancy firms, they typically focus on the tangible outside factors in such a process. Huge effort is often invested during the due diligence process where the audit of the financial numbers and the analysis of the legal framework conditions consume a large amount of energy in the attempt to understand the core of the business. Mainly on the basis of these parameters, sophisticated implementation plans are prepared

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and executed by dedicated M&A-project teams that aim to achieve sufficient “synergies” in order to rapidly create financial return. The design and composition of these plans does not differ a lot from any other transformation processes that are induced from outside – except in their high complexity, as they leave barely any domain of the organization untouched. Yet, they typically leave one of the most essential elements for future success in an increasingly complex environment out of the equation: the individual employee. As the human factor in organizations is typically considered as the most tangible element for reducing costs, the core focus in most merger processes is the alignment and fusion of the foremost separate entities into single operational units and the release of a noticeable amount of the workforce that is considered “redundant.” Ignoring the respective cultural context, these decisions are made from a predominantly desktop analysis of the organizational factors and usually limit themselves to anonymous headcount figures. This is in no way surprising as despite frequent lip service to the contrary, the employee is not recognized in a tangible way as a valued asset in our financial reporting systems and not represented beyond his/her direct costs in our economic equations. With a consistent focus on those financial figures, typically little is undertaken “below the waterline” during these processes. On the other side, in these instances most interpersonal relationships that have been able to build up over a long period of time become massively disrupted by such broad interventions. While this was not too relevant in a largely transactional economic system where the individual could be easily replaced, it is increasingly not the efficiency of the processes but the quality of the relationships that determine the quality of the outcome of most business endeavors. Therefore, by (unconsciously) undermining this foundation, mergers often fall short of expectations. Those disappointments are not surprising as in the outflow of massive organizational change most relationships are shredded and need years to heal, if this process is not properly supported. This is especially true for mergers where quite often previously competing organizations are newly set up with the intended goal to harmoniously collaborate on a common task. What would appear already to be a complex challenge when former enemies are supposed to become siblings, and new family members join an existing kin, is especially difficult in the light of an omnipresent threat posed by the underlying understanding that only a part of the previous populations will survive that process. While habitual relationships vanish on a broad scale through disruptive organizational change, fear further undermines the last remaining fragments of trust culture and prevents fundamentally new trust to build up. Although the principle challenge of the existential threat will remain, a carefully crafted process of “Merging the Souls” during a merger process is able to reduce the negative consequences for the organization as much as for the individuals. On the one hand, valuing the past and building the new reality on a foundation composed of the timeless cores of the previous organizations can ensure that relationships are not completely disrupted – and that they can rapidly be rebuilt on the fertile soil of what was familiar in the past.

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On the other hand, actively integrating the fundamental basis of the existing capacities into the future desired state will help to rapidly shift the focus to building a new, compelling reality and creating a vision of hope. Focusing primarily on the three timeless elements of the Corporate Soul – the purpose, the values, and the volition – such a merger process from inside comprises three steps in each of these aspects: the explicit recognition of the respective soul element of each party prior to the merger, the identification of a new identity that can be composed out of those vital factors, and the implementation of this new reality into the cultural DNA of the organization through aligned action and communication. Purpose: As most mergers typically combine individual entities that have operated in the same higher complex system, transitioning the initial purpose of each separate part into a new home is foremost a process that focuses on the analysis of the merged organization within that system and identifies the new possibilities of the combined forces to pursue a useful purpose within this larger context. Ideally and similar to the process of organizational transformation from inside, the new purpose should represent a higher evolutionary state within the next level of system complexity than the respective individual understandings that existed before. Values: More effort is required to fuse the individual value systems into a new merged identity. As the values are the foundation for the emergence of trust and the mortar for relationships to build, it is especially essential in a merger process that while the new value system needs to embrace all previously separated worlds, the link to what has been familiar in the past remains undisrupted. Therefore, the key focus needs to be on the precise and credible translation between what was reassuring the organizations before the merger and what is supposed to become the new environment. This is very different to processes where leadership attempts to educate their organization on compliance with an artificially composed value system in a topdown process. The merger of values needs to be driven bottom-up in order to be able to maintain the vital overlap between the personal values of each individual and the collective culture. Only by anchoring the future culture in what has been known and familiar before can the new value system appear as a harmonious upgrade to their previously known identity for everybody in the organization and can lead to a wholehearted commitment. Volition: Finally, identifying the specific volition of each team can help to compose a tailored new organization where the respective strengths of each culture can continue to flourish while the added elements are considered as enrichment for the merged organization in their striving for manifestation of its soul. Rather than carving out generic headcount numbers, this organizational design process should be very specific for each individual area where needed capacities should be matched with the respective volition. At the same time, its overall ambition needs to be highly inclusive regarding the specific differences in historic culture and aim for unity in diversity that values individual strength rather than encouraging assimilation. Only through such a

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process of “merging the souls” is a new joint endeavor able to build on both cultures in a healthy way. It will form the foundation for the new capacities so that action frameworks can be successfully obtained.

A New Quality of Organizational Transformation While our traditional mental models about leadership lead us to believe that organizational transformation is a laborious process that needs to be driven top-down and requires a constant investment of management energy, the activation of the Corporate Soul opens the door to initiate change from inside. This process is able to release yet unused intrinsic organizational energies and capabilities that create sufficient inner drive to continuously carry forward transformation at the level that is required today in a dynamic complex environment. At the same time, it provides sufficient guidance for organizational alignment to pursue a common target and ensures the guardrails needed for a culture of true collaboration to emerge. Its biggest challenge is the need for a new evolutionary level of leadership that is able to contain the stretch between personal accountability and the need for unconditional trust into the process and the members of the organization, the foundation for a truly agile organization to flourish. On the other side, once successfully implemented, the process of activating the Corporate Soul creates organizations that are largely self-guided and are able to develop a level of performance that by far exceeds any known hierarchical organizational model – in singular organizations as much as during a process of merging multiple organizational cultures. Acknowledgment “Building a vision of Hope” and “Soul Driven Leadership” are licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNoDerivatives 4.0 International License by Refresh Interactions B.V. (soul.com). Based on work at www.findingthesoul.org and www.soul.com

Cross-References ▶ Creating a Flow Organization to Lead into the Future ▶ Leadership Self Development, Maturation and Meditation: Elements of a Transformative Journey ▶ The Role of Self-Awareness in Personal Transformation ▶ The Transformation to Open Heart Skills and Mindfulness in Healthcare Using the INTOUCH Model ▶ The Truth About Transformation

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References Aghina W, De Smet A, Weerda K (2015) Agility: it rhymes with stability. McKinsey Quarterly, December 2015 Fox R (2017) Bionische Unternehmensführung. Springer International Publishing, Heidelberg Frankl V (2006) Man’s search for meaning. Beacon Press, Boston Greenleaf RK (1977) Servant leadership – a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Paulist Press, Mahwah Kaplan RS, Norton DP (1996) The balanced scorecard – translating strategy into action. Harvard Business Review Press, Boston Narayanan SS (2012) Quid Pro Quo nature of leadership trust formation – a Monadic study from the subordinate’s perspective. Int J Bus Manag 7(21). Canadian Center of Science and Education, North York Nowak M, Highfield R (2012) SuperCooperators: altruism, evolution, and why we need each other to succeed. Free Press, New York

Creating a Flow Organization to Lead into the Future Ruediger Fox

Abstract

Our traditional command-control-based business organizations seem less and less able to keep pace with the increasing complexity and growing dynamics induced by our globally connected economy. Success and resilience on this new level of societal evolution require organizational competences that are fundamentally different from transactional optimization and get rather undermined by our yet largely contest-based corporate cultures. System consciousness, corporate agility, and proactive collaboration can only emerge from an authentic collective focus and need to be fueled by intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation – ultimately from a place of flow. The Gross Corporate Happiness ® model represents the first integral framework that integrates all the key conditions for such a Flow Organization and provides the means to identify the relevant “acupuncture points” for an effective organizational transformation. In order to achieve a lasting shift in the traditional mental models, its introduction process ideally follows five distinct phases of a “Hero’s Journey” that ensure that the change is fully embedded into the DNA of the organization: Identifying the Organizational Soul, Creating a Movement, Shifting from Control to Trust, Transforming the Organization into a Community, and Focusing Energy on a process of Continuous Evolution. Keywords

Corporate happiness, Intrinsic motivation, Bhutan, Corporate Soul, Agile organization, Self-determination theory, Hero’s Journey, Flow, Organizational transformation, Collaboration, System thinking

R. Fox (*) GCH-Institute (Hamburg/Zell am Moos), Zell am Moos, Austria e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_24-1

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Contents A Fourth Dimension of Business Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An Evolutionary Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Historic EGO-Focus Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shifting to Intrinsic Motivation Within a WE-Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Need for an Integral Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Guidance from the Himalaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Gross Corporate Happiness Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Fundamental Shift in Leadership Paradigms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Hero’s Journey to Awaken GCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 1: Identifying the Soul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 2: Creating a Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 3: Shifting from Control to Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 4: Transforming the Organization into a Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase 5: Focus Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A New Quality of Organizational Evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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A Fourth Dimension of Business Dynamics With the dawn of the new millennium, we can no longer ignore the drastic acceleration of the dynamics in our global economy. While we are still trying our best to keep pace, some ground rules in business appear to have fundamentally changed, making it more and more difficult to follow them. Even Michael Porter’s three generic strategies of differentiation, focus, or cost leadership (Porter 1980), which have been our reliable guidance to sustaining corporate success since the 1980s, seem to have lost their cutting edge. In more and more industries, the concepts of leaning out processes and off-shoring to low-cost countries in the pursuit of cost reduction strategies have reached their limits; lower entry barriers for imitators have melted down product lifetimes and are undermining the ability to sustain differentiation; and new emergent technologies have even started to threaten the last remaining market niches. At the same time, driven by connectivity and globalization, almost all companies have outgrown the times in which they could consider their current businesses as part of an overseeable closed local system of limited complexity with a countable number of interrelated agents. Until recently, we could still at least analyze most business situations from a temporarily static perspective. Depending on a handful of known key factors, we were able to simulate our likely future through extrapolated business plans and, where needed, capture potential future uncertainties through a handful of alternative scenarios. But the unpredictability of more and more of these parameters forces us to add one additional dimension to the traditional equilibrium-oriented decision-making processes within our habitual planning cycles: the increasing unforeseeable dynamics over time.

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While we have been used to predicting future developments by extrapolating the past and did align our strategies accordingly, the “butterfly effect” of small changes in one context can nowadays massively influence other interconnected systems in an unpredictable way. What is known since decades as a characteristic of any complex, nonlinear, dynamic, deterministic system has now become daily reality of business and requires from organizations a new dimension of resilience to an omnipresent unpredictability. Adding this new dimension to Porter’s strategic approaches raises the complexity for our business strategies to a new evolutionary level and requires traditional command-control-based organizations to develop a completely new set of capabilities: • Cooperation: To remain a “differentiator,” it is not any longer the established product that is the key but rather the ability to position and constantly renew a tailored service within an integral, partially emotional user context and the competence to act within dynamic networks of fading borders between clients, suppliers, and partners. • Agility: “Cost leadership” is no longer about the ability to produce a product at the lowest direct cost, but rather the skill to efficiently moderate agile organizations that are able to handle a complex and constantly changing portfolio. • Innovation: And a “focus” strategy can no longer be built on asset-like knowledge heritage in a specific technical domain but needs a high level of continuous innovation performance in order to keep up with the pace of emerging technological possibilities. As a consequence, successful cooperation, efficient agility, and continuous innovation have become the new success factors of any business endeavor in order to achieve sustained resilience.

An Evolutionary Process This is not the first time in economic history that we have been challenged to recalibrate our focus. Looking at the core domains of any business – the product, the organization, and the clients – the evolution of economy shows that the factors for success changed every time the complexity of the economic system increased. With some degree of simplification, up until now three main phases of economic transformation can be identified, each phase adding one additional layer of complexity to the economic models with which we try to navigate through them. For centuries in human history, economy could be considered more or less singledimensional static. The main business goal – with the exception of occasional singular inventions – was to maintain specific skills and abilities from one generation to the next. Clients had no other option than turning to the monopolistic artisanal specialists within reach, and the traditional knowledge that was needed to generate

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the product was the core asset. Early organizational forms were largely command based and remained simple in structure and small in size. With the growing urban population and the recognition by Adam Smith of the need for increased supply (Smith 1776), the focus shifted – supported by the capabilities emerging from the Industrial Revolution – to boosting the transactional output of human manufacturing with the support of machines and the acceleration of the learning curve via mass production. New multilevel hierarchical organizations aimed to ensure consistency through high levels of control and order. To stay “best in class,” the business focus was to continuously optimize a singular core product feature based on historical know-how: a faster car, a stronger machine, or a more far-reaching plane. Business required increasing linear speed and become two dimensional. Heightened competition changed this world in the late decades of the last century and resulted in the need for a multidimensional strategic approach to markets, processes, and products, in a constant attempt to “win the race.” Investment into R&D resources became key to constant improvement of products in a multitude of their – partially competing – features: cars needed to be stylish, fast, efficient, and full of a range of extras and apparel needed to be highly functional, fashionable, and cheap at the same time. Success required constant acceleration within a threedimensional space of possibilities. Infected by this external environment, competition also became the inner organizational driver within the limited spaces of individual autonomy. But nowadays increasing effort is needed to maintain a leading position, while disruptive changes can redistribute the cards overnight. Product life cycles shorten to below traditional investment return periods, price erosion overtakes our ability to continuously generate productivity gains, client relations become increasingly emotional and volatile, and market borders lose their validity. However, what seems like a system decline in the face of an almost unbearable level of change dynamics can actually be seen as the dawn of the fourth phase of economic evolution, where organizations need to develop new skills outside of their traditional transactional concepts and opportunities emerge in a four-dimensional realm of space and time: • The ability to create mutually balanced relationships and collaborate within continuously evolving networks in order to maintain attractiveness in interconnected markets • The capability of reacting dynamically and adapting to unpredictable circumstances while minimizing the required administration • The willingness to tap into and unleash the collective intelligence in order to achieve sufficient innovation performance Looked at closely, these skills are not unfamiliar to us – we find evidence of their being mastered in the microcosms of the booming Start-up scene.The question that emerges is whether the small size of Start-ups – merely reflecting a single-digit percentage of our economy – is the vital prerequisite for the now so urgently needed

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organizational skills, while those get suffocated with the increasing size of an organization. Was Nicholas Negroponte, Founder of the MIT Media Labs, right when he eloquently stated more than 10 years ago that large companies need 50% of their people to manage the others, while those being managed need another 50% of their time to get managed – leading to 25% of net efficiency versus about 90% in Start-ups (Negroponte 2005). Or what does it take for large corporations to develop and master the competences that the global markets are asking for? How can we successfully navigate in the next phase of economic evolution?

A Historic EGO-Focus Paradigm Confronted with today’s market challenges, most organizations still strive to intensify what has proven to work in the past. Analogous to physics, increasing pressure is expected to lead to higher output, and it is assumed that tighter control will ensure the achievement of ever-increasingly challenging targets. So most companies magnify the carrots and accelerate the drumbeat of the sticks in their attempt to keep pace with the rising pressure for performance. But what we need to realize is that perfecting our established management methods of instruction and control has tended to inflate our hierarchical organizational efficiency in the light of rising portfolio complexity, as more and more administration is needed to micromanage and track the plans. Furthermore, our functional reporting line structures have fragmented our operations and limited the individual employee focus to specific task achievements, while at our back door, the need to have very different organizational competences is obvious: • An authentic service attitude, insofar as working within networks, primarily requires the ability to understand the larger system complexity in order to recognize and respect needs outside of one’s own microcosm and the competence to analyze multi-stakeholder situations in order to find an optimum balance of interest for all. • Agile and efficient organizations require mature personalities who do not simply follow instructions and preset plans but act self-motivated and responsibly out of an understanding of complex situations and wholehearted identification with the larger strategic context. • Continuous product invention is no longer the achievement of just a selected few talents; open cocreation becomes key to innovation performance not only due to multifaceted technological complexity but also due to the superiority of creativity pooling. And all three competences, whether operating within a network for mutual benefit, or engaging in systemic decision-making, as well as collaborating in knowledge domains, have one thing in common: they require the ability to transcend the

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interests of a singular personal focus and seek to proactively cooperate within and beyond the borders of the organization. While this is increasingly recognized, the core of our employee relations remains grounded in traditional bilateral work contract relationships, whose main purpose is to compensate the manifestation of formal competence in the form of individual task fulfillment with material means. This system was initially conceived on the assumption that maximizing individual transactional output (through triggering the desire to maximize personal return) would add up to the highest level of system performance. Very efficient in traditional Tayloristic systems, its main driver is the stimulation of self-centered behavior. Even our recent attempts to embed collaborative elements into increasingly sophisticated annual target agreements only create the illusion of a change in focus. Most of such “management by objective” systems are still rooted in the concept of mutual competition and add additional fuel to the fire of EGO-focused behavior. This is very much the opposite of what is required in the future. If we want to solve our future challenges and develop the associated competences within organizations, we need to systematically elevate the employee focus from optimizing its own microcosmos to an engagement in a higher context and disband our old mental models of mutual competition. We need to outgrow the culture of contest and replace it with a higher form of relationship that opens the space to transcend a pure EGO-focus (see Fig. 1).

Shifting to Intrinsic Motivation Within a WE-Space Taking a closer look at the aforementioned three key areas of competences, it becomes apparent that they fundamentally differ from any previous competences in the work context that were largely transactional focused. After decades during which organizational efficiency was synonymous with standardization, lean management, and ultimately the replacement of human transactions through machines (Industrial Revolution) or computers (Digital Revolution), those core skills have a very different focus: the high relevance of inherent human capabilities, namely, creativity, autonomous judgment, and empathetic fairness. Beyond their need to transcend a self-centered focus, continuous innovation, selfdriven efficiency in a complex environment and working within networks all call out for cognitive performance. While many schools of management are still searching for new strategies and tools to further optimize what has been successful in the past, we need to recognize the urgent need for a principle shift in our leadership priority: after designing out the human factor from traditional transactional processes, we now need to create organizational cultures that simultaneously provide the space and promote the motivation of employees to contribute with their core human competences. Furthermore, we need to recognize the limits of some of our traditional management tools that have served until now to drive employees toward performance.

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Fig. 1 All three core competence domains needed for future business success require a shift to a WE-focus

While extrinsic reward (and punishment) systems have some limited influence on transactional performance, research has clearly demonstrated in the past decades that they have a rather negative influence on cognitive skills – exactly those skills that are now increasingly determining future business success. Creativity, autonomous initiative, and any form of internalized fairness depend strongly on inner attitudes and an inherent willingness to apply those in a context. In contrast, external reward or pressure might superficially lead to formal compliance, but actually undermines authentic cognitive performance, but rather leads to a counterproductive search for shortcuts. For that reason, if we want to be successful in the global business world of the future, organizations need to create an environment that fosters intrinsic motivation, ultimately shaping spaces for individuals that allow reaching a state of flow within a work context. And such “Flow Organizations” need to be shaped along those three

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core drivers of intrinsic motivation that have been identified already by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in their Self-Determination Theory (Deci Ryan 2002) through decades of research: • Engaging in an empathetic relationship with the client and balancing the mutual needs within a network of partners requires a high sense of relatedness in order for an individual to be able to positively interact with interest groups outside of his own personal space. • Leaving the narrow, but safe space of prescribed task fulfillment and embracing entrepreneurial responsibility within a complex system, the acceptance of autonomy is a prerequisite to the receptivity for empowered decision-making. • Engaging into any form of knowledge sharing requires a robust level of selfperceived competence in order to recognize one’s own abilities to contribute but also to be able to accept the natural limitations of individual knowledge as much as the value of open exchange and cocreation. But in contrast to the rising importance of those organizational skills, our current reward systems, built for transactional performance and focusing on extrinsic motivational factors, broadly undermine these capabilities. Aligned along hierarchical structures and focusing on individual reward, those systems strengthen the feeling of disconnectedness to the whole; tight control and increasing pressure fuel the fear of leaving the space of prescribed transactions and embracing autonomy. Moreover, in the context of contractual trade relationships based on individual competence, any open sharing of knowledge actually equates to surrendering core ownership rights of the most valuable personal assets: individual knowledge. As a consequence, if we want to elevate our organizations to the next level of economic performance, we need to shift our leadership focus from our traditional extrinsic toolkit onto building the framework conditions for intrinsic motivation in the work context – and ban extrinsic motivation to the place where it belongs in the knowledge industry: a hygienic factor. And it is not only along autonomy, relatedness, and competence, the three motivational lines identified by the Self-Determination Theory, that we need to enable the cultural shift from a self-centered maximization attitude to a collective focus. In a work context, such a collective space must be a continuum that is able to connect the personal work experience to an overall organizational context of purpose. Beyond the personal space, it is further determined by two other relational factors: the team context, defined through coworker relations, and the institutional reality of the company. These three relational levels have been identified as essential by Vallerand in his Hierarchy Model (Vallerand and Ratelle 2002) who demonstrated that intrinsic motivation is determined not only by situational factors but also by contextual as well as global framework conditions. Such a shift requires three vital steps within an organization: Firstly, expanding the motivational context from an individual to a collective space in order to allow

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each employee the possibility to connect to a shared purpose. Secondly, the purpose of that space needs to reach out beyond the pure interests of the organization, so that motivation can naturally transcend it and evolve beyond reward-driven self-optimizing behavior. And thirdly, it needs to be consistent and authentic in order to allow the individual to naturally relate his personal contribution to it and to allow the development of an aligned drive. In contrast to a focus on the maximization of the material benefits and the competitive culture of our existing reward systems, only a common purpose of the work context that relates to a higher level of consciousness can ignite the motivational effect of a true purpose in life. Mission statements that prioritize the optimization of the shareholder return or aim at winning the race do not fulfill such criteria, as they simply shift the EGO-focus onto a collective level. In contrast, transcending the mere organizational business ambitions to move toward a meaningful function in the larger social and environmental system, one that is able to include space for collective personal growth, will inspire the employees to move beyond personal gain and will encourage them to contribute to such a purpose. Furthermore, such a contextual space needs to be free of contradictions. This means that the work reality experienced on an individual level needs to be consistent with the interpersonal reality within the organization as well as the institutional level in its relation to the greater whole. Only then will individual goals naturally align with the targets of a team, as well as with the purpose of the company as a whole, and we will see WE-focused behavior emerge autonomously. To summarize, elevating our organizational culture to a level that enables the development of the competences needed to succeed in the new update of our economy requires the stimulation of intrinsic motivation and its redirection to a collective focus. Only this can shape resilient organizations that radiate “magnetic” client attraction, engage efficiently in complex environments with high autonomy and little need for control, and maximize innovation performance through the open fusion of collective intelligence and creativity. Ensuring such a cultural shift within an organization needs more than planting selective seeds and expecting the outcome to grow by itself. It requires an integral model that is fundamentally different to our previous method of leadership, one that becomes ingrained in the organization through a coherent transformation process. A closer look at the relational space between the members of an organization and the organization itself will reveal the magnitude of the gap that has been gradually opening up as a result of increasing organizational inner pressure – and will specify the space where such transformation needs to be embedded in order to allow a constructive healing and the new culture to emerge.

The Need for an Integral Model While our hierarchical structures keep intensifying the pressure for performance, they have unintentionally narrowed down the working relationship with the employees to the terms of the explicit physical labor contract.

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But besides the tangible trade between performance and financial compensation, the relationship between each member of an organization and the organization itself also comprises a complementary element “below the waterline.” This “psychological” work contract represents a truly important relationship between the employer and the employee, as it is the core foundation of intrinsic employee motivation. In contrast to the physical work contract that trades measurable deliveries mainly in the form of time (and occasionally some measurable performance deliverables) against “hard” extrinsic compensation in the form of salary and potential fringe benefits, the psychological equivalent exclusively encompasses mutual “soft merchandise.” And while the pay-performance relationship works directionally from the delivering employee to the compensating employer and is rather stable over time in terms of quality, the power relationship of the psychological relationship is directionally reversed and is actually very dynamic. The employees’ motivation for “soft factor performance” is a reaction to the working conditions experienced within the organization. Furthermore, it serves as a compensatory element in case of subjectively perceived imbalance in the physical work contract. Marginalizing the core elements of the psychological work contract, we risk employees’ identification with their companies fading and the cohesion between employees and leadership disintegrating, leading to a downward spiral toward a collective “Corporate Soul Burnout.” Despite its obvious relevance, the knowledge about the key contributing factors in this psychological equation is largely limited. While most managers might still have clear (tacit) expectations of their employees such as boundless commitment in form of loyalty, engagement, creativity, and motivation, the necessary scope of their own contribution to this trade-off is rather vaguely identified. In the past years, countless studies have tried to identify the relevant criteria that can provide guidance on the most important set of “soft factors” regarding employee well-being and motivation in an organizational context. Whether temporary new trend or systematic “certification” program, what they all have in common is that they are mainly empirically based on employee opinion polls. As a direct consequence of this methodology, they all suffer from a natural bias which Easterlin (2001) and others have emphatically demonstrated for this type of approach: a strong focus on the satisfying of short-term hedonistic desires and a broad negligence of fundamental framework conditions for Eudemonic well-being, which are either taken for granted or considered to be out of reach. So in reality, even today’s best-meant concepts targeted at supporting employee motivation are built on shaky grounds – with an emphasis on short-term “fireworks” rather than on a long-term systematic creation of a deeply motivating corporate culture. Yet selective actions in the employer-employee relationship cannot build a solid foundation for satisfying the psychological work contract. With an approach most likely inherited from the time when we were still living in the jungle, human beings do not average out their various perceptions about the environment in order to come to a comprehensive and balanced judgment of their own personal well-being. Like

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our ancestors in moments of threat – when they noticed the stripes of a tiger while at the same time birds were singing in the trees and colorful flowers covered the ground – we are programmed to filter out the good in order to concentrate on and respond to the potential dangers around us. When our instincts take over, we are not able to perceive a situation that contains both – good and bad or safe and potentially dangerous elements – as “in average moderately well.” Instead, we instinctively redirect our focus on the threat and run. Likewise, any major gap in the fulfillment of the employees’ key needs out of the psychological work contract outweighs all other well-meant initiatives. This means that now – more than ever with the demands of an ever-evolving economy on our backs – we need an all-encompassing theory on human motivation in the work context. As outlined before, this theory has to not only be proved valid in the fulfillment of the relevant key domains in the psychological work contract but also needs to match the two most compelling – yet still competing – theories on intrinsic motivation at work: • The Self-Determination Theory that has distilled the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence as cores to foster an environment of intrinsic motivation – which ultimately is the fertile soil for any state of flow. • The Hierarchy Model of Motivation that claims the relevance and mutual influence of the global, the social, and the individual context on individual motivation. Creating a space not only on the individual level but also in terms of the team and institutional reality, where competence, relatedness, and autonomy can evolve to a WE-focus, would therefore seem to represent the blueprint for the “holy grail” of leadership for the next evolutional step of our economy (see Fig. 2). However, within the domain of organizational leadership or management, so far no model can be found that comes even close to those requirements.

Guidance from the Himalaya In the absence of anything in the space of organizational management, it was ultimately the tight correlation between flow, as the highest form of intrinsic motivation, and happiness that inspired to searching such an integral leadership framework in one of the most systematic models in the happiness domain: The concept of Gross National Happiness (“GNH”) that was introduced about four decades ago by the fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in Bhutan. For many years a rather neglected concept, it has received much international attention in the past 5 years in the global search for new national measurement concepts “beyond GDP.” Recommended by the United Nations in 2011 as a role model for national governments, this concept accounts for the holistic well-being of citizens while aiming to catalyze sustainable growth across the nation. Instead of focusing solely

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Fig. 2 For the three core competence domains to evolve, organization need to foster autonomy, competence, and relatedness on three levels

on the gross domestic product (GDP) as measurement for progress, the architects of this framework recognized that for human well-being, other aspects besides material wealth must be taken into the equation. Specifying nine key life domains that are evaluated through 37 sub-indicators, the GNH model claims to represent a holistic view of the variety of human needs and serves the Bhutan government as a guiding instrument for their strategy process, leading the economic and social development of the country in a way that can be compared to a balanced scorecard. The nine domains of the Gross National Happiness model in Bhutan: 1. Psychological well-being 2. Health

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Time use Education Cultural diversity and resilience Good Governance Community vitality Ecological diversity and resilience Living standard

While the idea to reach out to a concept from a small state in the Himalaya in the early phase of its economic development to find a solution for our highly efficient and industrialized economic world might appear bold at first sight, the governmental challenge to lead half a million people is in reality of a similar dimension as that faced by some of our global corporations, with comparable multilocation challenges and internal cultural differences. Furthermore, independent of the level of material development, the basic elements relevant for human well-being and growth should not differ between the social world and that of business. But most striking is the analogy between the Bhutanese striving for a high level of well-being under constrained material conditions – in conjunction with their commitment to a neutral national footprint – and the core challenge of organizational performance in a company to achieve a high level of employee motivation with limited economic maneuvering space, while limiting any consumption of assets to the company’s ability to regenerate them. From this perspective, the exploration of a leadership concept rooted in the GNH philosophy, but transferred into our modern business context, should certainly seem more obviously applicable in the search for a comprehensive model for employee motivation.

The Gross Corporate Happiness Model Starting with the initial quest for an integral framework that is able to foster intrinsic motivation with a collective focus in an organizational context, we have already concluded that merging the most compelling theories in this context leads to the requirement of a model that is composed of nine core criteria that meet a 3 x 3 matrix – having autonomy, relatedness, and Competence as one dimension and the personal context, with team relations and the overall organizational system, as the other. The simple fact that the holistic approach of the GNH model for general wellbeing is also composed of nine factors gave further motivation to evaluate the usability of the concept within an organizational environment. For this purpose, each criteria and indicator of the GNH framework was transferred from the concept that was originally specified for a country’s government into a business context. For some of them, this exercise was fairly straightforward, while others required in-depth research in order to safeguard equivalent intentions (see Fig. 3).

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In particular the 37 individual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the GNH model that in Bhutan identify the core reference values for each life domain, and their underlying philosophy, extensively documented by the Bhutanese institutions, served as a valuable source to ensure that the human concepts were conserved when identifying nine comparable domains which qualify to compose an analog concept for the business context. This gave birth to the Gross Corporate Happiness ® (“GCH”) model. Analogous to its Bhutanese roots, it is composed of nine core domains that in turn specify the relevant criteria for the relationship between an organization and its members: 1. The key elements of material and immaterial Positive Recognition that encompass a balanced combination of financial, personal, and symbolic recognition, in conjunction with the necessary level of perceived justice and security: While empirical research has extensively demonstrated the limited impact of increasing income on personal happiness once it exceeds a certain basic threshold, the myth of monetary reward as the dominant motivating factor in the work context is still a widespread conviction of both employees and executives and continues to play an integral role in the majority of management concepts. In order to embed income into a holistic framework of recognition, money as a motivator first needs to be demystified to a reasonable level and become only one relevant factor among many, reduced to its role as a “hygienic” part in the physical labor contract. While the overall goal of any remuneration system remains to ensure a high level of sustainable welfare for all employees through the direct distribution of goods and benefits, at the same time it is necessary to avoid the collective race for personal income maximization, as it undermines any culture of collaboration. Furthermore, the impact of work-compensation systems does not only depend on the objective level of monetary benefits. Due to quite a broad bandwidth through which an individual could interpret extrinsic motivation factors out of context, the system must also satisfy the substantial justice needs of employees through perceived fairness. The subjective value of income is also influenced by the extent to which the employee feels that he can rely on it in the future. Two factors are relevant for this level of perceived job security. While the overall economic situation of the company and its historic resilience determines general trust in the employer, the quality and content of received feedback impacts the personal sense of security within the individual work situation. Beyond this, the quality of the work environment mirrors the respect expressed by the organization for the individual’s contribution and complements the set of factors relevant for recognition as well as employee happiness. 2. An intensive level of Holistic Care that combines preventive measures and voluntary offerings for physical care and mental balance: Due to its strong influence on overall life expectation as much as its impact on the individual’s ability to enjoy life, personal health is one of the key prerequisites for an individual’s happiness in terms of duration as well as intensity.

Creating a Flow Organization to Lead into the Future Fig. 3 Transferring the GNH model into the Gross Corporate Happiness framework

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The responsibility of any organization to support a healthy life extends significantly beyond the legal requirements for health and safety of their employees, given the facts that it is accountable for the framework conditions for an extensive part of an employee’s personal life and that about a quarter of social health deterioration is dependent on “easily modifiable lifestyle factors.” In the Preamble to the Constitution of the WHO (World Health Organization), health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” An organizational role that fully embraces its responsibility for the holistic health of employees without infringing upon personal space for selfdetermination is best reflected by the terminology of “care” described by the philosopher Martin Heidegger. He defines the optimum mode of care as a balanced combination of “intervening-dominant” measures and “precautionaryliberating” offerings in order to harmonize the conflict between intervention and self-determination rights. Health care in the corporate context should therefore ideally reflect this approach, thus making intervention comprehensible and acceptable to employees. 3. A Learning Organization that determines the evolutionary speed of an organization in close analogy to the concept specified by Peter Senge (1990). It embraces the need of any organization for constant and collaborative learning in order to be able to adapt to an ever-changing dynamic environment and to address human ability and natural striving for continuous expansion of knowledge: Most organizations still expect the dominant part of the learning process of their employees to be completed prior to entering the work environment. The physical work contract typically reflects this mindset in the form of a documented trade relationship of individual competencies against financial compensation, and the individual is expected to focus on serving the organization by utilizing these competencies. This concept neglects not only the fact that due to a massive acceleration in the evolution of technology and increasing complexity, in the past decades a constant need for organizations to continuously update and expand their competencies has emerged. It also ignores human ability and natural longing to learn and increase knowledge over an entire lifespan. While an initial formal education might be largely completed before joining the working context, any organizational environment should provide the means to continuously grow knowledge, ideally through the open sharing of collectively gained experience. In order to ensure that such learning is not constrained by any collective limitation of perception, e.g., prejudices, habits, or preset solutions, a discipline of striving for an overall system understanding and a regular questioning of one’s own knowledge and processes is required to keep a continuous evolution of the organization in motion, and balance phases of efficient routine with disruptive innovation.

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Both the employee and the organization will benefit strongly from a culture that is able to shift from a focus on knowledge preservation, barely able to keep up with the increasingly fast changes in the environment, to a forward-looking style of learning that continuously brings forth crucial skills for realizing a personal as much as a collective vision. 4. A high level of Responsible Governance that determines and safeguards the individual space for action within an organization. It aims to create a culture of trust in leadership by all stakeholders through honest transparency, a high level of trust in leadership, high efficiency, and participation: Since its emergence in the 1990s, “Corporate Governance” has been mostly focused on the creation of standards for management that aims to protect the interests of shareholders. While this is still very relevant, the Gross Corporate Happiness model includes a much more comprehensive definition that includes responsibilities toward all core stakeholders: the shareholders, the employees, and the society as a whole. Firstly, the active willingness for full social and ecological transparency is an indicator for the authenticity of any organization’s ambition to integrate harmoniously into society. Frameworks like the UN Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative or B-Corp for companies can be considered as equivalent counterparts to human rights, since they both define internationally recognized minimum standards for entrepreneurial activity. Similarly, the level of trust in leadership to guide the organization toward sustainable success is not only relevant for shareholders but also widely recognized as a vital factor for the engagement of employees. Furthermore, the performance and leanness of the administration arise from the fact that the actors involved in administration are typically perceived as the “agents” of the leadership, and their use of resources and their integrity are interpreted as a direct reflection of the quality of Corporate Governance. And lastly, an active participation of a higher number of parties involved in decision-making generally results in more and better solutions, ideas, and arguments by making use of collective wisdom and experience. The different perspectives, once aligned to the same purpose, can enrich each other to produce the best outcome. 5. A credible Strategic Sustainability strategy that recognizes the dependencies but also the responsibility for all organizational activities as well as its products and services within the larger social and environmental system – simultaneously a condition for resilience of the business model as an expression for an authentic culture of care and as a role model for the employees and the business: While traditional economic business models only restrict the consumption of the “Commons” – i.e., natural resources owned collectively by humanity (e.g., air, water, nature) – to the extent it is requested by law or results in material costs, the fact that our collective activities have by far exceeded the level of regeneration capacities of our planet since the last quarter of the past century has gradually made society aware of the limitation of those earthly resources.

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As a consequence, aside from the collective moral obligation of business not to destroy the livelihood of future generations, business models without a consistent strategy for sustainability will be threatened from three sides with accelerated intensity: increased legal limitations from national and international bodies, increased public pressure from inside and outside of the organization, and increased risk of supply. Core to a sustainability strategy should be foremost the minimization of resource consumption in key environmental areas (such as energy, raw materials, and water) as well as the prevention of pollution (e.g., waste, CO2) or any deterioration of environmental parameters through the organization’s activities. This “ecological footprint” of an organization concerns firstly the impact of imminent organizational activities but for an integral assessment should include the entire “supply chain.” Such increasing environmental awareness of the organization can further evolve into a role model that inspires the individual sense of responsibility of the employees and also impacts activities outside of the business context. The products or services delivered by the organization themselves also need to be a core element of its sustainability strategy – in two regards. First of all, the extent to which they (positively and negatively) contribute to any global risks, whether environmental, social, geopolitical, technological, or economic in nature, is closely related to the overall purpose of the organization and represents a crucial part of the Corporate Soul. Although such a positive contribution improves employee motivation through an increased sense of purpose, there is a flip side: a perceived risk that increasingly challenging ecological requirements could jeopardize the existing business model and undermine the employees’ security needs. Furthermore, the irresponsible or even unethical behavior of many organizations has led many employees, managers, and workers to live a kind of schizophrenic lifestyle – betraying the very convictions that they might value as a private person and that they teach their children at home. The acute need for action in many organizations and thus the pressure to innovate on the existing product portfolio not only represents a business opportunity but also bears the risk of inducing fear, denial, and resistance to a full commitment to sustainable engagement in the organization. 6. An active Corporate Soul as the timeless essence of the organization that provides a deep sense of purpose to the entire organization, guidance for all its striving, a strong reference for identification to its members, and an uncompromising value framework for all its actions (see also Chapter “▶ Activating the Corporate Soul” in this Handbook): The diffuse combination of traditions, values, beliefs, and rituals within a group or an organization is often referred to as the corporate “culture.” This term was initially used to describe a purposeful and creative human impact on the surrounding nature. While such a definition would include any form of civilization or any type of submission of nature under the dictate of the human being, it is commonly

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understood1 that it is the inner ethical value system that differentiates arbitrary behavior patterns from culture. Thus, independently from the context, one could describe culture as targeted actions within a value framework. The domain of Corporate Soul adds another dimension to this. While most corporate cultures are considered random combinations of cultural elements at a specific point in time that are influenced by various time-bound factors and exposed to the dynamics of employee turnover, the concept of a Corporate Soul adds a timeless dimension to it. It contains an orientation toward a higher purpose within the next complex system at its core that is anchored in its foundational idea and gives a normative element to its future orientation. Through these three aspects – the current cultural expression, the value system, and the relation to a higher purpose – the Corporate Soul can fulfill its primary two functions, which is to provide identification as well as a clear orientation for action to all employees. Made explicit, it becomes an emotional “home” to the employees, for whom the workplace is no longer interchangeable with any other company. Ideally, all key historical stages of the organization can be related in a logical and consistent way as evolutionary stages of a shared identity. While it integrates existing concepts of organizational culture, vision, mission, and values, it also adds a lasting purpose for the organization at its core that goes beyond the interests of the leader and transcends the economic priorities and the material dimension of the purely functional purpose of the organization. 7. A high level of Collaborative Agility that emerges from a culture that has successfully replaced mutual contest with the spirit of collaboration, enables the organization to act like an interconnected organism in its ambitious striving for joint excellence, and where employees become members of an inclusive community: The prevailing concept of organizational efficiency – especially in business – is still based on the idea that by stimulating human self-interest, internal competition between the employees will lead to the highest outcome. This results from the assumption that the pursuit of maximizing personal benefits on the one side and the pursuit of excellence, innovation, and productivity on the other are identical twins. However, such a culture of contest is becoming increasingly maladaptive in an environment of rising complexity and dynamic change. By segregating the pursuit of economic success from the stimulation of selfishness, it becomes apparent from game theory that a much higher level of excellence can be achieved when cooperation and collaboration dominate organizational striving. Such an organizational culture does not only bear the potential to exceed by far any earlier managerial strategies but is also able to maximize employee motivation as it is much more in harmony with natural human needs for belonging and

1

See I. Kant, Idea for a universal history (1784).

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collective success. It strongly reduces the individual stress level as it allows his mind to relax from permanent alertness and lets him shift his creative energy from survival strategy mode to the contribution to a shared purpose. Key for this process is a healthy social environment that supports it – often also designated as social capital. Functionally, it comprises the supportive relationships between the members of an organization that host the intended actions of the individuals, fostering the free exchange of knowledge, creativity, and innovation. In addition to a trustful baseline structure, it comprises mutual obligations and expectations, information channels, informal norms, and relational sanctions. Only an organization where the employee can freely “breathe” and where diversity has transformed into proactive inclusion allows for the full development of his personality and enables full personal growth, a core prerequisite not only for success but also for enduring satisfaction in life for those involved. And finally, the abolition of any form of power abuse is a necessary prerequisite for the deployment of a community culture, as it allows the organization to focus its collective energy on common goals, instead of investing in defensive internal routines and mechanisms. 8. Ensuring Balanced Lifetime by recognizing that the balanced use of available time is essential for a holistic positive life experience, given that work competes with multiple other areas in life for the same limited resource: While the focus of the other eight domains of the Gross Corporate Happiness model is to create workplace conditions that maximize employee happiness and as such enhance the work experience, it is still vital for each employee to spend sufficient time on other areas in life in order to enrich his life experience through uncommitted phases of relating and recreation. Recognizing work as an essential element of human life, this relates to areas of emotional intensity like family and close social contacts but also to relaxation phases for leisure and rest that serve to recharge reserves of human energy. In the absence of ideal time buckets for each of those areas of life, the focus of this domain is on measures that support the process of personal balancing between the three key life priorities: work activities, family and leisure, and sufficient recovery periods. It places special attention on the awareness level for a balance between those three areas, to reduce the stress level induced by competing priorities, by offering more flexibility and especially ensuring that nonwork periods can be fully enjoyed by protecting them from work-related worries. 9. Conditions for a healthy Psychological Well-Being that is determined by two fundamental orthogonal dimensions, namely, the range of positive perception and the level of arousal, as well as sufficient space for the practice of one’s individual spirituality: Caring about the Psychological Well-Being of employees is essential, as their state of mind not only reflects their level of happiness but greatly influences their willingness to engage and the quality of their performance. Hence, an inquiry into the cognitive and situational-emotional state of the individual is a core element of

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most employee satisfaction evaluations, although it is typically conducted in a linear rating. However, there is a general consensus in the research on Psychological WellBeing at work by Peter Warr that two different orthogonal dimensions – joy (“pleasure”) and arousal (“energy”) – are both relevant for the determination of context-free but also context-specific mental well-being within a working environment (although the joy aspect does represent the more dominant dimension) (Warr 1999). For that reason, the “Psychological Well-Being” indicator of the Gross Corporate Happiness model comprises a combined evaluation in both dimensions, thereby complementing common conceptions of subjective workplace well-being. Furthermore, the level of spirituality is added, as most recent research has undoubtedly demonstrated its positive influence on Psychological Well-Being as a counterpoint to purely material-focused worldviews and desires. What is stunning is that these nine GCH dimensions happen to reflect the need for autonomy, relatedness, and Competence, each on all three contextual levels of a corporate environment, i.e., the individual experience, the team relations, and the overall corporate space, and build a logical bridge to the structure defined earlier that would best support the organizational competences required in the future: • The feeling of competence, stimulated through recognition (individual) and guided by the Corporate Soul (institutional) can evolve into a true Learning Organization (team) and prepares the ground for creativity and collective innovation. • The feeling of autonomy, supported by Lifetime Balance (individual) and inspired through healthy Responsible Governance (institutional) fosters Psychological Well-Being (team) and builds the basis for trust and entrepreneurial engagement. • The feeling of relatedness, activated by care (individual) and granted through Corporate Sustainability (institutional), allows Corporate Agility (team) to grow, which fosters the passion for a joint endeavor that is able to build networks and magnetizes client relations. As a consequence, this Gross Corporate Happiness model manages to integrate harmoniously both the Self-Determination Theory and the Hierarchical Model of human motivation (see Fig. 4). It can therefore be concluded that the nine domains contained in the Gross Corporate Happiness model represent the key lifelines for human intrinsic motivation in an organizational context and as such form an integral “soft currency basket” for the psychological work contract. Since its creation, the GCH framework has been empirically validated through extensive research with a number of major listed companies, representing a broad spectrum of different industries and sizes (Fox 2014); in multiple organizational settings it has proven to be an efficient and integral framework for providing the optimum environment for intrinsic motivation to emerge.

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nsi

ba lifelance tim d e

in tri

re go spon ve si r na ble nc ps e yc h we olo llb gic ein a g l

ive sit ion po gnit o re c

extrinsic motivation

ng n r ni tio lea niza a org

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us on fo c tiv a t i E W c mo i ns tri

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WE c m fo c u s o ti va t io n

c o rp o ra te

holistic care collaborative agility sustainability

in t r in s i c m o t iv a t i o n W E fo c u s

Fig. 4 The Gross Corporate Happiness framework matches perfectly the organizational blueprint for the new competences to emerge

It is the first integral leadership model of its kind, enabling even large organizations to elevate their culture on a level of intrinsic motivation and collective ambition that until now has only been known within a Start-up setting. Furthermore, like the KPIs of its national reference model in Bhutan, the individual indicators associated with each of these nine dimensions can be largely objectified. As such, rather than referring to the questionable results of employee polls, they form a comprehensive framework that helps to identify the most relevant “acupuncture points” within the organization that need to be activated in order for such a culture to emerge. Having now specified in detail the blueprint for a Flow Organization, adjusting an organization from a traditional command-control set-up to the dynamics of the globalized and interconnected world in such a way requires a radical redesigning and a major phase shift in the relationship between an organization and its members.

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As leadership is the prevailing institution that influences the work environment, the introduction of the Gross Corporate Happiness framework and mindset requires on one side a fundamental revision of some of the core leadership paradigms that we have embraced since the initial design of early economic structures. On the other side, especially within larger organizations, its systematic introduction should be embedded into a profound transformation process that is able to deeply embed the new mindset in the entire organizational culture, its processes, and its relations.

A Fundamental Shift in Leadership Paradigms The shift from extrinsic motivation, i.e., activities that are initiated by a perceived “locus of causality” outside of the inner self, toward any type of intrinsic motivation is closely related to the level of activation of the underlying fundamental driver and compass for self-motivation: the individual’s quest for life satisfaction. This pursuit of happiness has existed since mankind emerged from the phase of pure fight for survival and started to develop its ability for self-reflective consciousness. Ancient philosophical concepts that attempted to identify the core parameters of happiness are documented in all cultures and include Confucian authors (e.g., Mencius, 372–289 BC), ancient Greek philosophers (e.g., Aristotle in “Nicomachean Ethics,” 384–322 BC), as well as Islamic thinkers (e.g., Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī, The Alchemy of Happiness 1058–1111). Independent of time and political or religious orientation, one common element is that the pursuit of happiness transcends the fulfillment of basic physiological or instinctive needs and as such represents a unique characteristic of the human species. Until today, various schools of thought cover everything from the maximal pursuit of hedonic experiences to the concept of a eudemonic “good life” or even to meditation techniques that aim to reach a state of stable emotional equanimity, detached from the material world. With self-focused hedonism at one end of the scale and selfless service at the other, there often seems to be little ground for commonality between humans. However, while discussions mostly aim for polarization and individualization, a more integrative view on the history along with recent psychological research indicates the existence of a set of core common aspects of this quest for “happiness.” Furthermore, it is determined by inner competences, which include the ability to cope with challenging situations and emotions as much as an increasing realization of personal biases and instinctive reflexes that might obscure awareness of the positive elements in life, but also by outer factors and the level of perceived control over life circumstances. In the relationship with the outside world, it requires the opportunity of involvement and values-guided and purposeful action, as well as meaningful relationships, a sense of belonging and the feeling of self-transcendence through serving a greater good.

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As a consequence, although the quest for happiness – as much as the question of intrinsic motivation – is still considered to be mainly an individual responsibility, the context in which people live and work has a significant influence on the success of this journey. And despite simplified historical mental models especially in the economic world of the human being as a purely ego-focused rational being, there are core human traits such as empathy, collaboration, and the search for meaning that require fulfillment in all life domains in order to allow for a high level of life satisfaction. Prior to any initiation of an organizational transformation process, a fundamental revision of those mental models is therefore required in order to clear the way for a new leadership style – and as a consequence a new organizational culture – to emerge. Old leadership paradigms Business can be optimized within the closed borders of the organization through continuous rationalization Optimizing transactional performance is key to productivity and success Processes need to be clearly specified in order to ensure the best quality of outcome

Money is the most important factor for human motivation Employees need to be financially rewarded to work; otherwise, they will not show performance Employees need to be controlled in order to avoid them abusing the system

The conditions of the physical work contract decide the engagement level of the employee Incentivizing employee to maximize his own personal benefit will lead to the best organizational outcome (ME-focus) Innovation is created by a few geniuses

There are no limits to growth, so we just need to focus on being faster than our competitors

New leadership paradigms Organizations are open systems that operate within a dynamically changing environment and need to have the skills to actively adapt Stimulating cognitive performance is key for organizational efficiency and success While generic processes need to be rudimentarily outlined, agile organizations with a deep understanding for the Corporate Soul can fill complex spaces with situational optimum decisions Purpose is the most important driver for human motivation; money is just a hygienic factor When work is understood as a purposeful part of life and offers the opportunity for personal growth, intrinsic motivation to contribute emerges without external stimulus Authentic trust by leadership concerning the ability of employees to take autonomous decisions leads to reciprocal trustworthy behavior The fulfillment of the psychological work contract determines happiness, motivation, and engagement Collaboration and cocreation are decisive factors for innovation and efficiency (WE-focus) Innovation performance is no more the success of individuals but a cocreative process of the collective Material resources and the ability of the global Commons to cope with the human impact are rapidly reaching the limits; resource efficiency will become one of the most important success factors in the future

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This transformation in mindset is not gradual but represents a principal change in perspective for leadership: a shift from a control-based culture toward a servant leadership model that builds on authentic trust (see also Chapter “▶ Activating the Corporate Soul” in this Handbook). Only on this basis, a credible transformation process can be initiated.

A Hero’s Journey to Awaken GCH Typically, transformation processes in organizations are enforced from the outside and top down, mainly due to a strong concern that they will not happen otherwise. Furthermore they are accompanied by an overly strong emphasis on the novelty of the approach and the necessity for change, communicated in a way that tends to induce fear and insecurity into the organization. As a consequence, they are often associated with complexity and negativity right from the start and therefore are doomed to fail. As the goal of the Gross Corporate Happiness model is to create the optimal working conditions that maximize employee well-being, stimulate intrinsic motivation, and elevate individual striving to a collective focus, it is key that the entire organization is fully involved and embraces the process of change from the inside out. Therefore, its introduction should be designed and handled in a way that welcomes participation and creates a bottom-up movement instead of a top-down enforced program. The advantages are obvious: The acceptance level by the employees of the project and its goals will be much higher when the details and priorities are cocreated and decided collectively, thanks to a high level of involvement. The penetration of the transformation into the organization will be much deeper compared to externally imposed initiatives which typically fail in the course of progress due to organizational resistance. A transformation from inside mainly needs a starting investment to initiate the initial impulse but will soon be carried by the activation of dormant energy in the organization. The overall “energy balance” of the project is “exothermic,” i.e., more energy is freed up during the process than is consumed. And finally, the transformation process will be owned by the entire organization and as such become an integral part of its future “genetic code” which makes the change sustainable. Only such a deep cultural transformation has the potential to sustainably shape organizations that can build the resilience to flourish in the new global market dynamics. To ensure such an integral cultural shift within an organization, experience has shown that the implementation process can be best realized in five phases that are

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inspired by the “Hero’s Journey,” a common structure for transformation processes identified by comparative mythology in a broad number of tales and mythological stories (Campbell 1949). For the full scale introduction of the Gross Corporate Happiness model, ideally this translates into the following sequence of steps or phases in the process (Fox 2017): 1. Identifying the soul by revealing the unique purpose, volition, and values of the organization and connecting the historic past to a desired future, including a higher purpose 2. Shifting from Executive Strategy to Creating a Movement by elevating the focus for competence from an EGO- to a WE-focus 3. Shifting from Control to Trust by expanding the focus to personal growth through increasing the sense for individual relatedness and autonomy 4. Transforming the Organization into a Community by elevating the striving for relatedness and autonomy to a WE-focus 5. Focusing Energy on a process of Continuous Evolution by transitioning the entire organization in an autonomous state Each step of the journey during Phases 1–4 is related to specific domains of the Gross Corporate Happiness model and is designed to achieve a cultural shift, while Phase 5 serves to fully embed the framework into the “genetic code” of the organization (see Table 1). This combination of factual change of the framework conditions in all relevant work domains in conjunction with a guided cultural transformational journey ensures a controlled process from the “known” into the “unknown” and back to an elevated level where the new experience becomes an integral element of a new “known”: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Identifying the core of the organizational endeavor Shifting the appreciation for competence from the individual to the collective Shifting the focus from competence to full personal growth Shifting personal growth from the individual to the collective Consolidating the transformational journey

Phase 1: Identifying the Soul The main focus of this initiation phase of the transformation process is the clear identification of the unique Organizational Soul. In order that it can become the nucleus of a collective identity and an orientation for the organization toward purposeful future development, it needs to be made explicit. The Corporate Soul represents the timeless source of meaning and direction of the company and breathes life into the organization. Most companies are not consciously aware of their soul, but when found, it becomes their driving force. It

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Table 1 The organizational transformation process as a “Hero’s Journey” Journey phase A. Departure 1. Identifying the soul 2. Creating a Movement

B. Initiation 3. Shifting from Control to Trust

4. Transforming the Organization into a Community

Phase goal

Main GCH domains

Finding the unique and timeless core of the organization Elevate the competence focus from EGO to a collective WE

Corporate Soul

Initiate personal growth through expansion from competence to autonomy and relatedness

Lifetime Balance Holistic Care

Elevate Autonomy and Relatedness from EGO to a collective WE

Psychological Well-being

Positive Recognition Learning Organization

Responsible Governance Collaborative Agility Corporate Sustainability

C. Return 5. Focus Energy

Consolidation and elevation journey

Full GCH implementation

Transformation goal Transcend business as known Leadership transformation From “I know” to “We know” Balancing various life domains Support by corporate care Increasing engagement with positive work conditions Emergence of trust in leadership Relaxing into the collective social capital Full alignment between business success and higher purpose Transition to consolidation and elevation journey

allows alignment of the work culture, the structures, the processes, and the business strategies to the true purpose, volition, and values of the company and gives direction to any areas of autonomy. The main elements of the anatomy of the soul are the purpose, the volition, the values, the core competences, and an action framework. Typical vision statements aim for a principle step change toward a new future state. In contrast, identifying the soul creates a harmonious connection between the company’s history, the dormant potential of the current state, and a higher purpose that transcends the organizational vision. This approach translates disruptive change into a continuous evolutionary process and reduces the centrifugal forces induced in the organization by the change to a bearable level. Supported by a collective buy-in into a joint value framework, it creates an organizational mindset shift from an obstacle-focused “push- and pull

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mode” into a flow mode. It pays respect to past achievement and makes a future stretch vision conceivable. While the detailed design of this phase is dependent on the size of the organization, five key elements are recommended: 1. Initially, a collective sensitization about the ongoing evolution of the outside economic environment and the resulting need for transformation is required. This can be achieved through honest and open sharing about the status quo and a dialogue about the organizational position in the context of global megatrends. However, such a process should avoid the creation of fear, as this will undermine the transformational energy. 2. On this basis, a collective agreement about the true purpose of the organization, transcending the EGO-focus, can be found. While comparable to the “why” question of the organization, such a mission cannot be selected by the executive level at their discretion. To be able to ignite the desired intrinsic striving, it needs to be meaningful in the context of the respective next bigger system, so that each employee can recognize their personal contribution within the collective endeavor, providing space for man’s inherent search for meaning beyond its EGO-focus. 3. In order to initiate a natural growth process for personal competences within such a collective space, the organization needs to maintain the cohesion of the individual to its collective ambition, whereby the purpose needs to include the valuation of past achievements as indispensable foundations; it also needs to identify the transformation as part of a natural trajectory into the future. 4. After completion of this process, core organizational values should be distilled out of a collective reflection on historic performance, outstanding initiatives, and exemplary behaviors. If they do not conflict with other values of the organization, normative elements can be added to the extent that they receive collective buy-in. 5. Lastly, a set of representative behaviors, attitudes, and communication patterns should be agreed collectively in order to shape the identity of the organization on the basis of its soul and build the foundations for consistent corporate communication. Ideally, this first phase should involve all or at least a representative majority of the organizational members. Various forms of workshop designs have been shown to be useful, but phases of storytelling have delivered especially strong insights into core elements of the Corporate Soul. Starting with the founding idea of the company, a detailed historic mapping of core events could give additional inspiration. Ultimately, this phase can transit into a cascade of creative workshops, aiming to translate the abstract content of the Corporate Soul into tangible action frameworks and new capacities, but it is important to maintain a continuous flow of initiatives rather than short-term “fireworks.” Overall, it is essential that all statements related to the soul are explicit, unique, precise, and consistent and enable full and passionate identification of the entire organization:

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• The purpose is a motivation outside and above the organization. It transcends it and relates its mission to a greater good. If an organization has purpose, it is aligning to the needs of society, to the needs of the biosphere, and perhaps to the needs of even higher orders of consciousness. The outcome: meaning and meaningful action. • Values shape communities. Values allow for social cohesion and bind people together around what is most important to them. They form the cultural pillars of the community and – implicitly or explicitly – form the foundation for behaviors, attitudes, and decisions. Forging relationships between people, departments, and decisions and developing a deep and true understanding of the values embedded in the collective culture are crucial to building a community. • The volition of an organization leads to an internal reservoir for motivation. It represents the subjective driver. It propels individuals to work with passion from their heart and no longer consider work as work but as service to the whole. The volition is also the mainspring of team motivation. It is at the heart of an excellent work culture that inspires and encourages. • Capacities are the strategies that deliver the values, purpose, and whys of your business. We need to build capacities in order to translate the intangible qualities of the soul into the emerging reality. Capacities consist of skills and abilities, attitudes and behaviors, and spiritual insights and knowledge. For the organization it means that it has to create the conditions for the individual to engage in a continuous learning process of translating the values, purpose, and volition into reality. Capacities are dynamic. When the experiences of acting in the current reality are connected to a deeper understanding of the values, purpose, and volition, we often realize we need to elevate existing capacities or consider new ones. • Action frameworks are the products and services that flow seamlessly out of purpose, volition, and values. It is only through our actions that our soul speaks. When our actions are a result of all the above, others will appreciate our efforts. Products and services may change as a result of a refreshed purpose; new products may emerge, or they may simply stay the same, but quality will skyrocket. The soul of an organization as a conceptual understanding of what all members of the community have in common – what is shared – forms the solid timeless ground on which the community stands. The organization should form the environment of the community in which the individual, groups, and the whole organization build capacity to live this soul and bring it to reality. The fruit of this approach will be that the actions of each and every individual, beyond its direct goals, can be understood as an act of service to a bigger system: true service to others, including the coworkers, customer, suppliers, and all who we are related to. Ultimately, the community extends beyond the boundaries of the company and enters the realm of society as a whole. Now service is placed in the heart of the organization and has become the reality of the community.

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Phase 2: Creating a Movement While work is traditionally conceived as a trade relationship for applied competence between an individual and the organization as expressed in the physical work contract, innovation in complex systems requires a broad range of specific competences and therefore ideally emerges from a collective creativity process. This second phase of the transformation process aims primarily to elevate the organizational valuation of competence from an individual to a collective level in order to create an active culture of cocreation. This shift is enabled by three key elements: • At the team level, a mindset shift is initiated from an individual knowledge focus to the appreciation of collective learning. • At the institutional level, a safe space is created in the form of an increasing community culture that supports open knowledge sharing. • Both processes will be accompanied by expanding any dominant monetary compensation focus to a broader concept of recognition. While the value of individual competence is traditionally perceived as a core personal asset, in the dynamic of the emerging knowledge industry, it continuously erodes if it is not constantly maintained through new learning. Outside of the transactional realm, such learning is barely formal but rather happens through experience, sharing, and reflection, ideally in a collaborative setting. The recognition of this reality by the employee and the existence of a safe space where such learning can happen constitute the basis for the individual competence focus to evolve into a cocreative process, the prerequisite for efficient innovation performance. If guided by the Corporate Soul as identified during the first phase, it can be ensured that such dynamic learning and creativity will not be random, but organizationally aligned toward a strategic focus, as the collective striving for competence development and expression remains anchored in a shared goal. Such transformation emerges naturally when the personal contribution can be contextualized within a higher evolved purpose with which the individual can identify, while he feels rooted within the overall mission of the institution. In practical terms, during this phase a growing cascade of innovation initiatives is created with increasing frequency and scope that gradually builds this cocreative innovation continuum. While their scope, complexity, and participation should vary, ideally they will follow the same sequence of seven steps: 1. Challenge selection: This is a curated process to translate organizational needs into “hackable” challenges, ideally by a panel that is composed of representatives from leadership, experts, and stakeholders in the area. The focus is on developing well-defined, feasible challenge statements that are at the critical points to effect change in a system or part of the organization. 2. Selection of cross-functional teams: Multiple cross-functional teams are appointed from a pool of volunteers with a focus on diversity that will form the

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“Innovation Crews.” These teams can also increasingly include supplier or client representatives and may even be opened to public participation. A condensed creative session (“hackathon”): During a 1.5–2-day event, multiple crews design potential solution concepts to the challenge statement and prepare for a pitch in front of the panel. Pitching and judging: Immediately following the creative session, the solution concepts are presented to the panel and will receive instant judgment (“stop” or “continue”). Incubation process: A panel decision to continue automatically includes the permission for the crew to work on concept validation and fine-tuning during a predefined time period (typically 1–3 months). Valuation and investment decision: After the incubation period, the final concept is presented to management in order to get the approval for implementation. This review should be institutionalized (e.g., once a quarter) and can comprise multiple challenge solutions. Acceleration: Once implementation is approved, the crew will manage the accelerated implementation of the concept and ensure full handover to the organization – supported by one executive sponsor of the panel.

Each review should not only be focused on the economic evaluation of the ideas but create a public culture of recognition and praise for the team efforts to reach out for innovative and collaborative solutions. Generally, this type of open knowledge sharing in a collective space requires a principle inner shift of the individual’s concept of personal competence, as it builds on a collective readiness to donate one of the most important personal assets – competence – to the organization without any imminent return. Unlike traditional work trade relations, any potential return of such personal investment can only be expected by the collective at a much later point. In order to allow the employees to trust such a process of collaboration and cocreation, the organization needs to foremost represent a safe space. Therefore, these projects need to be accompanied by a focus on collectively elevating the core elements of the two competence-related domains of Recognition and Learning Organization for the entire organization, including: • A review and potential redesign of the salary system regarding structure, equality, and distribution • A shift toward an open and positive feedback culture on all levels, supported by leadership training where needed • A review and potential upgrade of the job security level for all employees • A reassessment of the workplace layout • The means for a broad level of participation through opportunities for collaborative learning during problem-solving in cross-functional teams • Increased training for “systems understanding” • Regular review of the organizational specific, often hidden mental concepts

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Once the Corporate Soul is internalized (Phase 1) and competence is elevated on a collective level within the entire organization (Phase 2), individual task motivation will gradually transform into a collective movement that allows cocreative innovation to unfold.

Phase 3: Shifting from Control to Trust At this stage, having successfully initiated a collective movement, any contribution to the organization is still focused largely on competence. This third phase of the transformation project aims to expand this understanding initially on the individual level to the other areas of personal competencies and to create prototypes for organizational efficiency and successful interaction within networks through growing autonomy and relatedness. Psychological research has shown that these two seemingly competing factors actually represent the cornerstones of human personal growth. Consequently, this phase translates into expanding the role of the workplace as a space not only for taskspecific competence development but also for general personal development. The prerequisite for this shift is the replacement of a culture of control by a culture of trust. Only on this basis can autonomy be embraced so that it can expand into responsible initiative. But this involves a major challenge to most traditional management. Trust in hierarchical relations can only emerge if a higher authority initiates the process by granting an unconditional trust credit to its subordinates. While this appears a simple step, such a proactive shift requires highly developed leadership skills from executive management for business judgments, as accountability cannot be delegated to the same extent as autonomy. Therefore, this phase should be conceived in the form of pilot prototypes that allow the new organizational culture to develop within contained environments prior to its full rollout. To kick off this cultural transformation, organizational units for specific organizational tasks or functions are identified which are then switched from a traditional line organization status into largely autonomous cells. Based on an agreed set of KPIs, broad autonomy is granted, while management supervision is reduced to a monthly review of progress. Vital to these projects is a balanced focus between improving the company’s burning challenges and the employees’ initial needs to build healthy relatedness within the team. Therefore, all reviews should include an open exchange about what has been learned and a discussion of what additional support might be needed. Gradually, these grassroots projects are multiplied within the entire organization, so that they can spread their cultural influence and become the home for the majority of the organizational members, while it will remain connected to a slimmed down hierarchical skeleton of core support functions. During the introduction of these projects, the biggest challenge for management will be to trust the unfolding of the positive effects without intervening in the process. While the change will imminently free management of its high control

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efforts and give space to focus on its leadership roles, it is hard to precisely predict the exact area and timing of the upswing in efficiency and success. Especially during the early experimental phase, it actually risks that overall productivity might slightly decrease for a short time period before it takes its full momentum. For those used to a management logic of cause and effect, it will also be challenging to refrain from any attempt to individually assign merit. But any intervention would immediately break the virtual trust agreement with the team and undermine the evolution of personal growth within the new autonomous space. With the increasing number of projects, emerging personal engagement will gradually start to transform the organizational culture. As a result of a balanced combination of autonomy and relatedness, personal growth can develop and ensure a continuous process within the organization to take and enjoy ownership and responsibility. In order to embed these pilots into the general cultural transformation process, this phase should be accompanied by an organizational focus aimed especially at elevating on an individual level the key elements of the two domains of Care and Lifetime Balance for the entire organization, including: • The development of a balanced physical care strategy, aiming to support all aspects of physical health • The identification of priority needs for a mental balance strategy, prioritizing specific challenges of the work or social environment • The creation of sufficient spaces for the personal expression of spirituality, where not yet fully in place • Making work-time models more flexible in order to balance work and family needs, optimization of commuting times, etc. • A culture of protecting nonwork times from work-related concerns and worries By embracing autonomy while maintaining commitment to the overall mission, the increasing number of prototypes will gradually deploy high efficiency, especially in the management of complex challenges. At the same time, the inner experience of relatedness will create the space for personal growth and offer the teams constantly increasing possibilities for aligning work challenges with the individual preferences for engagement.

Phase 4: Transforming the Organization into a Community In this fourth phase of the transformation process, the culture of relatedness and autonomy is elevated from a rather personal level onto the institutional level so that the space for efficiency in complexity expands from a project to the full organizational level, and the community as a whole embraces the concept of relatedness in order to develop the skills needed to become a resilient and attractive member of partner networks and markets.

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As outlined earlier, one of the key prerequisites for a space with a collective focus is the consistency of inner motives and authentic realities across all levels of context. Nobody can seriously expect an internal team attitude to evolve while externally, leadership is encouraging unscrupulous exploitation of suppliers or exploiting clients. In the same way, internal care programs for employees strongly lose credibility in the light of irresponsible abuse of the Commons by the company’s operations. Therefore, supply chain strategies, partner network behavior, and sustainability strategies need to comply with the same standards that the internal project culture is aiming for in order to recognize mutual relatedness. This does not exclude fair competition, but bans all unfair abuse of power, lack of integrity, or irresponsible misuse of unregulated freedom, and is strongly supported by a high level of transparency. Just as with the project culture during the previous phase, in this fourth step the authentic identity of the organization, characterized by the Corporate Soul, is translated into two additional elements: a credible corporate citizenship and sustainability strategy which reflects the relatedness beyond organizational self-interests and a trustful, largely autonomous and authentic organizational governance rooted in a soul-driven leadership culture. Conceiving and communicating the organization’s activities within the surrounding social and ecological environment, but also mapping it within the larger economic system of partners, will create a collective understanding of connectedness that creates a space for any self-centered perspective to evolve into a WE-focus. It educates everybody to understand any individual action within the relevant system context and enables the shift of the employee’s work identity from a role focus to one of a fully integrated member of a community that shares a common passion. Ideally, this conceptual work is cocreated by the whole or at least a large part of the organization. Unlike traditional, rather constraining concepts of CSR, this approach aims to harmoniously merge business interests with global megatrends with a win-win focus and opens the space for new opportunities to emerge naturally. This happens especially at the interface between organizational borders and adjacent systems – the space where life is given to new markets and client attraction is created. Furthermore, the increased autonomy culture resulting from the pilot projects needs to find its home within a new generic structure of governance, decisionmaking, and leadership. Transcending hierarchical as well as consensus-based decision models, autonomy needs to become an authorized element of the organizational processes where the only remaining obligation is the obtaining of sufficient factual input from the community prior to decisions being taken. Leadership focus needs to shift generally from giving direction and instructions toward more of an accompaniment role. Rather than systematically breaking down visions into tangible targets and individual objectives, management becomes the guarantor for the space where the community can develop actively. As already demonstrated in the pilot projects, the efforts of organizational management and all controlling administration can be massively slimmed down as a consequence of this transformation and free-up organizational resources for more value adding activities. This will complement, with associated efficiency gains, the

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game-changing new dynamic in the organization for coping with the requirements of the outside economy, which in turn will open up new market opportunities. This fourth phase should be accompanied by an organizational focus especially aimed at elevating the remaining key factors of the four domains of Collaborative Agility, Corporate Sustainability, Psychological Well-Being, and Responsible Governance for the entire organization, including: • Supporting diversity in terms of age, gender, nationality, education, etc. • Creating a culture of striving for personal excellence through alignment of the personal with organizational life vision • Building a lean and service-oriented administration • Encouraging joint leisure activities between colleagues, including contributions to ecological awareness • A consistent sustainability strategy, integrating a clear focus on positively supporting global challenges with a transparent footprint evaluation • A high and consistent level of external and internal transparency • Tailored interventions to support positive workspace evaluation as well as active engagement • A culture of trust from leadership and a safe environment, free from abuse of power As with the three previous phases, this dual transformation needs time to develop and stabilize. Regular reflection and open feedback through a transparent collective dialogue will ensure its authenticity and consistency. But in the end, the organization will reach an unprecedented level of efficiency even in the most complex environments and radiate that into the markets, demonstrating its attractiveness both as business partner and solution provider.

Phase 5: Focus Energy At this stage, the entire organization has intensively experienced the paramount effects of collaborative creativity that manifests in a flow of new innovations, the magnetizing adhesion for clients and network partners from an authentic feeling of community and a long-reaching strategic focus, and the blissful energy induced by Responsible Governance. However, most of these initiatives were still initiated, organized, and guided by leadership. The main goal of this last step of the transformation process is the transition of management and responsibility for the Gross Corporate Happiness model into the organization in order to ensure that all aspects are deeply engraved in its genetic code. This will ensure that ultimately the continuous evolutionary process is kept alive independent of its leaders. Therefore, this last phase aims to shift from individual workshops or singular events into a fully developed, constantly evolving process. At its core, it is a repetitive loop that always follows the same sequence:

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1. Elevate the soul: A collective review and reflection about the Corporate Soul that aims to continuously elevate the quality of the competences and actions the organization aims to develop 2. Challenge the assumptions: Challenging current products and services for higher options though elevating agile engagement and the Learning Organization 3. Reorient the perspective: Review and adjustment of Corporate Governance and Corporate Sustainability strategy, associated processes, and behaviors 4. Expand consciousness: Enhancement of the levels of recognition, care, and Lifetime Balance within the organization and beyond 5. Focus energy: Review and actions to further enhance Collaborative Growth and Psychological Well-Being This process is designed to ensure a continuous system transformation in the most efficient way. In order to make it independent of leadership or changing priorities due to economic cycles, it needs to be institutionalized in the organization and should follow, depending on the size of the organization, a fixed schedule (annual, biannual, or in a multiyear frequency, whatever appears appropriate to maintain a high quality of content and sufficient time for full implementation). At the beginning of each sequence, a (self-)evaluation of the GCH rating should take place in order to ensure that all priorities are properly included. Contingent upon the complexity of the organization, such evaluation can be broken down on individual sites or organizational units in order to improve the granularity and better identify the specific priorities for intervention.

A New Quality of Organizational Evolution With the dawn of the new Millennium, the integral reality of more and more organizations is being challenged by an increasing three-way stretch between the apparent acceleration required to meet the increasing external dynamics, the shrinking ability of individuals to follow, and an increasing overall awareness of the limits of the type of growth we once built our success on. Furthermore, emergent megatrends represent unprecedented threats and opportunities at the same time – whether it is the aging population or Big Data. Hanging on to our traditional mental models for organizational leadership will not help us to cope with this next evolutionary level of economic system complexity. We should instead look for unconventional and innovative ways to reestablish a new quality of cohesion within an economic system that was initially created to serve humanity. The Gross Corporate Happiness model and its systematic introduction through a transformation process from inside offer a path to unleash a cognitive human potential that yet remains often underutilized in the context of traditional command-control management cultures. It aims to create a working environment where performance requirements are complemented by a collective shift toward intrinsic motivated engagement and where compliance transforms into authentic commitment.

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The integral scope of the GCH model is a blueprint to create purposeful and responsible “Flow Organizations” that ensure all key employee needs not only out of the physical but also out of the psychological work contract can be fulfilled. In return, thanks to the natural emergence of new competences like innovation, collaboration and agility out of such an organizational environment, organizations become able to follow those new dynamics and simultaneously serve not only their shareholders but also society as a whole. On this basis, a new quality of growth can be imagined for the new Millennium that naturally integrates seemingly contradicting requirements without undermining the basis of our existence.

Cross-References ▶ Activating the Corporate Soul

References Campbell J (1949) The hero with a thousand faces, Bollingen Series. Volume XVII. Bollingen Foundation Inc., New York Deci EL, Ryan RM (2002) Handbook of self-determination research. The University of Rochester Press, Rochester Easterlin RA (2001) Income and happiness: towards a unified theory. Econ J 111:465–484 Fox R (2014) Mitarbeitermotivation im Unternehmen – Begründung und Validierung des “Gross Corporate Happiness” -Ansatzes für die Wirtschaft. Universitätsbibliothek der EuropaUniversität Viadrina Frankfurt, Frankfurt (Oder) Fox R (2017) Bionische Unternehmensführung. Springer International Publishing, Heidelberg Heidegger M (1967) Das Mitdasein der Anderen und das alltägliche Mitsein. In: Sein und Zeit. De Gruyter, Berlin, pp 117–125 Negroponte N (2005) IT-Visionär: Beim Laptop des Propheten. Available via DIE ZEIT Archiv Jahrgang 2005 Ausgabe 47. http://www.zeit.de/2005/47/P-Negroponte/seite-2. Accessed 27 Sept 2016 Porter M (1980) Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. Free Press, New York Senge P (1990) The fifth discipline – the art & practice of the learning organization. Doubleday, New York Smith A (1776) An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. W Strahan and T Cadell, London Vallerand RJ, Ratelle CF (2002) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: a hierarchical model. In: Handbook of self-determination research. The University of Rochester Press, Rochester Warr P (1999) Well-being and the workplace. In: Kahnemann D, Diener E, Schwarz N (eds) Well-being – the foundations of hedonic psychology. The Russel Sage Foundation, New York, pp 392–412

It’s Not What You Do, It’s Who You Are Daryl R. Conner

Contents A Perspective on Professional Change Practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Eye of the Beholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Three Levels of Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High Impact Work Isn’t for Everyone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It’s Not About What You Do, It’s Who You Are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High Impact Vs. Adequate Practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Are the Implications? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character and Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Importance of Character and Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Role of Character in High Impact Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Role of Presence in High Impact Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Is Practitioner Presence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Are the Implications of Presence on a Practitioner’s Influence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Relationship between Character and Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Presence Disconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence Is Nurtured by Exploring Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Love the Music you Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Are you Doing with your Music? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cultivating Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character Isn’t “Fixed,” It’s Refined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character Is Revealed, not Invented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Are you Asleep at the Wheel? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unraveling the Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This Is Hard Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Protect your Essence without Snuffing it out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don’t Build so Many Defenses That Even You Can’t Find Your True Nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don’t Let Your Tough Exterior Become all of Who You Are to Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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D.R. Conner (*) Conner Academy, Atlanta, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] # Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_36-1

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It’s About Achieving a Dynamic Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It’s Time to Wake Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Abstract

In today’s turbulent business environment, people from all walks of life are counted on to help guide others successfully through change. The majority of these change practitioners – professional change agents, Human Resources business partners, project managers, and others – do an acceptable job. They are recognized as helpful tactical resources when executing incremental change initiatives and generally have only marginal influence with the leaders they support. A much small percentage of change practitioners, perhaps 10%, are recognized for their invaluable strategic contributions in support of the most difficult change initiatives and enjoy a disproportionate amount of leader influence. What accounts for the difference in the value these two kinds of practitioners generate? In this chapter, Daryl Conner makes the case that the real difference isn’t in the change methodologies they bring to the table. Rather, it’s in how they “show up.” It isn’t what you do, it’s who you are. Highly influential change practitioners are not only exceptionally skilled in the use of concepts and tools, they incorporate an authentic expression of their unique character and the presence it generates as part of the value they provide. Keywords

Character • Presence • Character/Presence Package • Play Your Music • Sapling/ Trunk Metaphor • High Impact • Authenticity

A Perspective on Professional Change Practitioners When I began my exploration of the world of organizational change in 1974, by today’s standards it was relatively rare to encounter major disruptions on a consistent basis. Today it is rare to encounter an organization that is not experiencing one or more significant transitions. Virtually all of our institutions are facing more change that is coming more quickly and is more complex than ever before. And, all the evidence points to even more destabilizing shifts in the future (Aburdene 2007; Taleb 2010). Leaders responsible for navigating these transitions need access to proven resources that can help guide them through the pitfalls of implementation. People from a wide array of disciplines – change management, project management, organizational design, IT, HR, leadership development, strategic planning, and so on – are called on to fulfill this function. For clarity’s sake, I’ll refer to professionals in this role as “change practitioners” regardless of what discipline they represent or whether they operate as internal employees or external consultants.

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The Eye of the Beholder Occupying a change practitioner’s position is not the same as delivering on the practitioner’s responsibilities. Ultimately, whether or not you are effective in such a role is based on how those you serve – your clients – perceive you. Throughout this chapter I will use the term “clients” to mean the recipients of a change professional’s efforts. Regardless of what discipline a practitioner represents or whether he/she operates as an internal employee or external consultant, the work being performed is in service to clients. Leaders tend to think of change facilitators in one of three ways. They are seen as: • Inept – demonstrating little value and to be avoided at all cost • Adequate – providing acceptable value and can be relied on to get the basic job done on tactical assignments • High impact resources – delivering implementation assistance to strategically important endeavors and have proven to be invaluable in reaching full realization – Strategic: Depended upon when the stakes are high; practitioners seen as vital to critically important initiatives – Invaluable: Not easily disregarded or replaced; practitioners whose opinions are highly respected and influential This isn’t about the kind of value change facilitators believe they are generating or could deliver under different circumstances. These are the groupings clients tend to place practitioners in after working with them for some period of time. Whether or not they explicitly express these views to their practitioners, they form these opinions and act accordingly. I have no hard evidence to support the following estimation, but after more than four decades of training, coaching, and mentoring thousands of change practitioners throughout the world and listening to an equal number of executives’ comments on the change facilitation they’ve received, I believe the general breakdown on these categories is as follows. • Inept: Approximately 25% • Adequate: Roughly 65% • High Impact: Around 10% Think of each category as a continuum. A practitioner could be seen as falling anywhere within the designated range, from displaying early characteristics of a particular category to being on the cusp of the next category. Different organizations respond to these designations in different ways, but in general here is how it goes. • Those who deliver little value are usually destined for remedial action or termination

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• Those who deliver adequate value remain employed, have modest influence with leaders, and may occasionally receive recognition based on their level of performance • Those who are seen as invaluable strategic assets are considered key resources, are extremely influential with leaders, and tend to receive special access, acclaim, benefits, compensation, etc.

Three Levels of Value There is little to be said about inept practitioners. Not only are they detrimental to the clients they support and the projects they bungle; they are also a liability to the entire change profession. Change practitioners in this category should either elevate their skill to the adequate level or find another way of making a living. The greater indictment, however, should be lodged with the managers and peers of people operating at this level who won’t take action or voice concerns about such poor performance levels. Ineptitude can’t exist unless allowed to do so. On a more positive note, the good news is that, by a wide margin, leaders perceive change practitioners as providing adequate to high impact value. Though both levels of practitioners create benefit for their clients, the perceived value they deliver is markedly different. The truth is not all practitioners have the capabilities for – or even aspire to be viewed as – high impact. Of those who do, even fewer operate in such a way as to actually foster this kind of respect and admiration – and for good reason. It is incredibly hard to fulfill all the requirements needed to be seen in this light. The low percentage of practitioners falling into the high impact category is not, however, inherently problematic. It isn’t necessary, much less realistic, to expect that most change facilitators will reach this standing. The vast majority are seen as delivering perfectly acceptable results. Some may be viewed as functioning on the low end of the satisfactory performance scale and barely hanging on to their “adequate” designation; nonetheless, they deliver enough of what is expected to maintain their positions. Others are found toward the higher end of proficiency ratings and are thought of as functioning commendably, even though they are not considered to be both strategic and invaluable. It is clearly preferable for as many practitioners as possible to be on the upper end of the “adequate” continuum, but anywhere within this designation represents a sufficient degree of positive contribution to an organization’s change needs. To be seen by clients in this category is a worthy accomplishment. In no way should a pejorative stance be taken toward practitioners doing a satisfactory job in fulfilling their responsibilities. That said, it is important to recognize the advantages afforded organizations with access to high impact practitioners. Regardless of their areas of expertise, change professionals thought of as strategic and invaluable typically share certain common attributes. They are generally seen as:

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Having spent an extended period of time working in an area of specialization Having exceptional knowledge and skill relevant to their specialty Having a demonstrated track record of delivering on assigned responsibilities Being aware of and attentive to the broader organizational context outside their area of specialty 5. Providing unique perspectives to critical situations that surface valuable insights 6. Boldly bringing viewpoints/ideas/recommendations forward, at times even in the absence of support for doing so

High Impact Work Isn’t for Everyone Any of these descriptors are cause for distinction, but it is extraordinary when a practitioner is recognized as delivering all six at once. As uncommon as it is, this convergence of perceived value does occur; when it does, it is the basis for an exceptional client/practitioner relationship. The operative term here is “exceptional.” It will become clear in what you are about to read that the requirements on both client and practitioner for an alliance of this nature to unfold are formidable. By definition, the majority of change professionals are neither prepared to deliver, nor positioned to consistently experience, this kind of working relationship. They either lack the necessary predisposition themselves or they are supporting leaders who can’t/won’t play their part. It’s difficult to precisely pinpoint the percentage of change professionals who are considered both strategic and invaluable. The actual number of high impact practitioners may be higher or lower than 10%, but we can be certain it is a relatively small number. We are talking about only the most influential of those in our field, which means minimal frequency is all that is possible. There will always be a scarce number capable of extraordinarily productive client partnerships. Our task isn’t to try to elevate all or even most practitioners to an uncommon level of impact (mathematically impossible). Instead, we should be attending to the relatively few who have the predisposition for this kind of influence and who want to better prepare themselves in this regard.

It’s Not About What You Do, It’s Who You Are The predisposition that I’m referencing is reflected in practitioners with a history of demonstrating all six of the attributes to some degree. While certain ones may be more solidly in place than others, candidates for high impact work must show at least preexisting tendencies toward all six. With evidence to suggest that attaining all six descriptors is feasible, a practitioner can determine which ones are in need of developmental emphasis. While any of the six items may warrant developmental attention, this chapter is focused exclusively on issues related to the fifth and sixth attributes – helping practitioners be better prepared when it is time to offer up unique perspectives and risky recommendations.

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The kind of candor and directness I’m referring to only comes from trusted change advisors who are confident in the value they can provide clients if permitted to convey the full extent of what their experience has taught them. Invaluable, strategic practitioners distinguish themselves, in part, by coming forward with unusual but beneficial perceptions and suggestions and by making bold moves that are not always initially well received. In other words, when faced with critical situations, they present a full, unvarnished view of what they see taking place, the implications they believe are relevant, as well as the actions they recommend as necessary. These change practitioners are not only highly valued and influential with the leaders they support; they achieve this standing on their own terms. Rather than follow conventional standards, they consistently deliver more than is expected, and they do so in their own idiosyncratic manner. High impact practitioners aren’t effective despite being transparent about their individuality; they are valued in large part because of the uniqueness they make so visible. There are plenty of change agents as smart as they are who use many of the same approaches and techniques, yet who aren’t able to achieve the exceptional outcomes they typically generate. This is because their “secret sauce” resides not in “what they know or do” (their change toolkit) as much as in “who they are” (their true nature). A key distinction that separates high impact change practitioners from those seen as adequately fulfilling their duties is how they incorporate into their work their own distinctive signature pattern as human beings. Others may replicate how they gather information; diagnose change risk; the steps they engage when intervening; or the actual tools and nomenclature they employ. The only aspect of a change practitioner that can’t be duplicated by anyone else is the way all of that activity is filtered through the unique lens only he/she has to offer. To put it in slightly different terms, The source of mastery isn’t found in one’s outer activities, or in the effective use of tools of the trade. It is found invisibly in the inner stance a consultant takes in relationship to the client world, to knowledge, and to himself. By inner stance, I mean the feelings, beliefs, viewpoints, and perspectives that drive one’s actions. It is a place we “come from” when we act. (Merron 2005: 10)

High Impact Vs. Adequate Practitioners Several characteristics distinguish change facilitators seen as having high impact from those viewed as adequate. Here are a few examples: Different Needs for Acceptance – Change practitioners who are perceived as adequate in their role tend to have greater needs for client approval than those who demonstrate high impact characteristics.

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“Masking” is the conscious or unconscious lessening or negating of who we really are in order to gain acceptance by others. The term “masking” was first used to describe the act of concealing disgust (Ekman and Friesen 1975). What is sometimes labeled as fundamental change in a person is really nothing more than intentionally or unintentionally creating a façade to disguise one’s true self – fashioning an artificial presence intended to gain favor with clients.Masking is a blight that runs rampant among professional change facilitators. It is so pervasive that many practitioners have never known any other way of operating. They have come to believe that masking their true nature with a facade that is more acceptable to clients is considered an inescapable reality of the profession. Based on years of training and coaching practitioners, I can safely say that the vast majority routinely portray their observations, insights, ideas, etc., in ways that are significantly watered down, if not completely compromised, from their actual understanding of situations. Although this is sometimes done with conscious volition, masking is more typically an unconscious act – they are so used to assuming that hiding who they are is the only option available that they often engage it without being aware of doing so. Masking is the default modus operandi for most adequate change professionals. This is one of the reasons why high impact practitioners stand out so clearly; they come forward with the full force of who they are. When that is matched with clients who value that kind of forthrightness, they are usually seen as strategic, invaluable resources. Different Scorecards – Adequate practitioners typically operate on the belief that they have to maximize their effectiveness with all those with whom they come in contact. It is common to hear them say something like “I have to hit a home run irrespective of who my client is, what group I’m assigned to work with, who my boss is, or the skill level of others on the team I’m to collaborate with. Whoever I interact with on a day-to-day basis, my job is to always facilitate change exceptionally well. . .regardless of the hand I’m dealt.” While a statement like this accurately describes the performance pressure many practitioners are under, that pressure does not necessarily result in the outcomes it is intended to generate. The ability to succeed at getting the job done, despite who you are interacting with, depends on how “success” and “getting the job done” are defined.When performance benchmarks are calibrated toward “adequate” practitioners, these terms mean accomplishing enough to meet basic expectations on relatively tactical aspects of a project. If performance standards are set at the “high impact” level, the terms mean the practitioner is being assigned to an extremely important initiative, and his/her counsel will be favorably regarded and sought after. Worthy achievements occur with both designations, but one generates far greater impact for an organization than the other. In his research on masterful consultants, Merron (2005) found that they tend to share these four principles of conduct: 1. Always tell the truth, at the deepest levels 2. Commit to learning – for self and for the client

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3. Bring my whole self in full partnership 4. Play a big game Adequate practitioners can and do accomplish a great deal; however, the political weight they carry is typically limited. When assigned to help with projects of a tactical nature, they generally deliver the assistance expected. If asked to serve on high visibility, critically important undertakings, however, the influence they have is usually felt more around the peripheral issues that arise; on more central concerns their views are frequently discounted, and their recommendations are often diluted or ignored. High impact practitioners measure their success against a different scorecard. As will be discussed later, they are selective about who they work with, and the nature of the work they take on. They are able to exercise greater leverage because leaders depend on them to reach realization with vitally important initiatives, and they have garnered the kind of esteem that allows them to do so. As a result, their observations and suggestions are taken seriously, even when running counter to prevailing opinion. Different Appetites for Learning – Practitioners who have spent a considerable amount of their professional tenure being perceived as “inept” or “adequate” aren’t likely to advance much in terms of how they are viewed unless they are near the upper boundary of their category. For example, someone at the top of the inept range may be already displaying some elements of the adequate category, making it easier for him/her to transition to the next level. I’ve noticed that adequate practitioners who aren’t near the upper boundary of their designation tend to plateau in terms of developing their capabilities. They may or may not continue reading books and attending conferences related to managing change, but little of what they are exposed to is actually incorporated into their practice. This is an observation, not an indictment. When adequate practitioners support leaders with needs at that level, it can be a productive match and solid value can be provided. The adequate practitioners who do continue their learning and go on to absorb and apply new approaches and tools into their work are typically at the upper end of their current designation and tend to be advancing to the next level. High impact practitioners are more inclined to approach their role as a calling, rather than a job. This usually translates into an unending pursuit of mastery, seeking out new aspects of their craft as they continue to learn and grow. As a result, they are always incorporating additional perspectives and insights into their work.In this sense, 10%’ers are typically not confined by an upper limit to their development. They seem to be perpetually on the lookout for ways to add value to the clients they serve. By being on an unending quest for more and deeper bits of wisdom, they further strengthen their foothold on providing value. This contributes to them being viewed as critically important to key initiatives, making them difficult to replace. Different Expectations – Practitioners should be clear about the level of clout they want and expect from themselves as well as what others are holding them accountable for demonstrating.

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Being seen as adequate means performing one’s duties in a satisfactory manner and working on change initiatives where the stakes are modest and the level of influence is relatively limited. As long as this profile and the assigned responsibilities are a good match, there is not a problem.When people relate to a practitioner as strategic and invaluable, much more is required – all six of the criteria listed previously must be met at the same time. More to the point of this chapter, high impact change professionals deliver value to their clients through not only what they do (items 1–4), but also by who they are (items 5–6). While the demands are great, the benefits for being seen this way are equally plentiful (i.e., being drawn into situations crucial to the organization’s viability and growth, receiving heightened respect for your views and decisions, the possibility for advanced compensation, etc.). Different Relationships – Practitioners thought of as adequate often busy themselves with second-guessing what others want said or done. Those seen as strategic and invaluable tend to step forward with as much authenticity as they have to offer. High impact practitioners have come to terms with the fact that when it is time to advance who they really are, one size doesn’t fit all. Clients will respond to their authenticity in different ways. Think of it as chemistry, destiny, fate, how the stars line up, or whatever frame of reference works for you. The reality is that some people resonate positively with practitioners who are true to themselves and some do not. Phenomenal change results are associated with atypical practitioners displaying uncommon attributes when working with people who value them for operating this way. This means not only are high impact change facilitators rare; leaders who deeply value their particularity are also scarce. High impact practitioners can have a positive influence on all kinds of people, but their greatest contribution occurs when they are matched with clients who truly appreciate the exclusiveness of what they have to offer. Different Tolerance for Uneasiness – Adequate change agents often try to avoid conflict at all cost. As a result, they are heavily invested in keeping clients in their comfort zone. This can make them appealing to work with among those who prize the ease of illusions over the struggle of reality. High impact change agents are catalysts and provocateurs; as a result, they can sometimes be arduous to work with. They are generally more candid when expressing their views and can alienate people who prefer smooth relations to the messiness of fully realized change. They are seen as adding value, but primarily by people who appreciate the benefits of creative tension.While clients may deeply value these practitioners at the level of who they are, their interactions are not always comfortable. In fact, it isn’t unusual for high impact facilitators to be characterized as some of the most challenging taskmasters ever encountered and/or as promoting extremely tough standards for leaders to live up to (Neal 2006: 31). A client valuing what a practitioner can accomplish by bringing forward the full weight of his/her

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core is not the same thing as always “enjoying” interactions with that person.When in the high impact zone, the leader/practitioner relationship is based on a mutual commitment to realization of the change, not ensuring communications are always kept in the comfort zone. Therefore, success for these change professionals is less about selling themselves (i.e., “How can I project an image that is acceptable to everyone?”) and more about establishing working relationships with people who naturally respond to the authentic side of who they are. It is about “matching” for a good fit, rather than “forcing” an artificial harmony that relies on pretense instead of genuineness (e.g., leaders politely listening to observations and recommendations but not taking much action).Can a practitioner accomplish a degree of success with clients who don’t value who he/she really is? Absolutely. Can they achieve their full potential as highly valuable resources? Not likely. Different Levels of Political Support – It is important to note that high impact change facilitators are not only exceptional in their own right; they also operate under exceptional circumstances. Olympic athletes don’t just rely on their own talent and hard work to set records. They engage in their chosen sport under the best conditions possible. High impact trusted advisors are able to perform at the level they do, in large part, because they are provided the political air cover to do so. They are in service to leaders who are “true fans” – see value in both what they do and who they are. By comparison, practitioners viewed as adequate in their role tend to work in situations where their political air cover is tenuous, at best. Sometimes its nonexistent – one bit of feedback that comes too close to home for leaders and they are gone.All that said, no amount of political air cover can completely buffer you from the risk that comes with bringing your full self forward. Different Risk Tolerance – High impact change practitioners learn early not to expect a stress-free ride while standing on their truth. “Comfortable” and “safe” are conditions that have little to do with the pursuit of being who you really are. Choosing to live your life, versus the one someone else has in mind for you, isn’t for the faint of heart. It serves no purpose to ask, “How do I find a sheltered environment out of harm’s way so I can be straightforward with clients about my unique talents and perspectives and not face any risk for doing so?” Instead, the question is, “How do I find the strength and determination to authentically express the core of who I am even when doing so isn’t always understood and/or appreciated?” Without a doubt, there are some significant struggles to face when functioning this way, but they are impediments, not insurmountable barriers. It boils down to this – if you are committed to practicing your craft as a strategic, invaluable resource, either come to terms with what must be done where you are or take the plunge to go somewhere else.

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Change professionals who lack leadership support to operate as high impact resources have essentially six alternatives: • Raise awareness: Stay where you are but find ways to show your *boss how much more valuable you would be if you were encouraged to be who you really are with clients. (*Internal and external practitioners who work for either organizations or consulting firms report to managers, while independent consultants are accountable to themselves. Ultimately, everyone has a boss.) • De-victimize yourself: Remain where you are but refuse to be a victim. Take responsibility for the decision you’ve made to stay in an environment that doesn’t support you leveraging your true authenticity. • Be a victim: Remain where you are with a boss who is unsupportive of you being fully who you are, and continue to complain. • Go to sleep: Stay where you are, but stop aspiring to be a high impact practitioner • Establish a new footing: Find another boss (in the same or a different organization) who is supportive of matching who you are with clients that will value you for being you. • Go out on your own: Establish a new consulting firm or a private practice where you can make your own decisions about who to work with. Here is the bottom line – bringing forward the reality of your basic nature with clients isn’t an alternative to being a successful practitioner. It is a way of being a successful practitioner that comes with its own set of hazards. Operating as a high impact practitioner is the opposite of playing it safe, and not everyone has the ability or willingness to take such risks. Why do you think it is such a respected status? Leaders looking for this kind of genuineness grant unusual access and influence to these practitioners because they know how scarce they are and how important they are to the success of their change endeavors. Incorporating who you are into the value you offer is a precarious path, but is likely no riskier than failing to provide what is best for clients. Living an authentic life is dicey and not doing so is dicey. Only you can decide whether you are on a burning platform, whether the cost of maintaining the status quo is too high. (Conner 1993)

Change agents seen as both strategic and invaluable resources are a small percentage of the total practitioner community, yet account for a disproportionate amount of the value clients associate with the change facilitation profession. It is incumbent upon those already in the category and those who aspire to be at that level to understand the distinctions between adequate and high impact practice of this craft. Only with clarity about the boundaries that separate the two can the quest for the upper tier be successfully pursued.

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What Are the Implications? As stated earlier, there are six attributes associated with being perceived as a change practitioner who is both depended upon when the stakes are high and not easily disregarded or replaced. This chapter addresses only the last two: 5. Providing unique perspectives to critical situations that often surface highly valuable insights 6. Boldly bringing viewpoints/ideas/recommendations/decisions forward, at times even in the absence of support for doing so When practitioners consistently contribute unique perspectives, valuable insights, and bold recommendations, it is usually the result of them being blatantly candid about how they see situations. That kind of transparency and directness is typically associated with people who are not only well grounded in “who they are” but who also see this as a valuable part of their effectiveness on par with “what they do.” If you aspire to be a high impact change facilitator but are working with clients who don’t value the essence of who you are, they are likely to be disappointed and you are likely to feel unfulfilled, not to mention less effective than you could be. It is one thing to find yourself in a situation like this occasionally; it is a deeper problem if you spend long periods in such environments. You can make a living disguising who you really are but, over time, it’s unlikely you will remain passionate about your work. There are legions of practitioners who have grown hollow after years of attempting to fulfill their responsibilities by catering to who clients thought they should be instead of being valued for who they really were. Both adequate and high impact practitioners have their place in helping organizations execute needed change. They each provide their respective value and represent honorable work. The key is to know what is expected of you (from yourself and others); what level of support you aspire to provide your clients; and what requirements and benefits are associated with the two options. Only then can you make an informed decision about the match between you and where you practice your craft. If you are comfortable performing as an adequate practitioner, you may find the remainder of this chapter of interest, but it is unlikely that it will bring significant value to you on the job. However, if you are trying to figure out whether you want to pursue the role of a high impact practitioner, are seeking to move into this role, or are already at this level but want to pursue even greater impact, the following pages offer my thoughts on what is required in addition to your technical competency.

Character and Presence “Character—A reserved force which acts directly by presence, and without means.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1884/2009)

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The Importance of Character and Presence There are two aspects to being a change practitioner that contribute to being seen as a strategic and invaluable resource: • What We Do – The concepts, frameworks, processes, and techniques used when engaged with clients • Who We Are – Our true nature; the substance of what we have to offer as human beings Underneath what you do is who you are. It is here that your optimum impact resides. Of all the things you can draw on to create leverage for your clients, your true nature is your greatest asset. Only when practitioners can stay centered on this and see it as core to the value they provide will they be able to live up to their full potential and help others do the same.

The Role of Character in High Impact Work Many of the change professionals I’ve had contact with over the years had only a vague notion that there was more to influencing the people they were guiding than what they knew and what they did. Most would probably concede that their basic nature had some bearing on their client effectiveness, but they would be hard-pressed to articulate what that effect was. An analogy can be found in the chemical compound H2O which can take the form of water, vapor, or ice crystals. It can flow in a river, fall as rain, or run from our pores when we sweat without ever changing its basic makeup. Our character also endures through whatever circumstances we encounter. Before we were change facilitators, and long after we cease to serve in this role, we were and will be who we are. Our character is like a true nature “set point.” Physiologically, our bodies have certain ranges for which they are calibrated; typically, we stay within those limits. For example, one explanation for the weight gain most people experience after dieting is that the body is programmed to maintain something close to a person’s set point of the bulk he or she carries. When people drop below their body’s natural set point, their metabolism slows in order to conserve energy. Conversely, when they gain too much weight, their bodies rebel by increasing their metabolism, which increases the body’s temperature to consume the excess calories. It is possible for set points to be recalibrated, but a major shift is required for this to happen. Character operates in a similar manner. Maintaining its inherent essence is generally its default position, regardless of external conditions. We can be oblivious to it or mindfully aware of it; we can be disconnected from it or revel in it; we can sink under its negative implications or soar on its advantages; we can act as if we were someone else or celebrate our true nature. The one option we don’t have is to be other than who we are.

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As I’m using the term, our character is comprised of the aggregate features securely planted in our personal landscape. Some attributes are blatant, others subtle. Some edges are rough, others smooth. Some qualities cycle in and out of a prominent role in our lives, while others remain a permanent dominant force. Regardless of what happens at any particular point in time, our basic character is always our companion. With all the similarities among people who fall into the same demographic categories (e.g., female, over 40, married, mother of two children, professional, medium income, home owner, two cars, churchgoer, jogger, type-A hard-charging personality), character stands out as one of the most reliable differentiators. Our true nature is so distinctive that, even with all the other commonalities we might share with others, we can still legitimately claim our individuality because of our unmistakable character. Character is pivotal to the impact high impact practitioners have with those they guide. It is who we are, not what is in our concepts and techniques, which ultimately determines whether we generate meaningful benefits for others. The following perspectives help explain why character is so central to the change practitioner role. • The term character is impartial; it applies to both positive and negative elements of who we are. A practitioner’s character is comprised of many components. Some promote favorable outcomes; others may not. – Positive components might include things such as devotion to serving others, commitment to honesty, and passion for the work itself. – There can also be a negative side to a person’s character that reflects such things as self-centeredness, manipulation, insecurity, lack of compassion, etc. Whether it advances or detracts from clients realizing their change aspirations, character is the greatest determinant of the value they receive from our work. • A positively oriented character brings life to the capabilities of high impact practitioners. – It operates as a filter that is applied to what we know and how we operate. By screening everything through our character, we infuse our unique state of being into the work. – It is far more than the knowledge and competencies we’ve acquired – it influences how we inform client decisions, guide their actions, and whether or not we ultimately facilitate their success. • The knowledge and skills we use in our work are actually neutral, possessing no inherent positive or negative implications. We can employ the same techniques to connect with, or distance ourselves from, clients. The same concepts can generate clarity and insight or add to existing confusion. The spin our character puts on these otherwise agnostic tools of the trade bends their impact toward either advantageous or adverse outcomes.

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Without the influence of our character, the language and processes associated with what we do can come across as sterile, left-brained, technical fragments of the implementation process. Only when character and methodology interact synergistically can our heads and hearts merge to release the potential that is there. • Character distinguishes our work more than anything else. It differentiates much more than the methodologies we use. Others can apply the same concepts and techniques, but no one else can duplicate the outcomes we produce when our character interlaces with words and actions. This means that, as practitioners, the secret sauce isn’t in our heads, it’s in our hearts.

The Role of Presence in High Impact Work A strong character, comprised of mostly positive components, is necessary, but insufficient, for the practitioner who wishes to be seen as both a strategic and an invaluable asset. Character is your true nature, your essence. It’s an internal phenomenon, not directly accessible to anyone but yourself. Your interior character needs a “voice” to be expressed to the exterior world. Think of the presence you extend to others as that voice. When people describe someone as having a strong personal presence, they usually mean that even in large crowds, he or she generates a sense of influence. People pay attention to what the person says or does. As I’m using the term here, a persuasive presence doesn’t lead others to abandon their free will or abdicate making their own decisions. Instead, it helps them listen to and consider what is being suggested or promoted. Presence is not the same thing as charisma. It is more about being than doing. Even leaders who have rather reserved personalities or are not particularly verbal about their convictions can emit a powerful presence. In fact, one of the distinguishing features of this kind of influence is that it doesn’t require any particular rhetoric or activity.

What Is Practitioner Presence? The presence I’m referring to here is like a force field that you project when you express aspects of who you are while providing guidance to clients. This is the temperament you emit that serves as the conduit through which your character emanates. It’s like an intangible transmission that flows underneath and around your words and actions. Beyond concepts and techniques, presence is another key pillar in your intervention repertoire. Whenever you attempt to influence someone, you draw on not only what you say and do, but also on this reflection of who you are.

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• Presence is like a subliminal identity signature embedded within your interactions. It might fall into a broad category such as peaceful, hectic, accommodating, demanding, but it also has a unique frequency that, when released, creates an ambient bubble like no other. Whether the exchanges are face-to-face, by phone, through email, or by text, interactions inside your “influence bubble” are distinctive to only you. Whether this bubble engenders a high or low regard for you directly affects the amount of influence you can exert. Usually, this bubble is created without our awareness. We don’t think about sending out these instinctive, involuntary presence messages. In truth, however, most of what we say or do has a particular tone about it that is as singular as our eye’s retina scan. The fact that we are generally unaware of how or when we broadcast these signals to others doesn’t lessen their impact; neither ignorance nor innocence offers protection from the consequences. • The problem is that all the verbal and nonverbal communications inside this bubble are influenced by our presence, yet most practitioners pay little, if any, attention to its impact. We tend to think more about weight, hairstyle, and attire than we think about our presence, even though this influence zone has a major bearing on whether or not we create value for others. • Just as not all aspects of character are conducive to successful change facilitation, presence also contributes to or detracts from whether practitioners achieve their assigned responsibilities. That said, when high impact change practitioners emit a positive presence, it affects their clients in three beneficial ways. – Practitioners with a powerful, constructive presence are usually seen as having deep and passionate convictions. Politicians, movie stars, and other famous people are often described as “larger than life,” or mesmerizing; this is very different from having presence. Real presence is not a function of superficial façades or manipulated images. It’s an expression of one’s authentic being. – Presence brings with it an assuredness noticed by clients. They sense when practitioners believe they can and will carry out their mission, no matter how challenging. – Radiating a convincing presence can have the effect of penetrating the unconscious defenses people sometimes use to guard themselves against new thinking, challenges that appear beyond their reach, unfamiliar perspectives, or interpretations other than their own. The combination of definitiveness, self-confidence, and the ability to help people open themselves to new possibilities can have a compelling effect on what can be seen as achievable. • There are two sides to presence. – A practitioner’s character is relatively stable. However, due to the shifting variables they face on a daily basis, their presence will fluctuate in response to current circumstances.

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– At the same time, because presence is a reflection of the high influence practitioner’s true nature, there will be a continuity to how it is projected. This means that from situation to situation a change professional’s presence will likely vary. However, over time, the consistency of his or her character will be revealed.

What Are the Implications of Presence on a Practitioner’s Influence? When high impact change agents transmit a clear, persuasive presence, their selfassurance and conviction often become contagious. It’s not necessarily the content of their convictions that clients attach themselves to; they may not agree with everything being stated. What they are drawn to is the excitement, intrigue, and enthusiasm that can come from being around someone living their own truth. Even if some of the specific guidance offered doesn’t seem feasible, clients are often attracted to working with practitioners who have enough commitment to what they are doing to incorporate it into how they actually operate themselves. It is both provoking and inspiring to work closely with someone who is an exemplar of what he or she suggests for others. Your presence will either enhance or diminish the impact of the implementation concepts and techniques you use; one way or another, it is always a factor in your effectiveness. For example, without saying or doing anything obvious, your presence signals whether you are more committed to client success than invested in being politically pleasant and amenable. Alternatively, it could reveal that you are conflictaverse and uncomfortable about being direct and explicit on tough issues.

The Relationship between Character and Presence Presence is the functional link between our interior character and the external impact we have with others. Like its character counterpart, the constitution of one’s presence determines the effect it has.

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• A weak (diffused) character conveys a correspondingly anemic presence and has little effect on others. A strong (purposeful, focused) character expresses a persuasive presence that tends to get traction with other people. • If “supportive” or “detrimental” are added as descriptors, the results can reflect anything from a presence that is convincingly influential (in either positive or negative ways) to a benign presence that is neither constructive nor harmful. Presence that authentically conveys character can’t be manufactured, but it can be “attended to.” High impact practitioners are mindful of the presence they transmit and they intentionally nurture growth in those areas where they feel it would be beneficial.

The Presence Disconnect Many change practitioners are unfamiliar with the presence bubble that forms around them because they are basically unacquainted with their true nature. They haven’t pursued who they really are at the level being described here, so they have little appreciation for the connection between character and presence. As a result, the affect their presence has on interactions remains a mystery; it is generally invisible to them. While they may have a degree in psychology, organizational development, change management, or project management; be able to recite their Myers-Briggs scores; or know their preferred communications style – most change agents haven’t deeply delved into their character. What I am referring to isn’t a lack of casual reflection. What is missing is a profound journey into the soul – exploring not just what they do but who they are. The majority of practitioners go about their work not only disconnected from their inherent character but also unaware of the impact their presence has on others. If they

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do have a sense that presence is a factor in their effectiveness, they don’t see its connection to character. It’s not unusual for practitioners to want a more positive impact on the leaders they serve, but they think they can accomplish this by directly modifying their presence. “I’m going to change my presence profile” only works at a superficial level. Since most practitioners haven’t spent much time exploring their true nature or its relationship to presence, any consideration about how to have a more effective impact is ill-fated from the beginning – at least as far as substantial advances that are sustainable. They want to enhance their presence bubble, but think they can do so by “adjusting” it. This view lends itself to efforts like enhancing interpersonal skills or strengthening public speaking capabilities rather than probing into the deeper space where character resides. There isn’t anything wrong with developmental activities of this nature. However, that’s not where the greatest leverage is. When practitioners focus on their exterior in lieu of their interior, it is confirmation they haven’t yet realized that although presence is the interface with others, it is but an echo of where attention should be focused – on character. They fail to see that only through exploring and reclaiming aspects of their character will they achieve a meaningful, lasting shift in presence. Presence is a reflection of our character, not actually who we are. Attempting to adjust it is like trying to change the features on someone’s face by altering his or her image on a TV monitor. No amount of modification of the screen’s likeness will have any meaningful bearing on the person’s actual appearance. It is what it is. High impact practitioners recognize that presence is what impacts others, but that’s not where they aim their aspirations. Their focus is on the source of presence’s reflection, character. However, they approach it not in the sense that normal, leftbrain logic would suggest. This isn’t about shifting their internal character to meet external needs; it’s about embracing their true nature and the presence it broadcasts so they can better attract the clients who will value them for who we really are.

Presence Is Nurtured by Exploring Character Enriching presence is not a straightforward process. It is best refined and deepened indirectly, through the exploration of character. There is an abundance of evidence that intentionally modifying human behavior (our own or someone else’s) is amenable to engineered outcomes. Though much more difficult to pull off, under the right conditions, even mindsets can be deliberately reshaped. As impressive as these kinds of adjustments can be, however, they don’t add to or subtract from someone’s baseline character – the essence of who he/she is as a human being. Behavior and mindsets are certainly linked to our character, but they are not synonymous with it. Unfortunately, most people confuse thinking/doing modifications with ontological alterations. Our character is about our beingness, not the frame of reference and actions we display. This misperception leaves many practitioners

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incorrectly focused on trying to mold their appearance (projected presence) to increase their effectiveness instead of cultivating their character. Change professionals can work on things such as their physical image or interpersonal skills, but this has little substantive effect on the presence they convey. This is because presence, as defined here, is a reflection of who a person truly is, not a persona that can be artificially staged on a sustained basis. • Intentionally projecting a presence that doesn’t match your true character is professional-level manipulation at its worst. Even when done under the auspices of “what is best for the client,” change facilitators who are not presenting their authentic selves contribute to the wariness that often exists towards internal support specialists and/or external consultants. At times clients become uneasy right away, feeling that something isn’t right about the way a practitioner is coming across. Other times, it takes longer; however, at some point they began to feel the practitioner isn’t trustworthy. This often occurs unconsciously, so without clients ever knowing why, they become somewhat suspicious and withdraw from deeper conversations that might leave them vulnerable. • Presence is the natural outcome of our character. It’s not who we are, but a “reflection” of who we are. As such, trying to directly modify some aspect of it usually generates more frustration than progress; the superficial alterations that result aren’t long lasting. – We can ensure it fully expresses our character, but we can’t authentically alter our presence to reflect something inconsistent with our character, at least not for long. The presence we create emulates our true nature, but it is not the fullness of who we are. If we really want to nurture our presence, we must evolve our character. • Think of it as Character generates Presence, which in turn generates Impact. – Character is like clay in the shape of our inner nature. – Presence is a reflection of that shape in a mirror. – Impact is the positive or negative experience clients have when exposed to the mirror’s representation. Those who want to be seen as high impact practitioners should be working the clay instead of reaching for the mirror. • “Working” character’s clay doesn’t involve carving or molding in the way these terms are normally applied to sculpting. In fact, it is just the opposite. – This isn’t about imposing a design on your character, it is about liberating the inherent blueprint of who you are – uncovering what has been minimized or neutralized, and releasing the uniqueness that is already there. – The task is to recognize, align with, and leverage the most positive impact possible from your character, not to try to manufacture a character that suits us. We may deny, avoid, cover up, or attempt to “modify” who we really are all we want, but ultimately, our essence will prevail. We will serve our clients and ourselves

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much better if, instead of trying to forbid or negate parts of our character, we come to terms with what we have to work with. Only by accepting who we are can, we fully exploit our gifts and route our challenges toward positive outcomes. As used here, “accepting” something about ourselves doesn’t necessarily mean we are pleased or proud that it exists – it’s to embrace it as a reality (even if an unwanted one) and factor its influence into our decision-making process. Embracing and leveraging the innate character we have to work with is how presence can mature and have the kind of high impact associated with strategic and invaluable resources. Strengthening presence by way of fostering character may appear to be an indirect path, but it is the only course on which true progress can be made. Trying to enhance an elusive reflection is pointless. Our character is the core of who we are and, therefore, substantive and accessible if we are willing to dive deep into self-exploration. Further examining the linkage between character and presence will shed light on why the indirect approach to nurturing presence is the best and only way to for a change practitioner to become an invaluable strategic resource.

Love the Music you Play Being seen as both strategic and invaluable hinges on your willingness to not only be fully who you are but also to be selective about those you try to influence. To the extent possible, focus your energy on clients who truly appreciate the uniqueness of what you have to offer. Think of yourself as a musician with your own radio station, specializing in a particular type of music that truly speaks to your heart and you are particularly good at playing. Your broadcast goes out in all directions, but only a small number of the people it reaches have their radios turned on to your frequency and only a few of those are drawn to the kind of music you provide. Although you may be broadcasting to a large population, relatively few people are being meaningfully affected. This raises an important issue to consider. Who is your intended audience? Is it all who are within range of your broadcast, or those who hold your kind of music in high regard and admire how you perform it? Most practitioners judge themselves (and are judged by others) based on the number of people who listen to their “station.” When this is the goal, the only way to succeed is to appeal to the widest possible range of interests and needs. There is nothing wrong with doing this, but it means you can’t play the music you love and are uniquely good at (or you can’t play it as often or as passionately as you feel it). As a result, you aren’t likely to be viewed as a high impact resource. It is more likely that you’ll be thought of as an adequate facilitator of change, not an exceptional one. In essence, you are a radio station manager trying to attract as many listeners as you can, not a musician trying to reach his or her niche audience. It’s the difference between: (1) being a business first and, whenever possible, being true to what you love and are uniquely good at doing most, versus (2) being true to what you love first and making a business out of it. Catering to what others want to hear comes at the

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expense of playing your own music. Remember, this isn’t just the music you enjoy, it is also what you are best at. It represents your only hope of being highly respected and influential, and considered vital to critically important endeavors. You can’t wow everyone, but for those who are predisposed to your kind of artistry, you are literately “music to their ears.” Yet, when the “number of listeners” takes precedence over playing for people who are actually affected by your type of music and distinctive style, not only are you less fulfilled, your audience receives less value. Playing “adequate” music everyone expects may produce crowds, but most of them will be spectators. Audiences receive much more benefit when they truly appreciate not only the music but the artist as well. Through their engagement and enthusiasm, they actually help create the overall experience themselves; they don’t just sit back passively taking it all in. This only happens, however, when there is a match between the musician’s uncompromised expression of his or her style and what the audience loves. Michael Jones (1995: 120–121), a musician and change agent, tells a story about improvising on a piano late at night in an empty hotel lobby after a client engagement. After a while an old man staggers over from the bar, and when Michael saw him he started playing “Moon River” thinking that the gentleman would want to hear something recognizable. When Michael stopped playing, the man asked him what he had been playing. Michael replied, “Oh a little bit of Moon River.” He said, yeah, I recognized that, what were you playing before? Michael told him that it was some of his own music. The old man asked him what Michael was doing with his music, and Michael replied, “Nothing. It’s just something I do for myself.” The old man looked directly at Michael and said, “Who will play your music if you don’t play it yourself?...This is your gift – don’t waste it.” Michael writes; What is ours to do comes so easily, because from the very beginning it has always been there. It may not necessarily be a special talent like writing or music; it may instead be a quality of caring that we offer, a capacity for listening deeply to others, or simply the wonder and beauty we bring to the world through how we give our attention to a piece of music, a flower, or a tree. Our purpose is to give ourselves to the world around us – including people, musical instruments, trees, and words – and through the attention we bring to them help them blaze to life. When we offer ourselves to the world, the world gives itself back to us. In the words of D. H. Lawrence, ‘Life rushes in.’ (Jones, 1995: 123)

If you interpret your purpose as seeking the largest possible audience, it doesn’t matter what music you play as long as it draws a big gathering. If you view your role as that of a virtuoso for a specific sound, you not only want to focus on playing that kind of music, you primarily want to perform for people who can appreciate it. The twist here is that by limiting your audience, you gain, not lose; you enlarge your true fan base by playing to a more select market. True fans are the ones who not only praise what you play, they respect how you play, and most important, they open themselves up to let the music have its intended impact. This doesn’t mean you never play what people want to hear instead of your own preferences. But when you do so, don’t confuse it with delivering your best value,

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and don’t forget it is a choice you are making – you are not a victim. Being a high impact practitioner requires that you play your own music; it’s nonnegotiable. If you decide, for whatever reason, that this is not feasible for you, adjust your expectations about what you can accomplish in your role and keep in mind that it is your decision; don’t allow resentment to build up toward others. This doesn’t mean you avoid playing for audiences who show only a slight interest in your music. It is important to be accessible to listeners who are unfamiliar with your music because, through exposure, they may become raving fans. The question is where do you spend most of your time and energy? Change practitioners seen as strategic and invaluable don’t spend much time trying to convince people to listen to their music, playing for people who are clearly unimpressed, or only playing “requested” songs. They believe enough in themselves and their unequivocal brand of music to stand on that as their foundation, instead of pandering to the crowds. It is wonderful if your followers grow into crowds of true fans, but don’t play so throngs will come – play for fans and see how many there are. When catering to the masses, you become part of the mass yourself. Competitors are everywhere; your only chance with this approach is to be the best of the commodities available. Being true to who you are makes you, by definition, distinct. There are no others who can convincingly replicate your unmistakable presence. For the listeners who value your music, there is no competition. There may be other performers they enjoy, but when in the mood for your music, they consider alternatives as substitutions, not replacements.

What Are you Doing with your Music? As change professionals, we each have our respective “musical style” if you will. It is a composition that blends what we do (our concepts and techniques) with who we are. Both are important, but it is our distinctive character and presence that allows us to occupy space that can be claimed by no other. Here is the key question for you to ponder: What are you doing with your music? Are you placing a higher priority on being a common denominator so you can secure enough affirmation from others to be allowed to perform your professional role? Or, are you bringing forth your true nature and boldly expressing your authentic presence so prospective clients can determine if they resonate with who you are? High impact practitioners pursue the second of these paths. They believe it is in their best interest and that of their clients to bring their “A-Game” to the table. Of course, you have to be an exceptionally good musician for all this to work. As a practitioner, that means meeting all six of the high impact criteria described earlier. Assuming these six attributes are an accurate description of how you are perceived, the pivotal issue becomes ensuring you are performing in front of the right patrons. This is your fan base; you should remain loyal to it by maintaining the integrity of who you are. That’s what they resonate with. It is what you owe to yourself and to them.

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The finest music you’ll ever play surfaces in front of appreciative audiences. To bring out your best and to deliver the greatest value, your quest is fourfold. • Know who you are and what practitioner music truly comes from your heart. • Play that music with all the authenticity and passion you feel and broadcast your frequency as strongly as you can. • Recognize that your ability to play the music as well as you do is a gift and strive to share it with people who resonate with its significance. (Others may be listening, but play for your true fans.) • Don’t compromise your musical talent in order to gain a larger audience or to please certain listeners in powerful positions. Be who you are and build your change practice around that. Don’t measure yourself by the number of people listening to your music – measure yourself by how many are touched by it – compelled in some way. The people you influence won’t open themselves to the vulnerability required for them to be genuinely impacted by your efforts unless you are playing unabashedly from your soul. I realize this may pose some significant challenges, but bear in mind that we’re all in the same boat. As change professionals, we pay for either our victimization or our sovereignty. Either way, the invoice is expensive, so make a decision and get on with it. For those who choose sovereignty, the work to be done is comprised of three steps. • First, deeply explore your character so you can understand and accept who you are. • Next, embrace the presence you broadcast as a natural reflection of your core and an expression of your unique gifts. • Finally, seek out people to work with who value your character/presence “package” instead of trying to artificially mold yourself to fit all prospects who might come your way. As we’ve seen, character and presence separate adequate technicians who merely deliver completed tasks and meet timelines from high impact practitioners who provide valuable insight and wisdom. We all use some kind of approach or framework to support our work, but our character and presence allows us to leverage these enablers for optimum impact. You need to engage both the heads and the hearts of the people you guide before they open themselves to meaningful advisory relationships. Well-constructed methodologies can impress their intellect, but it takes a strong character and a trusting presence to speak to someone’s heart. Your true nature is synonymous with who you are. It has an epicenter called your character, which is conveyed to clients through the presence you cast. It is by way of your inherent character and the presence you emit that you are seen as an invaluable strategic resource. To feel fulfilled professionally and provide the best possible value

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to those you influence, high impact practitioners must find their voice and perform without reservation in front of the right audiences.

Cultivating Character “The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.” Václav Havel (1988: 237)

Character Isn’t “Fixed,” It’s Refined Many people think they can develop character in the same way they might attain new knowledge or better their communication skills. They think they can improve it by pushing themselves to greater heights. Based on my experience, I’ve come to a different conclusion. I’ve been a professional facilitator of organizational change for over four decades. Before that, my work was in the area of counseling psychology. Throughout that time, I can’t think of a single situation where I witnessed someone who substantively transformed the essence of who they were, or the core nature of someone else. I know that sounds odd coming from someone in the change business, so let me explain. Early in my career, I accepted the conventional notion that character could be purposely “developed” – that is, there were activities, processes, or practices that, when engaged properly, could create or eliminate specific features of our own character or that of someone else. Then I began to notice that these kinds of results were not actually taking place among the people whose character I had been asked to help change. (Initially it was while counseling people seeking fundamental shifts in themselves or their spouses/children. Later, it was with leaders and change agents who had asked for guidance to address issues at the heart of who they were as human beings that were impairing their effectiveness during major transitions.) Because I saw so little actual character change resulting from my own efforts, I started paying closer attention to what others were describing when they discussed success at promoting change in someone’s fundamental nature. It became more and more clear to me that the modifications they were describing were not parallel to what I consider reconstituting character. There were behavioral and attitudinal changes taking place, but these shifts were not at the core level of a person’s foundation of being. More observation and pondering on all this helped me come to a very personal realization – nothing I had ever done to myself or that had happened to me had actually varied in any significant way the essence of who I had been all my life. On occasion, I had attempted to alter my basic nature, as did my parents and numerous teachers, ministers, coaches, etc. While some behavioral and mindset changes

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occurred depending on who was attempting what modification at a given point in time, I remained essentially the same at the DNA level of my character. Is my character different today from what it was when I was much younger? Absolutely. I can find no evidence, however, that the difference is attributed to any action I or anyone else took as a deliberate effort to create the specific outcomes that resulted. Did my character advance? Yes. Was it through intentional design? I think not. Behaviors can be added or subtracted from our inventory of habits, but I believe character remains remarkably resilient throughout our lives. I concluded that character does evolve, but not from being deliberately “developed” as the term typically implies (i.e., altered by design through applying certain actions to accomplish specific outcomes). Not only is our true nature unresponsive to external efforts to alter it, it doesn’t actually change at all. We come from the factory hardwired with the character that will represent who we are for most of our lives. We see this phenomenon elsewhere, but normally don’t apply the same perspective to character. Like the acorn that holds the base information and predisposition needed for a giant oak to unfold one day, we enter this world with all the foundational elements of our character intact, what James Hillman refers to as the “Soul’s Code” (Hillman 1996). For example, what appears as a relatively sudden onset of cholesterol-related problems often can be traced to a genetic susceptibility. The physical symptoms may or may not manifest, but evidence suggests that when they do, there is a genome marker embedded somewhere. The fundamental nature of who we are unfolds the same way. What begins to surface as character traits during adolescence, or during the young adult years and later in life, were always there but lying dormant until events, circumstances, or relationships trigger their manifestation. These qualities appear to us as new aspects of our character when, in fact, they are preexisting features that are only now being activated by our experiences. A different person can be exposed to the same kind of event, circumstance, or relationship, but the “new” quality doesn’t emerge for him/her. Why? I believe it is because there was no predisposition for it to come forth. Character is amenable to maturing into more advanced versions of its basic nature, but it can’t become something less than or more than its inherent state. My views on whether a practitioner’s character yields to change are grounded in these personal observations. Based on what I have witnessed, I can’t corroborate the claim that people are somehow able to make substantive additions to or deletions from their own (or someone else’s) basic nature. I have been party to introducing new initiatives where certain variables were stressed or deemphasized, and the characters of the leaders emerged very differently than was apparent earlier. However, to say these people started displaying character features that didn’t exist before or eradicated elements that were once prominent is beyond what I can substantiate. I believe a more likely explanation is that they started manifesting aspects of their character that had not previously been visible and/or that certain qualities became less pronounced and it looked as if they disappeared.

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Character Is Revealed, not Invented Advancing character isn’t about adding (or removing) parts; it’s about surfacing and honoring what has always been there but, over time, might have become covered up. We can’t “correct” our character by assessing what is missing and attaching the absent elements (e.g., “I’d like to be more caring so I think I’ll infuse some empathy into my makeup”). There is no Photoshop equivalent for character enrichment. Cultivating character isn’t about learning something new as much as it is about remembering. Character is revitalized by sinking into the depths from which we came in order to rediscover it. It is uncovered, not concocted. Bonsai is a Japanese art form that involves shaping woody-stemmed trees or shrubs in containers to produce small replicas that mimic the shape and style of mature, full-size trees. This technique dramatically alters the size and appearance of the trees to which it is applied, but it doesn’t change the kind of tree it is. For example, before bonsai treatments, a Japanese maple would have had a specific trajectory to its natural growth pattern. After years of carefully “developing” the tree through bonsai, it may be almost unrecognizable compared to other similar trees that were allowed to follow their normal growth disposition, and yet, it is still a Japanese maple. The process of bonsai stunted, twisted, pruned, negated, graphed, amended, and/or rechanneled the tree’s basic tendencies, but its character remained that of the young sapling it was early in its life. The tree is what it is, regardless of the circumstances in which it finds itself. The same can be said for people. They stunt, twist, prune, negate, graft, amend, and/or re-channel themselves (or someone else does it), resulting in new mindsets and behaviors that may in no way resemble their fundamental nature. Yet, the essence of who they really are remains intact. Their basic nature might be concealed by engineered alterations, but their beingness endures, despite the mutation or masking. Their presence can be altered to project any contrived image they choose, but the core of who they are will abide. When it comes to character, it makes no sense to try to develop something that didn’t exist before or to try to destroy elements we don’t like; it can’t be done. The most effective approach to refining our character involves reviving and accentuating existing qualities. We can also learn to de-emphasize (though not totally eliminate) facets we don’t value, or re-channel their impact into more constructive endeavors. The true nature of who we are has always shaped our lives, regardless of how muted or shrouded that influence might have become over time. Rediscovering our character is an act of liberation, not acquisition. Cultivating character is about exploring, accepting, and leveraging not only what is already within us but recognizing it as the greatest asset we have as change practitioners. Simply stated, when it comes to character, you have to play the hand you were dealt. That said, it’s not a static phenomenon. Character advances and grows stronger (for better or worse) on an ongoing basis. • It is constantly evolving. There is an elasticity to our inner core – it is always unfolding new, more sophisticated ways to interpret the actions of others and

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interact with them (through the presence we convey). This natural progression doesn’t add or subtract from who we are; it unfolds more and deeper pathways within which our character can operate. • Like most assets, it usually becomes a more powerful influence over time. As it matures, its features, as expressed through the presence that is conveyed, typically enhance its impact on those with whom we interact.

Are you Asleep at the Wheel? If we take as a given that our character is always advancing and strengthening itself, the question becomes, “Is this occurring with or without our attention?” Are we mindful of its continuous maturation or is all this happening without our conscious consideration? Even if we are blind to who we really are, deny what we don’t like about ourselves, or are ignorant of how influential our character has become, it still has an impact on others. Being vigilant of our character’s effect and intentionally fostering its unfolding is a necessity for achieving the kind of high impact being described here. Therefore, it is best for practitioners who aspire to be viewed as strategic and invaluable to be observant of their character. There are many ways to go about encouraging our character’s advancement, but they all have one thing in common – waking up. Since character enhancement involves nurturing and channeling what is innately there, rather than trying to insert foreign traits or eliminate unwanted attributes, the most important thing we can do is to reacquaint ourselves with what it is about our basic nature that we have lost contact with – to wake up to who we really are. But why is waking up even necessary – why do we go to sleep in the first place? When addressing the subject of character, we are talking about something that is indigenous to the center of our being; at some level there must have been a time we had access to it. Yet, as our lives progressed, most of us went adrift from at least some aspects of our core. We failed to maintain an open passage to our inner nature and started functioning as if we could feign what others wanted from us instead of honoring our true spirit. How can we lose touch with something as fundamental as who we are and why is awakening so difficult? Why is operating in a “walking sleep mode” even a viable option? To cut to the chase – the illusions we maintain when asleep can sometimes be far less stressful than the harsh realities we face when we take life head on. For many professional change practitioners, the truth is, although they stay busy with various activities, they operate in environments where they are not viewed as critical assets. To the contrary, they are considered tactical resources assigned to marginally important projects; as such, doing anything other than what is expected of them is unacceptable. Under such conditions, using unawareness to anesthetize themselves can be preferable to the heartbreak of going unrecognized and/or undervalued by those whom they serve.

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Falling asleep means forgetting that we each have a unique center worthy of expression. It is succumbing to victimization so thoroughly that our senses no longer register when we sell ourselves out to keep a job or keep more powerful people contented. This kind of self-induced slumber requires that we feed ourselves a litany of bumper-sticker platitudes so we’ll remain oblivious to the real implications of what is happening. • • • •

“That’s just the way it is.” “This is what it takes to keep things running smoothly around here.” “It’s easier than fighting with my boss about how honest I should be.” “Clients want to be told what they want to hear, not what is really taking place, or what is actually needed to succeed.”

When it comes to our relationship with who we really are, hibernation can prove to be a much less painful alternative to feeling small (if not invisible) and/or contorting ourselves into who or what others want. This kind of sleep modus operandi has turned into the approach of choice for many in the change profession. Operating while “comfortably numb” is a pattern that is playing itself out all too frequently: we first trade off, then disregard, eventually discount, and finally lose awareness of who we really are. As a result, many practitioners capable of high impact performance or who are on the cusp of and desire to make the leap in that direction “go to sleep” rather than experience the alienation and distress associated with not being valued for who they are. They deaden themselves without realizing it to avoid the pain. Some use alcohol, drugs, superficial relationships, or taking on hyper-workloads that overextend themselves to induce this numbness. Others bury their discomfort in their psyche and learn to function on autopilot. They engage their assigned duties absent any awareness of the fulfillment that is missing. Here is the unconscious logic trail they apply to themselves: 1. There is no pain if there is no foul. 2. There is no foul if I have no expectation of being recognized and valued for who I am. 3. To have no expectations, I have no awareness. 4. Without awareness, there is no pain. As I’m using it here, falling asleep means no longer being aware of how bringing forward all you have to offer could be a benefit to your clients, and it means ensuring that the presence you project is one that keeps leaders comfortable. There is no place for conflict with this kind of slumber because tension heightens awareness, whereas contentment has a tranquilizing effect. We must water down what we offer as observations or recommendations in order to keep everyone appeased and content. Being a provocateur, or in any way offering views or feedback contrary to what clients expect or want to hear, is unacceptable and inconsistent with keeping them comfortable and ourselves anesthetized.

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Falling asleep means forgetting that we each have a unique center that is worthy of expression, and that failing to offer it is an unprofessional act of withholding value from those we serve. It means we lose sight of our responsibility to use all possible means to support clients as best we can, including deploying our authenticity as we would any other asset included in our methodology (concepts, tools, techniques, etc.). We fall asleep when we fail to open a passage to our inner nature and we convince ourselves we can (and should) fake what others want from us instead of honoring our true spirit. This is when we start dreaming we are someone other than who we really are. The dream turns into a nightmare, however, if the sleep state is sustained too long and we lose the ability to pull ourselves out of our comatose condition. High impact practitioners operate in a state of “awakeness.” They wake up every time they remind themselves about the value their character represents – the core of who they are. Being awake means being mindful of: • How much you have to offer clients when you inject your character and presence into the mix • How wasteful it is to not leverage the unique value you represent • How painful it is to live an inauthentic life • How alive it feels to live an authentic life

Unraveling the Conditioning Going to sleep means losing the distinction between keeping clients in their comfort zone and practicing our craft at the highest level. Waking up doesn’t guarantee we’ll never again capitulate to political pressure. It means that if we do subdue our true selves in order to “keep the peace” (if not our jobs), we are aware of what is happening and we make an informed decision. We don’t fall unconsciously into numbness and/or feel victimized by circumstances. To wake up, we must unravel the conditioning that has influenced many of us since infancy. To say this, habituation is deeply entrenched in how we function as professionals is an understatement. In virtually every aspect of our lives, we have been instructed in how to subjugate our nature to the surrounding pressures, not the other way around. The intent behind this kind of guidance was usually well-meaning. It helped us “fit in” (initially with our families, then friends, community, religion, school, spouse, work, etc.). The net effect for some practitioners, however, has been incredibly detrimental as far as their functioning as high impact resources. They were taught to trade truth and authenticity for the love and acceptance of others – not a pact that is ultimately in our best interest, nor that of the organizations we serve if we aspire to maximize our influence with clients. An inculcation process that permeates virtually all aspects of life is difficult to see, and harder to extract ourselves from. It is the water we swim in, and the air we breathe, so it’s tough to be objective both about its existence and how to handle it.

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Difficult or not, we need to come to grips with what must first be acknowledged, then addressed, and finally resolved – to be a strategic and invaluable resource to leaders during change, the tenacity to bring our full selves forward must be seen as an imperative, not a preference to be exercised or not.

This Is Hard Work There is nothing easy about waking ourselves from the slumber that results when professionals regard their innate being as less valuable than what others want from them. But then, if easy is what you are seeking, being seen as a high impact practitioner is the wrong pursuit for you. Being thought of as a strategically invaluable change professional is a doubleedged sword. There are the satisfaction and the economic rewards of being at the top of your game, and there are the associated responsibilities that come with those benefits. High impact work means living up to the respect that people grant to practitioners operating at that level. Nothing less than our all-out best is permissible if we claim the high ground of being exceptionally skilled at what we do, stand on our truth, and authentically express who we are. If you want to accomplish all this and excel in our field, you must wake up. There is no alternative route. Either pull yourself out of the conditioning that encourages you to water down what you say and do so the people around you can stay in their comfort zone, or stop kidding yourself that you are on the path to deliver exceptional value to your clients. Wake up from the dream that you are other than who you are. Rejuvenate the connection to your true nature and the value you can create for people when you allow your character to be the center of gravity for your work.

Character’s Hidden Assets I like to use metaphors when describing human dynamics. Good ones provide a simple way to convey complex characterizations. They also inform us of implications we might not otherwise recognize. Here we’ll use a sapling and the oak tree it becomes as a metaphor for how we can lose awareness of our true nature, even though the foundation of our character is always there. Consider that within even the most massive oak tree, there resides the sapling from which the tree evolved. Not the concept of a sapling; I mean underneath the bark and all the years of accumulated rings of growth that make up the trunk, there remains the original, thin frail sapling that was the tree’s starting point. If you chipped away the trunk that grew around it, you would find it there. I’m not talking about carving a rendering of a sapling out of the oak, it would be the actual sapling itself. Uncovering the sapling isn’t the result of sculpting, it’s about revealing what had always been there but had become hidden – not creating a sapling out of the tree, but actually exposing the existing one.

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Learning from Parallels We can use this image of the sapling embedded within an oak’s trunk as a way to represent the nature of a practitioner’s character. For the metaphor to work, however, I’ll need poetic license in order to inject some human qualities into the biological realities of a tree’s life. • The Sapling – Its central function is to establish a foundation for growth and be the keeper of the tree’s inner nature throughout its life. From a human perspective, the risk is that a person’s sapling won’t remain vibrant long enough to benefit from the trunk’s defenses. • The Trunk – Its principal aim, year after year, is to add rings of hardwood to protect the tree’s true nature. For humans, the risk is that a person’s trunk will become so dominant that it smothers the sapling’s spirit, producing a tree that is large and strong but also inanimate and uninspired – big, thick, sturdy, and impressive, but at the same time rigid and lacking soul. As change professionals, we can draw some parallels between the sapling/trunk relationship and our own struggle to stay connected to our inner nature. Here are four ways we can learn from the oak.

Protect your Essence without Snuffing it out The sapling is the keeper of the tree’s character, but it is a fledgling and lives an extremely precarious existence. As soon as it is established, it triggers the buildup of a more durable envelope in which to protect the tree’s essence. This is where the trunk’s growth comes in. The sapling’s charter is to hold and nurture the base substance of who the tree is, not to protect itself from possible harm. It is the trunk’s job to encircle the sapling with layer after layer of hardwood so its spirit is sheltered from outside damage. The trunk does its job well, but the security it offers can also be the sapling’s demise. If the trunk grows too dense, it can overwhelm the sapling’s ability to function as a reservoir for the tree’s vibrancy. When the metaphor is applied to humans, it can be said that a similar bond forms between the core of who we are and the protective mechanisms we create to buffer our character from harm. The conditioning we have been exposed to throughout our lives morphs our uniqueness into ways of operating that are more acceptable to others than would otherwise be the case. Without some means of protecting the essence of who we are, the conditioning process can completely overcome the truth of who we are. Even slight infractions on our core nature can be distressing, so the prospect of our character being lost altogether is avoided at all costs. To prevent this from happening, we create defenses to shield the integrity of our character and insulate us from the emotional pain we would experience if it were breached. In this way, we

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can “accommodate” others who expect something different from us than who we really are without transgressing too much of our inner core. Whenever we find ourselves in settings where our true nature isn’t valued, the tendency is to grant people what they want but then add another layer of defense. Over time, a debilitating rhythm can be established: keep people comfortable, add a layer – keep people comfortable, add a layer, etc. The defenses are an effort to “be in the world but not of it;” yet, after enough years of “keep people comfortable, add a layer,” the core spirit that is supposed to be protected can become no more than a faint echo.

Don’t Build so Many Defenses That Even You Can’t Find Your True Nature The sapling/trunk relationship is a paradox. On the one hand, the sapling depends on the trunk’s ever-growing strength to buffer it from jeopardy; at the same time, it runs the danger of becoming completely engulfed and eventually assimilated into the very thing that is there to preserve it. Every safe haven has its price. For the sapling, it’s that the trunk can become so dense the sapling’s identity (and therefore, the tree’s soul) can appear to vanish. The tree is living but it seems to lack “aliveness.” If the sapling can’t withstand the pressure of the trunk’s growth, the tree will still be left standing, but will not truly flourish as it could without the vitality that comes from its inherent spirit. Life is a risky proposition, and not every acorn yields a seedling. Many seedlings never produce a sapling, and there are plenty of saplings that fail to properly safeguard themselves with adequate trunks. Likewise, not every sapling that generates a protective trunk survives the pressure of its defenses. With poetic license, I’ll say that when this happens, the sapling is absorbed into the trunk itself to the point that the tree’s spirit can look like it has been lost. The protector becomes the assailant of that which it was supposed to protect. We can say the same for those who are change practitioners. Their character becomes overwhelmed by the protective mechanism they set up to safeguard their uniqueness. Compromise after compromise leads to layer after layer of protective defense. At a certain point, their basic nature becomes so entombed within its own defenses that it is rendered inaccessible.

Don’t Let Your Tough Exterior Become all of Who You Are to Others A sapling that seems to have been lost to the layers of its own hardwood never actually ceases to exist, but its appearance can become so obscured by the trunk’s dominance that it is no longer apparent to others. All saplings become encased in their trunk’s denseness – that’s inherent in the protective process. The problem occurs when the tree’s spirit can no longer be distinguished – when its identity loses its definition to the encircling mass. If this

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happens, the oak’s inner nature is still there, but its beacon can no longer penetrate the thick enclosure it is in. Its vitality can’t pass through the trunk and be visible to the external world. No one can see anything but the massive trunk; to the outside observer, the tree is the trunk. To a passerby, the essence of the oak’s true nature wasn’t “replaced” by the trunk’s imposing nature. As far as the person is concerned, there was never anything but the visible trunk, branches, and leaves. There is no thought that, at one time, a sapling was chartered to carry the tree’s soul and that it is still in there – very much alive, even though buried beneath the trunk’s weight. The sapling and the innate spirit it holds are all but forgotten. The same can be said for change agents who lose contact with their character. Our autonomous spirit isn’t something that actually goes away, even when smothered and left unattended for long periods of time. What can happen, however, is that our defenses become so concentrated and impenetrable that, to others (and perhaps even to ourselves), our essence becomes invisible. Our true nature is nowhere to be found. All that is noticeable are the layers of hard, compressed defenses that have built up.

It’s About Achieving a Dynamic Balance The trunk’s function is to safeguard the sapling’s inner nature, not to become such an overpowering force that the sapling’s spirit is lost. High impact change professionals are able to achieve this dynamic balance. There is no question we need defense mechanisms to cope with the pressure to subjugate our true core in order to cater to the wishes of others. The challenge is how to employ this armor without losing our connection to what it is there to protect – forgetting who we are and the positive impact our uniqueness can have for clients.

It’s Time to Wake Up Let’s go back to our earlier sapling/trunk illustration for more insight and inspiration.

This Is an Inside Job For the metaphor to work, we’d have to consider that finding the small sapling within such a large tree would require pulling back the trunk. We would have to chip it away, bit by bit, to uncover the young sapling – the spirit of the tree – still living within. At some point, we’d actually be crawling inside the tree for closer examinations of where the tender skin of the young sapling stops and the surrounding strength of the trunk begins. What this picture evokes in me is a heightened awareness that nothing short of inching our way into our own depths will suffice. If we are to reconnect to and reacquaint ourselves with our inner nature, it will require a lot of hard work that we can’t detour around, truncate, or delegate.

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There are no shortcuts to make it quick, apps to make it easy, or surrogates to do it for us. Liberating a character that has been lost to the dense trunk of defenses that grew up around it can only be accomplished when we painstakingly extract layer after layer of the obfuscation that has built up. Done right, this is a messy, extended, resource-consuming, and emotionally laden process – not something most people would describe as a lot of fun. I assure you it is not for the timid or faint of heart. That’s why many of the practitioners I know who have pursued such a path go on to be viewed as strategic and invaluable resources for their clients. They may have had reasons to engage in this very personal work other than raising the bar on their professional capabilities – it is not for me to say. I’m just observing that the change professionals I’ve personally had contact with who have engaged this kind of deep, introspective self-learning are usually the ones who also rose to the top of their games.

Don’t Be Surprised When You Are Surprised This kind of an exploration isn’t about creating a sapling-looking figure from a larger piece of wood. This is more like archeology in that it involves uncovering what is already there. Character isn’t developed, it’s emancipated. We don’t determine what it should be; it divulges itself to us. This is about honoring what is, not imposing what should be. In this sense, we must be prepared to be surprised by what our character reveals about itself. If we only allow it to bring to light what we want or expect, we will defeat the whole purpose of the rescue effort. “Don’t be surprised by what you learn about yourself when you wake up” would be the wrong advice. In fact, if you aren’t occasionally surprised by what your inner core announces about itself, you are probably still trying to control the outcome too much. “Don’t be surprised when you are surprised” is a better adage for approaching this undertaking. It would be wise to take a cue here from improve comedians who are masters at acceptance. Regardless of what is said or done by their fellow comics or the audience, it is taken in as information to fuel the next joke. They don’t engage the typical left-brain logic filters to determine which input best fits with where they want to go. They assume where they are going will become clear by the input they receive. They don’t direct the outcome; they allow it to tell them how to get there by listening to and using whatever information is made available.

You Must Find your Own Path Waking up to our inner nature can be approached from several perspectives, including: • In personal relationships (friends, family, etc.)

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• In health matters (nutrition, exercise, etc.) • In solitude (prayer, meditation, etc.) • It also can be revealed by exploring how we “show up” in our work Delving into how our inner nature affects the way we practice our craft is something that we each have to commission in our own way. There are various enablers we can call on to help facilitate the process of reacquainting ourselves with our core and authentically expressing ourselves with clients. Some of these paths are very interactive (e.g., using a coach, mentor, or peer community for exploratory discussions). Other approaches are pursued in solitude (e.g., prayer, meditation, selfreflective time with nature). This is not something where “best practices” will be of much help. Anyone drawn to enroll in this kind of a journey must determine for himself or herself how best to proceed. That said, here are some questions that may be worth either considering on your own or engaging in dialogue with others. • What are some words, phrases, stories, or images you can use to portray what your character looks and feels like from the inside – your sapling? • Does it feel any different with clients when you have a clear channel to your inner nature versus when you have fallen asleep? • Your character is conveyed through your presence, so how do clients let you know whether or not who you are is valued? • What impact does your character/presence package have on clients? • What are some of the indications that your sapling is thriving beneath the protective cover of your trunk? Are there any indications when it is overwhelmed and in jeopardy of losing its identity? • What are the ways you try to “wake” yourself up? • What are some words, phrases, stories, or images you can use to portray the defenses you have built up to protect the integrity of your character and buffer you from emotional pain when who you are is devalued or ignored? • What prompts your trunk to add new layers of defense?

Summary Practicing the craft of change facilitation at a high impact level isn’t something most professionals will have an appetite for pursuing. The majority are focused on “what to do,” not “who they are.” This isn’t meant as an indictment; it’s just an honest reflection of how our profession has evolved. There is good reason relatively few choose this path. Being a high impact trusted advisor has a lot of appeal until the realities of what it takes to reach this status become clear. Invaluable strategic practitioners generally work harder, put in longer hours, and take more risks than their adequate counterparts. In addition, they frequently find themselves in uncomfortable/difficult interactions with their clients and never reach completion of their professional development.

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As if that’s not enough, the most challenging requisite for operating this way may be finding the courage and discipline to stay the course despite the problems and burdens encountered. Courage and discipline are critical elements for change professionals committed to maintaining a balance between knowing what to do and bringing forward who they are. We must have: • The courage to maintain an unvarnished alertness for the good, the bad, and the ugly. At any point in time: – What is our character revealing (not just what we like about ourselves, but what we don’t like as well)? – What is our presence hiding (the parts of ourselves we are afraid to reveal)? – What happens when we practice our craft with the wrong clients (try to influence people who don’t understand or appreciate what we are offering when we bring forward our true selves) • The discipline to make an informed decision each time we become aware of gaps separating our desire to be fully authentic and the reality of what we are actually doing Practitioners seeking strategic and invaluable status can’t cultivate their character by acquiring new concepts or skills. It’s about uncovering our true nature and realigning with its inherent value and impact. It’s about reacquainting ourselves with who we are so we can stop denying our essence in order to keep others comfortable. It isn’t easy to untangle ourselves from all the conditioning we’ve taken on over the course of our lives, but to excel in the change profession demands nothing less. Character is the sapling at our core and, as such, is unchanging in its nature. When presence is an authentic reflection of that essence, we are in a position to leverage our greatest strengths – bringing forward the aspects of who we really are that are most advantageous to helping clients navigate the transitions they have asked us to facilitate. We each have a vibrant, dynamic, spirited sapling that is the primary source of the benefits we provide our clients. High impact practitioners on a mastery path have a responsibility to themselves and those they serve to crawl through the layers of their trunk to reveal, honor, and express the sapling that is there. This is an invitation for you to join in this pursuit – if you feel you are called to do so.

References Aburdene P (2005) Megatrends 2010: The Rise of conscious capitalism. Charlottsville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Conner D (1993) Managing at the speed of change: how resilient managers succeed and prosper where others fail. Random House, New York Emerson, R. W (2009) Essays: second series. Bibliolife, Charleston. http://www.emersoncentral. com/character.htm

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Ekman P, Friesen WV (1975) Unmasking the face: a guide to recognizing emotions from facial clues. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs Havel V (1988) Letters to Olga. Henry Holt and Company, New York, p 237 Hillman J (1996) The souls code: in search of character and calling. Random House, New York Jones M (1995) Creating an imaginative life. Conari Press, Berkeley Merron K (2005) Consulting mastery: how the best make the biggest difference. Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco Neal J (2006) Edgewalkers: people and organizations that take risks, build bridges and break new ground. Westport, Greenwood Praeger Taleb NN (2010) Black swan: the impact of the highly improbable. Random House, New York

Spiritual Disciplines for Transformation, Renewal, and Sustainable Leadership J. Lee Whittington

Abstract

Recently there has been a great deal of focus on creating sustainable organizations. A commonly cited definition of sustainability is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In this chapter, I take the notion of sustainability and apply it to individual leaders by addressing these questions: How can leaders meet their current responsibilities without compromising their future capacity to lead? How can leaders excel in their leadership roles without sacrificing family and personal well-being? I approach these questions from a Biblical perspective, and this chapter begins with a comprehensive definition of leadership that is based on scriptures. Drawing on my own experience and using life lessons from several leaders, I then discuss a set of spiritual disciplines that can prevent leader derailment and set the leader up for a sustainable leadership that has positive impact now and for generations to come. Keywords

Leadership • Sustainability • Spiritual disciplines

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Extending Our Understanding of Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redefining Success Requires a Renewing of Your Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Success: A Biblical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Pentathlon: A Whole-Life Model of Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Work Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Personal Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Community Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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J. Lee Whittington (*) Satish and Yasmin Gupta College of Business, University of Dallas, Irving, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_49-2

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The Family Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Spiritual Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Spiritual Disciplines for Sustainable Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sanctify the Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sustainable Leadership Requires Strategic Cheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Revised Pentathlon Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Derailment Deterrence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction If we are to be transformational leaders, we must first be transformed. As Judi Neal argues in her introduction, this the fundamental premise of this volume. Indeed, if individual followers and entire organizations are to be transformed, the process must begin with a leader who is himself or herself transformed. The importance of personal transformation was identified by the apostle Paul who encouraged his followers to “not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” According to Paul, personal transformation begins with the renewing of the mind, but the renewal does not stop there. This renewal cascades into every area of person’s life, resulting in a new perspective that a person’s entire life is “a living sacrifice,” and an ongoing act of worship. Neither the renewal of the mind nor the resulting transformation Paul calls for is a one-time event. In the original language, these were to be ongoing activities. Literally, he encouraged his followers to “keep on being transformed.” According to Paul, transformation is an inside-out process that begins with the renewing of the mind. In this chapter, I take a similar inside-out approach to developing a more sustainable approach to leadership. Rather than merely giving intellectual assent or manipulating externalities, I argue that developing a more sustainable approach to leadership begins with a fundamental choice to redefine success. This redefinition is then implemented through the process of setting boundaries and utilizing the spiritual disciplines necessary for strengthening the “soul of leadership.”

Extending Our Understanding of Sustainability Over the last 20 years, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on the idea of organizational sustainability. The essence of this emphasis on corporate sustainability is captured in Porter and Kramer’s (2006) assertion of the need for organizations to “achieve commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and respect people, communities, and the natural environment” (p. 3). This balanced view of commercial success involves consideration of the claims of the full set of stakeholders in the present, yet it extends beyond the present by explicitly acknowledging that

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meeting the needs of the present must be done without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Thus, sustainability is viewed both holistically and with the future in mind. The principles of sustainability can be applied to individuals, as well as organizations. In this chapter, I will extend this two-pronged understanding of sustainability to individual leaders. The perspective I take in this chapter runs parallel with the concept of corporate sustainability: sustainable leadership requires avoiding the mistake of leveraging current performance at the expense of the future. As Porter and Kramer have done in their definition of corporate sustainability, I will argue that in order to maintain personal sustainability, leaders must view it from a long-term perspective. Sustainable leadership also requires the holistic perspective of performing in a specific leadership role without robbing from the other arenas of the leader’s life.

Redefining Success Requires a Renewing of Your Mind I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1–2, ESV)

In an often-quoted passage from his letter to the Romans, Paul the Apostle appeals to believers to view their entire life as an act of “spiritual worship” – “a living sacrifice” – that is “holy and acceptable to God.” This idea ran counter to the prevailing norms of Paul’s time, and it runs counter to the prevailing norms of contemporary culture. According to Paul, personal transformation begins with the renewing of the mind. While the process of transformation begins with the mind, it is clear that it does not stop there. He goes on to say that this renewal will result in a comprehensive reframing that views a person’s entire life as an act of worship. The need for personal transformation and a whole-life approach to success is at the heart of a redefinition of success. This is the necessary point of beginning for individuals who seek to create a more sustainable leadership pace. Leaders are hardwired with a bias for action that is usually accompanied by a high need for achievement and personal ambition. Most leaders I know tend to define success within the narrow confines of their specific leadership role or formal position and title. This narrow definition of success certainly provides focus and intentionality around the expectations associated with that particular leadership role. However, sustainable leadership requires a recognition that leaders are in this for the long haul. They cannot sacrifice the future in order to deliver results in the present. Beyond taking the long view, leaders must also be acutely aware that the diligent focus they bring to their leadership roles has unintended consequences for the other areas of their lives. We all know stories of leaders who have sacrificed their families and personal relationships on the altars of their careers. This phenomenon is not restricted

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to corporations that are dominated by the tyranny of quarterly profit expectations. I have seen this in not-for-profit organizations and even in churches. A prominent pastor publicly admitted that his drive and ambition were costing him precious relationships with his wife and his children. These patterns are easy to spot in the lives of others. Yet we are often unaware of the same patterns in our own lives. Unfortunately, our awareness frequently comes late in the game, when relationships have been damaged, if not permanently severed. To overcome this, it is imperative that we as leaders develop a new, more comprehensive definition of success. Rather than viewing our success as a leader solely in terms of meeting the goals associated with our formal roles, we need to redefine success in a holistic way. The Olympic pentathlon provides useful model for such a redefinition. The pentathlon involves competing in five events – a 4000-m cross country race, a 300-m freestyle swim, a 5000-m 30-jump equestrian event steeplechase, pistol shooting, and a fencing contest. Athletes who compete in the pentathlon cannot afford to excel in only one area; the pentathlon requires developing the skills required to perform well in each event. Because each event impacts every other event, intentional and coordinated preparation is required. Although the goal is winning, the athletes never achieve perfection in any event. Extending the pentathlon metaphor into the life of individuals, Whittington et al. (2011) identified five arenas that are the basis for a new definition of success. These areas include the work arena, the family arena, the spiritual arena, personal arena, and the community arena. These arenas are not mutually exclusive. Rather than viewing these life arenas as segregated and independent, the pentathlon requires leaders to view life as a comprehensive and unified whole (Sherman and Hendricks 1987, 1989). The pentathlon model is intended to prompt leaders to think about success in a way that transcends the narrow scope of the work arena. Indeed, my approach to understanding sustainability holistically is designed to prevent “success” in the work arena from coming at the expense of the other arenas of the leader’s life. This comprehensive view of success is presented throughout the Bible. In the next section, I will review the primary texts that support a whole-life definition of success.

Success: A Biblical Perspective The pentathlon-based definition of success is reflected in the Hebrew perspective that although certain things are designated as sacred, everything in life is related to God (Sherman and Hendricks 1987). This comprehensive and unifying principle is clearly stated in the Shema (Hebrew for Hear) recorded in Deuteronomy 6:4–9. The integration of God into every dimension of life is called for in the command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (emphasis added). The practical implications of this commitment include diligently teaching God’s principles to the next generation and applying them throughout the daily routines of life – “when you sit in your house and when you walk along the way

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and when you lie down and when your rise up.” According to this passage, God’s principles are to permeate our work (“bind them on your hands”) and our thoughts (“they shall be as frontals on your forehead”) and guide our family life in the home (“write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”). This holistic perspective extends to the New Testament. As described earlier, Paul encouraged people to live their entire lives as an act of worship (Romans 12:2). This perspective is also reflected in Paul’s frequent admonition to “walk worthy” (Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12). In each of these passages, the word translated as “walk” is based on the Greek word peripateo. Walking involves making progress one step at a time. In the original language of the New Testament, walk had a broader meaning than just traveling by foot. Walk refers to a person’s habitual way of life (MacArthur 1987). In the commands to “walk by the Spirit” and to “walk worthy,” Paul uses the present tense to indicate that this walk is a continuous, regular action that involved every aspect of person’s life. A worthy walk is always based on a moment-by-moment submission to the Spirit. This worthy walk is a joint venture between the individual and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit (Whittington 2015). The ability to “walk by the Spirit” or “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) is based on the intentional cultivation of the individual’s spiritual arena. This comprehensive integration of life is also described in the “house code” passages of the New Testament letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians. In these passages, Paul describes the practical implications of being “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5: 18) and “letting the word of Christ richly dwell within you” (Colossians 3:16). In each letter, Paul describes the various relationships that existed at that time. This includes the husband-wife relationship, the parent-child relationship, the master-slave relationship, and “outsiders.” Each of these relationships is to be governed by mutual submission to one another (Ephesians 5:21). These relationships match the family, work, and community arenas of the pentathlon. The impact on these arenas is directly impacted by the personal and spiritual arenas. The comprehensive implication of being filled with the Spirit is expressed in Paul’s letter to the Colossian church: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17; emphasis added). The biblical call for a more comprehensive view of success is supported by contemporary research on self-complexity (Linville 1985, 1987). According to Linville’s (1987) self-complexity buffering hypothesis, individuals with high levels of self-complexity are buffered from distress and strain when a stressful life event occurs in one life arena. When an individual’s self-worth is based on their total selfconcept, stressful events in one life arena are not as devastating. In contrast to this, individuals whose self-worth is dominated by only one role or life arena are more likely to experience higher levels of distress when a stressful event occurs in that arena. Linville’s research supports the need for the comprehensive definition of success depicted in the pentathlon model. Recognizing the importance of each of the arenas in that model contributes to the needed self-complexity identified by Linville (1987). Each of these arenas is discussed in the next section.

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The Pentathlon: A Whole-Life Model of Success The Work Arena Work is a central dimension of our life. Our work has important implications for our personal identity, and much of our self-esteem derives from our work. Furthermore, the decline of traditional source of community and social support has made the workplace a primary venue connecting with others (Ciulla 2000). For many work is now the primary source of personal identity, significance, and meaning in life (Diddams and Whittington 2003; Diddams et al. 2005). Our work matters, and it has both instrumental and intrinsic value (Sherman and Hendricks 1987). Instrumentally, work provides the means by which we make a living and support our families. The way we work impacts our employment status and our career trajectory. The instrumental value of work is clear. Yet the biblical perspective of work suggests that work also has intrinsic value (Sherman and Hendricks 1987). Far from being a curse, the scriptures refer to work as a gift through which God empowers people to “receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is a gift from God” (Ecclesiastes 5:18–19). The creation accounts presented in the book of Genesis present God as a worker. He created the world, he separated the heavens and the earth, he separated the light from the darkness, he created animals, and he planted the first garden. As each of these works was completed, God evaluated it and pronounced that “It is good.” God also created human beings in his image, and because God himself was a worker, humans were also created as workers. God created them and gave them work to do. The first man and woman were told to rule over creation, to be “fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:26, 28–29). While God created people as workers, they were not intended to work unto themselves. God placed them in the Garden of Eden as his coworkers. They were assigned the task of cultivating and keeping the garden (Genesis 2:8, 15). It is clear from the Genesis account that work was assigned prior to Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden. When they chose to disobey God’s command to not eat from the tree of good and evil, “God sent him out from the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken”(Genesis 3:23). It is important to note that work was not assigned as a penalty or a curse. Rather, God cursed the serpent (Genesis 3:14–15) and the ground (Genesis 3:17). The curse made working and the work environment more difficult, but work itself was not imposed as punishment. The difficulty associated with work in this fallen environment is indicated in Genesis 5:29 where Lamech names his son Noah saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” Despite the cursing of the environment in which work is done, the Psalmist extolls God’s original assignment of work: What is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet, you have made him a little lower than God, and you crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field. (Psalms 8:4–8, emphasis added).

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The idea that work – even in a fallen environment – can be a source of fulfillment and joy is reflected in Solomon’s observations that work and the rewards derived from it are “good and fitting.” In fact, God “empowers” people to work, receive rewards, and even “rejoice” in their labor: Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him occupied with the gladness of his heart. (Ecclesiastes 5:18–20, emphasis added). This perspective that work is an act of worship extends into the New Testament, where Christ’s followers are told to do their work with excellence (Ephesians 6:5–9; Colossians 3: 17, 22–25, 4:1). This call to excellence extends beyond the quality of the work to include the quality of the relationships between employers and employees and managers and subordinates. The importance of work and the need to do our work in a manner that is worthy of the Lord are clear. Yet the biblical view of success is much broader than the work arena. The “worthy walk” also includes the personal, family, community, and spiritual arenas. These arenas are discussed in the following paragraphs.

The Personal Arena The demands placed on leaders in contemporary organizations create a great deal of distress. In the midst of workplace challenges, the adrenaline is flowing, and leaders can lose sight of the limits of their physical and emotional capacity. Immersed in the demands of their role, leaders may be derailed by forgetting to pay attention to themselves (Heifetz and Linsky 2002). Developing exercise routines, maintaining a healthy diet, and scheduling regular rhythms of engagement and withdrawal are necessary steps for “staying alive” as a leader (Heifetz and Linsky 2002). The personal arena includes personal health, exercise, stress management, and leisure time activities. Relationships with mentors and protégés would properly fall in the personal arena, although they are also included in the community arena. Sustainability requires self-awareness, and leaders must be aware of and manage their own hungers. Addiction recovery programs have long advocated the H-A-L-T principle as a tool for developing the self-awareness and self-management necessary to avoid relapse and derailment. According to this principle, individuals should never get too hungry, too angry, too lonely, or too tired because these situations create a heightened vulnerability that can diminish a person’s ability to act wisely. Managing these hungers requires self-awareness and personal discipline. Avoiding hunger certainly involves the physical hungers for food, rest, and meaningful personal connections. As Maslow (1943) noted, satisfied needs are not motivators. Yet unsatisfied needs are powerful motivators, and deficiencies in basic needs leave leaders vulnerable to temptations.

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Anger is a common reaction to frustrations with people and organizational processes. Allowing anger to fester leads to unresolved issues that tax both the leader and the organization. The best approach is to deal with conflict quickly and responsibly. Paul tells us to not “let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:26–27). Rather than avoiding anger, it must be dealt proactively and resolved constructively. A frequent lament is that leadership is “lonely at the top.” While there is certainly some truth to this, many leaders allow the stress of the job and the pace of their schedules to prevent them from nurturing significant personal relationships with their spouse and family. Failure to maintain these relationships creates a loneliness that makes the leader vulnerable to temptations. Leaders have a bias for action and they tend to view their busyness in heroic terms. They view their jammed calendars and lack of margin as an honor. This is often fueled by a need to be perceived as important and indispensable. The egogratifying pace creates short adrenalin rushes and causes leaders to lose sight of the fact that the race they have been called to is a marathon, not a sprint. Staying in and completing the races require a sustainable pace. Contrary to self-serving egotistic defenses, leaders must learn to allow themselves the discomfort of taking time off. They must realize that the organization will not go broke and no one will die if they commit to a date night once a week, a weekend getaway once a quarter, and a full – technology free – vacation once a year. The relentless pace of “excessive activity and compulsive overworking” may be masking the presence of a deep fatigue that is growing within the leader (Barton 2004, p. 58). This deep fatigue has been described by Barton (2004) as becoming “dangerously tired.” It is the result of “chronic inner fatigue” that accumulates over several months. According to Barton, this represents an “atmospheric condition of the soul that is volatile and portends the risk of great destruction” (p. 57). Leaders who become physically and emotionally depleted have short fuses, and their decision-making suffers. Perhaps even more importantly, when a leader becomes dangerously tired, their vulnerability to the demands of their hungers is heightened. There are no quick fixes for this condition. While long weekends or vacations may provide a temporary sense of refreshment, the desperate need for deep rest of the soul will remain. However, the recognition and admission of being dangerously tired can become the catalyst for the fundamental choice (Quinn 2011) to redefine success and begin the process of “ordering their private world” (MacDonald 2007). The original H-A-L-T principles provide a good starting point for understanding a leader’s need to manage his or her hungers. Based on my experience as an executive coach, I think there are two additional principles that are required, and I have revised the acronym to H-A-L-T-E-R. First, leaders need to be sure they never allow themselves to get too entitled. Success brings its own downside for many leaders. After working hard to attain positions and build organizations, many leaders may feel they deserve extra benefits and compensation. Often, they begin feeling entitled to extra perks that are in violation of accepted standards or prudent stewardship of the organization’s resources.

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Leaders also must guard against becoming too remote. Leaders who lose touch with those they lead are setting themselves up to falter. As leaders move up in their organizations, they tend to forget where they came from and lose touch with the people in the trenches. This isolation is not healthy relationally, but it also cuts off an important source of information. Remote and isolated leaders are out of touch with the pulse – the heartbeat – of the organization. This becomes even more acute in organizational structures that consciously filter the information flowing to the top. In these organizations, the “palace guard” keeps the leader from knowing what is really going on.

The Community Arena Clearly self-awareness and personal discipline are important for sustainable leadership. Yet leaders are frequently blind to the toll that their role is having on them and others. To combat this tendency, leaders need to cultivate an inner circle of people who are willing to help identify these blind spots in order to maintain perspective, balance, and proper boundaries. Cultivating these relationships occurs in the community arena where healthy interpersonal attachments are developed for the purpose of mutual support. The community arena may include a spouse or other family members, a faith-based group, affinity groups, and mentors. Ideally, a leader will have many resources available and can create a “personal board of directors” who serve in this capacity. Beyond assistance with blind spots, the community arena also provides a vital source of nonwork-related social interaction and refreshment. Heifetz and Linsky (2002) extend the community arena by discussing the importance of confidants. Confidants provide a safe place where a person can say everything that is in his or her heart without the need to script or edit the raw feelings and emotions. Confidants can put a person “back together again” when they have just lived through a Humpty Dumpty-like falling off of the wall (Heifetz and Linsky 2002). Confidants provide a unique perspective because they care about the person. Because they usually are not connected to the individual’s work role, they can listen intently and objectively. Confidants are people who tell a leader what he or she needs to hear. They provide information and insight that a leader may not want to hear and will not be able to hear from anybody else. Reciprocally, confidants can be confided in without concern that the leader’s revelations will spill back into the organization. In their discussion of the important role of confidants, Heifetz and Linsky (2002) also make a distinction between confidants and allies. Allies may share many of a leader’s values or strategy, but they operate across organizational or factional boundaries. These boundaries prevent allies from developing the personal loyalty to the leader that is exhibited by confidants. While allies are certainly an important source of information, they have other ties to honor. Despite this inherent limitation, allies are a crucial component of a leader’s community. Because they do have other loyalties, they can help a leader gain perspective on competing stakes, conflicting views, and missing elements in the leader’s grasp of a situation.

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Leaders need both allies and confidants, but leaders make a mistake when they treat an ally like a confidant. Confidants have few, if any, conflicting loyalties. Although occasionally someone very close in the organization, whose interests are perfectly aligned with the leader, can serve in the confidant role, they usually operate outside of the leader’s organization boundary. They have enough familiarity with the situation that they can provide wise advice and needed perspective. Yet their personal loyalty to the leader allows them to say what needs to be said without fear of reprisal. Healthy leaders proactively initiate and cultivate confidants. They allow them into their lives and invite the scrutiny needed to avoid derailment (Whittington 2015). Confidants may also come in the form of executive or life coaches. These individuals are vital to maintaining perspective and can create accountability for managing the hungers that threaten to derail leaders. However, the potential benefits of coaches and confidants are limited by the access they have to a leader’s thoughts and behaviors. While there is a great deal of emphasis placed on having accountability partners, leaders are really only as accountable to others as they allow themselves to be. In my coaching of leaders, there is a great deal of selective disclosure. I am usually only aware of the issues the leader tells me about. Despite this inherent limitation, a coach can be a crucial part of a leader’s personal defense initiative (MacDonald 1988) by allowing the coach to ask questions about each arena of the leader’s life. In Table 1, I have provided a set of questions based on the pentathlon model that can be used as a personal assessment tool, as well as a vehicle for inviting the scrutiny and accountability of a coach.

The Family Arena The family arena emphasizes the leader’s responsibilities to spouse and children and includes obligations to siblings and to parents. Planning and budgeting for household management requirements, spending significant time with children, and continuously cultivating one’s spousal relationship are all activities associated with the family arena. Despite recognition of these responsibilities, the family arena usually suffers the most from a leader’s skewed commitment to their work. It is easy to take family members for granted and assume that their love creates an “understanding” of the leader’s lack of extended and authentic engagement with their family. The tendency to take our spouses and children for granted is exacerbated during periods of extreme work stress. New initiatives, deadline pressures, and rising performance expectations may require an additional commitment in terms of time given to work. These demands also require additional expenditures of emotional energy. In the midst of these periods of heightened work demands and intensity, it is particularly important to be intentional about making the family a priority. Without intentional effort, our intimate relationships will dry up. During periods of intensity in our work arena we must be particularly intentional to “rekindle the sparks” in our relationships (Heifetz and Linsky 2002).

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Table 1 Personal defense initiative/evaluation based on pentathlon model Spiritual àrena How is your relationship with God right now? What have you read in the Bible the last few weeks? What has God said to you in this reading? Where do you find yourself resisting Him these days? What specific things are you praying for in regard to others? What specific things are you praying for in regard to yourself? Do you have a daily time of silence and solitude? Do you have a daily time of reading the Bible? Have you read completely through the Bible? Do you attend a Bible study discipleship group regularly? Do you have a daily time of prayer every day? Do you have a prayer plan to pray for people? Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Are you using your gifts to serve others? Do you have regular fellowship with others who will challenge you spiritually? Are you sensing any spiritual attacks from the enemy right now? If Satan were to invalidate you as a person or as a servant of the Lord, how might he do it? Personal arena What are the specific facts facing you right now that you consider incomplete? What habits intimidate you? What have you done to play? Do you regularly meet with a friend socially? Do you plan regular periods of rest and recreation on a weekly, monthly, and annual basis? Do you consider yourself overweight? Do you feel you should get more exercise? Do you regularly express and discuss your emotions with your spouse or close friend? Do you have anyone who holds you accountable to reach personal goals? What small thing in my life right now has the potential to grow into a big thing? And who knows about it other than me? What is the state of your sexual perspective? Tempted? Dealing with fantasies? Entertainment? Where are you financially right now? Under control? Experiencing anxiety? Great debt? What was the last nonwork-related book you read? What challenges do you think you’re going to face in the coming week? Month? Quarter? Year? How are you preparing for those challenges? What would you say are your fears right now? Are you sleeping well? What three things are you most thankful for? Family arena Do you have any transitional rituals that help you move mentally and emotionally from your work arena to the family arena? If you are married, do you and your spouse “date” regularly? Are you proactive in planning dates, anniversary, and birthday celebrations? What are you doing with your spouse? When was your last date night? When is your next date night? How’s your emotional tank these days? (continued)

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Table 1 (continued) How is your spouse’s emotional tank? What fears and anxieties is your spouse experiencing right now? When was the last time you went on a retreat with just your spouse? When is the next retreat scheduled? If I were to ask your spouse about your state of mind, state of spirit, and your energy level, what would the response be? Are you aware of the “love language” of your spouse? Your children? How would your spouse evaluate your use of their love language? Do you regularly take time to talk with your spouse about anything that matters to either of you? Do you spend individual time with each of your kids, giving them focused attention? Would your family rate you as physically affectionate? Does your family plan family fun and togetherness each week? Would your spouse describe you as a servant-leader in the home? Do you have good control over your family finances? Do you and your spouse have a weekly time of planning? Work arena Do you regularly plan your day and set priorities? Do you have clear and firm boundaries around the work arena? Do you have a disciplined plan for unplugging from technology at the end of the day? On weekends? On holidays and vacations? Do you regularly pray for your coworkers? Are you comfortable in discussing your spirituality with colleagues if appropriate? Could you give a clear presentation of the gospel? Do you feel you do your job with excellence? Do you stay current with changes and developments in your profession? Do you set challenging personal development and performance goals for yourself? Is there any area of ethical compromise at work? Are you clear on how your job helps others? Do you tend to work too many hours? Do you worry excessively about your work? Do you find that problems with your work cause significant frustration and anger? Community arena Are there any unresolved conflicts in your circle of relationships right now? When was the last time you spent time with a good friend of your own gender? Do you meet socially with non-Christians? Do you have any close non-Christian friends? Do non-Christians feel comfortable around you? Are you involved in any form of benevolence with those in need? Do you know your neighbors? Can you give a clear, concise presentation of the gospel? Do you regularly pray for government leaders and other officials? Are you involved in any community service projects? Are you giving money to feed the poor? Are you aware of the political issues in your area? Have you shared the gospel with someone in the last 6 months?

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I am acutely aware of this issue; it has been a recurring struggle for me. Early in my corporate career, I frequently worked late, on weekends, and brought work home. While I might have been physically present at home, I was emotionally and mentally absent. The founder and CEO of the small company I worked for confronted me directly about the growing imbalance he saw in my life. When I tried to justify my “work ethic” and the attention I was giving to the various projects I was working on, he said, “This business is a fleeting thing. That woman at home is not!” I began to respond that she understood, but he interrupted with an explosive response: “You think she understands and then one day you come home just as she’s leaving with her suitcases packed! It happened to me and I don’t want it to happen to you. Now cut it out!” Despite that direct and emphatic intervention, I have continued to struggle with keeping my work in proper perspective throughout my career. Perhaps that is why I frequently return to this issue in my coaching and teaching. The suggestion that teachers most frequently teach on the topics they most need to learn certainly rings true in this arena of my life. Overcoming the deficiencies in my own family arena has required a great deal of intentionality over several years. The process began with embracing the holistic definition of success described in this chapter. I realized that “success” had to include being a good husband and a good father. At this stage of my life, it now includes being a good grandfather as well. The intellectual decision to redefine success is not sufficient; the definition must be actualized by re-arranging priorities. Two calendar-based disciplines have been very helpful with this. First, I try to get “in front” of my calendar by scheduling date nights well in advance and committing to them on my calendar. I now use online reservation tools to make restaurant reservations several months in advance of anniversaries, birthdays, and other significant occasions. The second calendar-based discipline is creating hard stop times for my work days. I stop working before 6:00 in the evenings. I do not check email after that time, and I turn my phone off until well into the start of the next day. I have made an explicit commitment to these boundaries by communicating these to my colleagues and students. I include a statement specifying these boundaries in all of my course syllabi and in all of my online courses. This sets expectations for my students and colleagues, and by making it a formally stated limit, they are very supportive in honoring my commitment to my family. In addition to these calendar-based disciplines, the practice of using the drive time between work and home as a time for transitioning from the roles and priorities of the work arena to the priorities of the family arena. Other leaders have developed a full set of transitional rituals that may include changing clothes or a deliberate time of solitude when they first get home. These rituals can be useful activities that allow us permission to stop working and to become mindful of having moved from one arena to another. It is ironic that we must bring discipline to unplugging and slowing down, yet without this intentional effort, our need for renewal and the cultivation of intimacy will be hindered (Heifetz and Linsky 2002).

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The Spiritual Arena The spiritual arena includes an intentional effort to cultivate the leader’s relationship with God. This is relationship is enhanced through the leader’s personal commitment to regular times of silence and solitude that include prayer, meditation, and study. The spiritual arena also includes consistent involvement in a faith community. In the following section, I will discuss a variety of “spiritual disciplines” that a leader may use to strengthen their spiritual arena. These disciplines include a commitment to silence and solitude, “the discipline of the calendar,” prayer, meditation, study, journaling, and establishing a rhythm of engagement and withdrawal. I discuss these as activities that have been personally helpful to me. These are not intended to be a legalistic set of rules; instead, they are suggested as helpful tools for “strengthening the soul of your leadership” (Barton 2012).

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Spiritual Disciplines for Sustainable Leadership The commitment to strengthen the spiritual arena may require the creation of a readily available “sanctuary” (Heifetz and Linsky 2002) or “sacred place” (Barton 2004). This is a physical place that is designated for withdrawing from activity and noise in order to experience the silence and solitude necessary for reflection and renewal. It is a place that allows a leader to suspend the stress of the workplace. Creating a sacred space also involves identifying a specific “place in time that is set apart to give God our undivided focus” (Barton 2004). The form of the sanctuary may vary. It could be a jogging trail, a garden, or a special room that provides the quiet and solace needed to have uninterrupted time alone for reflection and renewal. Sacred space also includes a place in time that is set apart to give God our undivided attention (Barton 2004). Thus, the creation of sanctuary requires the discipline to structure schedules and routines so that the benefit of the sanctuary is not lost in the busyness of the person’s life. In the sanctuary, a leader steps into the discomfort of silence and solitude to provide the context necessary to “unclutter the soul” (Hybels 2015). The sanctuary is a place and a time that allows the “sediment that swirling in our souls to begin to settle” (Barton 2004, p. 37). For me, the sanctuary is a small office in our home that is removed from the noise and traffic of our daily routines, which include the daily visits of our now adult children dropping off our six precious grandchildren who we shuttle to and from school. My days begin – with coffee – in the silence and solitude of this simple room. It is in this sanctuary that I pray, read, meditate, and journal. The discipline of going to the sanctuary for a deliberate time of silence and solitude does not require in-depth study or a specified amount of time, but it should be purposefully slow and protected from distractions. The time of day and the designated place should be one that works best for you. These particulars are not nearly as crucial as the decision to make this a daily practice (Hybels 2015).

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The importance of silence and solitude as a tool for developing a sustainable leadership pace was modeled by Jesus. The gospel accounts repeatedly mention Jesus’ apparent habit of beginning each day alone in prayer with his Father. Mark records that “in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there”(Mark 1:35–37). Luke also reports that “when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place” (Luke 4:42). Even when his popularity was growing and the demands for his presence were increasing, Jesus maintained this discipline: “But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5: 15–16, emphasis added). Jesus’ pattern of engagement and withdrawal provides an exemplary model for sustainable leadership. In spite of the strategic importance of his mission and the expectations and demands of his followers, Jesus consistently withdrew to have uninterrupted time with his Father. Those who offer Jesus as a model for effective spiritual leadership “tend to focus on his activities and often overlook the rich inner life that fueled all that Jesus actually said and did” (Fadling 2013, p. 100–101). Jesus’ habit of beginning his days in a time of prayer was supplemented with extra times of prayer when he faced important decisions. Luke reports that Jesus “went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles” (Luke 6:12–13). Jesus knew that he needed the Father’s perspective, the Father’s wisdom, as he made these important personnel decisions. As Jesus prepared to make these choices, he spent a significant time in unhurried communion with his Father. Thus, his decisions were enriched by divine wisdom and guidance (Fadling 2013).

Sanctify the Calendar The pentathlon model provides the basis for a whole-life definition of success that requires “performance” in each of the five life arenas. As with athletes who compete in the pentathlon, this model is intended to recognize the fact that the interdependence among the five arenas. While there is certainly tension among the arenas, there is also a mutual interdependence that can be leveraged to create a more sustainable approach to leadership. An immediate implication of the pentathlon approach is the need to establish boundaries (Cloud 2013) for the investment of time, physical presence, and emotional energy. Implementing this perspective requires an intentional effort to identify priorities and proactively implement calendar-based disciplines that explicitly reflect the leader’s values and priorities across the five arenas. Pastor Bill Hybels (2015) tells the story of the consequences of being overscheduled in the early life of Willow Creek Church. He realized that he was not taking control of his own schedule but rather allowing others to dictate his involvement with urgent matters that did not reflect his personal priorities. This realization

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prompted him to rethink his approach to his calendar. He recognized that his calendar was more than simply an organizer for what needs to get done; it is also the primary tool for helping a leader become the person that they want to be. According to Hybels (2015, p. 31), “A simplified life begins with well invested hours each day. You can harness the true power of your calendar by filling in each square holistically, creating room for both the outward activities and the inner priorities in your life.” Calendars that are dominated by the tyranny of the urgent will hold the leader hostage to meetings, appointments, and projects without giving proper priority to the intangibles such as who you are becoming, your relationships with family and friends, and your personal relationship with God. Much of this overscheduling may be driven by an egotistic drive to be needed and thus always available. Yet, as Elton Trueblood (1961, pp. 43–44) observed, “A person who is always available is not worth enough when they are available.” Without conscious intervention, this pattern of chronically overscheduling the calendar ensures that the priorities the leader cares about most take a backseat to the urgent priorities of others every time (Hybels 2015). The implementation of this holistic approach to success requires some basic tactics that may initially seem unnecessary or overly simplistic. However, it is in these tactical details that a leader begins to establish the boundaries and the rhythms that will ultimately allow them to endure the pressures and responsibilities of leadership. Let me be very specific with some of these tactics. First, our most significant relationships must be reflected in our calendar. I have mentored many men who struggle with making their marriage a priority. Date nights are acknowledged as important, but they are not reflected on their calendar. To correct this, date nights must be planned for well in advance, scheduled on the calendar, and treated as nonnegotiable investments in the marriage relationship. Hybels (2015) refers to the necessary discipline of designating time at home on the calendar in order to guard family time from the urgent demands of the early church start-up. He committed to four nights a week at home and wrote the word “home” on his calendar. This commitment was made public, and he invited his administrative assistant to help him maintain this boundary. In addition he realized the importance of silence and solitude to maintain purposeful connection with God each day. Implementing this priority led him to put the phrase “chair time” on his calendar each day (Hybels 2015). These tactics seem so basic that they might be easily ignored. Yet they are vital for establishing the spiritual disciplines necessary for developing a sustainable rhythm in a leader’s life. The discipline of the calendar has become a primary tool for my own efforts to manage competing demands and maintain a sustainable pace in this season of my life. The discipline of the calendar involves the explicit identification of meetings, conferences, intense grading periods, and manuscript deadlines. My calendar also shows date nights, weekend getaways, and vacations. This is not a rigid scheduling that leaves no room for flexibility, but the structure provides focus for the activities and relationships that I have predetermined to be important. Having all of my obligations on my calendar allows me to anticipate the times when I will need to

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bring not just physical presence but emotional energy and focus to specific tasks. By explicitly identifying priorities and deadlines, I actually have more freedom to focus on specific projects than I did when I adapted more organic approach to my calendar. The discipline of the calendar is not just a tool for managing the external demands of my roles. It is vitally integrated into my sanctuary times of silence and solitude. In the sanctuary, I bring the details of my schedule and the tasks of my day before God in prayer. A key element of the journaling I do during my daily time of silence and solitude is the previewing of the known decisions and crucial conversations I will face that day. This deliberate seeking of wisdom, discernment, and guidance parallels the pattern we observed in Jesus’ preparation for the strategic decision of choosing his apostles. This daily sanctuary time also includes a review of the previous day. In fact, my initial journal entries often begin with thanksgiving for the fact that the previous day’s crucial conversations went “exceedingly abundantly beyond all that I had asked or thought possible” (Ephesians 3:23). This recurring pattern of a specific request on 1 day and thanksgiving for the outcome on the next day has provided me a documented history of God’s faithfulness. Although I now consider these habits and disciplines to be embedded in my life, it has not always been the case, and it was not something that was easy to implement. My own journey into a more disciplined pattern of calendar management was forced on me when I was asked to serve as the Dean of the College of Business at the University of Dallas. I did not seek the job and indeed tried to avoid it. Yet, when it became abundantly clear that I was to serve in that role for season, I decided that unlike my previous leadership responsibilities, I simply could not serve in that role in my own strength. Therefore, I forced myself to begin each morning with an intentional time of silence and solitude. To put this decision in perspective, it is important to understand that by design and preference I am not a structured, disciplined person. I prefer a more organic structure, and I tend to utilize a “build the bridge as you walk on it” (Quinn 2011) approach to my days. However, the responsibility of this new leadership role required me to allow myself the discomfort of getting up early and disciplining myself to use the first part of my day for cultivating my relationship with God, seeking his wisdom, discernment, perspective, and vision. So, I began a new process of reading, meditating, and journaling each morning. During this time, I often preview my day before God. I seek his wisdom for every crucial conversation and decision that I know I will be facing that day. I use journaling as a tool to process my thoughts and my emotions while seeking his perspective and the discernment to lead wisely in the role I have been called to. For me, the discipline of the calendar also involves “soft starts” into the tasks of the day. I do not check emails (or missed calls and text messages) until after I have completed this time of silence and solitude. These “soft starts” to my days are bookended by definite “hard endings” to the end of my day. I do not check email after 6:00 pm, and I turn my phone off and leave it on a bookcase until the next morning. I made this personal commitment after many years of not having clean breaks between work and personal time. I repeatedly allowed a late email to distract

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me. These disruptions were rarely important, but I allowed them to become an urgent demand for my attention. These often resulted in an expenditure of emotional energy that disrupted quality time with my wife and family. I have gone public with this commitment by including an explicit statement in my course syllabi and notifying my colleagues of the disciplined structure to my days. This boundary setting is not a rigid, legalistic rule; however, I have found that by proactively managing the expectations of others, I feel less and less tension to be continuously available.

Sustainable Leadership Requires Strategic Cheating Embracing the pentathlon model as a comprehensive definition of success is the point of beginning for leaders who seek to create a sustainable approach to their life. The implementation of this model requires creating boundaries on the commitments an individual makes in terms of time, physical energy, and emotional labor. Enforcing these boundaries requires an intentional effort to limit commitments. I call this intentional effort strategic cheating (Whittington et al. 2011). This is not an immoral activity. Rather it is a disciplined approach to setting boundaries around time and energy commitments and making strategic trade-offs that reflect my espoused values and priorities. Strategic cheating is essentially about setting and living out priorities. “Setting priorities is about putting something ahead of something else. A priority is something you say yes to even when it means saying no to other important things” (Stanley 2003, p. 12). The fact is we all “cheat” by expending the bulk of our time and emotional energy in one arena at the expense of the others. This is cheating by default and rarely reflects our espoused values. In contrast to cheating by default, strategic cheating is an intentional act. It is a decision to set and keep boundaries so that over-commitment in one arena does not damage the other arenas. Deciding to implement the discipline of the calendar requires more than just a personal internal adjustment. It will quite likely require going public to manage the expectations of others. We are often reluctant to seek the support of others because of fear of rejection or outright disapproval of our request. This reluctance should also be a subject of prayers. In my own life, I have often asked not only for wisdom in making these kinds of decisions, but also asking that God would prepare the way so that my request might be accepted and even be granted favor in the eyes of those I report to. There is a great example of this very type of decision in the early chapters of the book of Daniel. The context of the story is found in book of Daniel (Daniel 1:3–16) where Daniel is serving the king of Babylon. The king had designated certain foods and drinks that were to be eaten by all of his servants. However, Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or with the wine that he drank. Daniel went public with this commitment and asked his supervisor to allow him to follow his own dietary regulations rather than those of the king. The Scripture records that God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the site of his supervisor. Not only did Daniel gain favor but he actually flourished.

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A Revised Pentathlon Model I began this chapter by identifying the need to transfer the recent emphasis on sustainable organizations to the personal level by discussing the need for sustainable leadership. I drew on the definition of corporate sustainability that emphasizes the importance of not robbing the future in order to meet short-term goals. I argued that leaders also needed to take this long-term perspective on their role. I embraced this time frame in my discussion of sustainable leadership, but I extend it by calling for a more comprehensive definition of leadership success. I made the case that for success to be sustainable, a leader’s definition needed to encompass their entire life. Rather than viewing sustainable leadership through a narrow focus on the work arena, I called for a definition of success that encompasses the leader’s family, community, personal, and spiritual arenas. I used the pentathlon as a metaphor for this holistic perspective. The pentathlon model presented in Fig. 1 suggests a balanced interdependence among the five arenas of a leader’s life. As I have discussed in this chapter, there is certainly a synergy among these arenas that can be a source of support and needed respite from the demands of leadership. While I agree with this holistic approach, the original pentathlon model does not provide the necessary emphasis on the importance of cultivating the spiritual dimension of a leader’s life. Therefore, I have revised the model to emphasize the importance of the spiritual arena by explicitly placing spiritual arena in the center of the revised model. This revised model is presented in Fig. 2. The arenas presented in the revised pentathlon model are not independent of each other; rather, they are interdependent and overlapping. Activities (events) in one arena can stimulate growth or increase the awareness of the need to cultivate another Fig. 1 The pentathlon model WORK ARENA

FAMILY ARENA

SPIRITUAL ARENA

COMMUNITY ARENA

PERSONAL ARENA

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Fig. 2 A revised pentathlon

Family

Community

Spiritual

Work

Personal

arena. Let me illustrate this interdependence with few examples. We usually think of our spiritual disciplines as personal and private. Indeed, I have advocated the need for silence and solitude as a crucial aspect of my efforts to sustain my leadership. However, having confidants and mentors with whom I can share the insights – including the doubts and struggles – that are raised during these times of study and meditation are powerful supplements to those personal efforts. In addition to these individual relationships, for over 40 years I have been involved with a variety of small groups of fellow believers. While I am often in a facilitator role in the settings, I have drawn strength and support from those groups during times of tremendous stress in my work arena. The individual confidants and the small groups served as “safe places” where I could share the challenge I was facing, seek the wise counsel of others, and ask for and receive prayer from others as I walked through a difficult time. This illustrates the interdependence between the spiritual and community arenas of my life. I have discussed the role confidants and coaches in a leader’s life. In addition to receiving the support from these individuals, an important dimension of my own development as a leader is to serve as a confidant, mentor, or coach for other leaders. This is an incredibly energizing role that I am honored to participate in. Many times these opportunities are presented formally when I have been hired as an executive coach. At other times, these relationships are formed at the request of a younger man (typically) who is seeking a mentor. Regardless of the source of this relationship initiation, I evaluate these requests prayerfully by asking for wisdom and discernment before making a commitment. Thus, a decision or commitment in my community arena is informed by the disciplines I have developed in the spiritual arena.

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A crucial determinant in my evaluation of both paid executive coaching assignments and informal mentoring opportunities is the answer to this question: “Does he have a teachable spirit?” If the answer is yes, I usually take on the assignment, if only for a limited time. However, if the answer is no, or if I do not sense a willingness on the part of the leader to be humble and vulnerable, I do not accept the assignment. My corporate clients find my question about a teachable spirit awkward because it is not the kind of thing we normally talk about in corporate settings. However, I have learned to accept the discomfort of this awkwardness because if the coaching candidate does not have a humble, teachable spirit, everyone involved in the engagement will be frustrated. Time will be taken up, money will be spent, and the desired changes do not occur. Beyond the teachable spirit, there must also be a willingness to be vulnerable and transparent. I have learned that people often engage coaches but only provide selective disclosure of information they want the coach to know. Consequently, crucial issues are not brought to the surface where they can be dealt with openly. While there is a great deal of talk about the need for personal accountability partners, ultimately a leader is really only accountable to a confidant, coach, or mentor as they want to be. Because coaches are often working from outside the leader’s organizational arena, the only information the coach has to work with is what the leader provides. If the leader chooses not to reveal crucial issues, potentially damaging activities or relationships, the effectiveness of the coach will be limited. My willingness to serve as a coach or mentor for others is part of my own leadership development and sustainability strategy. These relationships energize me. But my passion for doing this is rooted in something deeper than my own leadership development. I have been blessed throughout my life to have had several men – coaches, professors, and the founding CEO of an early-career employer – who invested deeply and intentionally in me. Their impact was significant and lasting. I have tried to thank them in every way possible, yet those efforts have always seemed to be an inadequate reflection of the gratitude I have for their role in my life. Several years ago, I realized that the most appropriate way to thank these men was to be to others what they were to me by paying it forward. Therefore, I am intentional about identifying younger men to invest in. I am also sensitive to those who might be seeking mentors and coaches. My goal here is to pay back those who invested in me by investing in others. The mentoring relationships I have formed have been a tremendous blessing to me. They are refreshing, but they also help keep my own commitments to the holistic definition of success –particularly in the family arena – sharp. Helping others make their marriage a priority reminds me of my own shortcomings and helps me refocus my efforts in that arena. In my discussion of the community arena, I emphasized the role of allies, confidants, coaches, and mentors. These relationships are crucial; however, our community and work arenas include many other relationships. Some of these relationships are tremendous sources of energy for us. Other relationships could be classified as merely social relationships that are refreshing because they provide a vital source of fun and play. Yet we all have people in our world that are best described as “draining” (MacDonald 1986). These people are frequently in need of

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Table 2 Relationship inventory (Adapted from Gordon MacDonald, Restoring Your Spiritual Passion. In his book, Restoring Your Spiritual Passion, Gordon McDonald identifies five types of people we have in our lives. He “scores” them with a plus/minus system) VRP: Very resourceful people. Score = +++ They add to our lives and ignite our passion for faith and Christ-like performance in each of the five arenas of your life. These people shape our lives and often act as mentors or maybe surrogate mothers and fathers. They are often older people who are willing to invest in us by sharing their experience and wisdom VIP: Very important people. Score = ++ They are teammates who share our passion. They love us enough to ask tough questions and keep us honest. They work together with us and share our vision. We stimulate and encourage one another by challenging each other to better and more faithful performance in the various life arenas VTP: Very trainable people. Score = + These are the people we serve by acting as their coach or mentor. They catch our passion. In these relationships, we are the ones who ignite passion. We draw them to our side and open our lives to them. In the very sharing of ourselves, we stir our own passion to serve and grow because we see the immediate effect it has upon them VNP: Very nice people. Score = 0 (neutral; neither +/ ) These people enjoy our passion but do not contribute to it nor do they seriously diminish it. These people are refreshing and we enjoy their company in social settings VDP: Very draining people. Score = These people sap our passion. They are in constant need of comfort and recognition. If we are not careful, these people can consume our time, our emotional energy, and our spiritual passion

attention, comfort, and recognition, and they can sap our energy and passion. If we allow them to, they will consume our time and distract us from important commitments and priorities. While I do not advocate totally shunning these people, I do think it is helpful to create respectable boundaries around these relationships in order to guard our time and emotional energy. A useful tool for making these boundary decisions is the relational inventory developed by Gordon MacDonald (1986). I have provided my own version of this inventory in Table 2. It is important to evaluate our relationships periodically and make strategic decisions about who we are spending time with. We should take careful note of the impact each of relationships is having on our emotional state, our leadership capacity, and the other arenas of our life. Ideally, we would spend considerably more time with those who energize us, share our passion, and refresh us, while limiting our time with draining people. Yet this limitation should also be evaluated with discernment because some of those who we initially identify as “draining” may be people that God has intentionally brought into our lives for us to invest in. This is another illustration of bringing our community arena decisions into our spiritual arena where we seek divine wisdom and discernment. The pentathlon model of success presented in this chapter reframes work as an act of worship. This perspective does not ignore the instrumental value of work, but it also explicitly identifies the intrinsic value of work (Duffy et al. 2010; Keller 2014; Sherman and Hendricks 1987, 1989). Through our work, we serve others, and in serving others, we also serve God (Neal 2000). The holistic view of success depicted

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in the pentathlon model extends beyond work by calling for an integration of our faith into all of our life arenas. Individuals who have an integrated faith view their work as a venue through which they can express their inherent creative capacity. Beyond this, individuals whose faith is more fully integrated into their whole life experience a sense of meaningfulness that enhances their engagement in the workplace and beyond (Meskelis and Whittington 2017; Whittington et al. 2017).

Derailment Deterrence I have emphasized a set of spiritual disciplines as tools for sustaining ourselves over the long run without sacrificing our personal, family, and community arenas along the way. But there is another way to interpret the holistic definition of success and the important role of the spiritual disciplines that support that view: defining success holistically and seeing our work, indeed our entire lives, as an act of worship can be a powerful detriment to the potential for derailing as a leader. Implicit in the model presented here is the need to be intentional about cultivating the soul of our leadership and setting goals in each arena that reflects our priorities, values, and commitments. Leaders are typically comfortable with goal-setting in the work arena to meet project deadlines and corporate objectives. However, very few leaders I have worked with bring that same level of intentionality to the other arenas of their lives. I strongly advocate setting goals in each life arena. However, this goal-setting must go beyond tangible, easy to measure targets such as date nights or family budget goals. Leaders must also be intentional about setting what I call “being goals.” These being goals are intended to bring focus to our own ongoing character development. The importance of being intentional about setting character goals is emphasized in Andy Stanley’s observation: “your talent and giftedness as a leader have the capacity to take you farther than your character can sustain you. That ought to scare you” (Stanley 2003, p. 151, emphasis added). Stanley (2002) goes on to observe that our natural talent as a leader will eventually exceed our character if we are not intentional about developing and strengthening our soul. This effort certainly requires the personal investment in the spiritual disciplines described in this chapter. Developing our character requires the ongoing cultivation of our personal relationship with God in the private times of silence and solitude, but the development of our character is enhanced through our involvement in spiritual communities and the involvement of confidants and coaches whose scrutiny we invite. These people encourage our growth as leaders. They care about us as individuals and they have the upclose perspective to see where we are slipping toward a path of derailment. Implementing the holistic pentathlon-based view of success that I have advocated in this chapter requires diligence, focus, and intentionality. I think it is helpful to use the questions in the personal defense initiative provided in this chapter for periodic personal evaluations. The usefulness of these questions, however, will be enhanced by inviting others who have access to and visibility into a leader’s life to also ask these questions. However, the potential contribution of this invited scrutiny is clearly

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dependent on the leader’s humility, willingness to be vulnerable, and the fullness of information they are willing to disclose. The revised pentathlon model presented here is intended to help leaders reframe their definition of success by seeing beyond the primacy of the work, recognizing the interdependencies among all of these arenas. The model also provides a foundation for the continuous renewal that is necessary to sustain ourselves as leaders. The spiritual disciplines discussed in this chapter are crucial for cultivating the spiritual arena that is central to this integrated life perspective. The strengthening of our soul through these disciplines is imperative for implementing a sustainable approach in our leadership roles. In the second part of this chapter, I have provided a discussion of various spiritual disciplines that I have found effective. My list and the specifics of my implementation of these disciplines are unique. They fit my design and the structure of my life. There are certainly other ways to implement these disciplines, and in fact there are several other disciplines that leaders may find more meaningful. Regardless of the particulars, I have become convinced that sustainable leadership requires the intentional ordering of our private world (MacDonald 2007). This intentional effort requires the establishment of a sustainable rhythm of engagement and withdrawal that extends beyond merely taking an annual vacation and occasional long weekends. Establishing a sustainable rhythm requires the commitment to a daily time of silence and solitude in the sanctuary. It is in these quiet times of reflection that we gain clarity, discernment, and wisdom for the challenges of leadership. In the sanctuary, we provide the time to let the sediment of our busyness settle, and as the sediment settles, we gain the perspective needed to recognize the need to invest in the other arenas of our lives.

Cross-References ▶ Alternative Paradigms of Transformation: Levels of Consciousness and Collective Intention ▶ An Integral Approach to Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Personal and Organizational Life ▶ An Overview of Mindfulness as a Transformative Practice for Individuals and Organizations ▶ Coaching as a Process for Personal and Organizational Transformation ▶ Consciousness and Creativity ▶ Deciding to Grow Up: The Conscious Maturity Process ▶ Embodied Mindfulness ▶ Embracing the ‘Spirit’: Towards Personal Transformation ▶ Franciscan Spirituality as a Source of Personnel and Organizational Transformation ▶ Identity and Meaning in Transformation ▶ Intimate Relationships (Business and Personal): Crucibles for On-going Transformation ▶ It’s Not What You Do, It’s Who You Are

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▶ Leader Self Development, Maturation, and Meditation: Elements of a Transformative Journey ▶ Overview and Introduction to the Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation ▶ Personal and Organizational Transformation: Perspectives and Experiences from India ▶ Reawakening Business Students to the Spiritual Dimension of Leadership ▶ Revisioning the Way We Work: A Heroic Journey ▶ Self-Knowledge: The Master Key to Personal Transformation ▶ Soloinic Practice: Releasing the Next Wave of Human Potential Through Profound Personal and Organizational Transformation ▶ Soul-Centered Transformational Leadership ▶ Spiritual Intelligence: A Key to Personal and Organizational Transformation ▶ The Journey of Career Resilience Among Females ▶ The Nature of Transformative Space ▶ The New Leader as Spiritual Hero: The Way of Awakening ▶ The Role of Self-Awareness in Personal Transformation ▶ The Spiritual Wellspring of Being ▶ The Truth about Transformation: One Person CAN Change the World ▶ Transformation as Ceremony ▶ Transformative Leadership

References Barton RH (2004) Invitation to silence and solitude: experiencing God’s transforming presence. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove Barton RH (2012) Strengthening the soul of your leadership: seeking God in the crucible of ministry. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove Ciulla J (2000) The working life: the promise and betrayal of modern life. Three Rivers Press, New York Cloud H (2013) Boundaries for leaders: results, relationships, and being ridiculously in charge. Harper Collins, New York Diddams M, Whittington JL (2003) Revisiting the meaning of meaningful work. Acad Manag Rev 28(3):508–512 Diddams M, Whittington JL, Davigo T (2005) Creating in the name of God who creates: a biblical view of vocation and work. J Manag Spiritual Relig 2(3):310–331 Duffy RD, Reid L, Dik BJ (2010) Spirituality, religion, and career development: implications for the workplace. J Manag Spiritual Relig 7(3):209–221 Fadling A (2013) An unhurried life: following Jesus’ rhythms of work and rest. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove Heifetz RA, Linsky M (2002) Leadership on the line: staying alive through the dangers of leading. Harvard Business Press, Boston Hybels B (2015) Simplify: ten practices to unclutter your soul. Tyndale, Carol Stream Keller T (2014) Every good endeavor: connecting your work to God’s work. Penguin, New York Linville PW (1985) Self-complexity and affective extremity: don’t put all of your eggs in one cognitive basket. Soc Cogn 3(1):94 Linville PW (1987) Self-complexity as a cognitive buffer against stress-related illness and depression. J Pers Soc Psychol 52(4):663

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MacArthur JF (1987) Galatians MacArthur new testament commentary. Moody Press, Chicago MacDonald G (1986) Restoring your spiritual passion. Oliver-Nelson Books, Nashville MacDonald G (1988) Rebuilding your broken world. Thomas Nelson, Nashville MacDonald G (2007) Ordering your private world. Thomas Nelson, Nashville Maslow AH (1943) A theory of human motivation. Psychol Rev 50(4):370 Meskelis S, Whittington JL (2017) Work as worship: bringing meaning to work through an integrated faith. In: Ewest T (ed) Faith and work: Christian perspectives, research and insights into the movement. Information Age Publications, Charlotte. forthcoming Neal J (2000) Work as service to the divine. Am Behav Sci 43(8):1316–1333 Porter ME, Kramer MR (2006) Strategy and society: the link between corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage. Harv Bus Rev 84(12):78–92 Quinn RE (2011) Building the bridge as you walk on it: a guide for leading change. Wiley, San Francisco Sherman D, Hendricks W (1987) Your work matters to God. NavPress, Colorado Springs Sherman D, Hendricks W (1989) How to balance competing time demands. NavPress, Colorado Springs Stanley A (2002) The next generation leader. Multnomah Publishing, Sisters Stanley A (2003) Choosing to cheat. Multnomah Publishing, Sisters Trueblood E (1961) The company of the committed. Harper, San Francisco Whittington JL (2015) Biblical perspectives on leadership and organizations. Palgrave MacMillan, New York Whittington JL, Maellaro R, Galpin TJ (2011) Redefining success: the foundation for creating work-life balance. In: Kaiser S, Ringlstetter MJ, Eikhof DR, Pina e Cunha M (eds) Creating balance? International perspectives on the work-life integration of professionals. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg, pp 65–77 Whittington JL, Meskelis S, Asare E, Beldona S (2017) Enhancing employee engagement: an evidence-based approach. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. forthcoming

Cultivating a Global Mindset Through “Being-Centered” Leadership Eleftheria Egel and Louis W. Fry

Abstract

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing today’s global leaders is the need to address the demand for a new strategic business orientation that effectively perceives the nature of complex markets and maximizes global business opportunities. This has given rise to the call for cultivating a global mindset (GM) as a foundation for global leadership. In this chapter we introduce a process for cultivating a GM based on a theory of Being-centered leadership that proposes multiple levels of being as a context for effective global leadership. First, we explore the concept of global mindset and focus on a classification of its core properties. Second, we review the theory of Being-centered leadership, which incorporates five levels of knowing and being, and argue that it is only when a leader commits to the spiritual journey inherent in these levels that self-awareness and other-awareness become manifest, which we propose is essential for GM cultivation. Next, we illustrate how a model of spiritual leadership can facilitate cultivation of a GM and global leadership. Finally, we discuss the implications for global mindset and leadership research and practice. Keywords

Global leadership • Global mindset • Being-centered leadership • Spiritual leadership

E. Egel (*) International University of Monaco, Monaco, Monaco e-mail: [email protected] L.W. Fry Department of Management, Texas A&M University Central Rexas, Killeen, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_50-1

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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Global Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Being-Centered Leadership: Levels of Knowing and Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level V Way of Knowing and Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level IV Way of Knowing and Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level III Way of Knowing and Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level II Way of Knowing and Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level I Way of Knowing and Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cultivating a Global Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Global Mindset at Each Level of Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level V Global Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level IV Global Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level III Global Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Level II Global Mindset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discussion and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction “The only true voyage of discovery. . ., would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes, to behold the universe through the eyes of another. . .” Proust M. Heterogeneity and chaos across cultures and markets is endemic in todays globalized business environment. Firms interact with a wide range of stakeholders, including suppliers, customers, government and industry regulators or employees from diverse multicultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds (Arora et al. 2004; Thomas and Inkson 2004). This is a monumental challenge as performance excellence depends on the corporation’s ability to direct employee behavior toward collective goals (Wilson 2013). Often, a company’s competitive advantage depends on how intelligent the firm is at observing and interpreting the dynamic world context in which it operates, how it makes meaning of it, and how it finds ways to incorporate its understanding of the world community in which it operates (Kegan 1994; Markus and Kitayama 2003; Rhinesmith 1993; Thomas and Inkson 2004; Triandis 1980). These challenges have forced multinational corporations (MNC) to seek global leaders who have the ability to influence people different from themselves in numerous, compound ways (Bechler and Javidan 2007; Javidan and Walker 2012; Mendenhall et al. 2012). Instead of influencing a strategy for a single market, strategy formulation must now balance global efficiencies of the firm with local demands, which may require different strategies given different politico-economic and social contexts. They also must implement these strategies through employees from diverse cultural backgrounds who may not share the organization’s vision and cultural values (Clapp-Smith 2009). Global leadership requires leaders to integrate the needs of diverse stakeholders with a balanced focus on economic profits, social impact (including employees),

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and environmental sustainability, sometimes called the triple bottom line or the three P’s: people, planet, and profit (Crews 2010; Elkington 1998, Fry and Nisiewicz 2013). It reflects an emerging consensus for global leaders to live their lives and lead their organizations in ways that account for their impact on the earth, society, and the health of local and global economies. Thus, the very definition of global leadership is extended to those who seek sustainable change, regardless of role or position; to build the kind of world that we want to live in and that we want our children and grandchildren to inherit (Ferdig 2007). Unfortunately, the literature on global leadership has not emphasized issues surrounding sustainability and the triple bottom line but instead concentrates on a set of business skills that leaders generally rely on when creating strategy (Beechler and Javidan 2007; Bird et al. 2010; Jokinen 2005; Osland 2008). The concept of global mindset (GM) has emerged in recent years as an essential attribute necessary for meeting the challenges for global leadership (Story et al. 2014). However, to date there is little consensus on the definition of GM, much less on how to cultivate it. Definitions of GM have ranged from skills, attitudes, and competencies to behaviors, practices, and strategies (Story et al. 2014), and have been approached from both the individual and organizational levels (Beechler and Javidan 2007, Perlmutter 1969; Rhinesmith 1992). For example, Rhinesmith (1992, p. 63) defined GM as “predisposition to see the world in a particular way, to set boundaries, question the rationale behind things that are happening around us, and establish guidelines to show how we should behave.” Boyacigiller et al. (2004) defined GM as a cognitively complex knowledge structure characterized by a duality, high levels of both differentiation and integration. The purpose of this chapter is to explore GM cultivation, which we propose is necessary for global leadership, through the theory of “Being-centered” leadership that incorporates multiple levels of knowing and being. First, we explore the concept of GM and focus on its three core properties: existentialist, cognitive, and behavioral (Levy et al. 2007). Second, we argue that the existentialist property which has at its core the qualities of self-transcendence is the foundational source of the other two properties. Next we explicate the theory of “Being-centered” leadership with its five levels of knowing and being (Fry and Kriger 2009). Finally, we propose that the cultivation of GM and effective global leadership can only occur when leaders are at Levels III and II of “Being-centered” leadership as it is only at these levels that selfawareness and self-transcendence are attained.

Global Mindset Perlmutter (1969), one of the first to work in this area, defined three orientations that managers have in managing a multinational corporation: ethnocentric (home country organization), polycentric (host country organization), and geocentric (world orientation). His work on geocentrism became the foundation for a theory of GM that focuses on the challenge of overcoming ingrained ethnocentrism and transcending nationally entrenched perceptions (Gupta and Govindarajan 2002; Levy et al. 2007;

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Maznevski and Lane 2004). According to Perlmutter (1969), global organizations or geocentric organizations are increasingly complex and interdependent, aim for a collaborative approach between headquarters and subsidiaries, have standards which are universal and local, have executives who are rewarded for reaching local and global objectives, and develop the best individuals in the world for key positions around the globe. Levy et al. (2007, p. 5) in a thorough review of the GM literature found that GM primarily is based on two perspectives of the global environment: (1) the cultural and national diversity perspective and (2) the strategic perspective (see Fig. 1 and Table 1). The cultural and national diversity perspective focuses on managing across cultural boundaries, emphasizing challenges such as engaging with employees from diverse countries and managing diverse interorganizational relationships. According to this perspective, leaders should adopt cosmopolitanism as it allows global leaders to be self-aware of cultural differences, have an openness and understanding of other cultures, and selectively incorporate foreign values and practices. The strategic perspective focuses on the complexity that stems from globalization of operations and markets, emphasizing the additional demands on MNCs, specifically the need to integrate geographically distant and strategically diverse operations and markets (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1989; Harveston et al. 2000; Prahalad and Doz 1987). This perspective is based on international strategy, which asserts that complexity, heterogeneity, and indeterminacy of multinational corporations create the need for managers to change their styles of thinking and adopt a GM, with GM being defined as a cognitively complex knowledge structure characterized by high levels of both differentiation and integration (Boyacigiller et al. 2004; Murtha et al. 1998; Paul 2000). GM is also defined in terms of cognitive abilities and information processing capabilities that help managers perceive and effectively respond to complex global dynamics (e.g., Jeannet 2000), balance between competing concerns and demands (e.g., Murtha et al. 1998), mediate the tension between the global and the local (e.g., Kefalas 1998), distinguish between and integrate across cultures and markets (e.g., Govindarajan and Gupta 2001), and scan and pay attention to global issues (e.g., Rhinesmith 1993). Another approach – the multidimensional perspective – integrates these two perspectives. The foundation of this perspective lies with the work of Rhinesmith (1992, 1993, 1996). In his view, the GM of key decision-makers contributes to strategic sense-making capabilities of global firms by enabling the decision-maker to not only understand the nuances of culture (cultural perspective) but to also have a broader understanding of the impact of global trends on local strategies (strategic perspective) (Caproni et al. 1992). What has emerged from this work are a set of GM core properties: existentialist (being or ontological), cognitive (knowing or epistemological), and behavioral (Levy et al. 2007). The existentialist approach emphasizes the ontology of GM in terms of “state of mind,” “way of being,” “orientation,” “awareness,” and “openness.” The cognitive approach emphasizes the epistemology of GM in terms of information processing,” “knowledge structure,” “cognitive structure,” “ability to develop and interpret,” “attention,” “sense making,” and “conceptualization and contextualization abilities.” The

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Fig. 1 Conceptualization of global mindset

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Table 1 Definitions of global mindset Scholar Perlmutter (1969) Rhinesmith (1992, p. 63)

Kefalas (1998) Murtha et al. (1998) Gupta and Govindarajan (2002)

Begley and Boyd (2003)

Boyacigiller et al. (2004)

Maznevski and Lane (2004, p. 172)

Levy et al. (2007, p. 21)

Beecher and Javidan (2007) Javidan and Teagarden (2011, p. 14)

Definition Global mindset as a geocentric orientation that multinational organizations have while doing business A global mindset is a predisposition to see the world in a particular way, to set boundaries, question the rationale behind things that are happening around us, and establish guidelines to show how we should behave Global mindset is having a global view of the world and the capacity to adapt to local environments GM is the cognitive processes that balance competing country, business, and functional concerns They described a conceptual framework of global mindset in terms of market and cultural awareness and openness, and the ability to integrate differing perspectives. Integration is described as the ability to integrate diversity across cultures and markets. Differentiation is described as openness to diversity across cultures and markets A global mindset is the ability to develop and interpret criteria for business performance that are not dependent on the assumptions of a single country, culture, or context and to implement those criteria appropriately in different countries, cultures, and contexts Global mindset is a cognitively complex knowledge structure characterized by a duality, high levels of both differentiation and integration GM is the ability to develop and interpret criteria for personal and business performance that are independent from the assumptions of a single country, culture, or context, and to implement those criteria appropriately in different countries, cultures, and contexts GM is a highly complex cognitive structure characterized by an openness to and articulation of multiple cultural and strategic realities on both local and global levels, and the cognitive ability to mediate and integrate across this multiplicity GM is leaders’ knowledge, cognitive ability, and psychological attributes that allow them to lead in diverse cultural environments Global mindset is “an individual’s ability to influence individuals, groups, organizations, and systems that are unlike him or her or his or her own”

behavioral approach focuses on “ability to adapt,” “curiosity,” “seeking opportunities,” and “propensity to engage.” We propose that the existentialist core property forms the foundation for, or underlies, the cognitive and behavioral properties. For example, “state of mind” (existentialist) influences “sense making” (cognitive) or the categories within which one makes sense of the experience which then affects one’s “propensity to engage” and ultimately the behaviors resulting from this propensity. Specifically, a “state of mind” or “mindset” forms the (existential) filter through which we make meaning of the world in a particular way that provides for why things are the way they are

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(cognitive interpretation or “sense making”) which then provides the disposition for ways we should act or behave (Barker 1989; Fischer 1988). Thus, GM encompasses the leader’s fundamental ontological experience of reality and the core beliefs and values they hold about themselves, others, and life in general and, through this filter, the epistemological context for how leaders cognitively interpret their reality and behave accordingly (Anderson and Ackerman-Anderson 2010). Accordingly, if global leaders want to cultivate a GM from a multidimensional perspective in order to manage across cultural boundaries and deal with the complexity, heterogeneity, and indeterminacy of global organizational environments (Caproni et al. 1992), they must perceive reality in a more expansive and inclusive way. We propose that to do so global leaders aspiring to cultivate a GM must be conscious, self-aware, and self-transcendent. How else will they be able to truly understand, appreciate, and create vision and organizational value congruence among employees from diverse countries, cultures, and ethnic backgrounds while simultaneously managing and integrating diverse interorganizational relationships, and geographically distant and strategically diverse operations and markets? Conversely, an unconscious, self-centered mindset may result in biased interpretations of current experiences and cognitive filters that lead to stereotypical behavior toward certain cultures, nationalities, and ethnic groups. The more this existential, cognitive, and behavioral pattern is ingrained in a leader’s GM, the greater the likelihood of behavioral rigidity and lower leadership effectiveness (Fransella 1982; Gupta and Govindarajan 2002; Issa and Pick 2010).

Being-Centered Leadership: Levels of Knowing and Being A proposed model for cultivating a self-aware and self-transcendent GM as a source of global leadership is given in Fig. 2, which is adapted from Fry and Kriger (2009). Based on a theory of being-centered leadership, it depicts five levels of knowing and being with different views of reality that produce different approaches to leadership. In addition, each of the five levels of being has a corresponding mode of consciousness in terms of notions such as truth, belief, justification for one’s actions, and what constitutes happiness. At each level leaders find themselves concerned with questions such as: “What is knowledge?” “What are the processes by which knowledge is acquired?” “What do people seek to know?” “How do we become more aware of both ourselves and the world around us?” We propose that these levels of being provide a process for cultivating a GM, since the levels of being are different states of consciousness, marked by the lower-order systems of knowledge and moving to progressively higher-order systems. When at a particular level of being, a person tends to experience psychological states and state of self-awareness that are appropriate to that level. In addition, an individual’s feelings, motivations, ethics, values, learning system, and personal theories of what constitutes happiness are consistent with and appropriate to that level of being.

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Leadership based on Oneness and constant reconciliation of apparent opposites

Spiritual Leadership based on love & service, and presence in the now Leadership based on being conscious and self-aware moment-to-moment of the individual psyche in its relation to others Leadership based images & imagination and social construction of reality

Leadership based on leader traits & behavior appropriate to the context

Level I

Level II

LEVEL III

LEVEL IV

LEVEL V

Fig. 2 Levels of knowing and being

Each higher level is holonic in that it transcends and includes each of the lower levels. Moreover, each lower level can be activated or reactivated as individuals’ progress and then fall back to a lower level, even in a single day. Thus each level can manifest in any particular activity depending on the level of self-awareness and spiritual development of the individual at that time. More important still, every individual has all of these levels potentially available, independent of their current stage of development.

Level V Way of Knowing and Being The fifth level of being is comprised of the physical, observable world which is based in the five senses, wherein a leader creates and transfers knowledge through an active engagement in worldly affairs. As a state of being, it is comprised of individuals that are born into and still live within a social world where the major view of reality is based on the sensible/physical world. Effective leadership in the sensible/physical world requires developing appropriate diagnostic skills to discern the characteristics of tasks, subordinates, and the organization and then being flexible enough in one’s leadership behavior to increase the likelihood of desired effectiveness outcomes. Leadership theories at this level include trait, behavior, and contingency theories of leadership (Bass 1990; Kirkpatrick and Locke 1991; House 1996).

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Level IV Way of Knowing and Being The fourth level of being is where reality is socially constructed through the creation and maintenance of vision, cultural values, and images. At this level leadership involves the use of images and imagination; the process of creating a compelling vision and establishing strong cultural values. The main goal of leadership at this level is to create agreement on a socially constructed reality which motivates followers to high levels of organizational commitment and performance. The primary focus at this level is on the subjective experience of individuals and groups as they relate to the development of awareness and knowledge. Out of this level arises the legitimacy and appropriateness of a leader’s vision, as well as the ethical and cultural values which individuals and groups should embrace or reject. Here the vision and values of the leader may be either self- or other-centered (e.g., Hitler vs. Mahatma Gandhi). Charismatic and transformational leadership theories characterize this level (Degroot et al. 2000; Judge and Piccolo 2004).

Level III Way of Knowing and Being The third level of knowing and being is where self-awareness and self-transcendence begin to emerge and become more dominant. To awaken or become conscious at Level III involves the capacity to be aware from moment-to-moment of all of our experiences, thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. Without this felt experience in the current moment, a leader’s thinking will tend to become focused on the past or the future. They are then trapped in an ego-centered experience where there is the duality of an “experiencer” separated from what is “experienced.” Each of the major spiritual and religious traditions of the world proclaims that without this level of conscious awareness, an individual will perceive themselves simply as the sum of their individual thoughts, feelings, emotions, and body sensations (Kriger and Seng 2005). It is thus important for leaders seeking Level III to develop and refine the ability to be aware of the present moment by withdrawing attention from past memories based in anger and resentment as well as future imaginings that produce worry and fear. In doing so, leaders are more able to be in touch with subtle feelings and intuitions that can result in a better understanding of the organizational context as well as the needs of followers. Conscious awareness is thus a process of waking up and being present moment-to-moment and then forgetting, to discover new insights and possibilities and awaken one’s capacity to live more wisely, more lovingly, and more fully. By committing to an inner life practice (e.g., meditation, prayer, yoga, journaling, walking in nature) to foster conscious awareness, leaders begin to cultivate a GM that facilitates ever more refined programs of change and transformation. These practices serve to redefine the leader’s individual and social identity through a discipline of constantly observing one’s thought patterns and what one pays attention to in order to get the self-centered ego out of the way. It allows one to explore the often crippling emotional programs for happiness that are developed in early

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childhood based on needs for survival, security, affection, esteem, power, and control (Keating 1999). It also requires exploring the over attachment or over identification with any particular group or culture to which one belongs. In doing so questions or issues are addressed, such as what is my agenda? What is my predisposition? What are my prejudices? What are my fears? What are my angers? Answering these questions requires one to develop the ability to stand away from themselves, listen, and look with a calm, nonjudgmental objectivity. This inner process can be brutal, but it is absolutely necessary for cultivating a GM based in self-awareness. Otherwise, one cannot separate from the mind’s identification with thoughts and feelings. By dedicating themselves to an inner life practice, leaders with a GM will have a more transparent lens through which to make better sense of the global world within which they operate (Fischer 1988; Gupta and Govindarajan 2002; Rhinesmith 1996). They will accept the possibility that their view of the world is just one of many alternative interpretations of reality. Accepting this possibility significantly enhances the likelihood of global leadership effectiveness (Gupta and Govindarajan 2002). Leaders with a GM will not function on autopilot and consistently slip into the delusion that reality and their interpretation of it are one and the same. And they will more often be consciously aware of the difference between “out there” and “in here,” between external reality and internal meaning making. Eckhart Tolle’s work (1999), The Power of Now, gives a good characterization of this level of being.

Level II Way of Knowing and Being Level II builds upon the commitment to Level II to more consistently be able to love and serve others through self-transcendence and deepening connectedness with all things in the universe. Once one accepts the possibility that their view of the world is just one of many alternative interpretations of reality and can more consistently remain present in the now, which is devoid of feelings, thoughts, and emotions, one realizes that in their inner reality we are one with all existence including nature and our fellow humans. In other words, our ways of experiencing (existential being), knowing (cognitive), and behaving change. At Level II global leaders more readily and consistently seek to understand and empathize stakeholders’ perspectives and respect their opinions and dignity as human beings. Cultivation of a GM through self-transcendence does not simply focus on learning about how to deal with other cultures. It goes much deeper and creates communication based on universal values that are common to the world’s spiritual and religious traditions. A leader with a GM will not feel threatened by other cultural standards or different religions. They will experience diversity as just another way of expressing our similarities, our unity as human beings. At this level the focus is on leadership based on loving and serving others. Recognized examples of leadership at Level II include Mother Theresa,

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Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela. Very few organizational leaders are consistently at Level II, though they can often lead from this level temporarily. A leadership theory that incorporates Level II is spiritual leadership (Fry 2003, 2008; Fry et al. in press).

Level I Way of Knowing and Being Level I is the most inclusive level of being, in which there is only a transcendent unity. Underlying this level is a central theme: the goal of this world is the transcendence of all opposites and the realization of self-actualization. All of the world’s wisdom traditions refer in one way or another to this level of being that is so inclusive that it contains both pure emptiness and pure fullness or completeness. Level I thus incorporates all of the previous levels of being and is beyond all distinctions, including the distinction between leader and follower. At this level, the leader responds to each situation as it arises moment-to-moment within a unique context and configuration of forces. Leaders reside in and respond to an everevolving open system of levels of knowing and being. At Level I the experience of duality (i.e., of separation) will dissolve and would not see a distinction between the “leader” and the “led.” In the ideal, all have the potential to enter roles as needed to enact leadership in specific situations moment-by-moment. Thus, Level I leadership is an ideal stage of being that is more aspirational, rather than a current reality within organizational settings.

Cultivating a Global Mindset So how does a leader cultivate a GM that activates these levels of knowing and being? The answer lies in developing the ability to shift from the “having and doing” to “being.” “Having and doing” are constructs which are central to the ego-based self in Levels V and IV. Leadership from a GM requires that leaders reside as much as possible at the higher levels of knowing and being, especially Levels III and II. These levels provide differing ontological and epistemological contexts and indications for the discovery and creation of meaning. This ongoing challenge is undertaken within a larger set of organizational values that often is in tension with the other-centered values and beliefs inherent in a GM. Thus, one of the major challenges in leading from a GM is the enactment of leadership with deep inner meaning for both leaders themselves and their followers. This is illustrated by the upward arrow on the left side of Fig. 2 labeled as “Epistemological Ascent.” This knowing begins with an awareness of leadership in the Level V physical world and the role of vision and values in Level IV. Then comes the awareness of the necessity for the honesty, open mindedness, and willingness to nurture one’s consciousness and self-awareness for moral transformation through self-transcendence in Level III, which provides the source of spiritual leadership based on love and service of others in Level II. At this level there

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also emerges the desire to, if however briefly, reside in Level I: a state of nondual awareness of knowing and being in a transcendent unity where, moment-to-moment, all is one (Fry and Kriger 2009). Global leadership from a GM then manifests through progressively more coarse levels of being (e.g., Level I, II, III, IV, and ultimately Level V). This is illustrated by the downward arrow on the right side of Fig. 2 labeled as “Ontological Descent.” Level I is the source of Level II leadership through love and service, Level II is the source of consciousness and self-awareness at Level III. Self-awareness influences the formation of leader values based in altruistic love, which in turn directly influence the development of the leader’s vision and values (Level IV) that, ultimately, influences leader behavior (Level V). Regardless of their level of inner development, leaders will always have some aspects of spiritual perception and moral sensitivity which requires further inner work. A GM encourages both leaders and followers to understand that their inspiration and creativity, as well as moral standards, are the product of other levels of knowing and being, often only partially perceived or understood. These levels are not like stair steps. Rather they are destinations that are resting places on the pilgrimage that is the spiritual journey (Fry and Nisiewicz 2013). Level I is usually the desired destination. However, few ever reach it and stay there for sustained periods. Rather, leaders may find that they reside at all the levels periodically. Regardless, by committing to cultivation of a GM global leaders will find themselves leading from Levels III and II more consistently, as it is at these levels that leaders operate through self-transcendence to love and serve.

Global Mindset at Each Level of Being GM cultivation is the equivalent of a spiritual journey that unfolds through levels of knowing and being that ultimately manifest through the multidimensional perspective comprised of the cultural and national diversity and strategic complexity perspectives (Fig. 1). Level I is not discussed in this section since it is rarely, if ever, attained by individuals, much less organizations.

Level V Global Mindset Level V leadership focuses on “having” and “doing”; on the traits, competencies and styles leaders possess that determine the way he/she should lead and respond to organizational challenges. Global leaders with a Level V GM are prominently ethnocentric, with an attitude that one’s own group (organization) is superior in terms of intellect and experience in knowing the “one best way” (Adler and Gundersen 2007). As a result, the cultivation of a GM remains at a parochial level. From the “Cultural & National Identity” Perspective the organization trains employees using methods that apply in the home organization without taking into consideration cultural boundaries. From the Strategic Perspective, vision,

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mission, and objectives are formulated at headquarters and are expected to be followed by the subsidiaries irrespective of the cultural diversity and of distinctive managerial decision-making process (e.g., individual vs. collective). Level V GM leaders emphasize profit maximization at the expense of other stakeholders. It manifests when a globally focused firm uses its worldwide system of resources to compete in national markets without being interested in the economic, social, and ecological consequences in the markets where it operates. The most notorious recent example of the perils of leading through a Level V mindset was the Deepwater Horizon – BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill (Environmental Protection Agency 2017). On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank resulting in the death of 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon and the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling operations. Four million barrels of oil flowed from the damaged Macondo well over an 87-day period, before it was finally capped on July 15, 2010. On December 15, 2010, the United States filed a complaint in District Court against BP Exploration & Production and several other defendants alleged to be responsible for the spill. Investigations revealed a corporate culture of cost-cutting initiatives that put profits ahead of workers’ lives and the environment, with repeated safety violations and an abysmal accident history, and that the disaster was just part of a pattern of poor decision making in the relentless pursuit by BP to become the largest and most profitable oil company in the world (Steffy 2010). A federal judge in New Orleans granted final approval April 4, 2016, to an estimated $20 billion settlement, resolving years of litigation. In addition, BP agreed to pay a record $4 billion in criminal fines and penalties. Plus two highestranking BP supervisors on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig were charged with manslaughter and a former senior BP executive was charged with obstruction of congress (EPA 2017).

Level IV Global Mindset At this level the focus is on socially constructing a common organizational reality through the use of images and imagination to create a compelling vision and establish a strong and distinct organizational culture. From the Cultural and National Identity Perspective, a leader with a Level IV GM is concerned with creating shared experiences that serve to unify diverse individual personalities and cultural differences into a common organizational identity. The vision at Level IV usually carries a higher purpose message that inspires and unites. For example, PepsiCo’s vision statement is “to deliver top-tier financial performance over the long term by integrating sustainability into our business strategy, leaving a positive imprint on society and the environment.” From the Strategic Perspective, Level IV GM strategy formulation and implementation is based on a common purpose and morale principles that balance global efficiencies with local demands in different politicoeconomic and social contexts. This is the level where multinationals and global companies symbolically embrace the triple bottom line (TBL) to satisfy

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employee, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability stakeholders as their brand image, reputation and ultimate financial performance depend on their meeting or exceeding these stakeholders’ expectations. Level IV is also where we observe most of the ethical scandals, as compliance is not authentic but it is due to a self-serving rationale, a practice known as “greenwashing,” whereby disinformation is disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. A striking example in this regard is Apple whose vision statement emphasizes innovation and highlights employees’ collaboration and excellence. Apple even has a specific vision for sustainability. We take the same innovative approach to the environment that we do with our products. We’re creating new solar energy projects to reduce our carbon footprint. We’re switching to greener materials to create safer products and manufacturing processes. We’re protecting working forests and making sure they are managed sustainably. We’re even creating a more mindful way to recycle devices using robots.

However, if we look into their operations more deeply, it becomes obvious that the verbal exuberance implicit in their environmental vision does not match the lived organizational reality. For example, Apple makes iPhones and iPads in China where its Foxconn manufacturer became notorious for its sweatshop operations, militaristic surveillance and discipline, and a wave of worker suicides (Balfour and Culpan 2010). Other Apple factories were charged with other onerous – sometimes deadly and fatal – safety problems (Guhigg and Barboza 2012). And, despite some successes, labor violations still haunt Apple (Vincent 2015). With over $246 billion dollars of cash and investments as of February 1, 2017, it seems obvious that if Apple were truly committed to its sustainability vision it has the resources available to address them expeditiously (Monica 2017).

Level III Global Mindset A Level III GM focuses on “being.” This is the level where GM transformation through the expansion of consciousness, self-awareness, and a commitment to selftranscendence begins to manifest. The focal point of the Cultural and National Identity GM perspective at this level is recognizing the cosmopolitan nature of the global business environment and committing to engage all stakeholders from an authentic triple bottom line standpoint. Inherent in a Level III GM is the recognition of the innate dignity of all human beings, cultural self-awareness, openness to and understanding of other cultures, and selective incorporation of foreign values and practices. Leaders recognize the influence and importance of national and ethnic cultures and embrace the contribution of the social reality of the subsidiaries. From the Strategic Perspective, a Level III GM becomes a critical determinant of strategic capability and effectiveness, since global leadership calls for successfully managing environmental demands and strategic complexity as well as integrating

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geographically distinct operations and markets, while simultaneously responding to local demands. To do so requires a leader with a conscious, self-aware, and selftranscendent GM who is engaged in caring for, respecting, and serving all stakeholders, especially those in need; a leader who is determined to bring this awareness to their organization through an obsessive and authentic focus grounded in a triple bottom line philosophy. An example of a Level III leader is Paul Poleman, CEO of Unilever, an AngloDutch company with 176,000 employees, 76,000 suppliers in 190 countries, and 300 factories worldwide that churn out more than 400 brands – Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Dove soap, Lipton tea, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise – for over 2.5 billion customers. At Unilever, environmental risks and poverty are major problems for almost every part of business operations from manufacturing laundry detergent to growing tea. Fundamental to Poleman’s leadership philosophy is his view that the real purpose of business is to come up with solutions that are relevant to society and help make society better. He also believes that customers will abandon companies that fail to grasp that, while businesses that embrace the triple bottom line will inevitably become more profitable (Walt 2017). Poleman’s embrace of sustainability is not without his detractors however and reflects the balancing acts all leaders face who commit their organization to the triple bottom line. Like Apple, outside investigative agencies discovered some Unilever supplier factories were not treating their workforce fairly. However, unlike Apple, union officials and NGOs say that Unilever appears serious about addressing these problems. There is also the challenge with shareholders, for whom Unilever’s good intentions count for little weight compared to their voracious desire for profits. In response Poleman remained steadfast to his philosophy. Knowing that it will take years for the company’s sustainability plan to show concrete results he scrapped quarterly earning guidance for investors (Walt 2017). In doing so he sided with those who argue that the intense pressure to meet quarterly targets traps companies in a vicious cycle of pressure to maximize share price for investors to the detriment of long-term growth and execution of complicated strategies, like improving working conditions, improving the environment, and sustainability ambitions. Poleman believes that success is not defined by a title or position but rather by having a purpose in life and setting out to achieve it. He also takes the time to interview entry-level candidates as well as have small focus groups, dinners, or lunches with people in the company at all levels (there are only five levels at Unilever). He views this as one of his most important jobs, to create a supportive culture to facilitate their career journey. Poleman says that the main thing he has discovered in life is that it is not about yourself, it is about investing in others. Above all he believes the chief quality of a leader is to be a human being. No one is more special because of their job title or responsibilities. The best advice he says he got from his father is to not forget where you came from (a family of modest means) and keep your feet on the ground (Cunningham 2015). His best piece of advice to others is to always remember that it is not about yourself and to be grateful.

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Level II Global Mindset Remembering that the levels of being are holonic and incorporate and transcend the lower levels, leadership at Level II builds upon the leader’s commitment to conscious awareness and self-transcendence in Level III to further recognize the dignity and commonality of the human experience and love and serve others. In doing so the leader experiences a deeper sense of purpose and connection with all things in the universe. The Level II leader’s GM from the Cultural and National Identity Perspective rises above cultural differences and goes deeper to what unites us by creating organizational cultures grounded in the altruistic values of spiritual leadership that underlie the world’s spiritual and religious wisdom traditions (Fry 2003). This GM also provides guidance for the leader, where appropriate, to overtly acknowledge the role spirituality and/or religion contributes to their leadership effectiveness. From the Strategic Perspective the Level II GM nurtures the leader’s innate commitment to improving cross-cultural understanding, enhancing work quality and organizational effectiveness, and contributing to economic growth as well as being a champion and catalyst for change in confronting the economic, social, and ecological challenges facing business and society. Although not a global leader of a large MNC in the ilk of Paul Poleman, Oprah Winfrey’s brand, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and other global initiatives certainly qualify her as a global leader who works from a Level II GM. One of the most powerful women in the world whose net worth exceeds $3 billion, Oprah has produced and acted in movies, given commencement speeches, launched products, appeared on talk shows, and been awarded the US’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom for “meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors” (Reliable Source 2013). Oprah’s Angel Network, a public charity formed in 1998, was established to encourage people around the world to make a difference in the lives of others. Her vision is to inspire individuals to create opportunities that enable underserved women and children to rise to their potential (McCovey 2015). Her Angel Network built the Seven Fountains Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Opened in 2007, the school serves more than 1000 boys and girls and is a model for teaching and learning throughout Africa (Oprah’s Angel Network Fact Sheet n.d.). She also initiates and supports charitable projects and provides grants to not-for-profit organizations around the globe, such as the World Food Programme, Mpilonhle, and Heifer International that share in this vision (Oprah charity work, events and causes n.d.). Oprah considers one of her big productivity secrets is being “fully present” and living life moment-to-moment with a level of intensity and truth. From this place of conscious awareness also come a space of humility and the realization that she doesn’t have all the answers and must rely on a leadership team she can delegate to. This is reflected in conversations with trusted executives who use words like disciples, sacred, moral compass, and spiritual leadership when speaking of her (McCovey 2015).

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At her spiritual core is her belief and understanding that there is a force she calls God that is a presence, a divine entity that loved her into being that helps her stay grounded, centered, and strong. She feels called to inspire people, to get them to look at themselves – to do better and be better to everybody (McCovey). What mattered most about creating OWN was having a platform where she could connect ideas that let people see the best of themselves through the lives of other people.

Discussion and Conclusion Perhaps the greatest challenge facing today’s global leaders is the need to address the demand for a new strategic business orientation that correctly perceives the nature of complex markets and maximizes global business opportunities. This has given rise to the call for cultivating a Global Mindset as a foundation for global leadership and competitive advantage. While there is some evidence of predictors of GM, such as number of languages spoken, holding an international degree, experience abroad, complexity of the leadership role, and intellectual, psychological, and social capital (Javidan and Bowen 2013; Javidan and Walker 2012; Story et al. 2014), little has been written about the process of GM cultivation. While identifying predictors of GM may be of some benefit, we have proposed that any process for cultivating a GM must be grounded in the multinational perspective (Levy et al. 2007), which incorporates the existentialist, cognitive, and behavioral set of core properties; with the existentialist perspective being foundational as it creates the context within which the cognitive and behavioral perspectives emerge. Thus, any approach to cultivating a global mindset must first focus on an ontology grounded in the essence of being. Being-centered leadership theory holds much promise in this regard as it was developed to address issues surrounding the ontology or essential reality of leadership with an emphasis on self-awareness and self-transcendence, which we have argued is necessary for a GM (Fry and Kriger 2009). Underlying the theory are five levels of being with a corresponding epistemology or way of knowing at each corresponding level. Each level of knowing and being represents a level of holonic consciousness with the higher levels transcending and including each of the lower levels. The levels can also be viewed as a spiritual journey whereby one commits to transcending ego-based programs for happiness and cultural conditioning (Levels V and IV) to seek mindfulness or self-awareness (Level III) in order to become more self-transcendent to better love and serve others (Level II), ideally from a nondual state which is beyond all distinctions, including the distinction between leader and follower (Level I) (Fry and Nisiewicz 2013). Being-centered leadership as a process for cultivating a GM is grounded in the world’s spiritual and religious wisdom traditions, all of which emphasize the necessity of a spiritual journey through levels of being to achieve consciousness or awaken to the present moment-to-moment and move from a state of selftranscendence to love and serve others (Kriger and Seng 2005). This process provides a roadmap for leading from a multidimensional perspective across cultures and

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markets from levels of being that are innately common to all humanity. As a result, GM and global leadership research can shift its focus from how to develop leaders cognitively and behaviorally to the fundamental existentialist reality of multiple levels of being as context from which the cognitive and behavioral manifest for effective leadership. In practice, this multidimensional shift can provide impetus for a transformation of the purpose of conducting business in a global context beyond the self-serving goal of maximizing shareholder wealth today to one based on principles of equality, justice, and sustainability for all stakeholders. To conclude, we have proposed that those aspiring to global leadership from a multinational perspective must seek to cultivate a global mindset (GM) that allows for higher levels of consciousness, self-awareness, and self-transcendence. With GM as its source, global leaders are more likely to align the organization’s vision, values, and strategies with those of employees from diverse religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and, in doing so, maximize the triple bottom line to foster economic, social, and ecological sustainability.

Cross-References ▶ Activating the Corporate Soul ▶ Alternative Paradigms of Transformation: Levels of Consciousness and Collective Intention ▶ An Integral Approach to Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Personal and Organizational Life ▶ Global Transformation: Visions of an Imminent Future ▶ Identity and Meaning in Transformation ▶ Self-Knowledge: The Master Key to Personal Transformation ▶ The Role of Self-Awareness in Personal Transformation ▶ The Spiritual Wellspring of Being ▶ Transformative Leadership

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An Integral Approach to Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Personal and Organizational Life Erhard Meyer-Galow

Abstract

There is an urgent need and a growing desire for a serious transformation in our workplace. However, this must be preceded by a personal transformation of our ego-based mental consciousness which by its self-limiting nature inhibits any real ethically sound changes. In this chapter, the author, who was the CEO of several major corporations, promotes a practical, integral approach which incorporates the tenets of several philosophies, including Depth Psychology, assisting us toward the psychological and spiritual maturity necessary for increasing our awareness. During this process, we diminish the limitations of our ego-consciousness and expand the horizons of our holistic consciousness. This will empower us to be leaders in effecting change in our professional lives. Keywords

Depth Psychology • Buddhism • Integral consciousness • Self • C.G. Jung • Individuation • Epigenetics • Sustainability • Ethics • Resilience

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preamble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Is Transformation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reflections on Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Integral Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Age of Mental Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Integral Spirituality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Limited Consciousness Versus Extended Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation of Our Limited Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Personal Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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E. Meyer-Galow (*) Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany e-mail: [email protected]; www.thegoldenwind.net # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_53-1

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The Development of the Ego . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Becoming a Whole Person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation by Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation by Depth Psychology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Is Individuation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation by Religion, Meditation, and Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation by Quantum Physics and Natural Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blockages to Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Professional Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Power of One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The New Sustainability and Personal Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Organization and Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mergers and Acquisitions, Splitting, and Divestitures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sustainable Supply Chain Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sustainable Customer Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sustainable Environmental Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gifts from Within: Intuition, Creativity, and Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction I believe that the meaning of life is to prepare oneself for the immanent transcendence. This concept is central to the teachings of my teacher and friend, Karlfried Graf Duerckheim (Duerckheim 1984: 203–234). In times of expansive economic growth, many of us are preoccupied with our external, materialistic opportunities, which may diminish our possibility for that internal growth which is necessary for the nourishment of our spiritual center. However, the inability of financial success and professional recognition to fulfill our innermost desire for connecting with our essential Self can trigger an increasing awareness of our need to explore new opportunities for real meaning in our lives, a sense of Self which is independent of the state of our materialistic and egocentric recognition. This journey, when undertaken in a contemplative, receptive, and selfreflective manner, will lead us to the realization that any and all efforts which are based upon love and justice for ourselves and for all living creatures are intrinsically rewarding, enhancing our sense of self-worth and personal satisfaction. Being receptive to opportunities for growth from both the external world and from our personal intuitions will result in real self-improvement, one which is of benefit to us as individuals and to society as a whole. It is the only reasonable, decisive purpose for our lives. But we are stubborn! Often it takes a major personal or societal crisis, one which strips away our external sense of self-worth, before our attention is finally directed inward toward our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Our ego, while on occasion an ally, can also ensure that extrinsic rewards remain our predominant goal. It is difficult to convince our ego that extrinsic rewards can never represent the true meaning of life, that the quest for material extravagances can never

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represent our genuine purpose. We may temporarily ignore the harm which results from this one-sided development of the mind, but the consequences are real and familiar. They include anxiety, loneliness, purposelessness, and depression, to name but a few. Our ego-dominated mind with its limited consciousness is so dominant that we have separated ourselves from our essential inner components, from our most important roots: • We have separated our Ego from our Self. • We have separated our Mind from our Soul. • Men have separated their Masculinity from their Femininity. • Women have separated their Femininity from their Masculinity. • We have separated our Spirit from our Mind and Soul, resisting their unity. • We have severed our connection to the Mystical. • We have buried Sophia, the divine Wisdom, under layers of materialism. • We wish to embrace Good, but render that impossible by having suppressed and repressed our Dark side. Is it any wonder that humanity’s attempts to develop an extended consciousness which is dependent upon a unity of body, mind, soul, and spirit have failed? Attaining the desirable balance between our external and internal realities necessitates the acceptance of a new integral transformational process. Since Descartes’s “Cogito ergo sum” (Watson 2002), we define ourselves all too often only through our thinking. We have been conditioned and rewarded from an early age to pay attention to our ego and its promises of financial success and peer recognition. Enormous societal advances in technology, science, and the economy may appear to confirm the wisdom of this approach. However, at what personal expense? We face double-digit growth of burnout, depression, and the use of psychopharmaceutical drugs. How do we break out of the egocentric attitude which is constantly being reinforced by our ego mind? Sadly, it too often takes a profoundly personal or professional crisis to initiate some real introspection about our life, a selfexamination which may then begin to transform our fundamental values. Transformation is a difficult and tedious process, one which often necessitates an experienced guide. There are many pathways which afford the possibility for transformation, including embracing psychology, philosophy, meditation, yoga, religion, spiritual wisdom, or quantum physics. But we often get lost or give up on our efforts after a while because we do not necessarily select the pathway which best accommodates our own personality and/or our particular stage of developmental awareness. Most often no one specific process will satisfy our needs. As there are numerous barriers inhibiting our personal transformation, in order to be successful, an integral transformational process must not initially exclude any available process. It may well be that for each of us on the transformation track, any particular transformation pathway is of greater or lesser value, thus to initially focus upon a single, unknown pathway may lead us down a dead-end street. The resulting disappointment and frustration may then cause us to prematurely give up our quest for ultimate fulfillment.

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Preamble What Is Transformation? Transformation is a very popular word in difficult times. By transformation, most people mean change, metamorphosis, or the conversion of an unsatisfactory situation to one which is more in accord with their desires. To appreciate what the word really means, we must consider its etymological origin. “Trans” is a Latin prefix with the meaning “beyond,” “across,” “on the other side of,” or “through.” When placed in front of the word “form,” we are making reference to a space beyond, across, or even through the form. In relation to the content of this handbook, and more specifically to this chapter in the handbook, the meaning and definition of “form” is implicit in the expression of the famous Heart Sutra in Mahayana Buddhism: Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form

Form and emptiness are not separate entities. They are one. When we only focus on form, the result is limited consciousness. In Buddhism, emptiness is used as a synonym for the reality which we cannot describe but from which everything evolves. It is a reality which, while defying description, can be experienced. It may be ascribed many different names, including God, The Divine Principle, Allah, Yahweh, Brahman, Higher Being, The Spiritual Dimension, Self, The Background Field, or even The Ever-Acting Process as derived from quantum physics. Duerckheim (1896–1988), who was an early advocate of an integral approach, calls this united reality of form and emptiness, which is not describable in words, immanent transcendence. It shares principles employed by Zen Buddhism, Master Eckhart’s Christian mysticism, and Depth Psychology as promoted by Jung and Neumann. The name each of us chooses for this reality depends upon the particular bias our enculturation has imposed upon us, along with the transformational work we may have personally undertaken to expand upon our culturally imposed limitations. Form is the manifestation of emptiness in body, mind, and soul. To “trans” form involves the recognition that our form has spirit embedded within it, the divine dimension of all beings. The meaning of life unfolds within and around us when the expression of our unified form and spirit become as one, allowing us to experience our spiritual dimension. Transformation is trans-form-ation, the process of learning to experience the consciousness of transcendence in body, mind, and soul; through body, mind, and soul; and beyond body, mind, and soul. Our consciousness, which is primarily based upon our body and mind, is necessarily limited to our thinking and our emotions. Most of us have lost the connection to our soul. It is only through a personal transformation that we can regain it.

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Jung often stated (Owens 2012): The whole world hangs on the thread that is man and his psyche.

Psyche is another word for soul derived from Greek. Jung’s statement reminds us of the importance of our connection to our soul. Our soul supports us through the processes of transformation, ensuring that we are lifted beyond our limited consciousness and guided toward a broader experience of our divine dimension which includes extended consciousness.

Reflections on Consciousness Integral Consciousness No discussion of approaches to an integral transformation would be complete without a consideration of the important experiences of the German/Swiss philosopher Jean Gebser and the American author Ken Wilber. Gebser (Kramer 1992) was one of the first scientists whose research on consciousness resulted in a model of human consciousness, and Wilber (2000) is known for his “integral theory” which integrates psychology, philosophy, mysticism, and spirituality. Both researchers consider human consciousness to be in a state of transition, not perpetual transition but rather a sort of progression of “mutations,” with one evolving from the other, while the previous continues to operate upon those which follow. As one “mutation” becomes situationally deficient, another develops. Gebser introduced the following progressive ages of consciousness of mankind: • Archaic • Magical • Mythical • Mental We have currently progressed to the age of mental consciousness, complete with all its deficiencies, and are on a course toward an integral, more mystical level of awareness which is evolving and arising out of the previous ages of consciousness. This archetype (Jung 1959) corresponds with Jung’s vision that a new religion, most probably a mystical one, while not yet present is going to manifest.

The Age of Mental Consciousness Our mental aspect structures events, objects, and people through the use of logic. Gebser (1986) referred to this incomplete aspect of ourselves as our “rational” structure. Our awareness which results from structuring our world only rationally is limited and, by the very nature of a limited awareness, seeks to deny the reality of any other structural possibilities, insisting that we humans are exclusively rational.

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Influenced by quantum physics, our integral consciousness became evident as a result of our new understanding of the relationship between space and time. In writing about Transparency for Immanent Transcendence, Duerckheim (1984) leads us to an awareness that all psychological and spiritual practices focused upon mindfulness result in greater transparency. If we succeed in our practices, our mindfulness becomes integral in spite of our ego-consciousness, and then we experience time as an indivisible whole, not as a past, present, or future. For such a person, awareness is already integral. The more we practice awareness and mindfulness, the more we experience the Whole of Reality.

Integral Spirituality Based on Gebser’s philosophy, Wilber formulated an integral approach to spirituality by blending spiritual wisdom, religions, science, and culture. Numerous elements of these cultural components contribute toward a more integral spirituality. He describes how the wisdom embraced by the East and the West can lead us to a higher level of consciousness through the unfolding of a developmental and psychodynamic psychology. Sri Aurobindo (1993) was the first to use the word “integral” in connection with spirituality. His work is described as Integral Vedanta and Integral Psychology. Based upon the soundly convincing arguments put forth by previous authors, a powerful case may be made for using the term integral in connection with transformation. An integral approach which supersedes the limitations of the age of mental consciousness, extending our awareness into the age of integral consciousness, becomes both defensible and contemporary.

Limited Consciousness Versus Extended Consciousness We are all conscious of our body and mind, an awareness which begins in early childhood. This is a limited consciousness. Our soul is our leader, our guide to an extended consciousness. Therefore, the first step toward an extended consciousness is the awareness of our soul. We must personally experience it. Only in so doing can we be led to an extended consciousness. Our soul may also lead us into experiencing the spiritual dimension which exists in and around us. Only then do we fully appreciate the experience of an extended consciousness. There is nothing new about this approach to expanded awareness. In the very old Upanishads of Hinduism, the description of Brahman, the absolute, endless, immanent, unchangeable, transcendent reality, is SAT-CHIT-ANANDA. SAT is the state of Being, of existence. CHIT means consciousness. ANANDA may be translated as bliss, the highest form of enlightenment. I interpret this to mean that through learning to be conscious of Being, the divine dimension in us, we are able to achieve a state of bliss and enlightenment. Surely this is the reason and motivation for any transformational process!

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Transformation of Our Limited Consciousness Personal transformation is a necessary precondition for transforming the limited consciousness which we too often carry forward into our professional life. Let us consider the process of personal transformation both for its obvious personal benefits and for its subsequent relevance in our professional life. There is almost a limitless supply of literature concerning personal transformational processes. You are encouraged to explore those aspects of it which you believe may be of greatest personal and professional interest to you. My discussion will focus largely upon my personal journey toward an expanded awareness, which was initiated by the master Duerckheim.

Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Personal Life The Development of the Ego Until around the age of three, we are entirely dependent upon others. Lacking personal responsibility, we are able to experience pure being. As our ego, which becomes increasingly essential for our survival in a world where we must learn, manage, perform, achieve, and generally do, rather than just be, separates from our “Self,” we begin to develop a sense of duality. This is the beginning of a lifelong conflict. As we constantly aim to do well, including managing well and performing well, we acquire the fear that we are not doing well enough! We begin to fear that we may lose all that we have achieved. Unconsciously, this fear will influence the rest of our life. Our ego creates its own isolation, its own limitations. Essentially all of our suffering and unhappiness are the result of this isolation. Our ego-imposed limitations cause an imbalance which many of us never overcome. This process of separation of our ego from our “Self,” a term coined by Jung for the divine dimension which resides within each of us, must occur in order for us to gain and express our individual free will. We must leave behind our wholeness in order to foster our ego. The result is that we largely forget about our Self. Our task in life then becomes a return to the Self so as to become whole again. This necessitates a process of transformation. Two of numerous well-known metaphors for this process are The Parable of the Lost Son found in Luke 15: 11–32 and the Epic of Gilgamesh (George 2003).

Some esoteric practices promote overpowering and destroying the ego, but this is a misguided attempt at resolving our imbalance. In fact, in our society, many individuals suffer from too little ego, with disastrous consequences. Our ego plays a crucial role in making us viable individuals in our society. In the early decades of our life, we learn and practice knowledge and skills. As doing and achieving stabilize our ego, they have greater priority than just being, in the early definition of ourselves. The crux of the problem is that we have become too one-sided. Due to a

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myriad of societal and personal influences, we have left our Self behind and given our ego free rein. Our world is full of individuals with big, powerful, dominating egos. While the egocentric and egoistic part of our ego serves to further our societal image, it is incompatible with a healthy, fulfilled, and balanced inner essence which is our connection with divinity. For those with overpowering egos, the transformation process must include mindfulness practices such as meditation which allow us to reestablish balance in our life by relegating our ego to its rightful, less dominant position, a position which allows for and encourages a harmonious coexistence of being and doing. For others, those whose ego development has been adversely influenced by blockages resulting from negative life experiences which have caused a lack of self-confidence, or ego-confidence, the task becomes one of bolstering one’s selfimage through successful life endeavors. Meditation for those with poorly developed egos can result in personal crises, as they may be learning to let go of the only aspect of their life which is at least somewhat supportive. For them therapy which is based upon Depth Psychology, or the practice of aikido, judo, karate, or other ego-building activities, provides the necessary “catch up” for their ego. This is an excellent example of an approach which utilizes integral transformation. As Duerckheim (1954) clearly argues, man is of double origin. He has a “worldbased, rational ego-consciousness,” as well as an “essence of Being.” The first is secular in origin and the second is of divine origin. He is of the belief that the divine essence is the way in which the trans-space being and the trans-time being wish to manifest in us and in the world.

Becoming a Whole Person A person who has only developed his ego-consciousness, having left behind his inner divine source, may be referred to as a stretched person. When this occurs, we lose our wholeness. The more we develop the mind and leave behind the heart, the more tension we build up. This tension leads to psychological and physical problems and all too frequently to serious diseases. Our developmental quest is to become a whole person. “Person” comes from the Latin personare, that is, “to sound through.” In Greek tragedy, the message of the Gods was delivered by the actors through their masks (persona). By relegating our ego to a position of shared dominance, we allow ourselves to become grounded in the Self. In the following discussion, different sources for personal transformation will be described, including philosophy, Depth Psychology, religion, spiritual wisdom, and quantum physics, finally culminating in an integral concept for transformation.

Transformation by Philosophy The Greek philosopher Plotin (205–270 BC) was the founder and most well- known representative of the Neo-Platonist philosophers. Many philosophies, psychological

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theories, and teachings are based on Plotin’s wisdom in his original, foundational work. The aim of his teachings was to promote the process of reconciliation and reunification with the ALL-ONE. The necessary condition for this reintegration is a philosophical, conscious lifestyle. At the core of his thinking is the inevitable separation and, hopefully, the subsequent reunification of body and soul. In his famous Enneads (Mc Kenna 1992), he declares that the decline of the soul from the spiritual world into the world of the body, and the ascent from the world of the body back to the spiritual world, is the main task of all humans. This is a transformational process. For most of us, our soul is a prisoner in our body, and as a consequence, this imprisonment creates all of our suffering. The liberation of the soul can be achieved through living a virtuous life. Plotin distinguishes between two kinds of virtues: the political and the higher virtues. Compassion for all beings belongs to the political virtues. It makes us better by limiting our negative behaviors like greed, arrogance, and aggression and reduces our probability of accepting unethical values and the decisions which would arise from them. The higher virtues, which clear our soul from the influences of our body and our mind, are love, hope, truth, and charity. They guide us to the experience of “Nous,” the spiritual dimension. Plotin clearly advocates that the transformational process of liberating the soul from the limitations of the body and mind and experiencing the spirit is not achieved by philosophizing, but rather by living a virtuous life, day by day. What Plotin did not specify was precisely how we were to achieve this transformation. Even if our ego-consciousness wants to follow Plotin’s advice, the dark side of our ego will always interfere, seducing us into choosing less than virtuous life choices. To further ensure success, we must explore in some detail the nature of Jung’s Depth Psychology.

Transformation by Depth Psychology In 1913, Jung began writing down his dreams, inner experiences, and imaginations in a book which was covered in red leather, subsequently known as the Red Book (Shamdasani 2009). His journey of self-analysis had begun. How can lessons from Depth Psychology and the Red Book help us in our journey of transformation? Jung’s Red Book documents the tremendously important experiencing of the unconscious in his own body, as Jung described his “difficult experiment.” It was not until 50 years after his death that the English historian Sonu Shamdasani (2009) published the book. It is a treasure trove not only for those who want to further explore the process of individuation – that of individual personal development – but also for those who wish to directly experience their Inner Self. What is the contemporary meaning of the Red Book? Jung states that one of our greatest current challenges is in dealing with our shadow. The future will be about the unity of the Holy Spirit as the ultimate act of salvation which God, in an act of grace, disseminated to mankind through the example of Jesus Christ. The essence of this salvation act, which contains the divine secret, can be recognized universally.

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Thus, the complexio oppositorum of the divine image penetrates the individual not in a united fashion, but as a conflict, one in which the dark side of the image is confronted by the concept that God is only “light.” Jung then states that this process which is crucial to our advancement and which is taking place in our present time goes largely unrecognized by the majority of spiritual leaders, even though its recognition is of paramount importance. The entire world recognizes that we are in a time of dramatic transformation. We mistakenly presume that this transformation has been triggered by fission and fusion of atoms, by space shuttles, or by economic liaisons. As usual, we brush off and ignore that which is concurrently taking place inside the human soul. After having written his Red Book almost 100 years ago, Jung decided to ensure that the book was kept a secret for almost an entire century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he was convinced that people would not believe his revelations within the book and would call him crazy. It was his hope that by the beginning of the twenty-first century, people would be sufficiently mature to understand his concepts and to undertake the necessary investigations to validate his findings. But it is obvious that we are still far from being able to fulfill his vision. Lance Owens (2012) explained in his seminar “C. G. Jung and the Red Book” that Jung prophesized about three things: war, magic, and religion. War and conflict we see everywhere, in units as small as families and as large as nations. War is of egocentric origin and as such separates one from the other, creating endless victims. There is no realistic hope that it will end until the total annihilation of mankind is complete. By magic, Jung was referring to “black magic” which is an active, destructive force imposing itself upon both the individual and the collective. Technos, our creative human ability, has exploded and is growing exponentially. Computers, smartphones, laptops, and the Internet are interwoven into the very fabric of human life. Everywhere it is hustle and bustle with no time to stop and ponder, to contemplate, to meditate, and to mindfully consider. People are having their mindful attention, consideration, and compassion usurped by the vampire of “magic.” Jung often expressed sorrow when contemplating the fate of generations of mankind which would follow after his death. In an interview, he was asked how long the suffering and chaos of mankind will last. He answered that this period may well last for 600 of the 2000 years of the Age of Aquarius. There is a compelling sense of urgency for those few individuals who have, through Grace, undergone a personal spiritual transformation to assist others in their difficult journey. Before delving further into explanations of spiritual transformations, let us consider the process of individuation, which Jung refers to as transformation by Depth Psychology. Brigitte Dorst, a professor in Muenster, Germany, once told me in a lecture on “Depth Psychology and Sufism” (2015) that “Depth Psychology may guide us to the door of God, to the beginning of the experience of our spiritual origin.” Ultimately, it is about connecting ourselves with the supernatural and thus allowing for the healing of the wounds which have resulted from our separation from it. Jung stated that after taking detailed medical histories of his patients during his many years of practice that he inevitably found that it was separation from the

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numinous, our divine source, which was the ultimate cause of all ailments. There are many ways for our healing to begin, including the pathway to individuation through Depth Psychology and the numerous other spiritual pathways which can help us to recover in adulthood that wholeness which we once enjoyed in early childhood up until the age of about 3 years. A prerequisite is that we must achieve reconciliation with our dark side. We must become complete individuals, a dynamic, balanced integration of body, mind, soul, and spirit. Inner growth cannot be achieved solely by our rational mind or by our emotions, because it takes place in the trans-psychomental aspect of our Being. Overcoming our ego-centeredness is an essential first step, one which can be achieved through exercises which are based mainly upon the transcendence or letting go of thoughts and feelings.

What Is Individuation? The Jungian Center for Spiritual Sciences is an excellent source of information concerning individuation (http://jungiancenter.org/components-of-individuation-1what-is-individuation/). Our English word comes from the Latin individuus, meaning “undivided” or “individual.” Individuation is the process by which individual beings are formed and differentiate. It is the transformation of the psychological individual, a process of self-realization which links up consciousness with the unconscious.

Listening to Our Dreams Modern Depth Psychology utilizes myths, fables, pictures, dreams, and imaginations. We all have dreams. In accordance with his experience, Jung recommended that we give them careful consideration. We may not always remember our dreams but our “dream director” is attempting to convey something to us, something important for our life’s journey. Paying careful attention to our dreams is very important for our individuation process! Jung’s dream theory is central to modern Depth Psychology. Jung considered dreams to be the direct expression of our current situation, able to inform us about our immediate state of affairs. He stated that the nature of our dreams is a “spontaneous self-portrayal, in symbolic forms, of the actual situation in the unconscious” (Adler and Hull 1967a: 505). Dreams are full of symbols, images, and metaphors. Since they are presented in the language of the unconscious, we may need the help of a Jungian expert to interpret them. Dreams portray the outer and inner world. Thoughts and feelings of the psyche arise. According to Jung, dreams have two functions. The first is that they compensate for imbalances in the dreamers’ psyche. Unconscious content which we have ignored, repressed, or suppressed begin to manifest, and when we learn to accept and recognize these dream manifestations, we achieve a greater psychological balance. The second function is to provide prospective images, ones which may inform us of impending events. While dreams are not predictors of the future, they often suggest possible eventualities.

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Jung was convinced that dreams promote the most important developmental process in our life: our individuation, which is the uniting of our consciousness and unconscious into a healthy and harmonious state of wholeness. For Jung, individuation is the “complete actualization of the whole human being” (Adler and Hull 1967b: 352). Dreams also contain pictures of the collective unconscious. Dreams contain so-called archetypes, universal psychic images such as the wise man, the great mother, the divine child, the shadow, and a myriad of others. These archetypical images afford us insights and guidance because they contain wisdom which resides deep within our unconscious. If we make the effort to create poetry, paintings or sculptures based upon our dreams, it will enhance our insights into ourselves. If we keep these art products with us during our ongoing soul development work, we will expand and strengthen our potential for growth.

Activating Our Imagination For the Swiss psychologist Walter Schwery (2008), who was my teacher in Depth Psychology for almost 15 years, “active imagination” is Jung’s method of integration of the shadow. It is a practice which raises, animates, and preserves the images of the personal and collective unconscious. Perhaps the simplest definition of active imagination is that it is a route which affords us the opportunity to open negotiations with forces and figures of the unconscious that lead to the possibility of agreement with them. In this respect, it differs from dreams, in which we have no active control over our own behavior. Active imagination is a psychotherapeutic method and spiritual procedure of selfexploration. It is a tool for the exploration of the interior of the soul, an experience from which we may derive the impulse for life and growth. During active imagination, our consciousness and our unconscious, after some preliminary relaxing exercises, enter into a dialogue which otherwise would never have occurred. Messages in the form of images from the unconscious appear only if the supremacy of the consciousness is overcome. The resulting dialogue produces a healing self-recognition, one which gives us access to creativity and to the healing of the soul. How Does Active Imagination Proceed? Active imagination is always a gradual, step-by-step process: • • • •

Empty the mind. Let the unconscious flow into the vacuum. Add the ethical element. Integrate the imagination back into our daily life.

Jung himself recommended in a letter in 1932: “Think, for example, a fantasy and make it available to all your forces. Create and frame it, as if you were the imagination or belonged to her, as you would render an inescapable life situation. All the difficulties you encounter in such an imagination are symbolic of your psychological difficulties and to the extent, as you master them in the imagination, you overcome them in your psyche” (Jung and Adler 1973: 146).

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Reconciliation with the Dark Brother According to Jung, each of us has a bright side which we display with the hope that it will be appreciated by the public and a dark side which we suppress. All of our dark thoughts and actions are either suppressed or repressed into our shadow. It is in suppression, that is to say, in the deliberate elimination by our ego-consciousness of all those characteristics and tendencies of our personality which are out of harmony with our ethical beliefs, that the denial of our dark side is most clearly seen as a leading cause of our suffering. Discipline and asceticism are common ways in which this suppression is given form. Erich Neumann, an eminent philosopher and student of Jung, believes that it is important to realize that in suppression a sacrifice is made which leads to suffering. Because this suffering is accepted, the rejected contents and components of the personality still retain their connection with the ego. Neumann (1990: 35) states: “In contrast to suppression, repression may be regarded as the instrument most frequently used by the old ethic arising from Judea-Christian tradition to secure the imposition of its values. In repression, the excluded contents and components of the personality which run counter to the dominant and ethical value lose their connection with the conscious system and become unconscious or forgotten, that is to say, the ego is entirely unaware of their existence. Repressed contents, unlike those suppressed, are withdrawn from the control of consciousness and function independently of it; in fact, as Depth Psychology has shown, they lead an active underground life of their own with disastrous results for both the individual and the collective. . . The complexes of unconsciousness which have been shut away from daylight by repression undermine and destroy the world of consciousness. . ..” In his acclaimed book Das Böse oder die Versöhnung mit dem Dunklen Bruder (The Evil or Reconciliation with the Dark Brother), Schwery (2008: 37) offers a path to reconciliation with our dark side: “Jung realized that my shadow side is part and exponent of the dark side of humanity in general, and if my shadow is antisocial and greedy, cruel and evil, poor and miserable and his growing occurs as a beggar or animal in me, then behind my reconciliation with it stands the reconciliation with the Dark brother of mankind in general, and as I am in it and am part of it myself, I accept with him the whole part of humanity, which is as my shadow my associated neighbor. We are to love this shadow, as Jesus said, and to love it as I love myself. . .While the idea of the old ethic is focused upon the rejection of evil, of the shadow. . . the model for the new ethic is the union of opposites as the goal of a long journey. . ..This new ethic does not focus on being good, but rather that one accepts the shadow and the good in his hermetic vessel, which means in his conscious soul, without a need for consent or judgment.” For Schwery, reconciliation begins with the distinctive recognition as taught by Buddhism: I am not evil, but I have evil as an expression of a part of my person. What I have, I can let go of. What I am, I cannot. It is about the recognition of evil, of which I can let go. We can liberate ourselves through awareness, recognition and inner growth. Schwery (2008: 44) cited Paulus: “So I come up with the law, that evil is present in me, even though I want do good.” Concerning the risk of disorientation,

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Schwery (2008: 43) has the following comment: “In practice we see over and over again how many people, especially the religious, endeavor to be a better person. But if we scratch the surface of this facade of religious correctness, we soon discover deep uncertainty, a lack of self-esteem and self-acceptance. The quest creates an urgent need for love and acceptance, and at the same time the dangerous desire to cover the narcissistic wound with religious goodness, but the root of the problem never heals, to the contrary, it is exacerbated.”

Designation of the Evil Schwery (2008: 48) continues: “Following the detection of the dark brother as an autonomous entity, it remains to give this entity a symbolic name. The creation of this symbol affords us the opportunity to take a non-rational entity and give it form. . . The designation of the shadow with a symbolic name such as Dark Brother prevents us from becoming one with the shadow, allowing us to differentiate ourselves from it. Only if this succeeds is it possible to grasp it and deal with it head on. Jung noted that the psyche has a tendency to personalize and dramatize the shadow, resulting in it being experienced as dreams, daydreams, hallucinations and visions. Our Dark Brother, our shadow is a vital issue, one which we must face directly. As a next step, we should try to see him not as a moral, but as an energetic problem. The shadow is usually very vital, and as such it is hindering active or suppressed energies. But each vital energy which cannot develop naturally, is negative and destructive. . .Rather than doing, just let go, and be.” No longer is the masculine “Doing” the answer to the problem of the shadow, but rather the merciful feminine “Being.” Out of this feminine perspective arises that serenity, which finally leads us to awareness and the ultimate redemption of our Self. Balancing the Anima and Animus The terms anima and animus were first mentioned by Jung. Harmonizing our masculine and feminine energies is a condition for individuation. In the Eastern Hemisphere, these energies are referred to as Yin and Yang. An imbalance negatively influences our transformational process. A man who has not yet integrated his anima is predominantly controlled by his masculine side, making him more susceptible to immoral, unethical behavior as he is without his harmonizing female attributes. The anima refers to the unconscious feminine dimension of masculinity which can often be forgotten or repressed in daily life. In order to progress psychologically toward greater internal balance and harmony, it is necessary for a man to recognize, connect with, and embrace this latent element of his character. The man who has connected with his feminine anima displays tenderness, patience, consideration, and compassion. The animus is the unconscious male dimension in the female psyche. Due to societal, parental, and cultural conditioning, the animus can be often inhibited, restrained, and suppressed. On the other hand, some societies and cultures, including our Western way of life, ruthlessly impose masculine ideals as prerequisites for excelling, succeeding, and getting ahead in life, even for women. All of these external elements can contribute toward a negative animus which reveals itself in a

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woman’s personality as argumentative tendencies, ruthlessness, destructiveness, and insensitivity. However, integrating a positive animus into the feminine psyche can result in strength, assertiveness, level headedness, and rationality. To allow the process of transformation to make us whole, we must all first encounter and then work to embrace our internal anima or animus. In our modern society, we have lost our connection to our soul. Through transformation by individuation, Depth Psychology can help us to build bridges to our soul allowing it to act as the guide to our spirit. Where is our soul?

Our Soul Is Not in Us, We Are in Our Soul! We, our body, and our mind are in our soul, and our soul is part of the world’s soul. With individuation, we can experience this world soul and our connection with it, along with the entire spiritual dimension of the universe.

Transformation by Religion, Meditation, and Awareness Spiritual Teachings Religion is of great importance to many. It served me well, giving me a grounding in and an appetite for further explorations in spirituality. After some loss of confidence in Christianity, I turned to Zen Buddhism, extensively practicing Zen meditation. Ironically, this led me back to a further consideration of Christianity. Religious practices serve to give orientation and support during all stages of life. They afford an opportunity for growth which will lead us to experience God. Many spiritual teachers promote the study of a variety of religious doctrines. However, it is preferable to study religious doctrines under the direction of a master who has had direct experiences of God. Most priests or ministers are only able to ask you to blindly believe in God. This is a major shortcoming of contemporary Christian religions, as many people are, wisely, not willing to blindly believe without questioning. It is the mystic part of religions which is able to prepare us for transformation. Master Eckhart (Woods 2011) is an excellent guide for transformation through Christian religions. The method of Christian contemplation which includes a meditation on a prayer, a picture, and a sentence or a word is a rewarding practice which can lead to powerful revelations. The inner mystical dimension of Islam is Sufism and, in the Jewish religion, the Kabbala. To be a whole person, to extricate ourselves from our childhood’s pronounced egocentric and egoistic socialization, we must entertain a daily practice of exercise in which we practice letting go of our ego. Then, as an act of grace, the maturation of our essence is allowed to flourish within us. Practices such as meditation, prayer and contemplation, judo, kyudo (archery), aikido, and yoga as well as many other pathways to the experiencing of our essence are valuable. Since when we attempt to practice alone we often quickly lose interest, it is preferable to receive instruction and encouragement from a teacher. It is also important that our practice is undertaken frequently, every day if possible. In time, we will find that through our efforts, we

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recognize a transformation within ourselves, which is the first, most important, and crucial step toward transforming our society! When you change, the whole world changes! (ZEN)

Or, as Buddhists pledge: Sentient beings are numberless. We vow to save them all!

Meditation as a Daily Practice Meditation masters of numerous disciplines teach that once we have focused upon an object and have observed our thoughts and emotions, we need to let them go, to dismiss them. In so doing, we are able to become one with the reality which cannot be contained by thoughts or words. Then, in addition, they ask us to let go of the focus as well! As it was only a tool to assist us in initiating the mindfulness exercise, it is no longer necessary. We were the subject; the focus was the object. When we overcome this duality of subject and object, there is no difference between us and the focus. This leads us to a better understand of what is meant in Zen Buddhism when it is said that subject is object and object is subject. The perceived duality is gone. As duality is the cause of our suffering, our suffering is also gone. After some time, we do not watch our thoughts anymore. They are no longer important to us. We are one with all of the universe which is boundless and infinite. We are part of it, a wave in the vast ocean connected with all the other waves. It is important to continue our discipline and to maintain the momentum of our practice for as long as is necessary. It may take years before we eventually experience the totality of wholeness and oneness. The following summarize the sequences in a Zen meditation practice: • Longing to feel the end of our suffering • Self-responsibility • Selecting a guide – a master for our spiritual path • Exercising mindfulness – setting our sails! • Selecting our focus • Calming our restless mind • Observing our thoughts • Allowing our focus to part • Having our focus disappear • Staying without thinking, without any emotion • Becoming ONE with ALL If we wish to welcome peace, silence, balance, serenity, kindness, charity, compassion, perseverance, harmony, and happiness into our life, mindfulness is the key. Living mindfully in the present, fully embracing the here and now will give our life new meaning. When we can quiet all of the external and internal “noise”

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around and within us sufficiently that we can meditate, we experience how immensely blessed we really are! Often we concentrate mindfully during meditation on a particular focus, but we forget that this is only the first step of meditation. The second and even more important step is to release the focus, and relax. A Tibetan Rinpoche recently observed a group of scholars during meditation and noticed that they were diligently practicing mindfulness. He declared: Do not meditate, just relax!

Everyone immediately began laughing, which relaxed them into the correct spirit for meditation.

Becoming Aware of Our Experiences If at this time in your life you lack the resolve and discipline to meditate, instead try entering into a greater awareness of those experiences which interest and fulfill you, ones in which you can practice mindfulness. In time you will find that meditation comes calling, asking for a second chance! We have the daily opportunity as part of our work, music, art, enjoyment of nature, dance, experiences of illness, unexpected encounters, love. . .. . .the list is as endless as life itself, to practice greater awareness. Our entire daily routine can be used to facilitate our meditative practice. The result is a life full of equanimity, serenity, humor, compassion, harmony, humanity, and a love for others which values and promotes individual dignity. A mindful person will never harm others or the environment, and will find inner peace in both private life and professional life. I call it Living in the Golden Wind, which is the title of my transformational book (Meyer-Galow 2013). We often embark along a spiritual pathway but then abandon the walk too early. It requires discipline, strength, and perseverance to maintain the path of practice and exercise, especially for those living in misery and for those who are suffering and are focused upon finding the necessary energy to go on with their lives. But it is especially important when we feel oppressed to embark on the wonderful human adventure of exploring, with full awareness, the wider dimension of our presence. It may involve a recollection from our childhood or perhaps a completely new exploration waiting to be fully experienced. Only then, through the awareness of our true, natural potential, can we confidently move forward, allowing excitement and passion to structure and embrace the rest of our life. There are many opportunities to practice experiencing greater awareness. Even our daily work routine and an unexpected illness are important opportunities where we can practice growth. Recognizing these opportunities, according to Duerckheim, greatly increases our likelihood of being able to get in touch with the original ground of our Being. If we are not mindful of our experience in these important events, we lack an understanding of our interconnectedness and may consequently lose a major part of our vitality and opportunity for growth. We all enter into numerous realms of experience. When we experience them with awareness, we find that they become gateways to a better quality of life.

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Awareness Through Nature Most of us have numerous opportunities to allow our senses to take in the sights, sounds, aromas, and calming sensuality which spending time in nature encourages. But for some children, teenagers, and even adults, urbanization coupled with today’s fast-paced world makes it increasingly difficult to have meaningful access to the riches which nature provides. Those who have grown up in a world focused upon computer games, television, and mobile phones live with the insidious lure of allowing these limiting technological trappings to become a substitute for the transformational possibilities inherent in nature. It is important that we encourage our children, grandchildren, and ourselves to experience the wonder and natural majesty of the outdoors and to enjoy its therapeutic effect upon our body, mind, soul, and spirit. Our ego demands the type of relaxation and revitalization which is uniquely experienced in the serenity, beauty, and peace of nature. Our original source of Being knows that nature is the ideal place for experiencing the increased awareness which leads to meaningful, deeply satisfying inner growth. When immersed in nature, as we hike in its silence, we regain an awareness of our fundamental connection with the roots, the trunks, the branches, and the leaves of the trees. When I walk in nature, I do not only notice my walking, I experience my Self in nature as a person walking. The difference is that it allows for my Self to radiate through my ego. A wonderful enlightenment then carries me through the entire day. When we enter into nature with mindfulness, the resulting expansion of our inner awareness encourages our natural experience to prepare us for those other, perhaps more unnatural daily commitments awaiting us. The Zen Master and Benedictine Monk Willigis Jaeger, my current teacher, reminds us that it is only through listening attentively while experiencing nature that we are able to be transformed into another dimension! Awareness Through Music and Art Music encourages us to be entirely present in the moment allowing us to experience and enjoy the fullness of presence, whether we play a musical instrument or not. Bernadette Böll, an expert in music therapy, told me when I began piano lessons in the Spiritual Center of Duerckheim in Todtmoos/Ruette, Germany, that when playing music as a meditation, we must allow ourselves to let go of the experience of the music so as to be able to experience our Self in the music. As this process proceeds, we become, more and more, a whole person. For the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, silence in music is of great importance. It is the silence between the notes which creates the music. Buddhists call it emptiness. The actual reality of “silent emptiness” from which everything originates is what I refer to as the Golden Wind. If possible, do not only listen to music played by others, but try to practice it on your own instrument of choice, perhaps your voice. Evolution has given sound the highest priority. It has magical healing abilities. Let the vibrations of the sound of the music peacefully enter into your stillness.

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Art arises from deep within the inner world of the artist. As such, it is a manifested expression of spirituality. Spiritual art guides us within, creating a connection between the inner and the outer world. Art and science are nourished by the experience of mystery. Albert Einstein believed that art is only authentic when it is initiated by a mystical quality.

Awareness Through Sports Sports and music complement one another wonderfully. In the first third of life, most of us strive for performance and perfection. In the second third of life, relaxation and joy become predominant. In the third triad of life, one has the option of participating in sports as an exercise for inner maturation. Any activity, including all types of recreation, may be practiced as a meditation. Through recreation, we have the opportunity to re-create ourselves. Eugen Herrigel in his book Zen in the Art of Archery (Herrigel 1953) accurately and masterfully describes the mindful attentiveness necessary for this sport. His experience was that all necessary techniques need to be overlearned so that the necessary skills and arts flow from the unconscious. With respect to archery, this means that the archer and his target are no longer separate, but rather become one reality, interconnected. This state of unconsciousness is achieved only when he is completely free from his ego and at one with the perfection of his technical skill. This is something completely different from any progress that could be achieved in normal archery. Awareness Through Dance For millennia, dancing has played an important role in the life of humans in all cultures. When dancing, every single movement requires complete mindfulness. We find that the more we practice a dance, the more that it is no longer us who controls the various steps, instead the dance takes over and we become one with the dance. Every dance can be meditative if, as the dancer, we are receptive to being open to the unknown. Awareness Through Others Meeting and having meaningful encounters with wonderful people who are secure in their individuality is immensely important. The encounters may be planned or unexpected. In the latter case, the moment will suddenly and unexpectedly be filled by the presence of another, and it is up to us to seize the moment. It is an opportunity to step outside of our ego-centeredness and listen to another person with utmost awareness and compassion. I remember a Zen session conducted in complete silence. In that silence, I felt a great connectedness with all of the other participants. It was a most wonderful dialogue in stillness. Sometimes we have encounters with difficult people with whom we do not feel a particular connection. Their egocentricity may be an invisible but palpable barrier. While admittedly difficult, such encounters are excellent opportunities to practice empathy and compassion.

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Awareness Through Disease and Suffering Each disease has its own specific character, challenge, and opportunity for our lifelong process of learning. We need to “decode” its meaning. Illness and disease stretch us in our examination of the extent to which we are able to let go, to step back from our “control center,” and to give up our ego-centeredness. Suffering is always a call for increased awareness and change. Moment by moment, the practice of mindfulness is both demanded and required. The German quantum physicist Hans Peter Duerr told me that in accordance with his experience, we should not deliver ourselves to medical doctors unconditionally, but rather to the Cooperative Background Field. In other words, we must be constantly aware that a universally shared energetic field exists behind, around, and beyond us at all times. There is no break in it, there never has been and there never will be. It extends both backward and forward into infinity. When we are in perfect health, active, busy, and doing well, too often we do not make time for consideration of our condition of Being. There are two sides to the human condition. It consists of both health and disease. When we are not in touch with the Cooperative Background Field, that field which includes perfect health, we experience dis-ease. Christians may call this field God, but many people today, given the revelations implicit within observations in the field of quantum physics, speak rather of the original essence, energy with immortal nature and being. Duerr, from the point of view of quantum physics, and Schwery, from the point of view of Depth Psychology, are of the opinion, one which I share, that to trust in our concept of God and to have faith and confidence in Him is quite limited. As long as we are healthy, we practice prayers, rituals, or Christian contemplation or perhaps expand our awareness through some of the activities previously described. Becoming fully aware of ourselves in all our activities is a necessary preparation for successfully facing future diseases and eventually our death, the ultimate form of letting go. Our complete presence, being fully aware and living in the here and now, is an essential prescription for every experience in our life. Only then does our powerful potential for self-healing have an opportunity to manifest itself. In our experience of disease and death, we are confronted with the intuitive knowledge that we must relinquish control. We finally open to the spiritual dimension of our humanity and leave behind our psychosomatic trappings. As a patient, especially when we are hospitalized, it is easy to feel alone, distant from our friends, family members, and all that is familiar. These feelings originate from our ego’s separation from our divine origin. Alleviation of these fears which accompany a lifethreatening disease is only possible when we reconnect ourselves to our inner source of being. When we are in a situation where we are distraught with anxieties and fears and feel alone, it is beneficial to try to make our loneliness meaningful. To be alone does not need to feel like isolation, it can be the liberating, expansive feeling of being one with all! While we may appreciate and benefit from the achievements of modern allopathic medicine and research, it is also wise to remain cognizant of the limitations of

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medicine including all of its inherent hazards and inevitable side effects. It is important to recognize that there are “costs” for any “cure,” especially when the cure necessitates medications or procedures which may result in an inhibition of our awareness, our ability to discover real inner satisfaction, balance, harmony, and peace of mind. In the case of any disease, our system is disturbed not only somatically but also mentally, psychologically, and spiritually. Every “dis-ease” is a manifestation of a present reality. Should we fight against a disease with which we are diagnosed? Not necessarily. That must remain a personal decision. But our body is not a battlefield. We need to make peace with all of our cells, both the healthy ones and the unhealthy ones. The most effective healing process is created by an inner peace contract, an agreement in which we lovingly welcome all the cells and their ongoing activities in our body. Illness is always an opportunity to grow through entering into the larger circle of the cosmic holon, as Duerr used to say. In his book The Secret of Instant Healing, Kinslow (2008) describes meditation exercises which assist us in getting in contact with the zero-field. Illness can provide an excellent, if difficult, opportunity for accelerating our learning processes. Its imposed self-reflection encourages a more intimate awareness of ourselves.

Awareness in Daily Life Our daily life allows for a myriad of important, powerful opportunities for increasing our awareness. If we live each and every moment with full mindfulness, then each moment encourages and supports our inner growth. All activities: waking up, brushing our teeth, washing our face, sitting, walking, standing, writing, reading, shopping, driving, waiting, looking, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, putting on our shoes, greeting people, and shaking hands may all enhance our personal growth if done consciously with the recognition of joyful purposefulness. It is entirely up to us whether we allow all of these moments to become automatic, devoid of conscious attention, or whether we choose to enjoy these necessary tasks, appreciating them as growth opportunities for expanding our awareness of our Self.

Transformation by Quantum Physics and Natural Science Almost 100 years after Heisenberg’s quantum physics, we have a far better understanding of the nature of reality. Particles, waves, and energy are recognized as quantum fields. Duerr (Ropers et al. 2012: 53) states that quantum physics makes a definitive case for a universal spiritual connection and that the reality of our world is that it contains an infinity of potential realities, possibilities which are to be determined by us. We live in a much larger world than that of which we are generally aware. With our consciousness and our ability to deliberate action, we have climbed to a new stage in evolution. We are now able to perceive the world in two quite different ways. Not only as something outside of and detached from our Self but also from the inside, because all of us, like all of the rest of creation, not only constitute but also continually recreate this world!

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According to Duerr (Ropers et al. 2012: 27), there is a permanent acting process which creates reality in each and every moment. The field is empty, but it has the potential to construct our world, to manifest an infinite variety of possibilities as reality. Everything is interconnected within the field. When we act as an individual, we influence the field and through it everyone else and all of creation. As responsible individuals, we must take this into account when making decisions. If not, we act irresponsibly and ultimately our efforts will fail. The interconnectivity of life is the backdrop against which all of our efforts either come to fruition or fail. Duerr (Ropers et al. 2012: 12) has clearly expounded upon the message that may be extrapolated from the extraordinary findings that have arisen from the study of quantum physics in modern times. The knowledge which has been gained from the unprecedented observations resulting from comprehensive experiments examining the quantum nature of matter and energy leads us naturally and seamlessly to personal transformation. While he describes himself as an atheist who does not believe in a personal God, Duerr does recognize a universal principle, one which may also be called divine. Quantum physics offers us a profound insight into the interconnectedness, creativity, non-duality, and nonlinearity of all of creation. For Duerr (Ropers et al. 2012: 21), “making living livelier” is the ultimate purpose and result of the process of transformation. Our rewards come not from simple cooperation but rather from our unique contribution toward the creation of a new dimension. Duerr promotes the process of a loving dialogue with others as the medium for co-creation of a new and mutually beneficial understanding of the nature and purpose of our existence. Natural science has a greater immediate and potential capacity than religion for influencing the transformational process. The physician Thomas Campbell explains in his trilogy, My Big Toe-Awakening-Discovery-Inner Workings (Campbell 2007), which is a unification of philosophy, physics, and metaphysics, how mysticism is demystified by applying the findings of natural science in order to achieve an extended consciousness. The physician Burkhard Heim (von Ludwiger 2013: 5), a scholar and student of the founder of quantum physics, Werner Heisenberg, developed a physicalmathematical structure which may be called the “world formula.” He assumes 12 dimensional levels of the consciousness of Being. With our limited consciousness, we are stuck in the four common dimensions with which we are familiar. Our efforts toward transformation may lead us beyond these four dimensions to experience our unconscious. The tenth dimension is of special importance, because it is here that our Higher Self resides. It is the egoless, fully awakened form of our existence. The two dimensions above it are spiritual dimensions. In the 11th, all of the aspects of our soul are united, and the 12th dimension represents our pure Being and our Not Being. Duerr (Ropers et al. 2012: 14) calls this the quantum-physical background field, which while actually empty, has the characteristics and capacity to create reality in each and every moment. This model leads us toward a greater realization of our soul being our guide to our spiritual dimension, as previously acknowledged by Jung.

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Transformation by Epigenetics Genetic research is becoming increasingly helpful in guiding us to a greater understanding of our nature. This is especially true of the discipline called epigenetics which studies how environmental factors influence our physiological and phenotypic traits at the cellular level. According to Roth (2014), traumatic experiences of a personal nature may leave a permanent “signature” on our DNA through a brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by a process called methylation, which occurs in the hippocampus and amygdala. Certain genes may be switched off, and when this occurs, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) may result. Interestingly, PTSDs only result from personal interactions. Similar stress damage of a nonpersonal origin does not lead to methylation. As this methylation caused defect directly affects our DNA, it will be passed on from parents to their children, from one generation to the next. It becomes a genetic inheritance! This is a clear and worrying example of how negative “environmental” factors may leave their permanent mark upon us, actually becoming a part of our physical, material reality, making it more difficult to achieve the internal growth necessary for personal transformation. Fortunately, it is also the case that positive experiences create imprints not only in our psyche but also in our genes. We have the ability to positively influence the epigenetic structure of our children. Epigenetic influences begin in the embryonic phase of the development of a child. Parents who love their developing children, and express this love both explicitly and implicitly, can have a dramatically positive effect upon the developing embryo. An integral approach, employing meditation and positive experiences as well as a full range of positive and life-affirming thoughts and affirmations, affords a powerful epigenetic opportunity for enhancing the growth and healthy development of the developing child. The perfect preparation for subsequent transformational work!

Blockages to Transformation Our integral transformation can easily be disturbed by diversions and distractions or even completely derailed by severe blockages of our individuation. Diversions are an enticing fork in our life’s path; they offer the false promise of a shortcut to bliss. Beckoning to us, they appear more and more attractive as our life becomes more and more stressful and overwhelming. We are enticed by the promise of finding release from our stress and having our desires fulfilled. But diversions are imposters; they need to be unmasked and disenfranchised. While they do not necessarily keep us from arriving at our destination, they will make our trip longer and more arduous. Radio, television, computer games, mobile phones, e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, and even exotic holidays which promise us an escape from drudgery into nirvana all entice us away from the genuine search for inner peace. Unlike virtual reality, the genuine search for inner peace in our real life cannot be clicked on or off or purchased for the price of an airline ticket to some exotic paradise. It is our life’s journey! By unknowingly following diversions, we regress into our shadow whose

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tentacles, encouraged by our ego, then gain an even firmer grip upon us as we venture further and further into denial. We risk losing sight of our spiritual center which in turn increases the ease with which we can continue to be diverted from our ultimate destination, which is reunification with our divine essence. The endless progression of problems in our life and all of our suffering and distress are symptomatic of our ego’s insatiable appetite for diversions. If we agree that there is an urgent need based upon the experience of Depth Psychology to achieve stability through the development of personal inner growth, we must also be diligent against succumbing to distractions which can short-circuit our pathway to a greater awareness of our divine potential. Being distracted is the opposite of being focused. We can allow a distraction to occur purposefully, or we can find ourselves unwittingly distracted by allowing someone else’s intent to envelop us. The focus which we can achieve through the gateway of mindfulness and awareness is then lost. The result is dissatisfaction and restlessness, which in turn hinder our ability to experience our divinity.

Conclusion As my master Willigis Jaeger has often repeated, it is the sad truth that many wellmeaning disciples meditate for years and years without ever experiencing personal transformation of their limited consciousness. My experience is that an integral approach to transformation offers a far wider range of possibilities for extending limited consciousness. An excellent example is the program of the Rütte Center for Initiatic Therapy in Rütte Todtmoss, Germany, which offers Zen meditation, Christian mysticism, therapies based on Depth Psychology, music and dance, the Japanese fencing sport kendo, body relaxation techniques, guided meditative painting, and meditative sculpturing with clay. It is also beneficial when we challenge ourselves to experience an expanded awareness as we practice mindfulness in our numerous everyday experiences. In this way, the integral transformation process acting in our personal lives may begin to extend our limited consciousness, guiding us forward toward reclaiming our birthright to becoming a whole person, integrated in body, mind, soul, and spirit.

Transformation of Limited Consciousness in Professional Life Transformation of our personal limited consciousness is an essential condition for transformation of our professional life. When we undertake a personal transformational process, we will, as a consequence, also extend the limited consciousness of our professional organizations. What is the purpose and the nature of transformation in the marketplace where business organizations have to earn money, generate an acceptable return on equity, and increase the value of their stock in order to remain solvent and satisfy their stakeholders? What is the value of adhering to moral principles and ethical business

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practices in the satisfying of corporate goals? How does the transformation of limited consciousness in our personal life affect the transformation of limited consciousness in our professional life? Are the two at odds, or is the possibility of corporate success in fact enhanced when the responsibility for the achievement of corporate goals is entrusted to individuals who have at least begun a process of personal transformation? It is common for those of us who have struggled up the corporate ladder of “success” to have completely separated from our original sense of the supernatural with which we are born. When we are suffering from a personal, internal disconnection, but do not know why, we are rendered unable to pursue a course of action which will reestablish our wholeness. The need to build essential bridges to our soul which can lead us to our unconscious, wherein lies the necessary energy and creative potential to begin the expansion of our severely restricted consciousness, remains unrecognized and thus unfulfilled. How can we undertake a corporate transformation which involves educating, facilitating, and guiding employees toward increasingly moral decisions and ethical practices if we are personally destabilized and weakened? It is all the more difficult when we are also suppressing our dark side, repressing it into the shadow out of which it then again and again bursts forth, expressing itself in a fashion which is self-destructive, societally inappropriate, ethically indefensible and ultimately, professionally damaging. Often it takes a painful experience of failure, a serious life crisis in order to “shake us up” and help us to find our way back to reestablishing the essential connection to our psychic and spiritual dimension. This turning point in our life presupposes an initiation in the form of a personal revelation. Only as a result of this insight can our inner growth develop, allowing us to integrate our dark side into our Self, and by so doing bring it under our control. To become accomplished in this growth may take daily meditative exercises over many years, but it is only when this integration has occurred that we will increasingly embrace sustainable ethical practices and moral actions, not simply because we recognize the value in doing so, but because we cannot do otherwise. Collective change and transformation must be undertaken by individuals within the collective who have realized their Self or are at least committed to becoming a completely holistic person. They must fully understand the value of a personal balance of body, ego-consciousness, soul, and spirit, as well as how their personal transformational journey is intricately interwoven with real, measureable, sustained success in the corporate world. We are the only sentient beings who have a consciousness and are able to expand that consciousness by transformation. This incredible blessing carries with it the responsibility for improving both ourselves and the corporate world in which we participate. Our journey of transformation makes this possible. In order to effect desirable changes in the attitudes and decisions of the entrepreneurs and managers in the business world, we must both speak their language and demonstrate empathy toward their various, often complex, and conflicting demands. We must also present powerful, compelling business cases to clearly illustrate the corporate value of our suggestions.

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Many senior managers have, or are well, on their way to having severe psychological challenges including burnout, depression, excessive anxiety, and debilitating fear. They only continue to be competitive in their positons by resorting to temporary compensations and projections. They suffer in a world where volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) have never been so rampant and where disruptive innovations destroy old, often stable, technologies in the process of creating new, often unstable, ones. The expression VUCA was introduced by the US Army College (Stiehm and Townsend 2002: 6) with the term gaining popularity in the 1990s. It is now frequently used in literature pertaining to the world economy (Johannsen 2006). We are ourselves more and more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, and as individuals, we project these qualities onto the collective. We are the reason for this dilemma, but for the large part, we neither realize nor accept this reality. Our comfortable world view is that it is always others who are responsible. But it is our responsibility as individuals to change and improve the world in which we live. The nature of this change inevitably necessitates growth which may only be achieved through personal transformation.

The Power of One When you change, the whole world changes! (ZEN)

Each of us who is committed to the process of personal transformation must act as a catalyst for others who continue to suffer from a lack of realization of the Self, encouraging them to begin their own personal transformation process. We must be proactive in our encouragement, presenting and disseminating information, such as this handbook aspires to do, facilitating support groups composed of a mix of colleagues who are at various stages along the transformational journey, and searching out those who have already put in the necessary time and effort to initiate significant inner growth and who are now willing and able to offer specific practical suggestions to others who continue to struggle. Only then will the collective begin to slowly change, because the change that is necessary in the many is only exemplified by the few individuals who have undertaken the difficult process of psychological and spiritual maturation. When I spoke with Duerckheim concerning my own traumatic personal and professional crisis in 1985, he encouraged me to understand and accept that wherever I work in our society, and especially in the economy, that whatever responsibility I assume, the blessing of my work will always depend upon my depth and maturity as achieved through my personal transformation. We frequently expect change from others, including groups, societies, and institutions, but the challenge lies in that only individuals can witness their inner world, not collections of individuals, regardless of their best intentions. Further, he added: “Only an individual can witness his inner world, not a group, not an institution, not a society.”

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In his commentary on the Aion Lectures, Jungian author Edinger (1996) states convincingly that the Aion of Aquarius will generate individual water carriers. This means that the psyche will no longer be carried by religious communities but instead it will be carried by individuals with expanded consciousness. This is the idea C.G. Jung puts forward in his notion of a continuing incarnation, the idea that individuals are to become the incarnating vessels of the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis. It is not sufficient to “talk the talk,” to be a corporate missionary preaching the need for change through personal and subsequent corporate transformation, rather what is needed for enlightened individuals is to “walk the walk” by: Managing differently!

When we are successful managers, our colleagues will notice. They may even begin ask us for advice or even pay the ultimate compliment of beginning to copy us. In this manner, the transformation of our entire company will be accelerated. It is my observation that the majority of managers today are resistant to change. The majority are either completely content with the status quo or are too fearful to attempt changes. The innovators must become our target group for transformation. It is not easy for managers who promote innovations to gain acceptance from others. Change is generally feared. It may fail. Only when we have gained the respect and confidence of our colleagues as a result of demonstrating an effective and secure management approach will others trust our judgment when it comes to encouraging future innovations. What do the business cases which can be made for changing direction, cases that call for innovative actions which can be expected to encourage the type of transformation which will positively influence the entire company, have in common?

The New Sustainability and Personal Responsibility The greatest common predictor of success is when the transformation is supported by a new definition of sustainability. As previously introduced, Duerr’s (Ropers 2012: 19) benchmark for a new concept of sustainability is: Making Living Livelier

When someone engages in the Buddhist “wheel of life,” it is not sufficient to simply maintain the status quo, but rather there is an obligation to improve life. This is very challenging, with enormous practical consequences when applied, but the positive personal, societal, and economic results are worth the effort. It is essential that responsibility and sustainability be enshrined as combined goals and practices within the framework of transformation in the economy. Only through the acceptance of these two attributes is the power to change individuals, companies, and the environment possible. Too many companies continue to view their employees as expensive commodities and treat them accordingly.

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Sustainable Corporate Responsibility (SCR) This refers to the responsibility experienced at the level of the collective, the sum of the individuals within a corporation, and works top down from the chairman to the board of directors to the CEO and so on down through all levels of employment. Like individuals, a company also has an identity and a mask, what Jung refers to as the persona and the shadow. On the outside, trying always to create a good impression the mask reflects empathy and competence, while everything unpleasant, irresponsible, or deceptive is forced into the shadow. For some, the shadow is integrated and controlled, but not for many. Just like egocentric individuals, many companies behave as if they are stuck in a state of childlike socialization, selfcentered and inflexible. Of course, there are ethical managers who continue to manage responsibly even under duress, but these are much too infrequently encountered and appear to be in the minority. Current media outlets more often inform us of those who freely live out their dark side, making ego-centered decisions which result in following reckless and irresponsible business practices. Balance sheets are manipulated, supervisory bodies are either not informed or misinformed, discussions are undertaken with competitors regarding pricing, market shares and distribution of customers and markets are manipulated. At the extreme, bribery, perjury, deception, lies, and corruption are employed, often causing personal and environmental harm, all for individual gain at the expense of the company, and all too often without a guilty conscience due to the lack of a moral compass. My observations and experiences lead me to believe that in the last 20 years, ruthlessness has increased appallingly. Mutual trust has disappeared and the differences and difficulties which inevitably result are now more often dealt with by the courts. Meaningful Personal Engagement During my years as a senior manager, I developed a model for sustainable personal leadership. In the model, individual responsibility for sustainable leadership has five vectors. They may be considered transformational processes. The following four vectors are focused upon yourself, your boss, your team, and your colleagues: 1. Within oneself 2. Below oneself 3. Above oneself 4. Horizontal to oneself The final vector is directed toward all outside stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, competitors, stockholders, and the community at large: 5. Outside of the company If we are serious about applying the elements of the described transformational processes, we must assume responsibility for the following five developmental programs: 1. Developing Ourselves

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This process was the content of the Personal Transformation section. There are two very important questions to be considered when interacting with others: • What is my dark side, my shadow which I have to integrate in order to avoid having others feel hurt? • How can I help to make other’s lives livelier? 2. Helping Others to Develop The effectiveness of our style of leadership is crucially dependent upon the status of our internal development. We must model effective leadership by helping those for whom we are responsible to move toward the new sustainability. The real challenge for company executives is the promotion of our employee’s personal development. Individual employees are the key to transformation. Psychological harm creates the same impulses in the brain as if it were physical harm. If you abuse another person psychologically, it is as if you have beaten and injured this person, causing both physical and emotional harm. When individuals are not valued, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, their consciousness is likely to be directed against the company. There is a powerful and encouraging trend occurring. It is estimated that almost 30% of the younger generation, those between 20 and 35 years of age, the so-called millennials, wish to improve upon the work life experienced by their parents. This shift in values is changing the basis of responsibility in the economy dramatically. Their priorities include a work-life balance; flexibility and freedom; community and cooperation; opportunity and gender equality; participation, integrity, and transparence; self-realization; social responsibility and sustainability, authenticity, and diversity. Many companies still trapped in the so-called old economy are experiencing difficulties in being competitive in hiring the best new employees and subsequently in operating efficiently. Soren Gordhamer, author of the book Wisdom 2.0: The new movement toward purposeful engagement in business and life, along with leaders from ZYNGA, PayPal, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and CISCO, and others, organized and participated in the first Wisdom 2.0 Conference in Mountain View, California, with great success. Many conferences followed with the numbers of participants steadily and encouragingly increasing. The common theme of these conferences has been that mindfulness provides the entrance into compassion and spiritual development. Gordhamer (2013) makes a powerful case for mindful awareness being able to change employee’s mind-sets in a most positive and welcome fashion. These companies are now supporting the inner growth of their employees with great success. There is an intense desire by those of the younger generation to work within a company that takes their values seriously. Those companies which accommodate this desire are the winners. They attract the most talented employees and, as a consequence, enjoy the greatest productivity. At present, this paradigm shift is occurring only within companies, the true measure of its success will be whether it has an influence on the larger market place.

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Those stuck in the old economy must change or they will become impotent in the economy. Some companies are now offering training in mindfulness because it is “in,” with the sole intention of enabling employees to better concentrate on their work. This is admirable but shortsighted. Sustainable leadership must focus upon inner growth with an orientation dictated by and directed toward the person being led, taking into consideration the individual’s irreplaceable personal strengths and contributions. Therefore, there cannot be a single leadership style. Each individual’s distinctive contribution makes the difference. 3. New Sustainability: Supervisors When a supervisor progresses along a path of inner development, the benefits will include greater employee cooperation and contentment and greater corporate productivity. If supervisors are inflexible, adhering to a “top-down” management style, enlightened employees are considered a risk because supervisors see their inner strength as a potential threat to their tenuous hold on power. In this situation, any meaningful progress toward increasing productivity will be frustratingly slow for employees and supervisors alike. Patience is paramount. Improvement in the development of mutual respect and tolerance is never complete; it is a dynamic process always remaining a work in progress. Innovative change is a significant challenge! 4. New Sustainability: Colleagues Colleagues are either friends or competitors, and in any group of employees, their progression toward maturity will vary considerably. Since all employees must be expected to contribute to the success of the company, a wise approach is to facilitate a team spirit with your colleagues where inclusion and mutual support are priorities, as opposed to exclusion and competition. In an environment where compassion and empathy are encouraged, employee satisfaction and productivity will blossom. 5. New Sustainability: Outside Partners A manager who has progressed in inner growth becomes the ideal person to interact with customers, suppliers, shareholders, analysts, politicians, union members, and all other direct and indirect stakeholders in the company. The individuals who constitute all of these factions will understand that this manager is someone special, different from those representing companies which appear to be constantly struggling with human resource issues. They will observe that a manager with inner confidence makes living livelier for everyone with whom this individual interacts, and in time, they begin to understand what sustainability means to this company. As trust in the manager’s reliability develops, the business gains a progression of important advocates which can help it to successfully move forward.

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Organization and Structure Even in a modern and democratic society, many corporate organizational structures and operational processes remain inspired by a military model. Too often, the particular model which a business has adopted is credited with its apparent success, without really investigating the actual nature of the underlying core strength of the company. The result may be that profitability is inadvertently being used to justify habitual practices which do not prove to promote long-term sustainability. To investigate the sustainability of any organization, we must distinguish between its structural and substantive expertise, the organizations rank, and level. Rank refers to the hierarchical positioning of personnel and distribution of responsibilities within the organization. Level refers to Duerckheim’s (1954) concept of spiritual maturity, that which is in accordance with Jung’s individuation. (Jung 1959). In order to best ensure the success of an organization, and the sustainability of that success, reorganization within the organization must be made with full consideration of, and in accordance with, both the rank and the level of maturity of the individuals being repositioned or promoted. A reasonable assumption is that the higher we climb in rank and the greater the resulting breadth and depth of our inner experience, the greater the progression of our maturation, especially from mid-life onward. Ranking highest in the organization is the chairman of the board. The person filling this position has hopefully also achieved the greatest inner maturity. When this is the case, the chairman will ensure that the executive board is populated by individuals with high levels of wisdom, compassion, and maturity. The executive board members will then fill leading managerial positions with people who are “essential,” those who have pursued and attained significant inner growth. In most cases, it is not yet possible to hire sufficient numbers of individuated people who also have managerial expertise, but at the very least those hired into leadership positions must, through their authenticity, be able to win the hearts of their employees by being consistent, compassionate, and empathic. They must manage with soul. An employee who has embarked upon a path of maturation through transformation will slowly but steadily make personal and professional choices which will lead to positive changes in both personal and professional life. It is an important responsibility of those entrusted with top management positions to facilitate this growth. Among board members and top executives, there will always be competition for better fiscal results and greater individual recognition by the supervisory board. Unfortunately, a manager who is functioning at a “low” level, employing intensely ego-centered dynamics, can still generate good short-term results by utilizing suspicious, often unethical, practices. However, in today’s transparent world, it does not take long for the imposter to be detected. A manager at a “higher” moral level, one who has undergone substantial inner growth, will always win in the long run. Tolerance, serenity, and confidence will produce an advantage over unethical, shortsighted competitors. Quarterly and yearly results remain important, but increasingly the question of how these results were achieved, especially whether it was in a sustainable fashion, is becoming the greater focus of evaluation. The promotion of immature managers from low levels to higher ranks has catastrophic consequences for any corporation!

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Integration of the Dark Side For too long, “ethical management” has consisted primarily of ordering others to do “good.” This “old ethics” demanded that we either isolate and repress our dark side or deny its existence altogether. In the “new ethics,” as espoused by Neumann (1990), recognition is given to the fact that we all must be fully conscious of our dark side so that by integrating and controlling it, we are able to limit its ability to control us. There is no doubt that the economic process is dependent upon the enormous energy generated by the dark side. We will not find this in textbooks on economic theories and will only rarely hear it stated in discussions of economic management, but from the point of view of Depth Psychology, it is crystal clear that our dark side supplies the vital energy which drives innovation and the passion necessary for increasing power and profit. It is perfectly acceptable, desirable, and even necessary that young people continue with the development of their ego-consciousness well into mid-life as long as they do not harm others or the environment. These ego-centered, knowledgeand performance-oriented young adults who are oriented toward recognition, success, and material wealth are driving the economic process, keeping it vital, competitive, and innovative. These driving forces are not a priori bad. Properties which are a necessary consequence of the maturation of the individual do not necessarily harm their fellow human beings. But attributes such as evil cunning, greed, deceit, meanness, egotism, and selfishness are specifically intended to damage others and therefore cannot be accepted as an engine for the economy. This is the standard for the determination of which personal attributes are likely to foster rather than harm sustainability, helping us to determine which are acceptable in the economy. The ethicist Peter Knauer (2002: 28) wisely observed: “‘Bad’ is only bad when it damages others.” Or as I was told by Schwery, Jung restated this concept as: “To be only good is bad!” What is being recognized in these statements is that when we suppress and repress the “not good,” it will suddenly and unexpectedly emerge from the shadows and overpower us. What is essential is that there are mature supervisors who limit the actions of the expression of the dark side by the ego-consciousness of the younger employees. If this occurs in a top-down, traditional hierarchical fashion, there will be limitations imposed upon those egocentric behaviors which may well be detrimental to the competitive success of the enterprise. It is therefore the responsibility of managers at the higher levels to allow the “good” and the “bad,” the light and shadow side of the younger employees to unfold in a way that is to the benefit and not to the detriment of the environment, the company, the employees themselves, and all other stakeholders. Experience will teach all of us that as managers, it is essential that we become aware of our own dark side and learn to handle it. We must be able to detect when our dark brother or sister within us wants to take over as the director and be on guard that we never agree to the enticing offers but rather follow the intuitive, quiet but firm, wise guidance to which we all have access through our deepest intuitions.

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Mergers and Acquisitions, Splitting, and Divestitures Decisions around these corporate strategies have a major impact on companies. While they may be enticing short-term possibilities undertaken with initial enthusiasm by aggressive managers, they often result in a loss of both long-term viability of the companies involved and even more importantly the loss of ethical and moral credibility which may have taken years or even decades to establish. These strategies are generally undertaken by managers who lack the awareness which accompanies personal transformation. Mergers and acquisitions must not be born out of the ego-centeredness of individual executives but must be decided upon and implemented in accordance with the principles of sustainability, ethics, and morality, with an important criteria being whether the decisions will result in value-enhancing and life-enhancing opportunities for everyone involved. The advice of management consultants and investment bankers must never be followed blindly. Their corporate priorities may often be diametrically opposed to that of a client company and of all of its numerous and diverse stakeholders. It takes a unique expertise along with an inner maturity in order to decide upon whether to accept or reject what other “experts,” with their corporate agenda, propose. By the time their advice proves to be disastrous for your investors, the experts are long gone. Many acquisitions and mergers fail to pay dividends. My educated guess is that it could be as high as 50%. They are very risky undertakings! When they do fail, many people suffer. Examples are rampant all over the world. Why is the failure rate so high? Too often companies invest in businesses which are not in alignment with the purpose and competence of the investing company. Mergers may also result in new organizations which no longer honor ongoing transactions, promises, and bonuses which were previously agreed upon. Greed for excessive profits sets the stage for immoral behavior and unethical practices. Who ultimately pays the price for shortsighted, immature, and irresponsible corporate decisions? Employees, taxpayers, and all other stakeholders. Individual sectors of a company are often sold off for too low a price because they are no longer considered core business and are perceived as a liability of which the company wishes to divest itself. The selling company is harmed and its stakeholders disadvantaged by the failure of management to demand and receive a fair return for the sale of the sectors involved. When a decision is made to sell off certain activities, some of the business and the employees attached to the transferred business will often become the responsibility of the owner of the new company. The selection of a purchaser must be very carefully considered, with thoughtful deliberation given to ensuring that the best interests of the employees who will be affected are addressed. This is an example of forward looking, proactive ethical behavior in the corporate world which encourages sustainable business practices. Unfortunately, all too often, the divested business is simply sold to the highest bidder! Splitting and divestitures of assets lead to a loss of established identity within the workforce. They present the opportunity for previously hard-earned good will to be lost and considerable reputational damage to be done when formalized or

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informal promises are broken. Management can lose a positive reputation which it may have taken years to foster. Once trust is lost, the motivation of the remaining employees can plummet as they begin to fear that they too may be sold off, without regard for established agreements and promises made.

Sustainable Supply Chain Responsibility The flow of raw materials, products, and services into a company is called a “supply chain.” Modern supply chains are highly interconnected and complex. A single company can influence a wide ranging and diverse supply chain. This sphere of influence is increasing with the expansion of globalization. The supply chain is like an octopus with tentacles which can extend over the entire world. The conditions of production undertaken by the suppliers, and by those supporting the entire chain which leads all the way back to the factory, need to be guided by ethical guidelines. When companies are guided by ethical practices which encompass sustainability and respectful treatment of the environment and of their personnel, the motivation of the various players all along the supply chain is greatly enhanced. The power within these chains is vested in the largest players, especially the ones who dominate certain industries, materials, or applications. This power brings with it an increased responsibility for these companies and their management to ensure fair and equitable treatment of everyone who is a link in the chain.

Sustainable Customer Relations Only a company which is itself in ethical balance can properly handle caring for its customers. My corporate experiences in Germany lead me to the observation that marketers and suppliers who are consistently kind, generous, open, honest, understanding, and empathetic are extremely successful in the marketplace. Their numerous satisfied customers reward them with their loyalty. The secret of many successfully innovative companies is proximity and convenience. When customers have easy access to a company’s products as well as personal, knowledgeable, and reliable service, they will remain loyal and be reluctant to switch to a new vendor. A corporate effort to focus upon customers, enhancing their experience by making them feel valued, is the royal road to business success! In this way, by including customers in your own transformational process, you also enhance their transformation.

Sustainable Environmental Responsibility For the Dalai Lama, true religion always embraces transcendence – a recognition of the wholeness and the perfection of all of creation. He often speaks compassionately about our world, about its ecology, the need for sustainability, and, sadly, about our

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lack of environmental awareness. Compassion refers not only to our fellow human beings but embraces our responsibility to all of creation. The rapid pace of modern life, including our rush to employ technological advances regardless of the consequences, has resulted in the loss of our connection to nature, which was both a major source of joy in our lives and possibly also the most reliable guarantee of a successful, sustainable livelihood. Responsible corporate transformation must always include the goal of sustainable environmental responsibility.

Gifts from Within: Intuition, Creativity, and Innovation In addition to previous suggestions of avenues for transformation toward greater ethical awareness and moral practices, intuition is another powerful resource for transformation. However, a precondition for being able to trust our intuition is that we must have achieved considerable inner maturity. Intuition, when tempered by maturity, is a powerful source of creativity! Managers have an obligation to participate in the creative process of decisionmaking. Decisions of immediate relevance and those which will have an important future impact can be made with far greater assurance of positive outcomes when we are on a pathway which is leading toward inner growth, allowing us to be able to work in the world around us creatively. When we undertake transformation in this fashion, the entire company is transformed. Our leadership style is a powerful determinant of our company’s innovative potential. As managers are we open, receptive, and trusting of ideas which arise intuitively, or are we crippled and limited by only relying upon our intellect, our ego-consciousness? Companies which lack the ability to generate reliable innovative ideas are destined to fail. Short-term cost cutting and misguided half-hearted efforts at one efficiency initiative after another are egocentric in origin and doomed to failure. Being able to reliably act upon our intuition is what gives us a competitive edge. A shotgun approach at attempting to find efficiency targets which work destroys creativity. Employees are left feeling vulnerable, fearful that their jobs will be eliminated during the next attempt at greater efficiency. Innovations are dependent upon intuitions, but intuition comes from the Latin intueri, “to turn inward.” Meditation is an excellent method of accomplishing this inward vision. Meditative practices lead us into ourselves, allowing intuition and inspiration to arise from our unconscious, often quickly and unexpectedly.

Another Gift from Within: Resilience Resilience is a gift available to all of us who allow our inner growth to develop. When we follow an integral approach to transformation, we become more resilient to the myriad temptations for immoral actions. We also become more resilient to burnout, depression, and numerous psychological and physical disorders. The many and diverse publications on the market which address burnout and depression are evidence of the suffering that our fast-paced, impersonal, egocentric high-tech

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world society is experiencing. The term “resilience” originates from the field of physics. It refers to the elasticity of a material, from Latin resilire, “to recoil.” Dorst (2015: 13) writes, “The word resilience has become increasingly important in many areas of psychology, psychotherapy, counseling and coaching in recent years. We can understand resilience as a kind of psychological immune system, which includes internal stabilization and healing powers. Resilience is the answer to the questions: • How can people overcome difficult life crises and traumas without any lasting damage? • How can children and adults continue to grow despite the adverse conditions of life? • How can people maintain their mental and physical health and find joy in life?” How can we achieve resilience? Scientists and therapists are now mostly of the opinion that we can deliberately build up resilience with our mind. A break from work, changing the nature of our work, or working less are recommended as a beginning. If at the same time we employ relaxation techniques, sports, and healthy eating, the effects are enhanced. This all sounds very positive, but are we actually looking in the wrong places for the cause of burnout? Are we ignoring the underlying cause while only tinkering with the symptoms? The causes have traditionally been sought in the outside world, our inner world once again being ignored. It is far easier to ascribe blame to factors outside of ourselves than to a lack of exploration of our inner reality. Burnout may be initiated by outside factors. But my extensive experience in the business world, along with my spiritual insights, leads me to the belief that the underlying reason why those factors result in a breakdown can be found within! I believe that burnout is caused by the implosion of our ego. When our ego collapses due to personal traumas, health issues, professional failures, and a barrage of numerous other pressures from the outside world, most of us have not developed the internal resilience to be able to withstand the collapsing of our ego. This has become an endemic problem. Internal growth is a necessary prerequisite for healing, but we most often ignore this immensely satisfying and effective remedy and rely instead upon the outside world for answers to our inner dilemma. Undertaking psychological or spiritual training while being receptive to transforming ourselves and our workplace will inevitably increase our resilience to stress as a result of the consequent growth of our inner maturity.

Summary Embarking upon an integral approach toward transformation from limited consciousness to an extended consciousness in our professional life is supported by transformational efforts in our private life. Only individuals who have personally experienced progress in transformation will be able to assist in the transformational processes of their colleagues and business enterprises. We cannot delegate this task.

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It is not a job for outside consultants who have not experienced a personal transformation. We must personally lead those who we wish to follow us. It is encouraging that respected spiritual leaders are beginning to inspire more and more companies to employ mindfulness and compassion as part of their corporate identity. The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has guided CEOs of some of the world’s largest technology companies in the art of mindfulness and compassion, and the Buddhist master David Steindl-Rast sometimes speaks at the Wisdom 2.0 conferences. All efforts at expanding our awareness while engaged in our everyday activities will reward us with numerous opportunities for inner growth. When we embrace transformation in our personal and professional lives, others will notice and will follow. They will begin to see the wisdom in Hans Peter Duerr’s advice for transformation: Make Living Livelier!

Cross-References ▶ Activating the Corporate Soul ▶ Alternative Paradigms of Transformation: Levels of Consciousness and Collective Intention ▶ An Overview of Mindfulness as a Transformative Practice for Individuals and Organizations ▶ Deciding to Grow Up: The Conscious Maturity Process ▶ Embodied Mindfulness ▶ Enabling Innovation with Human Values: A Recipe for Transformation ▶ Graduate Management Education: The Value of Contemplative Practice in Leadership Development ▶ It’s Not What You Do, It’s Who You Are ▶ Leader Self Development, Maturation, and Meditation: Elements of a Transformative Journey ▶ Prosocial Leadership: The Transformative Power of Others Directed Leadership Behavior ▶ Reawakening Business Students to the Spiritual Dimension of Leadership ▶ Spiritual Disciplines for Transformation, Renewal, and Sustainable Leadership ▶ Teaching Creativity and Spiritual Meaning Using Insights from Neurobiology ▶ The Neurobiology of Personal Transformation ▶ The New Leader as Spiritual Hero: The Way of Awakening ▶ The Role of Self-Awareness in Personal Transformation ▶ The Truth about Transformation: One Person CAN Change the World ▶ The Two Wings of Organizational Development: Wisdom, Compassion and Organizational Change ▶ Transformative Leadership

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References Adler G, Hull RFC (1967a) Collected works of C.G. Jung, vol 8. Princeton University Press, Princeton, p 505 Adler G, Hull RFC (1967b) Collected works of C.G. Jung, vol 16. Princeton University Press, Princeton, p 352 Aurobindo S (1993) The integral yoga. Sri Aurobindo Trust, Pondicherry Campbell T (2007) My big toe: awakening discovery inner workings. Lightning Strike Books Dorst B (2015) Resilienz (Resilience). Patmos Verlag, Ostfildern Duerckheim GK (1954) Durchbruch zum Wesen (Breakthrough to essence). Max Niehans Verlag, Zurich Duerckheim GK (1984) Von der Erfahrung der Transzendenz (About the Experience of Transcendence), Herder Verlag, Freiburg, Germany Edinger E (1996) The Aion lectures: exploring the self in C.G. Jung’s Aion studies in Jungian psychology by Jungian analysts. Inner City Books, Toronto Gebser J (1986) Gesamtausgabe (Collected works). Novalis Verlag, Steinbergkirche George A (2003) The epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin Classics/Penguin Group, New York Gordhamer S (2013) Wisdom 2.0: the new movement toward purposeful life engagement in business and life. Harper Collins Publishers, New York Herrigel E (1953) Zen and the art of archery. Pantheon Books, New York Johannsen B (2006) Get there early. Sensing the future to compete in the present. Berrett-Kohler Publishers, San Francisco Jung CG (1959) The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Princeton University Press, Princeton Jung CG, Adler G (1973) C.G. Jung Letters I, vol 146. Princeton University Press, Princeton Jungian Center for Spiritual Sciences. www.jungiancenter.org. New York Kinslow F (2008) The secret of instant healing. Hay House Inc., Carlsbad Knauer P (2002) Handlungsnetze–Über das Grundprinzip der Ethik (Action Networks–About the Basic Principle of Ethics), Books on Demand GmbH, Frankfurt/M., Gernaby Kramer EM (1992) Consciousness and culture: an introduction to the thought of Jean Gebser. Praeger Frederic, New York Mc Kenna S (1992) Plotinus: the enneads. Paul Brunton philosophic foundation and Larsen publications, Burdett Meyer-Galow E (2013) Living in the golden wind. Verlag Frieling und Huffmann, Berlin Neumann E (1990) Depth psychology and a new ethic. Shambala Publications, Boston Owens L (2012) C.G. Jung and the red book. MP3 download. www.gnosis.org/redbook Ropers R et al (2012) Was unsere Welt im Innersten zusammenhält. (What our world keeps inside together) Scorpio Verlag, Berlin/Munich: Germany Roth TL (2014) How traumatic experiences leave their signature on the genome: an overview of epigenetic pathways in PTSD. Frontiers in Psychiatry, Lausanne, Germany Schwery W (2008) Das Böse oder die Versöhnung mit dem Dunklen Bruder (The evil or the reconciliation with the dark brother). Publisher Koenigshausen und Neumann, Wuerzburg Shamdasani S (2009) The red book (Philemon) of C.G. Jung. Philemon Foundation/W.W. Norton&Co., New York Stiehm JH, Townsend NW (2002) The US army war college: military education in a democracy. Temple University Press, Philadelphia Von Ludwiger I (2013) Das Neue Weltbild des Physikers Burkhard Heim. Komplett Media Verlag, Grünwald Watson RA (2002) Cogito ergo sum: the life of Rene Descartes. David R. Godine, Boston Wilber K (2000) Integral psychology: consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Shambala Publications, Boston Woods R (2011) Meister Eckhart: master of mystics. Continuum International Publishing Group, London

Clarifying the Relationship Between Transformative Teaching and Transformative Learning Lisa DeAngelis

Abstract

Transformative learning describes the change process that an individual undergoes as they come to question their values and beliefs in such a way that they experience a fundamental shift in their interpretation of experiences and bases for their actions. Mezirow (1981, A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Educ Q, 32:3–24) coined this term transformative learning more than a quarter century ago and laid the foundation for subsequent development of this concept. Concurrently, thinkers such as Parker Palmer (1998, The courage to teach: exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco) have begun to articulate a notion of transformative teaching. Central to this concept is the idea that the educator approaches their teaching from a holistic and integrated sense of self. The question that remains is what is the impact of a transformational teacher on the learner? In this chapter I summarize these literature streams and use these insights to consider how educators are able to foster learning environments and practices that encourage transformative learning. Keywords

Transformative learning • Transformative teaching • Curriculum design • Deep learning • Learner-centered education • Safe spaces • Self-reflection • Individuation • Emancipatory process • Dialogic process

L. DeAngelis (*) Center for Collaborative Leadership, College of Management, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_55-1

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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Goal of Adult Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Is Transformative Learning? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relational Aspect of Transformative Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fostering Transformative Learning in the Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pedagogical Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Course Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sample Syllabus Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction Adults who develop – that is, whose meaning-constructive systems transform – are likely to become more deliberative, responsible, and competent in carrying out the work of society. (Taylor 2000b, p. 167)

The typical classroom today has as its primary focus, instrumental, as opposed to transformative, learning. Instrumental learning “involves controlling or managing the environment, improving performance or prediction” (Mezirow 2003a, p. 2), whereas transformative learning, as Brookfield so eloquently frames it, “I believe an act of learning can be called transformative only if it involves a fundamental questioning and reordering of how one thinks or acts” (2000, p. 139). Said another way, instrumental learning helps the student to understand what is expected of them, while transformative learning enables the student to become aware of, question, and perhaps reframe the beliefs that shape how they enact with the world around them. If the assumption is that transformative learning is a pursuit worth accomplishing, this chapter seeks to clarify the role that facilitators can play in making this deeper learning more likely for students in formal learning contexts. It may be helpful here to unpack two similarly worded concepts, transformational leadership and instrumental behavior, to avoid further confusion with the terms transformative learning and instrumental learning. As illustrated in Table 1, while these theories sound similar, they each come from distinct fields of study, are based on different precepts, and situate agency differently. The first concept, transformational leadership, is drawn from the management literature. Transformational leadership “occurs when leaders broaden and elevate the interests of their employees, when they generate awareness and acceptance of the purposes and mission of the group, and when they stir their employees to look beyond their own self-interest for the good of the group” (Bass 1990, p. 21). In other words, it is through the act of leadership that the leader is able to “transform” their followers (employees) to rally around a common purpose. Leaders such as Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., are held up as examples of transformational leaders.

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Table 1 Overview over the terms Term Transformational leadership

Transformative learning

Instrumental behavior Instrumental learning

Synopsis The garnering of a collective’s efforts toward a common purpose The acquisition and embodiment of new or deeper ways of knowing Taking action to seek reward or avoid punishment The acquisition of skills in order to perform routine tasks

Field of study Management

Focus of agency The individual is asserting influence on others

Education

An introspective process whereby the individual develops their sense of selfauthorship External pressures influence individual behavior

Psychology

Education

Individual attainment of skills toward a self-established tangible goal

Whereas transformative learning is an introspective process whereby the individual them self is transformed, in his later work, Mezirow (2003a) defined transformative learning as “the epistemology of how adults learn to think for themselves rather than act upon the assimilated beliefs, values, feelings and judgments of others” (p. 1). This statement sits within a larger body of research, through which Mezirow offered insights into the process adult learners move through as they come to question their own knowing. It is this conception of transformative learning that we will explore through this manuscript. The second term, instrumental behavior, comes out of the field of psychology (Pavlov 1941; Skinner 1957). The idea behind this concept is that behavior is conditioned toward or away from stimuli. The dog hears the bell and he comes for the food (Wyrwicka 1975). Quite simply, the behavior is demonstrated to achieve rewards and avoid punishment. This is similar to the carrot and stick motivation theory (McGregor 1966) evident in the work environment where management uses the means at its disposal, such as bonuses, promotions, and recognition, to reward or punish behaviors. Instrumental learning, however, is not stimuli focused but rather focused on the acquisition of the skill (Mezirow 1990). Instrumental learning enables the learner to begin demonstrating new skills as a result of training. Examples of instrumental learning in the context of leaders in organizations include learning to conduct behavioral interviews, write and present effective performance reviews, and establish and execute on organizational goals. Typically, the motivation for learning in this fashion is to be able to fulfill a task (e.g. you learn CPR in order to become a lifeguard). Instrumental learning is important to be able to address the day-to-day operations of an organization. However, when the conditions an individual faces are radically different than anything they have experienced previously, the person consciously looks to a deeper sense of self (Dirkx 2000), a consonance between

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their head and heart (Dirkx et al. 2006) to understand the way forward (Mezirow 1991, 2000, 2003a). The intent of transformative learning is to enable the learner to better understand their decision-making practices. The transformative learning process supports the individual in engaging in critical reflection (Brookfield 2000; Wiessner and Mezirow 2000; Taylor 2000b) while exploring how their values, beliefs, and motivators act as filters (Cranton 2000; Dirkx et al. 2006) that shape how the individual views themselves and their world (Daloz 2000; Kegan 2000; Mezirow 1991, 2000, 2003a). The transformative learning process enables the individual to form a stronger understanding of his- or herself. The learner, beginning with this clearer sense of self, is able to view, interpret, and engage with others in a more collaborative manner (Dirkx et al. 2006; Kegan 2000; Mezirow 1991). It is through these touch points that the learner is able to embody and demonstrate their transformation. This generation has experienced events unlike those of prior generations, such as cyber disruption, radical warfare, and global economic impacts. Additionally, the pace of the dissemination of information has curtailed the space and time individuals have to understand, assimilate, and react, in this ever-changing environment. As Aral et al. (2013) posit in the introduction to their Special Issue of Information Systems Research dedicated to Social Media and Business Transformation, social media “represents one of the most transformative impacts of information technology on business, both within and outside firm boundaries.” Social media has enabled messages to travel around the globe in a matter of seconds. Examples of this include something as seemingly minor as the individual consumer who posts a complaint online – only to have it go viral – to more sophisticated and subversive acts such as cyberhacking. The combination of these circumstances has highlighted the importance of transformative learning. As Kegan and Lahey (2009) frame it, “our current designs are not adequate means for promoting the transformational learning that is necessary to meet adaptive challenges” (p. 310). Individuals who are able to employ “a more inclusive, differentiated, permeable, and integrated perspective” (Mezirow 1991, p. 155) are better positioned to meet such challenges. The hypothesis here is that this stronger sense of self better positions the individual to engage different perspectives, perhaps reshaping their own position as they integrate this new information into their existing paradigm, while they determine their course of action. The ability to be vulnerable and open in your views is what allows the learner to take in broad and disparate information, contextualize it, and reimagine a way forward. Facilitators of formal development programs have a unique opportunity to support their students on this journey. As Taylor (2000b) posits, “how can adult educators encourage the kind of learning that has the potential to transform the very way one perceives and understands?” (pp. 157–158). The classroom can become a space where students can explore their ways of knowing, become aware of other perspectives, and begin integrating their revised beliefs into their lives (Taylor 2000b; Brookfield 2000; Mezirow 1991, 2000). This chapter will first explore the goals of adult education in order to situate the reader in the context within which these two theories – transformative teaching and transformative learning – are explored. The chapter then turns its attention to

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defining transformative learning in order to explain this deeper, introspective, and potentially durable learning. I then ask you to turn your attention to understanding how the classroom can support the transformative learning process. This exploration begins with an understanding of the importance of the interactivity as a catalyst for learning. Next, I begin to discuss how faculty can intentionally foster transformative learning in the classroom. This discussion begins by reflecting on pedagogical design considerations. We then shift our attention to address practical curriculum design considerations. Lastly I will conclude by offering some final thoughts for facilitators as to the importance and impact of endeavoring to engage students in the transformative learning process.

Goal of Adult Education This manuscript focuses on the education of adults. This decision is, in part, rooted in Kegan’s (1982) cognitive developmental framework. Lewis (2011) wonderfully lays out the framework Kegan developed which looked at perspective taking. He posits that infants and young children’s perspectives are limited to their own viewpoint. In other words, they believe that everyone sees the world as they do. As children get older, they begin to recognize that others may see things differently than they do. A simple example of this is the child who, while recognizing that he wants to play, his teacher wants him to do his school work. In this stage of the development, the child is focused on getting what they want – if I do my classwork then the teacher will let me play. This transactional way of being can also be seen in the workplace, for instance, with the employee who expects to be paid a certain wage for the expertise they bring to the job. The next stage of development attends to the impact that others have on an individual. In other words, how the perceptions of others shape our own perceptions. One example of this might be that of peer pressure. This would lead one to believe that transformative learning is possible only when the individual is able to realize a sense of self-authorship in relationship to their context. It is, in my humble opinion, the precipice between this stage and the latter two stages, which focus more on self-authorship, where transformative learning is possible. Throughout his lifetime of work, Mezirow (2003a) has consistently framed the goal of adult education in terms such as “to assist learners to more fully realize their capability for autonomous thought while pursuing their own learning objectives” (p. 4) and “to help the learner develop the requisite learning processes to think and choose with more reliable insight, to become more autonomous” (Wiessner and Mezirow 2000, p. 348). It is important to be able to distinguish between what one has been taught to believe, what one is expected to believe, and what one actually believes. He speaks of this as an emancipatory process where the student becomes aware of the “forces that limit our options and our rational control over our lives but have been taken for granted or seen as beyond human control” (Mezirow 1991, p. 87). A timely issue being deliberated by many, which can be used to demonstrate this, is same-sex marriage. The emancipatory process would have us tease apart what

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society’s views are, what religious views are, and what community views are, to come to understand our own views on the subject. It is through this awareness that the student is able to reassess these “forces” and make deliberate choices for themselves. Patricia Cranton expands upon Mezirow’s introspective point of view in reflecting upon how this self-awareness enables the individual to interact more effectively with others. “Our goal of adult education, and transformative learning in particular, is individuation, the development of the person as separate from the collective, which in turn allows for the person to join with others in a more authentic union” (Cranton 2000, p. 189). A metaphor for this “authentic union” might be that of a salad, where each of the ingredients retains its individuality and yet, when combined with the others, creates something symbiotic. The process of adult education, then, is one of helping the student to discern their own point of view while enabling them to be open to, and identify value in, perspectives which may be disparate from their own. At the foundation of both Cranton and Mezirow’s interpretation of adult education lies the theory of transformative learning.

What Is Transformative Learning? Transformative learning may be understood as the epistemology of how adults learn to think for themselves rather than act upon the assimilated beliefs, values, feelings and judgments of others. (Mezirow 2003a, p. 1)

Jack Mezirow is one of the preeminent authors in the field of transformative learning. He is, in fact, credited with coining the term “transformative learning.” His work in this arena spans nearly 50 years. In his work, Contemporary Theories of Learning, Mezirow (2009) outlined ten phases in the transformative learning process. These include a disorienting dilemma, self-examination, critical assessment of assumptions, recognition that one’s discontent and the process of transformation are shared, exploration of options, planning a course of action, acquiring knowledge and skills for implementing one’s plan, provisional trying of new roles, building competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships, and a reintegration into one’s life (p. 194). Others have added their voice to this conversation, providing insights into the richness and complexity of transformational learning in adults. Notably, Kegan has spent more than three decades exploring the cognitive development aspects of transformative learning. while Dirkx body of research focused on the inner dimensions of transformative learning. These works do not contradict but rather complement and add clarity to one another. One example of how the three might work collectively to provide a clearer picture of transformative learning is in Mezirow’s phase of critical assessment of assumptions. Simply from the language and his earlier texts on the phases, one would be led to believe that this is a rather dispassionate, logical appraisal. Kegan’s work, however, would be attentive to, perhaps, where these assumptions came from. In other words, might those close to

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Table 2 Mezirow’s ten phases of transformative learning (1991) A disorienting dilemma A self-examination with feelings of guilt or shame A critical assessment of epistemic or sociocultural assumptions Recognition that one’s discontent and the process of transformation are shared and that others have negotiated a similar change Exploration of options for new roles, relationships, and actions Planning a course of action Acquisition of knowledge and skills for implementing one’s plan Provisional trying of new roles Building of competence and self-confidence in new roles and relationships A reintegration into one’s life

the individual hold similar assumptions. And Dirkx would focus on the emotions surrounding this deep questioning of what one has known to be true. Transformative learning refines and reshapes one’s values and beliefs (Daloz 2000; Mezirow 2009). Mezirow (1991) describes transformative learning as involving ten phases (Table 2). The process begins with the individual becoming aware of existing values and engrained belief systems (Mezirow 1991). This awareness may arise out of an exogenous shock or a more subtle, perhaps subconscious, internal disharmony where the individual can’t quite reconcile how they feel about something. This practice challenges individuals to test their beliefs and values by questioning the origin and evolution of the beliefs and values. The testing of beliefs allows the individual to assess whether they maintain conviction that these beliefs are valid for them or find that an adaptation is necessary. While this process sounds logical and rational, the work of exploring beliefs and values is deeply personal and fraught with emotional attachment. This work, however, may lead to newly defined beliefs and values, or it may lead to greater insight that more firmly grounds the individual in their understanding and embodiment of their existing beliefs and values. In either case, the process does not end with the individual’s greater selfawareness. It is not simply about the individual becoming more enlightened, it is about what they do with this awareness. In the final phase, according to Mezirow (1991), the process supports individuals’ efforts to act upon their newly defined systems. The transformative learning process must be actualized in how the individual interacts with others from this place of knowing. Take, as an example, a male student, let’s call him Adam, who arrives at university with a belief that women are not as capable as men at mathematics. As Adam enters his Statistics course, he finds that the professor is a woman. He also notes that approximately half of his peers in the class are women, many of whom have declared Mathematics or Science as majors (a disorienting dilemma). He may become angry or embarrassed as he thinks about ways in which he’s reinforced this belief, such as joking with his younger sister about her math grades (selfexamination). In the ensuing weeks, as he comes to interact with the professor and his peers, he begins to call into question his belief. He might begin to think about where that belief came from – perhaps his parents, teachers in primary school, or his

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Table 3 Kegan’s stages of the development of the self (Lewis 2011) Stage/name 1 (Impulsive) 2 (Imperial) 3 (Interpersonal) 4 (Institutional) 5 (Interindividual)

Subject Immediate perceptions, feelings, and impulses Enduring interests, personal agendas, and role expectations Shared meaning, mutuality, social ideals, and self-consciousness A self-authored system of values and standards Universality, paradox, multiple selves as vehicles for connection

childhood friends (critical assessment). He may engage in dialogue with his peers and discover that they are also curious about this contradiction from what they have known to be true (recognition of shared discontent). The professor pairs him with a female student, Sara, to work on the final course assignment. In their initial meeting, he begins to reimagine how they might each contribute to the work (exploration of new roles), and they come to agreement on division of labor (planning a course of action). As they continue working together, Adam engages Sara to help him reconsider how he thinks about women’s mathematical capabilities (acquiring new knowledge and skills), and he begins to treat Sara as an equal partner in the work (provisional trying of new role). As the class ends and Adam goes home for the break, he finds himself behaving in a more encouraging and supportive way toward his sister’s interest in mathematics (building competence). Finally, if we were to visit with Adam at his first job out of college, we might find that he no longer believes there is any discernable difference in mathematical capability based on gender (reintegration). Kegan’s body of work looks at transformative learning through the lens of cognitive development. In The Evolving Self, Kegan (1982) describes six stages of development ranging from Stage 0, incorporative, to Stage 5, interindividual. As inferred from the title of the book, individuals progress through these stages over the course of their lifetime, though most do not attain Stage 5. Lewis (2011), in referring to Kegan’s work, says “nearly half of all adults in Western societies appear to spend most of their chronological adulthood making sense of their lives using Kegan’s stage 3 or struggling to make the transition from stage 3 to stage 4” (p. 48). Table 3 below is a distillation of Kegan’s stages of cognitive development as framed by Lewis. An individual at Stage 3 is aware of their needs but is strongly influenced by their environment. The ascension to Stage 4, where one begins to truly self-author, is difficult. Similar to Mezirow’s explanation, Stage 4 is where the individual understands and “owns” their values and beliefs. Let us take Kate as an example to demonstrate the various stages Kegan has posited. As Kate enters university, she has a clear vision of what she expects from her college experience. She has determined that, as she did in high school, she will be an honors student, remaining at the top of her class. She thoroughly reads each professors syllabus and sets up meetings with each of them at the beginning of the semester to ensure that she clearly understands their expectations (Stage 2). Over the course of her first semester, she finds herself assigned to project teams in several of her classes. Initially she finds herself struggling in these peer groups as each student

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seems to have their own expectations and motivations for what they hope to accomplish in the class, and these do not necessarily mirror Kate’s (Stage 3). With the professor’s help, Kate begins to learn how to work with her peers, understanding their perspectives, articulating her own perspective, and finding common ground (Stage 4). If she were able to achieve Stage 5, Kate might be able to use her deepening understanding of herself and each of her teammates to both support their individual development as well as their development as a team. One way to think about how these two tables (Tables 2 and 3) come together is that Kegan’s cognitive developmental stages help facilitators to understand whether students might be capable of transformative learning. It is unlikely that a student who has not reached Kegan’s Stage 3 will be able to engage in the transformative learning process. As noted earlier, at Stage 3 students are able to begin to understand how they are influenced by those around them. This awareness creates the opportunity for the student to begin contemplating how these influences may (or may not) support their burgeoning understanding of themselves. Scholars steeped in transformative learning, such as Mezirow, Kegan, and Dirkx, describe transformative learning as a process and an often difficult journey. Change is hard. And with transformative learning, the individual is contemplating changing deeply held views and beliefs as well as the role(s) the individual plays in society. Mezirow (1991) encapsulates this well when he says: Although slippery and subject to diversions and self-deception, the transformative learning process is irreversible once completed; that is, once our understanding is clarified and we have committed to ourselves fully to taking the action it suggests, we do not regress to levels of less understanding. Reaching this point of full understanding and commitment can be extremely difficult, however, and many people do regress before they reach this point. (p. 152)

One theoretical lens through which we might begin to understand what conditions or factors support deep or lasting learning of such an introspective nature and what may hinder it may lie in the transformative learning literature. Mezirow (1991) states that “transformation can lead toward a more inclusive, differentiated, permeable, and integrated perspective” (p. 155). This process encourages the individual to maintain a stance of openness and curiosity, using information and insights to reframe existing thinking. And, as the term permeable suggests, this process is iterative. As the individual encounters new information, they are able to interpret and determine how this insight might again reframe their thinking. Differentiated means that they are able to express, in their own terms and based in their lived experiences, what their values and beliefs are, rather than explaining these tenets through the lens of what is deemed socially acceptable. Transformative learning is different than instrumental learning, described by Mezirow (1991) as “task-oriented problem solving” (p. 79) or Argyris’ (1991) “single-loop thinking” where individuals, relying primarily on prior experience, seek to quickly resolve the issue at hand. Argyris (2002) describes the movement from single-loop thinking to double-loop thinking. An example from business may help to clarify the differences among these.

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Within the sales function, revenue targets provide an example of single-loop thinking. The assumption is that the organization has established financial projections for the year, and these have been translated to the sales function to delineate their accountability in contributing to those organizational goals. Double-loop thinking can come into play as these sales targets are not met. Here, leadership likely reflects upon the assumptions the organizations had made about, and the information they have received from, the marketplace. They then use this information to adjust their plans moving forward. This learning is not mutually exclusive from, but rather works in tandem with, transformative learning. Transformative learning moves beyond double-loop thinking to encompass values-laden terrain, offering the learner an opportunity to reflect upon what they deem to be the right thing to do and why and, as such, can be inherently emotional and somewhat existential. Initially, the learner may not be able to put words to the reasoning behind their position, though they feel deep conviction in their decision. In that sense, values and beliefs have a spiritual dimension to them. Transformative learning offers a construct for helping learners contemplate the “deeper emotional and spiritual dimensions of learning” (Dirkx 2000, p. 2) about themselves and the world around them (Bronfenbrenner 2005; Lewis 2011; Mezirow 1991, 2000). Single-loop thinking is effective where issues are clear and solutions evident. Where the issues are more complex and solutions are not apparent, transformative learning allows the learner to be open and inclusive in their exploration for a path forward.

Relational Aspect of Transformative Learning While it is the individual who participates in the classroom curriculum, they do not do so in isolation. Not only do they bring with them their beliefs, values, and assumptions (Ciporen 2008; Mezirow 1991, 2000) but also the various roles that they play in society (Bronfenbrenner 2005). As Bronfenbrenner (2005) illustrates through his research of human development, there exists this permeability between the individual and their environment, where each exerts influence, intentionally or not, on the other. Figure 1 offers a visual representation of this interaction. The student sitting in the classroom is influenced by the teacher and their peers. At the same time, friends, family, community, and even societal norms also influence the student. Urie Bronfenbrenner (2005) established a bioecological model which explores the interconnectedness of the individual and the nested structures or settings within which they exist. He describes the importance of being aware of how the impact of interpersonal relationships affects the individuals’ ability to change. This model helps to explain why it is rarely enough for an individual to be able to create and sustain enduring change on their own or even when guided by materials such as a “self-help book.” A simple example of this is how difficult an individual might find it to quit smoking when their social network is constituted primarily of smokers.

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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory Applied to Classroom Learning

Student

Fig. 1 Adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s model (2005)

Ciporen’s (2008) dissertation analyzed how executives assimilated learnings from an executive development program. In her research, she found that an important component of enacting change is “actively searching for support within one’s environment and relationships, when trying to sustain deep change” (p. 197). An example of this is when an individual works to change a habit, such as dieting, eating healthy, or exercise, and they look to create support structures around them, perhaps asking a friend to exercise with them, joining a diet center, or engaging their family in changing their diets. Mezirow (1991) reinforces this saying, “the social process of perspective transformation further involves testing our new perspective on friends, peers, and mentors. Their reinforcement can be vitally important in making transformation possible” (p. 185). He goes on to say that “transformative learning opens language to both redefinition through reflection and the accretion of new layers of meaning continuously as we seek to be understood and to understand others in dialogue” (Mezirow 1991, p. 215). It is through this dialogic process that we gain clarity and strengthen our affinity to this new way of knowing. This might be a

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conversation that begins with “As I’ve been learning about (some topic), I’ve begun to think about it in a new way.” The dialogue that ensues may further shape the individuals’ understanding and standpoint on the topic. Daloz (2000), in referring to his findings in the Common Fire study, says, “it is clear that if we really want to understand transformative learning richly we need to recognize the extraordinary power of the webs of relationships in which we are invariably held” (p. 115). Each of us belongs to a myriad of groups, be they friends, family, peers, organizations, communities, and so on. The relationships we have with those groups, and they with us, shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. The process of transformation is an iterative one. The student, through interaction with others, comes to realize something new about themselves or the world around them. “We give meaning to experience in large part by participating in dialogue with others. This includes understanding what is valid in the assertions made by other and achieving consensual validation for our own assertions” (Mezirow 1991, p. 58). It is through our exchange of ideas with others that we become open to the possibility of other ways of viewing the world. From this place of tension between what one had known to be true and new possibilities for truth, the student can then reflect upon what that new learning means to them and whether and how they will incorporate the learning into their life. Vital to this exploration of difference is infusion of diversity, where the students are both supported and challenged to look at things from a variety of perspectives. Through this, the students “do the work and learning of asking provocative questions, challenging assumptions, surfacing contradictions, and confronting themselves and one another” (Mirvis 2008, p. 176). Mezirow (1991) claims that “the diversity helps to assure that there will be more than one learner in any given phase, so that the chance of forward movement is enhanced for everyone. There is some evidence to suggest that those just one phase ahead can be more influential in fostering transformative changes than those more advanced. Modeling is extremely useful in bringing about major transformative changes” (p. 218). At the same time, the literature also speaks to the importance of creating learning spaces or holding environments (Ciporen 2008; Hoover et al. 2010; Kolb and Kolb 2005; Lewis 2011) where students could safely explore differences, as being integral to the transformative learning process. Throughout the classroom experience, whether that be a day or a full semester, students can work to support and encourage one another’s learning.

Fostering Transformative Learning in the Classroom The ideal conditions outlined by Mezirow as being essential for fostering transformative learning include the need to promote a sense of safety, openness and trust; the importance of instructional methods that support a learner-centered approach and encourage student autonomy, participation and collaboration; and the importance of activities that encourage the exploration of alternative personal perspectives via problem posing and critical reflection. (Taylor 2000a, p. 312)

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As facilitators contemplate creating a curriculum that supports transformative learning in adults, there are many considerations to take into account. Taylor (2000b), in talking about the facilitator’s role in the transformative learning process, has this to say: Learners work together in groups to articulate their existing beliefs, try out new ideas, and explore the contradictions that may ensue. In this way, as well as through instructorfacilitated discussion, learners can work toward constructing new meaning that takes into account a variety of perspectives. Paradoxically, providing authoritative ready-made meanings (such as those of the teacher or texts) may not challenge adults’ existing beliefs, whereas using their ideas as a starting place for further exploration is likely to raise to awareness the assumptions that are often hidden even from themselves, thus encouraging self-questioning. (p. 166)

In Teaching Smart People How to Learn, Argyris (1991) highlights several concerns about the student that may mitigate the facilitator’s impact in enabling transformative learning for the student. These include: • Highly skilled professionals are frequently very good at single-loop learning. After all, they have spent much of their lives acquiring academic credentials, mastering one or a number of intellectual disciplines, and applying those disciplines to solve real-world problems. But, ironically, this very fact helps explain why professionals are often so bad at double-loop learning (p. 100). • Because many professionals are almost always successful at what they do, they rarely experience failure. And because they have rarely failed, they have never learned how to learn from failure (p. 100). • One of the paradoxes of human behavior, however, is that the master program people actually use is rarely the one they think they use. Ask people in an interview or questionnaire to articulate the rules they use to govern their actions, and they will give you what I call their “espoused” theory of action. But observe these same people’s behavior, and you will quickly see that this espoused theory has very little to do with how they actually behave (p. 103). • Defensive reasoning encourages individuals to keep private the premises, inferences, and conclusions that shape our behaviors and to avoid testing them in a truly independent, objective fashion (p. 103). Each of these presents a challenge that the facilitator must be aware of and work to address, if they hope to impact this deeper learning. Transformative learning involves being able to examine our lived experiences for insights into who we’ve been in order to more fully self-author who we are becoming. This process includes becoming aware of, and critically assessing, the gap between espoused and lived beliefs in order to be able to behave in a manner that is consistent with our own internal compass. This work is accomplished through self-reflection, by casting a light on our stories and using that light to see them in a new, perhaps more objective, way.

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Ciporen (2008) submits that “when the goal of a program is to foster personally transformative learning, the findings suggest that effective training design goes beyond relevant curriculum and effective instruction and involves the creation of a holding environment that incorporates significant interactions among participants and faculty” (p. 185). A tenet of the curriculum becomes creating a safe space where the learner can actively reflect upon their learning and can experiment with and practice “new behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes” (Ashford and DeRue 2012, p. 150), creating new conceptual frameworks that can transcend context (Kolb and Kolb 2005). (Dirkx 2006) appears to take more of an inside-out, or feelings-based, approach to the work of transformative learning, declaring his focus as exploring how our thoughts, beliefs, and feelings shape our perspective of, and our role in, the world around us. This speaks of the importance of creating space and a safe environment to explore thoughts, ideas, and feelings associated with the learning. He encourages facilitators to be intentional in designing a curriculum that attends to these inner aspects of the learning experience (Dirkx et al. 2006). As an example, as you hear a poem being read, what feelings does it elicit? Dirkx suggests that any topic of study can engage the soul. And, in doing so, the learning takes on a different import, reshaping or reaffirming our understanding of ourselves and the world (Dirkx et al. 2006). How can we, as facilitator’s, create classroom experiences that challenge students to reflect upon, struggle with, and, ultimately, broaden and deepen their ways of knowing? The intention of the facilitator is to create an environment where the student can become aware of, and reflect on, who they are (are becoming) as an individual. Kasl and Elias (2000) speak of this as “our practice as facilitators teaches us that transformation in the context of consciousness is facilitated most effectively when we nurture interdependent processes of discernment and critical reflection” (p. 231). It is through the iterative process of awareness and reflection that the student is able to begin to internalize what the new learning means to them and how they will incorporate it into their way of being. The facilitator plays a pivotal role in this development, both by providing a framework and tools through which the student can reflect and by encouraging students to enact the practice of reflection (Mezirow 2003b). Dirkx et al. (2006) remind facilitators that this deeper learning can be challenging as it typically asks individuals to call into question entrenched ways of being and knowing. This may be why when asked to reflect on the teachers or the classroom lessons that have had the greatest impact on us, we tend to recall those that caused us to pause and reflect on the impact of the experience on our life. While Kolb and Kolb (2005) point to the fact that “such deep learning is facilitated by deliberate, recursive practice on areas that are related to the learner’s goals” (p. 208). These two concepts are intertwined. The point that Kolb and Kolb are making is that the learning can be enhanced through the process of practice, where the student intentionally works to address the gap that they have identified. Herein lies the tension between where the student is on their developmental journey and to what they aspire.

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The educators’ role is to “help people see what has been uncritically accepted” (Cranton 2000, p. 198). In the space of transformative learning, what has been “uncritically accepted” are typically the values, beliefs, and motivators of the individual, topics which are very personal. Because of this, it is important that the facilitator heed Kegan’s (2000) caution, “we cannot overattend to where we want the student to be. . . and ignore where the student is” (pp. 60–61). While the facilitator will have a clear sense of their expectations for the students, it is only by understanding where on the development journey the facilitator has joined the student that can they assess the students’ progress. Transformative learning in the classroom requires the facilitator to shift their focus from curriculum-centered to learner-centered education. This puts the curriculum in service of the individual’s development (Bilimoria and Wheeler 1995). The emphasis is on creating a curriculum that encourages the student to fully engage in the transformative learning process. Further, this curriculum must meet the learner where they are on their transformative learning journey and provide them with opportunities to continue to progress. In referring to Nouwen’s work, Kolb and Kolb (2005) talk of creating a learning space where “students and teachers can enter into a fearless communication with each other and allow their respective life experiences to be their primary and most valuable source of growth and maturation” (p. 207). It is through mining our experiences that we are able to come to understand ourselves more deeply. Modeling by the facilitator (Brookfield 2013) can create an environment where each student is able to fully express themselves and to be open to learning from the different perspectives that others have to offer (Cranton 2000). The educator’s role is one of “fostering a qualitative evolution of mind that actually creates the distinction between the socialized mind and the individuals own meaning-making” (Wiessner and Mezirow 2000, p. 351). Facilitators endeavoring to support the transformative learning process for their students need to be able to help the students to begin to identify the separation between what they have been taught to know and their own knowing. When we “explicitly teach with developmental intentions” (Taylor 2000b, p. 167) and “provide the kinds of support and challenge that, taken together, have been shown to facilitate new ways of thinking and knowing” (Taylor 2000b, pp. 155–156), there is a greater likelihood for students to experience transformative learning. Effective adult learning programs recognize that the participant brings into the learning environment the many facets of themselves, including their feelings about learning, their roles or identities, and their lived experience, to name a few. These programs appreciate the multifaceted learner and strive to build a learning experience that acknowledges and engages the complex being, enabling them to reexamine their viewpoints (Belenky and Stanton 2000; Brookfield 2013; Kolb and Kolb 2005). The shift in curriculum design from a program seeking to impart skills and one aimed at encouraging the participant to learn who they are as an individual is significant. In some ways this becomes more individualized where the facilitator works to understand where the participant is on their developmental journey, what they need in order to continue to progress, and how to create an environment and

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learning experiences that will encourage that progress (Bilimoria and Wheeler 1995; Kegan 2000; Taylor 2000b; Mezirow 2003b).

Pedagogical Design Considerations Equally important to establishing a (transformative) learning situation are conditions such as the need for the teacher to be trusting, empathetic, caring, authentic, sincere, and demonstrative of high integrity; emphasis on personal self-disclosure; the need to discuss and work through emotions and feelings before critical reflection; the importance of feedback and selfassessment; the need for experiential hands-on learning activities; and the importance of solitude and self-dialogue. (Taylor 2000a, p. 313)

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory model (2005), Figure 1, may offer two potential keys to furthering the understanding of the efficacy of transformative learning in classroom. First, as we move inward on the model, the facilitator can explore the influences exerted by the various systems that may inhibit or encourage transformative learning. As an example, there may be pressure from the micro- and meso-systems for these individuals to continue to behave in a manner that these groups have become accustomed to. Conversely, the facilitator may design constructs to support the transformative learning process, which encourage exploration of new ways of knowing. A second potential key lies in discerning what enables the individual to realize the transformative learning process in the face of this pressure, as well as what causes the individual to mitigate or abandon their development as a result of this pressure. Mirvis (2008) speaks of how autobiography can “help to surface unexamined and sometimes repressed feelings about one’s life course and to lift them up for fresh consideration” (p. 177). Similarly, Dirkx (2000) talks about “fostering learners’ insight into those aspects of themselves and their worlds that remain hidden from conscious awareness, yet serve to influence and shape their sense of self, interpretations of their external world, and their day-to-day actions” (p. 4). Facilitators enable this introspection through the practice of telling life stories or critical incidents. This storytelling may happen within the classroom, with peers, or individually – through self-reflection or journaling. Reflection, “the most important element of continued consciousness raising” (Mirvis 2008, p. 185), enables the learner to “truly have the experience” (Ashford and DeRue 2012, p. 151). This means that the student is able to separate themselves from the experience and consider it more objectively. This process may lead the learner to identify a gap between how they perceive themselves and how they are behaving (e.g., the difference between words, thoughts, and deeds). As the learner seeks to bridge this gap, which Dirkx (2000) notes often feels like “swimming upstream,” the learner may “begin to experience an alignment of our outer lives with the movement of individuation” (p. 5). In other words, as the learner steps more fully into himself or herself – trusting their inner voice – they may find that it becomes easier to know how to navigate the world around them.

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Ashford and DeRue (2012) and Johnson et al. (2012) highlight the importance of having the opportunity to test new behaviors and practice integrating them into the individuals’ way of being. A peer group, such as fellow students immersed in the same curriculum, can offer a safe place for the student to explore and try on new ways of being. “Development is, of course, an ongoing process and not a destination; at some point, however, adults may look back and discover that the totality of their experience seems somehow greater than the sum of the small shifts that have accrued – that they have, in some substantive way, changed. As Daloz observed, ‘nothing is different, yet all is transformed’” (Taylor 2000b, p. 159). With each exercise, with each experience, through each reflection, the student is unlocking another greater understanding of themselves and the way in which they interact with the world around them. The transformative learning process makes frames of reference, the lenses through which we see ourselves and the world around us, more permeable. The idea being that as we come to a stronger sense of self-awareness, we are better able to engage with others from a position of inquiry and curiosity. The concepts presented by (Dirkx et al. 2006; Kolb and Kolb 2005) are interwined. Outcomes of transformative learning are discussed as greater appreciation for difference (Mezirow 1991; Taylor 2000a), tolerance for ambiguity (Taylor 2000a), and greater self-trust (Taylor 2000a). The idea being posited here is that individuals who are able to act from this frame of reference are likely to make better decisions.

Course Design Considerations Education Is the Kindling of a Flame, Not the Filling of a Vessel: Socrates

Transformative teaching enables learners to discover themselves and continue the inquiry outside of the classroom where new experiences are viewed as learning opportunities. Therefore, it is important to structure courses that foster an environment where students feel safe to explore, try on, struggle with, and consider the topic being discussed. This deepens student comprehension of how course material might enable them to interact with their world in a more meaningful and effective way. Harkening back to the concept of transformative learning, this ties to Mezirow’s idea of the individual identifying new ways of being in the world. Teaching, in this way, is not about ensuring that students know the answer but, rather, it is about helping them to discern ways of thinking about the issue. In an increasingly complex world, there is rarely an absolute right answer. The process of further exploring the precepts that led to the initial answer exposes the learner to more fully understand and support their conclusion. This process allows the student to explore how their choices are shaped by external influences as opposed to being self-authored. Therefore, the role of a teacher is to provide students with tools to help them understand how their values, beliefs, motivations, and experiences influence the way they view an issue and, as a result, posit possible solutions. Armed

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with this self-knowledge, the teacher is then able to support their students in discovering how to engage others in meaningful dialogue that can further shape the student’s thinking on issues. Because individuals learn in different ways, in order to support the transformative learning process, the classroom needs to offer a variety of modalities through which the student can engage with the topic. It is, therefore, recommended that the teacher strive to provide a curriculum that is multifaceted. Suggestions for accomplishing this include: • Infusing the classroom teaching with research and theory that support the topic. • Sharing your own journey of practicing and deepening your understanding of the topic as a model for the students. • Incorporating storytelling is a powerful way of conveying concepts in a way that is tangible and real. • Introducing video, guest speakers, and case studies enable students to interact with the stories of individuals who have a demonstrated relationship to the topic being taught. • Critical reflection offers the student an opportunity to discern their relationship to the topic by ruminating on how they might apply these learnings in their own lives. It is important to make the effort to create a classroom environment that can become a safe container where students feel free to question, explore, and reassess assumptions that they have held in a way that is open and honors the beliefs of others. This process furthers their development as students, leaders, and human beings. Through this journey of self-discovery, students become more attuned to the journey of others. Therefore, they are better able to approach areas of difference from a position of open curiosity, seeking to appreciate how these differences can create an opportunity for greater learning. Students are able to apply these lessons in their communities, workplaces, and families. Below I offer an example of how one might arrange the introductory section of their syllabus in order to clarify for students the structure and intention of the course. While this example is for a course specifically designed to address leadership development, it offers a template that can be adopted for other curricular needs.

Sample Syllabus Introduction The course will follow a seminar format that emphasizes self-development and a learning community. In this seminar format, the instructor will facilitate discussion (dialogue, critique, and inquiry). You are expected to be conversant in the articles and engage in meaningful discussion. We will focus on engaging richer dialogue and skill development. Students must be prepared to discuss all assigned articles and offer contributions in terms of critical thinking, analysis, insight, and effective communication of ideas. Students who are not prepared and contributing to the

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learning environment will be counseled about the need to improve their preparation and contribution. To prepare for this class, you should: (a) (b) (c) (d)

Read all assigned articles. Analyze each article to identify the key message/contribution. Integrate across articles to address how the articles “speak to” one another. Have specific ideas for how you would apply these concepts in your leadership of self and others.

Expectations and Grading Rubric for Written Assignments The grading rubric indicates what comprises a strong submission. A less strong assignment would incorporate one or more of these things to a lesser degree (scaled on a 1–3 scale). A strong assignment would fully explore all three dimensions: Curriculum based – The student grounds their response in concepts covered in the curriculum. Evidence – This writing draws upon personal experiences, relevant information from the readings, and class discussion. Actualize – This writing explores the implications for the student’s leadership by demonstrating how the concepts learned would be applied in their professional and personal life.

Assignment/deliverable 1. Weekly writing assignments 2. Final paper 3. Participation – classroom and subgroup 4. Midterm paper

Grade % 25 30 25 20

Further clarification of each of the written assignments includes: Weekly writing assignments – Each week the student will be required to submit a short response (approximately one page in length) in which the student explores their relationship to the concept covered in the classroom. This exploration might highlight the student’s struggle to understand the concept, their thoughts on how they might experiment with the concept, or their attempts at having utilized the concept. Midterm paper – This paper enables the student to explore the ways in which this course is furthering their understanding of themselves and their leadership, as well as to identify questions and concerns about implementing learnings beyond the classroom. This paper should draw upon course concepts, assigned exercises,

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and learnings from small group discussions. This paper should be 5–10 pages in length. Final paper – This paper allows the student to reflect on learnings over the course of the semester as they build a year-long actionable plan. This plan allows the student to: • Map out the ways in which they intend to integrate their learnings into their life. • Identify methods, such as engaging mentors and peers, in feedback. • Monitor their progress in embedding the behaviors into their life going forward.

Conclusion Similar to a physical excursion, the individual does not endeavor on this journey without baggage. Not only do they bring with them their beliefs, values, and assumptions and the origins of each of these (Ciporen 2008; Mezirow 1991, 2000) but also the various roles that they play in society (Bronfenbrenner 2005). As Mezirow (2000) alludes to in the above passage, the final stage of transformative learning is reintegration, bringing this learning back into society. However, achieving this stage is, as he points out, incredibly difficult. One cannot unlearn what they have discovered about themselves. Yet, because this process involves calling into question deeply held values and beliefs and because of the risks potentially associated with enacting these new views within the networks that the individual is entrenched, they may choose (consciously or subconsciously) not to progress. How then can facilitators help to ensure that this difficult process occurs, such that students are able to reintegrate the learning into their way of being and how they enact their learning? How might we support students in developing this “more inclusive, differentiated, permeable, and integrated perspective” (Mezirow 1991, p. 155)? We must seek to understand the conditions under which we, as facilitators, enable the transformative learning process for those we have the privilege of teaching. Schuyler (2012), citing Boyatzis (2006), supports the assertion that the models that currently exist to assess change are insufficient to address the complexity of transformational learning. Literature reviews of transformative learning theory (Snyder 2008; Taylor 2000a, 1997) note that an avenue for future research includes understanding the facilitator’s influence on the transformative learning process. This literature stream further notes that most of the studies done to date have asked the participants to reflect retrospectively upon their learning experience, rather than to follow the participant through the process. Finally, the literature suggests that methods other than interview, such as those that allow the researcher to observe and investigate the transformative learning process as it is occurring (Taylor 1997), would further our understanding of the facilitator’s impact on that learning. Specifically, it is Taylor’s (2000a) call that “If this theory of adult learning is to remain of significance to adult educators it must continue to inform adult educators in ways

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that they can improve their teaching practically and theoretically” (p. 286). “This means not only identifying what learning strategies are essential but what conditions need to be present internally as well as externally for the process to unfold” (Taylor 2000a, p. 292). Deeper focus on these phenomena may offer insight into how facilitators could make it more likely that the difficult process of transformative learning more routinely occur. Daloz (2000) reminds us that “deep change takes time, strategic care, patience, the conviction that we are not working alone, and faith” (p. 121). Through this chapter I hope to have offered facilitators and students constructs for improving the transformative learning process in the classroom such that they may fulfill Mezirow’s (2000) aspirations for transformational learning theory by enabling individuals who are able to lead themselves and others from an integrated sense of self. I also hope I have been able to offer facilitators insights into the query I frame as, “how are facilitators able to plant the seeds of transformative learning and nurture and tend to those seedlings over the course of their time with the student, such that the seedling has the opportunity, at some point, to bloom?” This chapter has endeavored to explain to its readers how transformative teaching can support transformative learning in the classroom. I began by laying out the theories of transformative learning and transformative teaching. Next we turned our attention into the classroom, first investigating how the classroom setting is a ripe environment to encourage the relational aspects of transformative learning. Finally, I discussed the role facilitators can play in shaping the curriculum and designing experiences that engage the student in this deeper learning.

Cross-References ▶ An Overview of Mindfulness as a Transformative Practice ▶ Deciding to Grow Up ▶ Embracing the ‘Spirit’ ▶ Graduate Management Education ▶ Identity and Meaning in transformation ▶ Leader Self-Development, Maturation and Meditation ▶ Self-Knowledge ▶ The Co-Created Classroom ▶ The Nature of Transformative Space ▶ The Role of Self-Awareness ▶ The Truth About Transformation

References Aral S, Dellarocas C, Godes D (2013) Introduction to the special issue – social media and business transformation: a framework for research. Inf Syst Res 24:3–13 Argyris C (1991) Teaching smart people how to learn. Harv Bus Rev 69:99–109

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Argyris C (2002) Double-loop learning, teaching, and research. Acad Manag Learn Edu 1:206–218 Ashford SJ, Derue DS (2012) Developing as a leader: the power of mindful engagement. Organ Dyn 41:146–154 Bass BM (1990) From transactional to transformational leadership: learning to share the vision. Organ Dyn 18:19–31 Belenky MF, Stanton AV (2000) Inequality, development, and connected knowing. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. JosseyBass, San Francisco Bilimoria D, Wheeler JV (1995) Learning-centered education: a guide to resources and implementation. J Manag Educ 19:409–428 Bronfenbrenner U (2005) Making human beings human: bioecological perspectives on human development. Sage, Thousand Oaks/London/New Delhi Brookfield S (2000) Transformative learning as ideology critique. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Brookfield S (2013) Powerful techniques for teaching adults: the essence of powerful teaching. Jossey-Bass/a Wiley Imprint, San Francisco Ciporen R (2008). The role of personally transformative learning in leadership development: a case study examining the transfer of learning from an executive education program. Dissertation, Columbia University Cranton P (2000) Individual differences and transformative learning. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Daloz LAP (2000) Transformative learning for the common good. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Dirkx JM (2000) Transformative learning and the journey of individuation. ERIC Digest 223:1–7 Dirkx JM (2006) Engaging emotions in adult learning: a jungian perspective on emotion and transformative learning. New Direct Adult Cont Educ 2006(109):15–26. doi:10.1002/ace.204 Dirkx JM, Mezirow J, Cranton P (2006) Musings and reflections on the meaning, context, and process of transformative learning: a dialogue between John M. Dirkx and Jack Mezirow. J Transform Educ 4:123–139 Hoover JD, Giambatista RC, Sorenson RL, Bommer WH (2010) Assessing the effectiveness of whole person learning pedagogy in skill acquisition. Acad Manag Learn Edu 9:192–203 Johnson SK, Garrison LL, Hernez-Broome G, Fleenor JW, Steed JL (2012) Go for the goal(s): relationship between goal setting and transfer of training following leadership development. Acad Manag Learn Edu 11:555–569 Kasl E, Elias D (2000) Creating new habits of mind in small groups. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Kegan R (1982) The evolving self: problem and process in human development. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA Kegan R (2000) What “form” transforms? A constructive-developmental approach to transformative learning. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Kegan R, Lahey LL (2009) Immunity to change: how to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization. Harvard Business Press, Boston Kolb AY, Kolb DA (2005) Learning styles and learning spaces: enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Acad Manag Learn Edu 4:193–212 Lewis PM (2011) The discerning heart: the developmental psychology of Robert Kegan. Philip Lewis. Mcgregor D (1966) The human side of enterprise. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA Mezirow J (1981) A critical theory of adult learning and education. Adult Educ Q 32:3–24 Mezirow J (1990) How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. In: a. Associates JM (ed) Fostering critical reflection in adulthood (pp 1–20). Jossey Bass Mezirow J (1991) Transformative dimensions of adult learning. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

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Mezirow J (2000) Learning to think like an adult: core concepts of transformation theory. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Mezirow J (2003a). Epistemology of transformative learning Mezirow J (2003b) Transformative learning as discourse. J Transform Educ 1:58–63 Mezirow J (2009) An overview on transformative learning. In: Illeris K (ed) Contemporary theories of learning: learning theorists. . . in their own words. Routledge, New York Mirvis P (2008) Executive development through consciousness-raising experiences. Acad Manag Learn Edu 7:173–188 Palmer PJ (1998) The courage to teach: exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. JosseyBass, San Francisco Pavlov IP (1941) Conditioned reflexes and psychiatry. International publishers, New York Schuyler KG (2012) Increasing leadership integrity through mind training and embodied learning. In: Inner peace, global impact: Tibetan Buddhism, leadership, and work. Information Age Pub, Charlotte Skinner BF (1957) The experimental analysis of behavior. Am Sci 45(4):343–371 Snyder C (2008) Grabbing hold of a moving target identifying and measuring the transformative learning process. J Transform Educ 6:159–181 Taylor EW (1997) Building upon the theoretical debate: a critical review of the empirical studies of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. Adult Educ Q 48:34 Taylor EW (2000a) Analyzing research on transformative learning theory. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Taylor K (2000b) Teaching with developmental intention. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco Wiessner CA, Mezirow J (2000) Theory building and the search for common ground. In: Mezirow J (ed) Learning as transformation: critical perspectives on a theory in progress, 1st edn. JosseyBass, San Francisco Wyrwicka W (1975) The sensory nature of reward in instrumental behavior. Pavlo J Biol Sci 10:23–51

Leader Self-Development, Maturation, and Meditation: Elements of a Transformative Journey Denise Frizzell and David K. Banner

Abstract

The global work environment is placing increasing demands on leaders to develop and actualize more of their potential. However, these growing demands require more than acquiring new general knowledge and skills. They require turning inward and embarking on a transformative journey of psychological maturation and vertical development. Consequently, there is a growing interest in transformative practices, to include mindfulness meditation, to support and facilitate the type of deep changes needed for leaders to effectively navigate our increasingly complex, uncertain, and interconnected world. Keywords

Leader self-development • Maturation • Meditation • Mindfulness • Vertical development • Transformation

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Leader Self-Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychological Maturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Meditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

D. Frizzell (*) Metamorphosis Coaching and Consulting, Durham, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected] D.K. Banner School of Management, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN, USA e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_66-2

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D. Frizzell and D.K. Banner The healthy (and mature) ego is the hero that struggles successfully to be free from fears and attachments so that he or she can join the forces of the light. Our interior journey throws that light of consciousness on every holdout of the ego. Spirituality then comes to mean that love has released us from the ego-bound world. We treat others with respect and drop our ego defenses as we let go of the need to be right, to be in control, to use or abuse others, and so on. From Shadow Dance by David Richo

Introduction There is growing awareness that deep understanding of complex human and social phenomena such as leadership and organizational life requires more comprehensive or holistic frameworks. Ideally, these frameworks need to include the individual subjective dimension, the individual behavioral dimension, the collective interior dimension, and the collective objective or systems dimension (Wilber 2001). Historically, organizational change initiatives have focused on behavioral and systems domains of organizational life such as employee performance, structure, performance metrics, information systems, strategy formulation, and mergers. However, while addressing behavioral and systems dimensions of organizational life is essential, lasting, and deep, organizational change or transformation requires attention to individual and interpersonal transformation as well, particularly as it relates to founders and senior leaders who usually have significant influence within an organization. Leaders must transform themselves to facilitate lasting transformational change at the interpersonal, team, cultural, and organizational levels. Consequently, this chapter focuses on leader self-development, psychological maturation, and meditation, as elements of a transformative journey.

Leader Self-Development Humans have multiple intelligences or developmental lines that differ in potential (Gardner 1983). While there are different developmental models, Gardner originally proposed seven intelligences (linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodilykinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal) and later added an eighth intelligence (natural). Other intelligences or developmental lines include self/ego, moral, needs, values, and emotional (Wilber 2000), which may progress through stages of increasing maturation over the course of one’s life. While humans naturally learn and grow throughout their entire lives, the term self-development frequently refers to voluntary and intentional actions to learn or develop in one or more intelligence. However, when discussing human development, it is important to distinguish between two general types of development, horizontal and vertical. Horizontal development, or conventional learning, refers to the acquisition of general knowledge or skills (e.g., learning how to create a company budget). Vertical development

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or transformational learning refers to shifts in perspective to more complex and inclusive views or structural changes within intelligences or developmental lines. Vertical development may assume a proactive and voluntary approach to the actualization of human potential. However, it often results from disorienting life events because such events disrupt or “unfreeze” underlying worldviews, beliefs, assumptions, and identities, thereby creating space for alternative ways of seeing and thinking (Mezirow 2000). While numerous developmental stage conceptions exist, Kegan and Lahey (2009) presented three different plateaus in mental complexity that they identified in adults – the socialized mind, self-authoring mind, and self-transforming mind. The authors described the socialized mind as the “team player” and “faithful follower.” The adult at this stage of development is shaped by the definitions and expectations of their social environment. Cohesion and loyalty to one’s tribe, cause, or community are central to one’s identity. Thus, one’s communications and actions are tailored toward what he or she thinks the pertinent other wants to hear and see. The socialized mind filters, interprets, and acts to maintain harmony with the idealized other(s). In contrast, the self-authorizing mind is highly independent and driven by one’s agendas or personal compass. The adult at this stage of development is able to take a step back from his or her social contexts and offer a critique based on one’s own worldview or belief system. One’s communications and actions are primarily a function of what he or she thinks others need to see and hear to support one’s agenda. As highlighted by Kegan and Lahey (2009), it is easy to see the admirable expansion of mind that occurs with this shift. However, the self-authoring mind is vulnerable to filtering out or dismissing critical information that challenges one’s agenda. In addition, it is also important to note that as an adult develops from one stage to another, he or she does not lose capacities associated with earlier stages. Thus, individuals are able to “transcend and include” aspects of preceding stages into one’s newly acquired stage (Wilber 2000). Alternatively, as Kegan and Lahey (2009) present, what was once subject becomes object. In contrast to the social mind and the self-authoring mind, the self-transforming mind holds contradictions, leads to learn, sees the interconnectedness of all life, and honors interdependency. In this stage of development, adults are able to step back and critique not only one’s social environment but also his or her own worldview, ideologies, and personality. In addition, the self-transforming mind is friendlier to contradiction and paradox. An adult at this stage of cognitive development can still focus on advancing an agenda; however, he or she is also able to modify one’s plan or agenda when additional relevant information arises. In other words, the selftransforming mind is able to hold one’s relationships, worldviews, identities, and agendas as objects. Kegan and Lahey’s (2009) model represents one developmental framework within the realm of developmental psychology. However, there are numerous other developmental theorists and frameworks to include moral (Kohlberg 1984), ego (Loevinger 1982), needs (Maslow 2014), emotional (Goleman 1995), values (Graves in Beck and Cowan 2006), and consciousness (Wilber 2000). Wilber

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Table 1 Select developmental stage conceptions Theory – theorist(s) Tier 2 Tier 1

Integral theory – Wilber Turquoise, holistic Yellow, integrative Green, sensitive self Orange, scientific achievement Blue, mythic order Red, power gods Purple, magicalanimistic Beige, archaicinstinctual

Cognitive – Kegan and Lahey Self-transforming mind Self-authoring mind

Socialized mind

Spiral dynamics – Graves, Beck, and Cowan Turquoise, holistic Yellow, integrative Green, communitarian Orange, achievist Blue, purposeful Red, impulsive Purple, magical Beige, survival

Note: From Wilber (2001), Kegan and Lahey (2009), and Graves in Beck and Cowan (2006)

(2000) presented an analysis of over 100 developmental theorists and frameworks East and West and determined that they could all be generalized in a nine-stage model, which he later reduced to a two-tier, eight-stage model. Adapted from Spiral Dynamics, Wilber uses unique colors and descriptive terms to distinguish each stage within the overall model (see Table 1). According to Wilber (2001), tier 1, stage 1, or beige, archaic-instinctual (note: in his extensive body of writings, Wilber frequently uses different terms to refer to the same concept) represents infantile consciousness that does not have a sense of a separate self. In other words, infants cannot tell where their bodies end and others begin. Tier 1, stage 2, or purple, magical-animistic, which generally occurs around 18 months, represents the capacity for an infant to distinguish his or her self from others and its surroundings. In tier 1, stage 3, or red, power god, as the child continues to grow and differentiate itself from its environment, it gains greater awareness of its separateness and develops power drives to protect its own security and safety. Beginning with the tier 1, stage 4, or blue, mythic order stage, as highlighted by Wilber (2001), the self starts to empathize and identify with others and groups with which it associates or belongs (e.g., family, community, race, religion, etc.). This represents a significant shift from an egocentric (I) to an ethnocentric (us) identity. At the next stage, tier 1, stage 5, or orange, scientific achievement, the self gains the ability to form a scientific, objective, universal view and shift from an ethnocentric identity to a global or worldcentric identity. Tier 1, stage 5, or green, sensitive self, the last tier 1 stage in Wilber’s developmental framework, represents the capacity to contemplate and criticize institutionalized perspectives and honor multiple diverse perspectives (i.e., pluralism). All of these tier 1 stages have positive and negative characteristics as well as significant limitations. The most restricting quality of all of them is that they have little tolerance for folks from other levels. Tier 2 and the remaining stages, yellow, integrative, and turquoise, holistic (or more simply combined as integral) in Wilber’s model, represent a major leap

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in human consciousness. Tier 2 folks can see the value of all the lower stages and understand them. As highlighted by Wilber (2001), “it (Tier 2 stages) is the most inclusive, the most sophisticated, the most complex, the most conscious, the most embracing, and includes the greatest numbers of perspectives, of any levels to emerge in all of history, and truly marks a ‘monumental leap in meaning.’ It is the first level in all of human evolution that believes all other levels have some importance, while those levels themselves believe only they are important (audio).” Kegan and Lahey’s (2009) self-transforming mind represents the type of psychological maturity of organizational leaders necessary for organizational transformation from Wilber’s tier 1 to tier 2 interpersonal relationships, teams, culture, processes, and systems (Laloux 2014). The growing pressure to evolve from tier 1 to tier 2, individually and collectively, is mounting as numerous global challenges threaten humanity’s future. However, the majority of organizational manager-leaders are currently at the tier 1 orange-achiever stage (Joiner and Joseph 2007). Consequently, this begs the question: what practices are available to foster the vertical development and psychological maturity necessary for leaders to transform organizations into entities that support individual workers in fulfilling their potential and contribute to solving society’s most pressing global challenges? However, before exploring this question, several additional factors related to psychological maturation must be considered to include self-identity and moral development, developmental readiness (DR), persona and shadow, and motivation and will.

Psychological Maturation Identity, oriented in the work of Erikson, Loevinger, Kegan, and numerous other developmental psychologists, is a term that references how individuals view themselves in relation to different levels of the environment: others, society, and the planet. In addition, self-identity refers to the integration of various dimensions of the self, which changes and evolves over the lifespan. Identity and identity formation have significant implications for leader development because developing as a leader, in part, requires viewing oneself as a leader (Day et al. 2012). Therefore, self-identity informs and directs decision-making and behavior in addition to moral sensibilities. According to moral development theory, with roots in the work of Kohlberg, Gilligan, Graves, and others, individuals develop more complex, inclusive, and flexible views of right and wrong action over the lifespan due in part to life experiences such as formal education (Wilber 2001). As highlighted by Day (2011), practically every decision made by a leader has ethical implications. In addition, leaders are role models and are frequently emulated by others, especially followers, and they greatly influence organizational climate and culture (Day et al. 2012). Furthermore, developmental readiness (DR) and willingness are essential for individual leaders and organizations to optimize learning and growth opportunities. Hannah and Avolio (2010) defined DR as “the ability and motivation to attend to, make meaning of, and appropriate new leader KSAAs (knowledge, skills, abilities,

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and attributes) into knowledge structures along with concomitant changes in identity to employ those KSAAs” (p. 1182). This definition highlights the significance of volition and willingness in DR as development, particularly vertical development, must be freely chosen. In addition, leadership research literature underrepresents DR and how it is determined (Day 2011), which is inconsistent with the billions of dollars invested each year on leadership development. To correct that discrepancy, the authors proposed that more leadership research focuses on DR, including metacognitive capacity (i.e., the capacity to think about thinking), which supports deeper processing and interpretation of life experiences. Furthermore, Kaiser and Kaplan (2006) wrote that sensitivities frequently hinder DR and underlie unskilled behaviors that can derail managers and their organizations. The authors defined sensitivities as “a set of emotionally charged beliefs and expectations generalized from experience that serve to protect the individual from repeating a painful injury, physical or psychological” (p. 466). Without a baseline of self-awareness and self-regulation to govern the impact of one’s sensitivities on perceptions, motivations, and behaviors, performance deficits repeatedly surface in every work/life setting. Unfortunately, traditional growth-oriented interventions often do little to address underlying sensitivities (Kaiser and Kaplan 2006) or the role of the personality, persona, and shadow in the journey to psychological maturation. The topic of personality is a familiar one with many students of leadership and organizational theory. The term personality refers to common patterns of motivating or energizing, information gathering, decision-making, and orienting or relating. While there are numerous personality typologies, three popular models in management literature are the Big Five, Myers-Briggs, and the Enneagram. The Big Five or Five-Factor Model utilizes broad categories to portray the human personality along the spectrum of five characteristics – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (John et al. 2010). In contrast, the Myers-Briggs typology uses 16 types, combinations of four pairs of traits to include extraversion/ introversion, intuition/sensing, thinking/feeling, and sensing/judging (Keirsey 1998). The Enneagram typology uses nine basic personality types (Riso and Hudson 1999). It is one of the few (if not only) personality typologies with an expressly spiritual component, making it useful for working with vertical development. Ideally, personality typologies provide insight into psychological and behavioral tendencies of self and others to enhance awareness, interpersonal relationships, and effectiveness (individual and collective). However, it is essential to note that personality types represent tendencies not absolutes. Furthermore, personality patterns and types can change and mature over the lifespan such that people become more balanced, integrated, and intentional in their self-expression. However, the healthy evolution of the personality requires an understanding of the persona and shadow (Jung and Campbell 2014). Persona is the term (Jung and Campbell 2014) used to refer to one’s social face or mask. Our social face, molded over time, is an aspect of our personality that one becomes dependent upon for securing social approval and navigating the world. While there is nothing inherently wrong or dysfunctional about our social face or

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persona, overtime, people tend to overly identify with the persona and repress conflicting qualities, desires, memories, or life experiences. Elaborate defense mechanisms and controls may be constructed to protect the persona. Therefore, any person or situation that threatens the persona is inclined to encounter an inauthentic and potentially harmful force or shadow. The shadow or lower unconscious refers to the dimension of the psyche where unwanted aspects of the self are unconsciously repressed from awareness, often during childhood, for coping or survival reasons, initially. However, over time, coping mechanisms can evolve into habitual patterns that result in disconnection from one’s internal world and undesirable consequences for self and others due to an unwillingness to face, recognize, and accept repressed aspects of the self. However, shadow material does not go away. It frequently and repeatedly surfaces in various ways such as projection of repressed anger onto other people. Thus, instead of being aware that “I feel angry,” I perceive others to be angry. For the average person, the persona and the shadow operate unconsciously and habitually. This phenomenon is a source of significant personal and organizational turmoil. Healing and self-development necessitate facing and feeling the unacceptable parts of ourselves (Banner 2014). Consequently, psychological maturation requires that every individual gets to know their personality, persona, and shadow and work to integrate them into their operational field of awareness (Assagioli 2000) or ego awareness (Jung and Campbell 2014). However, this is and can be extremely difficult and emotionally draining work because frequently, to varying degrees, childhood wounds and traumas lie underneath. Thus, this type of work often requires long-term self-compassionate effort and the assistance of a therapist, a strong support network, and/or some other type of reputable deep healing program (e.g., The Presence Process by Michael Brown 2010). Consequently, one has to be extremely motivated to engage in this intense work and consistently and compassionately employ the will to reveal, reclaim, and reintegrate the persona, shadow, and personality to develop into a healthy and mature adult human being. In addition to a lower self or shadow element, several developmental theorists (e.g., Assagioli, Jung, and Wilber) include a higher self or golden shadow in their models of the human psyche. The higher self includes one’s highest inspirations, intuitions, values, and aspirations for self and humanity (Assagioli 2000). However, similar to the lower self, throughout childhood, we can receive messages from our parents and other authority figures that particular characteristics, traits, or self-expressions are undesirable. For example, a male child may be ridiculed for being overly expressive or a female child may be shamed for being too assertive. This type of shaming can lead to suppression of positive qualities or authentic expressions. Sustained suppression of innate qualities and characteristics hinder access to intuition and vitality, which over time can lead to physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual diseases (Assagioli 2000). Consequently, it is essential to acknowledge, allow, accept, and reintegrate aspects of the higher unconscious for general wellness, development, and psychological maturation. However, the inner work of integrating

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the lower and golden shadows requires understanding of the roles of motivation and will in leader self-development and maturation. Motivation refers to the degree of internal intensity to gratify an aspiration, desire, need, or goal. Will refers to the volitional capacity and discipline to respond to the internal force of motivation by dedicating time, resources, attention, and effort toward goal fulfillment. Assagioli (2010) argued that healthy and mature adults need balanced wills that are strong, skillful, and loving. Motivation and will are central to leadership and organizational life in general. Furthermore, both are highly significant to leader self-development, because deep psychological healing and maturation (mental and emotional) typically require intentional disciplined effort to consistently engage in practices that facilitate the degree of growth necessary to reach Wilber’s (2001) tier 2 stage (Richo 1999; Wilber 2001). It is important to note that the role of will in psychological healing and maturation is in contrast to a more nuanced dance of effort and grace involved in spiritual enlightenment discussed later in this chapter. While there are numerous transformative practices, one psycho-spiritual technology backed by ancient wisdom and a growing body of supportive evidence is meditation. Meditation is the only evidence-based technique for fostering vertical development or stage progression in adults (Wilber 2001). Furthermore, as highlighted by Wilber, the transformative potential of regular meditation increases when it is part of a more holistic or integral practice that honors body, mind, and spirit in self, culture, and nature.

Meditation Meditation, referred to by the Dalai Lama as “a technique for transforming the mind” (as quoted in Wallace 2005, preface), is often associated with the contemplative paths of the world’s great religious traditions, particularly Eastern traditions. While historically known as a path to awakening or enlightenment, Walsh and Shapiro (2006) defined meditation as “a family of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and awareness in order to bring mental processes under greater voluntary control and thereby foster general mental well-being and development and/or specific capacities such as calm, clarity, and concentration” (pp. 228–229). Historically, the family of meditation techniques falls into two general categories: concentration practices and awareness practices. Concentration practice is an essential element of the Buddhist Eightfold Path and other contemplative traditions, East and West. While concentration practices may differ across traditions, typically they include an object of attention (e.g., breath, an image, a sacred word, a word or phrase called a mantra) to which the practitioner returns, repeatedly, gently, and nonjudgmentally (Walsh 2000). However, the focus of this section is on mindfulness meditation, an awareness practice. A prevalent understanding of mindfulness is “awareness of present experience with acceptance” (Siegel 2014). Consequently, mindfulness meditation practice involves intentionally cultivating “an open, accepting, and discerning attitude” through formal or informal practices (Shapiro et al. 2009, p. 13). Formal mindfulness

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practices orient around the Four Points of Mindfulness (body, feeling tone, thoughts, and senses) and include breath awareness meditation (also referred to as sitting meditation), walking meditation, and body scan meditation. Informal practices include bringing one’s attention to the current task (Siegel 2010, 2014). Although mindfulness meditation has roots in Buddhism, many Western mindfulness-based practices are secular, straightforward, and completely accessible to diverse populations (Shapiro et al. 2009; Siegel 2014). In addition, although the majority of mindfulness meditation research is clinically oriented (e.g., chronic pain, substance abuse, and anxiety), researchers increasingly attend to its healthpromoting and developmental potential. For example, Jain et al. (2007) found that mindfulness meditation and stress-reduction interventions reduced negative mental states and increased positive mental states for healthy college students. The authors determined that mindfulness meditation reduced distraction and rumination, whereas relaxation methods failed to do so. Presently, Eastern psychology and philosophy underlie four popular secular mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) – mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy (Siegel 2014) – that accentuate experiential, meditative techniques as the principal mechanism for self-development and transformation. Other popular MBIs orient toward a synthesis of Western and Eastern psychological approaches to greater well-being. Mindfulness, as measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and fostered through mindfulness-based practices, benefits individual well-being (Shapiro et al. 2008). Chiesa and Serretti (2010) determined that graduates of a 10-day mindfulness meditation retreat experienced reduced stress levels for up to 3 months following the retreat. The authors also found a reduction in stress values of a group of healthy meditators, compared to a control group. However, Newberg (2011) cautioned that although mindfulness practices have the potential to facilitate perceptual shifts and enhance acceptance, self-doubt and frustration accompanying feelings of performance anxiety might hinder possible benefits. Therefore, one must have realistic expectations and patience when starting a mindfulness meditation practice. Nevertheless, contemporary psychologists have adopted mindfulness as a supportive practice to enhance awareness and respond more constructively to personal and social situations (Siegel 2014). Mindfulness supported greater self-regulation and emotional well-being (Brown and Ryan 2003). People who regularly engage in meditation consistently reported greater emotional well-being, particularly individuals who practiced more frequently at longer intervals (Keune and Perczel Forintos 2010). Therefore, meditation, in a nonclinical setting, might support enhanced mental and emotional health (Keune and Perczel Forintos 2010) as well as moral reasoning and decision-making (Shapiro et al. 2012). Thus, although one can easily dismiss mindfulness as the latest fad in organizational development or the latest quick fix for an overly stressed society, the mounting body of scientific literature, indicating impressive benefits for clinical and healthy populations, challenges such a position (Glomb et al. 2011). Consequently, the time

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is appropriate to investigate the potential impact mindfulness might have on leader self-development and psychological maturation. Currently, while practitioners garner increased interest in mindfulness meditation and leader development, scholars conduct few studies on this topic. Mindfulness meditation allows a leader to appreciate the changing nature of reality and begin to relinquish over-identification with particular views or outcomes (Gelles 2015). Moreover, regular and consistent mindfulness practice helps leaders identify and replace limiting habits by helping them identify and accept current strengths and weaknesses (Goldman Schuyler 2010). Opening up to one’s daily experiences and learning to be offset the persistent drive to achieve, which gives greater access to one’s innate inner wisdom (Carroll 2008). This opening offers leaders the opportunity to see and accept circumstances for what they are, not how they may wish them to be, before taking action (Gelles 2015). In addition, cultivating mindfulness allows leaders to make smarter decisions, because they are more aware of their inner world and, therefore, better able to connect with others and the conditions in their environment (Boyatzis and McKee 2013; Scharmer and Kaufer 2013). Whereas research on mindfulness in the work setting is young, the evidence indicates that it may have the potential to greatly contribute to several lines of management inquiry including leader effectiveness (Goldman Schuyler 2010). Offering short-term workplace programs on mindfulness practices may be a valuable method for organizations to support the self-care and self-reflection necessary for leadership effectiveness (Pipe et al. 2009). For example, mindfulness training may help leaders develop the capacity to notice bodily sensations, thinking patterns, and behavioral patterns. Such insights allow leaders to loosen the grip such habitual patterns have on them and permit them to meet people and circumstances with more openness and receptivity (Karssiens et al. 2014). Moreover, mindful leaders tend to have stronger intrapersonal and interpersonal skills; therefore, they frequently become more effective in fulfilling their leadership responsibilities and functions (George, as cited in Silverthorne 2010). Consequently, Ruderman et al. (2014) concluded that mindfulness and other types of contemplative practices offer leaders an assortment of techniques to interrupt habitual thoughts and reactionary patterns while creating opportunities for reperceiving, reinterpreting, and responding in ways that are more constructive. “Contrary to popular belief, cultivating the capacity for mindfulness is not just a nice-to-have or something to be done for private reasons: it is actually essential for sustaining good leadership” (Boyatzis and McKee 2013, p. 140). Frizzell et al. (2016) identified ten developmental themes from 20 diverse manager-leaders with a regular (at least 3 days a week) mindfulness meditation practice for at least 3 months. The developmental themes included (a) more integrated/balanced leadership, (b) greater self-regulation, (c) commitment to the practice, (d) enhanced self-awareness, (e) improved work relationships, (f) greater inner calm and peace, (g) greater self/other empathy and compassion, (h) deeper listening and being present, (i) motivated by a personal or professional crisis, and (j) more

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tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. These developmental themes are indicative of increasing psychological maturation and wellness. Research findings, such as ones highlighted above, are contributing to growing interest in and the use of mindfulness meditation by individual leaders such as Bill George (former CEO Medtronic), Bill Ford (Ford Motor Company), Peter Meehan (Newman’s Own), Jeff Immelt (GE), and Steve Jobs (1955–2015: Apple, Inc.). Furthermore, an increasing number of organizations such as General Mills, Goldman Sachs, Apple, Medtronic, and Google are offering mindfulness training to employees (Gelles 2015). However, the practice of mindfulness is not a quick fix or instant remedy. Goldman Schuyler (2010) warned that cultivating mindfulness is comparable to starting an exercise program or engaging in other wellness-oriented activities rather than learning a particular management skill, which may explain its underrepresentation in the leadership literature. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that the original and ultimate purpose of meditation is spiritual enlightenment. Spiritual enlightenment generally refers to a direct experience of the unity of all life or one’s Supreme Identity (Wilber 2001). Humanity’s future depends on our capacity to fully mature and cultivate spiritual intelligence (SQ). SQ is the capacity to maintain equanimity regardless of internal or external circumstances and includes a sense of relatedness to life in all its diverse expressions (Wigglesworth 2012). Wigglesworth (2012) proclaimed that SQ, along with IQ, emotional intelligence (EQ), and physical intelligence, was a foundational intelligence for living a healthy and fulfilling life in the twenty-first century. Furthermore, while SQ is developmental, a temporary spiritual state experience is distinct from a permanent developmental stage progression (Wilber 2000). As highlighted by Wilber, higher states of consciousness tend to be temporary while higher stages of consciousness (which can be stimulated by higher states) are more permanent acquisitions of the person. In addition, Wigglesworth (2012) distinguished between the self of the ego and personality from the self of his or her divine nature, grounded in God, as a person understands Him/Her/It. Thus, one can have a spiritual experience at any level of development. However, unity experiences do not guarantee psychological maturity. Consequently, people can be spiritually enlightened but be underdeveloped in essential developmental lines and also have problematic shadow issues (Wilber 2001). Wigglesworth’s proclamation about the essential nature of SQ in the twenty-first century has profound implications for individual leaders and organizations given that the topic of spirituality is often a forbidden one in the traditional work environment.

Conclusion Humanity faces unprecedented global challenges such as climate change, terrorism, water scarcity, and growing social inequality in countries (Guillén and Ontiveros 2012). Humanity’s global challenges, along with other evolutionary drivers (e.g., the

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increasing demands from millennials for greater equity, meaning, and responsibility in the workplace), necessitate personal, relational, team, and organizational transformation. Consequently, every capable adult is being called to be and become a leader for his or her inner journey toward maturation and wholeness. However, given the current reality of the developmental gap of formal leaders at this critical time in human history, transformation must begin with formal leaders and their development to include psychological maturation. As highlighted above, psychological and emotional maturation include issues of identity, moral, and ego development; personal mastery; personality integration and shadow work; and will (balanced) cultivation. Furthermore, this critical transformation also requires awakening to the ultimate unity of all life. In today’s Global Age, access to instruction on contemplative practices that facilitate vertical development and foster unity consciousness is widely available. One extremely promising supportive and transformational practice is mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices are not new. They have roots in the world’s ancient wisdom traditions. What is new, however, is the scale at which they are available. The mass availability of mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices is unprecedented. Therefore, the potential implications for individuals and organizations are extensive. As evidenced by studies highlighted in this chapter, mindfulness meditation has salutary and transformative potential for individual leaders who regularly, consistently, and skillfully practice. Although one transformed leader may not be able to transform an entire organization, “transforming individuals through leader development efforts also transforms organizations” (Day et al. 2004, p. 11). Whereas one transformed leader with greater self-awareness and self-regulation can make a positive difference in an organization, investment in mindfulness training for multiple leaders or leadership teams might transform entire organizations. In turn, transformed organizations have the potential to transform societies and the world. However, mindfulness meditation is not a panacea or quick fix for leaders or organizations nor is it an easy or pleasurable “do when you please” activity, as it requires a long-term commitment to regular self-observation and self-honesty. The Eastern approach to mindfulness, with roots in Buddhism, is part of a comprehensive path known as the Noble Eightfold Path. Although one does not need to be or become a Buddhist to practice mindfulness, the Eightfold Path includes three general categories of practice, ethical conduct (right or skillful speech, action, and livelihood), mental discipline (right or skillful effort, concentration, and mindfulness), and wisdom (right or skillful understanding and thinking; Gunaratana 2012). Therefore, without consideration of and commitment to these other dimensions, the transformative potential of mindfulness meditation is limited. As highlighted by Reddy and Srinivasan (2015), leaders and organizations must consider the goals and objectives of talent development. If they desire vertical growth, they must initiate interventions that will facilitate such learning, which may require serious investigation of firmly held assumptions about leader development. However, organizations cannot mandate vertical growth. They can invest in, offer, encourage, and support leaders and all employees in exploring and

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experimenting with mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices when conditions are suitable (i.e., readiness, openness, and commitment). Leaders who yearn to make a difference and positively contribute to real solutions will have to access more of their potential. Traditional ways of learning, being, and acting will not suffice. People must open their hearts and minds to techniques and practices that foster vertical development and transformation, not with blind faith, but with genuine willingness and courage to experience for themselves whether these practices make a real difference in their lives.

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Shapiro SL, Jazaieri H, Goldin PR (2012) Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects on moral reasoning and decision making. J Posit Psychol 7:504–515. doi:10.1080/ 17439760.2012.723732 Siegel RD (2010) The mindfulness solution: everyday practices for everyday problems. Guilford Press, New York Siegel RD (2014) The science of mindfulness [MP3]. The Teaching Company, Chantilly Silverthorne S (2010) Mindful leadership: when east meets west, Q & A with Bill George. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/pdf/item/6482.pdf Wallace BA (2005) Genuine happiness: meditation as the path to fulfillment. Wiley, Hoboken Walsh R (2000) Essential spirituality: the 7 central practices to awaken heart and mind (Kindle edition). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com Walsh R, Shapiro SL (2006) The meeting of meditative disciplines and western psychology: a mutually enriching dialogue. Am Psychol 61:227–239. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.3.227 Wigglesworth C (2012) SQ21: the twenty-one skills of spiritual intelligence (Kindle version). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com Wilber K (2000) Integral psychology: consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Shambhala, Boston Wilber K (2001) A theory of everything: an integral vision for business, politics, science, and spirituality. Shambhala, Boston

Global Transformation: Visions of an Imminent Future K. Jironet

Abstract

Our world is transforming at an incredible pace – and it always has been. Though we perceive things to be unprecedented and respond with panic and fear as a result, nothing is new. Today’s leaders must be aware, open, and respond with complete consciousness to the challenges they face. In order for humanity to thrive during this phase of global transformation, they must urgently embrace interconnectivity; place value in relationships based on trust, intuition, and respect; implicitly understand the implicate order of things; and revise outdated definitions of power. This is not just about “leadership” as a nebulous or standalone concept. Leaders can proactively benefit themselves, their organization, and the world at large enormously by integrating psycho-spiritual aspects into their approach – but only if they are ready to act with the courage to discard old, habitual fears in favor of conscious awareness of the power of interconnectivity and interdependence. This chapter sets out clearly how we can learn from the past. It establishes, in practical terms, how leaders can enter into and engage in this process, which commences with personal self-realization and ends with a future that we need not be afraid of, because we utilize the innate skills we have to deal with everything that rises and falls in an organic, holistic, and optimal manner. Keywords

Consciousness • Awareness • Psycho-spiritual • Global transformation • Power • Panic • Courage • Leadership • Mystics • Implicate order

K. Jironet (*) Faculty of Humanities, Religious studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands e-mail: [email protected] # Springer International Publishing AG 2017 J. Neal (ed.), Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29587-9_67-2

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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Visions of a Future We Need Not Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part One: Global Transformation Is Nothing New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We’ve Been Here Before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greater Challenge, Greater Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . China’s Return: Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploring and Discovery and Exploring and (etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . We Need to Zoom Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relax. Nothing Is Under Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part Two: The Need for Love, Power, and Consciousness in Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What It Means to Lead with Love, Power, and Self-Realization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Personal Development: An Essential Prerequisite for Organizational Development . . . . . . . Part Three: Global Transformation – What’s New? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Nature of Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Objective Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subjective Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Part Four: Conscious Leadership in Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Polarization and Parallel Shifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Personal Development as a Precursor to Leadership Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Imminent Future Is Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction Visions of a Future We Need Not Fear Attempting to look at what the future holds is an age-old human habit. Today, we are just as prone to worry, stress, plan, and make other attempts to control what lies ahead as humankind has been throughout the centuries. The world is transforming at an incredible pace, there can be no doubt. The challenges facing leaders are daunting, and it is important to remain realistic. However, simply providing a negative prognosis or writing off the unknown that lies before us as “too complex to bear thinking about” won’t get us anywhere. In terms of global transformation, ignorance is definitely not bliss. Instead, it is of urgent and critical importance that we turn our minds completely, openly, and with consciousness to the challenges that lie ahead as they start to unfold now (and were in fact seeded long ago). This shift is one that modern leaders – whether in government, business, NGOs, or other realms – must make with awareness and without fear. Let me be clear, this is not just about leadership as a stand-alone concept. Leaders can benefit themselves, their organization, and even the world beyond by integrating psycho-spiritual aspects – but only if they are ready to discard old, habitual fears. This process starts with personal selfrealization and ends with a future that we need not be afraid of, because we utilize the innate skills we have in order to deal with everything that rises and falls in an organic, holistic, and optimal manner.

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In this chapter I firstly explore why we have nothing to fear, because what is happening has happened before. Then I explain the essential self-transformation that leaders will need to undergo in order to enable organizational transformation and highlight the key notions of leading with love, power, and self-realization. From there I delve into consciousness and look at the kinds of consciousness individuals must develop in order to understand the interconnectedness of our existence and apply this in leadership. Finally, I present a unique insight into a highly relevant, “live” business case. In detail, I set out the intensive work I have carried out recently with top-level leaders on a merger which produced one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands. Continuous Transformation vs. Transformational Shifts Working with executives on their personal development and the development of their organization over the past two decades, I have observed shifting tides. When, in 1996, I introduced meditation and silent walks during a senior leadership course, I was met with disbelief and resistance and noted how they gossiped among themselves during the coffee break, questioning my credibility. Today, the leaders I meet are starting to face their own individual power to create. I certainly don’t mean this as a sort of inflated fantasy, but as recognition of the reality that in everything we do, we participate in creation. One implication of this is that perception plays a major role in how we define “leadership.” Power today is not about how much you can tell people to do, but the ability to be open, to intuition, to relatedness and corresponding faculties that function well in complex environments. Similarly, leadership today is recognized through different forms of flexibility, rather than directedness, and by listening capabilities rather than by simply being able to tell. Organizations which operate with this awareness create very different ways of working and recruit people who have realized that personal power means being conscious, in the present, now.

Part One: Global Transformation Is Nothing New Every human population throughout time has considered itself to be amid, or on the brink of, a period of immense global transformation. We have existed in an almost constant state of fear that circumstances have reached some kind of boiling point, or the end of time is nigh. A worried, if not panicked, reaction to whatever situation humanity has found itself in to date is nothing new. In this age of digitalization, discoveries are being made at an extremely high pace, and societal infrastructure – in particular telecommunications – is evolving so rapidly that those bodies once considered the foundation of our society, such as government, religion, and law, are fading in importance. This shift creates a strong, deep-felt sense of uncertainty

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and feeds a notion of uniqueness: that what we are currently experiencing is without precedent. We are certain that things have never been changing “as fast” or that the global situation has never been “as tumultuous.” Politicians’ speeches are rife with lyrical declarations that we find ourselves at an important crux of transition. And while this is not incorrect, it is far from the first time. And it is this ignorance that we should seek to avoid now, for ignoring the experience and mistakes of our predecessors will mean an enormous opportunity has been missed. To be specific, we need to understand that becoming caught up in the rational or scientific and becoming fearful and attached are actions which will not serve us. Despite Toffler’s (1970) widely accepted claim that the rate of change is speeding up, the circumstances we find ourselves in today are no different to those that have gone before. The world has always been evolving rapidly – beyond our capacity to control or understand – and it has always seemed overwhelming, because the future before us has always been unknown and therefore uncertain. While circumstances appear different, there is nothing fundamentally new about what is happening today, and acknowledging this fact enables us to see the changes taking place from a different, more trusting perspective. Leaders who are capable of accepting this non-new phase of transition for what it is can disengage their egos and utilize the experiences of the past and their own power of consciousness to facilitate a smooth evolution into the future. A shift is taking place, away from adherence solely to that which can be proven in scientific experiment and toward that which can be sensed, but not measured. The time, as it always is, is now: we need to take the opportunity currently being presented to allow our leadership decisions and approaches to be based in consciousness as our starting point for thinking and behaving.

We’ve Been Here Before The human tendency to consider ourselves, our experience, and our circumstances extraordinary causes us to view the world in detail, namely, to zoom in our own time and situation as being the “norm” and forget not only what is going on outside of our immediate field of vision but also what has gone before and is continuing to go on around us. Transition and periods of intense change – which are in fact constant, whether we realize it at the time or not – are always coupled with a strong sense of resistance, questioning, and avoidance. Human beings are part of nature which is itself constantly in flux – we too are constantly changing. However, our rational minds, coupled with strong survival instincts, cause us to react with fear, denial, and rejection whenever we are faced with change, even if this change is unavoidable, such as the immense changes in the climate that have taken place in the very recent past and are continuing to gather pace (Earth temperature timeline on xkcd.com http://xkcd.com/1732/). The sharing, spread, and dissemination of cultural icons and narrative techniques have occurred for millennia. The center of power has been shifting from one place to another, from east to west and west to east, throughout the ages with Greek theology reaching deep into Asia and some scholars arguing that Indian poems and texts

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influenced Greek and Roman literature. The Persian empire was known for its openness to adopting different practices: if they observed a superior tool, custom, or practice in the populations they conquered, they did not hesitate in adopting these into their own. There was a high level of pragmatism, and rapid development and change occurred as a result. In this way, traditions, beliefs, and cultural practices spread and merged. Migration in the period after the Turkish conquest of Constantinople caused many Greeks to flee west to Italian cities. In 1492, the last remnants of the Muslim empire were expelled from European soil by the Spanish, causing mass exodus “back” to Northern Africa. Although how can we even call this “going back,” when these people had not lived there for over seven centuries? What if 500 years from now, the Aboriginal people of Australia expel all the migrants that have arrived there since the mid-eighteenth century? The split of the Catholic and Protestant churches also produced a large wave of migration. Migration in Europe and around the world is certainly nothing new – and thank goodness for that. Media paints it as a colossal threat to our livelihoods but in fact an absence of migration would sound the death knell for a positive outcome to the essential transformative phase we are currently facing. The whirls of immigration which have taken place over the course of history have been immense and are an essential part of transformation. Movement of peoples, and with them talents, ideas, traditions, and approaches, forges new versions of all of these. It confronts us and forces us to look at what we had considered “normal” and realize that it is not the norm, that there is another or even others. Just as entering into a personal relationship can cause us to observe our own behavior in an entirely new, not always flattering light, having people of other cultures and backgrounds around us stretches our mental parameters. It is an enormously healthy process and has formed an absolutely essential part of the transformations that have taken place before in history and that with which we are currently faced. This human tendency, to allow stereotype, superstition, and ideological agendas to prevail when there is an absence of a clear understanding of what is going on – an answer to the unanswerable “why?” – is nothing new. Through the various credit crises that played out two millennia ago, and the credit and economic crises of our time, the human reaction is one of shock and panic. The challenge for leaders in this environment is in a sense what it has always been – to see the bigger picture and act in the interests of the organization as a whole rather than out of selfish or individual motives. What’s new – and extremely exciting – is that consciousness is increasingly being viewed and accepted as the best possible means of meeting this challenge (see for example Cooper Ramo 2016; Laloux 2014; Hofstadter 2007).

Greater Challenge, Greater Transformation The plague which ravaged the European continent in the middle of the fourteenth century left populations decimated and cities unrecognizable: we see this event as an unmitigated catastrophe. But its ramifications were intensely positive for Europe. Its immense social and economic implications forged, indeed forced, changes which

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laid the foundations for a fundamental shift in emphasis toward Europe in the decades and centuries to come. This occurred in part because the dramatic reduction in the number of people who made up the workforce caused a shift in power toward those who had previously been at the lower end of the social spectrum. Peasants, laborers, and women were empowered, while landlords and other members of the propertied classes saw their power vastly reduced. A sluggish market caused by the dramatic decrease in population saw interest rates plummet and spending vastly increase. Before long, European economies had been radically revamped, and the very changes that the plague had necessitated were in fact creating more opportunity and development that could have been imagined. Change evolved most rapidly in the northern European regions, partly because these areas had been less developed than the south. Modern research is pointing increasingly to the fact that the roots of the industrial revolution can be traced to the industrious revolution of the postplague world (Frankopan 2016). At the same time, parts of Asia were experiencing a similar boost in growth and ambition. Trade links, some new and some pre-existing, burgeoned between southern India and China. Commercial relations were increasingly documented and organized, which had the effect of making trade more efficient and fair – and more competitive than ever. This is not to suggest that we should embrace infection and wide-scale suffering, but merely to point out that it is these periods of seeming chaos and catastrophe which give rise to development and transformation – transformation that does not occur during one lifetime, perhaps, which is terrifying to Westerners, so fearful of death. But challenge gives rise to the opportunity to change in fast, dynamic, potentially ground-shifting ways.

China’s Return: Again The flux of China as a key bastion of power has existed throughout modern history. Its empire expanded vastly during the Han dynasty, forging new trading routes and connections with trading partners from nomadic tribes to Indian spice houses. In the 1200s, a “ruthless duel for commercial supremacy” (Frankopan 2016) played out between the two leading trading cities of Venice and Genoa. They had long taken part in large-scale slave trading and fought numerous bloody battles in their attempts to dominate trade with Asia and create a vast and strong network across the continents. There was an immense amount of money to be made in furs, pepper, ginger, musk, spices, brocades, velvet, pearls, and precious stones. Both cities benefited from their ability to stimulate the market – they made people want what they had to sell – but also from the fiscal sophistication of their Mongol trading partners to the east, who levied low taxes on goods that crossed the Black Sea. The Mongols are more popularly known for their brutal military tactics, but were in fact skilled bureaucrats who ensured pricing and taxes evidenced a strong willingness not to fight, but to compromise and cooperate and above all, to allow commerce to proliferate.

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Exploring and Discovery and Exploring and (etc.). . . The commencement of exploration in the late fifteenth century triggered a period of vast, fast discovery, creating new connections, rapid social change, and breaking open global trade. Suddenly, all manners of new items could be sourced and traded in huge quantities, from sugar to gold. Already in the fifteenth century, an early form of “ecocide” had been identified by one scholar, when the forests of Madeira were cleared, its land stripped of native species and replaced with rabbits and rats (Halikowski 2010). Ideas moved faster than ever before, and notions that had been taken as gospel truth about the planet, the stars, and the way the world works were smashed to pieces. Europe rose, and other parts of the world suffered heavily as a direct consequence. The advance of empires brought with it widespread violence and destruction. Indeed, far from being some kind of intellectual hurrah founded on red wine and intimate chateaux salons, the Enlightenment was founded on warfare and the European skills in this field. “The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason, the progression towards democracy, civil liberty and human rights, were not the result of an unseen chain linking back to Athens in antiquity or a natural state of affairs in Europe; they were the fruits of political, military and economic success in faraway continents” (Frankopan 2016). The effects of exploration and the increase in global trade, with Europe as its center, had an enormous impact on European populations. Inflation was at times rampant; economies teetered and fluctuated with such intensity that instability was, for many societies, the norm. Urbanization and the flush of cash coming from new trading points in the Americas created a price revolution throughout Europe, and eventually breaking point was reached in the provinces of the Low Countries which were controlled by Spain at the time. Cities such as Antwerp and Amsterdam were extremely attractive for merchants, and they developed not only strong social and economic lives but also clear civic identities. As Protestantism rose in these areas and the taxes levied by the Spanish grew heavier, religious and economic persecution eventually led to a revolt and the Union of Utrecht in 1581, unifying seven Dutch provinces. In the final years of the sixteenth century, difficult circumstances lead to an economic revolution in the Low Countries. Spanish attempts to suppress unrest in the region caused a tremendous flood of migration from southern provinces toward the north. The ban on trade meant that there was plenty of food for these new inhabitants and a housing boom occurred as a result. When Spanish control was finally relinquished in 1590, the Dutch flung themselves into international trade and created a new center of commerce with much lower taxes than anywhere in Portugal or Spain. Yet again, a period of intense hardship gave rise to a period of openness, development, and cultural evolution, where creativity and pragmatism met. The modern-day tendency of northern Europe to look down on its southern neighbors is diametrically opposed to the situation centuries ago, when the south held both wealth and power and northern regions were viewed as uneducated, uncivilized and, with their lack of interesting trade possibilities, unworthy commercial partners. Could an Athenian living two thousand years ago have imagined that

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Greece’s position in the EU would be questioned or that Greece would be so looked down upon, if not resented, by its northern neighbors?

We Need to Zoom Out When we step back and view the events of the last two millennia from a global perspective, refraining from zooming in on our own interests or coloring these events with our own bias, it is eminently clear that nothing that is currently transpiring is either unpredictable or new. It is easy to fall prey to concern about the various ways that disruption and change are manifesting, but these are in fact the exact same ways that change, specifically shifts in power and wealth and focus, has manifested throughout the ages. What has been striking throughout the events of recent decades is the west’s lack of perspective about global history – about the bigger picture, the wider themes and the larger patterns playing out in the region. In the minds of policy planners, politicians, diplomats and generals, the problems of Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq seemed distinct, separate and only loosely linked to each other. (Frankopan 2016) An evolving world orientation will unfold as the battle for control over natural resources – a battle that has been going on for centuries – continues. However, we have the opportunity now to facilitate this evolution taking place in a conscious, harmonious way. Forces that converge to spark genius and upend social order are always present. Their current configuration might be different, but the underlying potential is eternal. We can learn from the pragmatic, effective approach of civilizations that have gone before us and combine this with a gentleness toward the environment and each other, which is taught at the heart of every religion. There is no need to be afraid of what lies ahead, despite appearances. We need to have the courage and wisdom to understand that the future does not consist of a threat, but of an opportunity. “We don’t know where we’re headed, and so we let ourselves get pushed around – bullied even – by immediate crises and the anxieties they evoke. We retreat rather than reach out. In an age when we must act, we hesitate.” (Goldin and Kutarna 2016)

Relax. Nothing Is Under Control Panic is the last thing we need, but it is what we are being told to do by numerous media sources and even some global leaders, taking advantage yet again of the frightened masses. But as anyone who has kayaked on rapids or surfed in the ocean will know, panic in times of danger (real or imagined) only makes things worse. Panic is exactly what we don’t need. Instead, we must relinquish the fear that

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paralyzes us and causes the panic and take a deep breath out. Further, we can go on to adopt breathing techniques that focus on the exhalation – on letting go and releasing that which no longer serves us – to draw us into a place of calm, a calm that is an absolute prerequisite for cool-headed, wise, courageous, and successful leadership. Indeed, when we let go of panic and have the courage to step back and see the larger picture, it becomes immediately apparent that if we had truly been tuned into what was going on on a larger scale, what has occurred is not only unsurprising, but inevitable. The challenge for modern leaders is to have that courage – to find consciousness – in the moment, and not as a matter of retrospect, when we are looking back on a mess and trying to pick up the pieces. We have to finally learn the lesson that we have to stop learning lessons and be completely aware and conscious in the moment, if we are to see through this phase of global transformation with any measure of success. The beauty of this challenge is that it brings fulfillment, personal transformation, and evolution on such a deep level that it becomes immensely rewarding. It is a lifechanging transformation, and there are examples of leaders who have undertaken this transformation (e.g., the CEO of the hospital discussed in the business case below). It’s a “win-win-win-win” scenario – personal, organizational, societal, and cosmic.

Part Two: The Need for Love, Power, and Consciousness in Leadership With the enormous amount of often conflicting information to which leaders are exposed, and the unpredictability of social and economic developments that define the business context, leaders often find themselves overwhelmed and struggle to make key decisions. In these situations, the tendency to focus on rationality rather than intuition actually impairs their ability to respond effectively to what’s needed in the given situation. These are the moments when utilizing consciousness is most important, but seemingly most difficult. The starting point needs to be one of calm and distance from the circumstances at hand. In fact, the true starting point requires an awareness, to the extent possible, of the entire universe in which we find ourselves. The latest science shows that the universe is one unified whole: cause and effect are inseparable (Schäfer 2013). It is critical for modern leaders to bring this game-changing understanding into their methodology. Rather than trying to know or control everything, leaders need to trust the process implicitly and to maintain a state of flow as much as possible. Mystics of the past realized what scientists today discover: this world is a dream, created through perception. But the dream is a fallacy. As long as we take our own, limited, colored, idiosyncratic dream to be true and correct, we will not be able to create, change, or manifest anything new. Leadership requires continuous detachment from the explicate order. In the immediate future, leadership means having the ability to be open to the complexity of the implicate order (Bohm 1980) and a commitment to guide attention and energy in the surrounding organization according

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to its movements. It means being open to receiving, guiding, and being sensitive to energy flows within the organization. We are moving away from an individualistic construct which has long dominated the Western workplace and labor market. The shift is toward the Eastern notion of organic society as opposed to our traditional Western atomistic society, which stems from the individualistic philosophy (that the individual is the primary reality and societies are collections of individuals) which has dominated for several centuries (Sheldrake 1988). What does this mean for leaders and the organizations in which they operate? One key consequence is that adaptability, flexibility, and openness are essential qualities, and the old-fashioned focus on differences – me vs. you, ours vs. theirs – is no longer useful. Allowing the starting point to be this notion of “oneness” means leading for the benefit of the whole organization and even wider society, as well as its components. The feeling is similar to that in an intimate relationship: we are not in it for ourselves, or the other, but for the relationship itself. Defining our own identity is increasingly important as roles are no longer defined or imbued with importance purely based on hierarchy. With a much more flexible labor market, as freelancing, part-time employment, and career breaks become more common and shorter term, project-based engagement is on the increase, getting that golden watch on retirement is well and truly a thing of the past.

What It Means to Lead with Love, Power, and Self-Realization The challenge every leader faces is to strike the right power balance while maintaining personal authenticity and integrity. In order to be capable of defining their own identity, a leader must tap into their consciousness. Leadership authenticity is not simply a matter of “being yourself”; it entails a capacity for relatedness and continuous appreciation of the values and perspectives of others (Avolio and Gardner 2005). Acting with consciousness means being fully involved and present while trusting people to do their jobs. This requires confidence and the ability to embrace the capacity for love. Far from being irrelevant, love, in the context of leadership, means allowing employees to experience authenticity in the workplace. By trusting those people who know more about the detail of a situation to handle it, a leader creates a sense of mutual respect and autonomy. Rather than feeling watched and doubted, employees feel more authentic and fulfilled. This approach forges a far stronger loyalty and investment than control or planning or trying to make the future “known” in advance than antiquated, hierarchical frameworks ever could. Love brings with it a sense of generosity, of giving for the greater good, and of having the emotional maturity to act without expecting anything in return. The act is the reward. Leading from consciousness is the result of a marked departure from a Western notion of power as a span of control (Jironet 2010, 2014). Power in the contemporary interpretation is based more on ideas which have long existed in Eastern philosophy and mentality. Today, in the context of contemporary leadership, power means the ability to surrender personal power or ego and open up to complex patterns of

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interconnection and intuition. While a strong foundation of intelligence and knowledge is essential, in this process, rationality itself is a hindrance. Instead, openness, the confidence to philosophize (Cooper Ramo 2016), and the capacity to observe both the whole and its detail simultaneously form the framework. This requires the leader themselves to let go of stress and tension, both physical and mental, as these inhibit the flow of consciousness. We are moving away from colonial or hierarchical governance models. These were defined by exploitation, domination, self-serving fascination, and a patronizing sense of distance. There was no willingness to understand or love – only to profit. It’s clear now that this approach is extremely outdated, and companies and leaders who still subscribe to it are already suffering. The global, multicultural model of the future is informed by coexistence, diversity, connection, and relationships, qualities which are often associated with more modern, open, and ultimately human ways of governing. What makes up your identity – at work or elsewhere – is self-realization. When how others perceive you and your true self is one and the same, success follows naturally. Now, the unique qualities and talents you bring to the table are much more relevant. Leading through consciousness means relinquishing the aim of uniformity and creating more room for craftsmanship, artistry, and other forms of creative expression. Today, and in the future, there is no space for mediocrity.

Personal Development: An Essential Prerequisite for Organizational Development Reason and rationality are not the root of the problem though, and it is in fact essential for leaders to harness their intellectual intelligence. But this alone is far from enough. Inspired by Kant, in her book Moral Clarity (2009), moral philosopher Susan Neiman offers a frame of reference for taking responsible action in response to today’s urgent political and social questions. Neiman utilizes a number of classically espoused virtues – happiness, reason, reverence, and hope – virtues held dear by many Enlightenment thinkers and writers. According to Neiman, our current-day commitment to values such as tolerance and fairness is not sufficient to shape and reshape our world. We need values that incite passion and are defended with passion. For Neiman, reason and passion are not mutually exclusive but interdependent. Reason, she argues, is not contrary to passion and feelings, but opposed to unquestionable authority, prejudice, and superstition. Thinkers such as Voltaire and Diderot understood very well that reason alone cannot change the world. To rise against moral indifference, to dare make different choices – they were fully aware that this demands passion as well. The proximity between character and performance – who you are as person and what you do (and especially what you do not do) as a result of your character – forms an important point of academic focus in leadership development. Fred Kiel (2015), who himself went through a crisis formed by moral and spiritual emptiness, conducted a study on how moral leadership is reflected in return on assets. His

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findings show that leaders who frequently engage in behaviors that reveal strong character, including standing up for what is right, expressing concern for the common good, letting go of mistakes, and showing empathy, earn five times more return on assets than those executives perceived as self-focused by their subordinates. Interestingly, Kiel’s findings indicate that those most in need of a “moral shape-up” are the ones least interested in pursuing such development. When asked how such leaders might move past their denial and overcome their character deficits, Kiel offers clear advice: seek guidance from a trusted person and follow it. In order to achieve lasting change, however, greater work is required. Transformation at a personal level is an absolute prerequisite to organizational agility and success. Individual leaders will need to relinquish fear as their base motivation for behavior in order to let go of its many manifestations – jealousy at the success of others, doubt about their own competencies and those of their colleagues which leads to excessive desire for control, and the notion of being under threat. Know someone who works at an extremely senior level but stills spends evenings and weekends tapping away at their computers on assignments they could much better delegate to a subordinate, but are unwilling to do because “it’s faster if I do it myself”? This kind of mentality – an absence of trust and an attachment to control – is still rife in the culture of many organizations. But it will very soon become not just optional but essential to the survival of these companies – even large, international corporations, law firms, NGOs, banks, you name it – that they embrace consciousness and insist that their employees manifest this through trust, love, and a new definition of power. In order to comprehend the dynamics of challenges faced when truly engaging in personal development, it is helpful to consult Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Dante moves through Inferno, Purgatory, and enters Heaven in pursuit of selfrealization and self-betterment. He is driven by a desire to know himself, why it matters what choices he makes and how his life is molded as a result of these and why humility, kindness, generosity, and other virtues bring him forward toward the goal. Dante does not travel alone though. His guide Virgil leads him along the dangerous path, marked by peril, temptation, uncertainty, and an absence of hope. The Divine Comedy is highly relevant for leadership development (Jironet 2010). When you find yourself in Purgatory, you cannot help but move on. Unlike the eternity of Inferno or Paradise, in Purgatory, there is time, night and day – duality – and hence development. Personal development takes place through seven states of human condition. Dante distinguishes these states as sins and virtues. The seven sins in Dante’s definition are caused by a denial, indifference, or excess of love. While exploring sloth and the nature of indifference, Virgil says that love is the seed of all human acts, both sinful and virtuous. It is only after passing through Purgatory and overcoming the grip of duality with its ensuing emotions, however, that a person can claim to choose freely. Until such personal development is acquired, it is the play of emotions and context that

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makes the choices. It is not any specific behavior or deed that forms a sin, but the attitude with which life is led. How do you function and deal in relation to others, how do you value others in relation to yourself, what do you take, and what do you give? The way through Purgatory teaches a person to deal with these fundamental opposites and ambiguities. This learning process ultimately leads to balance. If we have passed the journey, we know how to live and work with duality consciously. We acquire a state of awareness that there are consequences that flow as a result of our decisions and how we lead our life. To put it more succinctly, we are cognizant of choices and that we make these ourselves.

Part Three: Global Transformation – What’s New?

What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 So it is clear that history repeats itself, and there is nothing new under the sun. Some might argue that although there is nothing new to the cyclical nature of life on Earth, human awareness evolves and grows through our expansion of perception. However, this is an illusion. When you watch the ocean for an hour or two and become aware of the ebb and flow of the tide and all the changes that happen as a consequence – the relocation of sand and stone, the erosion of rock, the drying out of the sand as the tide goes out, and the wetness as it comes back in – an overriding awareness arises that everything is moving, constantly, sometimes repeatedly. So the same “thing” – the tide, consciousness, occurs again and again. But change is continual throughout. Shifts in sand and consciousness may be immeasurably small but occur nonetheless. When Solomon wrote that human toil is meaningless because generations come and go, the sun rises and sets, and everything that has been will be again, he was not ignoring advances in science, technology, or healthcare. Rather, he knew that these do not alter the fundamental nature of creation and humanity. Taking this approach, it is clear that attaching importance to success, bravado, and ego in any leadership role can only lead to misery because of its temporary nature. A single human life has significance to the degree it is connected with something beyond the eternal flow of comings and goings. Living for making a permanent mark on impermanence is not only meaningless; it makes life futile. Say, a prominent and important CEO retires: watch how business goes on, somehow!, miraculously!, and how that prolific leader might leave a legacy or have had an impact, but eventually is washed away with the tide. Solomon knew what he was talking about.

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Shaky Ground I was in the south of Rome for work. One night around 3am, dogs were barking in the street. I got up to close the windows only to notice that beyond the shrill noise of the barking, birds were chattering fervently and insistently. I went back to bed only to wake up an hour later, this time with a shock. Sounds were coming from the kitchen. Glass, plates, cutlery. . . I peered out the window to look for suspicious cars. The light went on at my neighbor’s house. “Ah! They’ve seen the intruder,” I thought. I opened the window but felt a strong gush of wind against the frame so closed it again. Unnerved, I went back to bed. “The intruder must be gone,” I deduced and dozed off. At 6am, I checked the news. There had been earthquake of 6.2 magnitude north of Rome. Had I experienced an earthquake before, I would probably had known how to read the signals, but I hadn’t, so instead projected all my own perceptions of reality and made an inadequate and vastly incorrect interpretation. The earthquake’s impact was new to me, but it was not new consciousness as such. The dogs, the birds, and the wind were conscious of and responded accurately to that earthquake, as did the cutlery. I was not open to doing so because my mind – my thoughts and feelings – were blocking a direct experience of reality. When an organization undergoes fundamental changes, most people tend to do what I did – use what they already know and project this knowledge onto the new situation. The cultural code, mental model, communication habits, and dress code – the parameters of coexistence – not only define an organization; they also continuously, and often inadequately, inform its members about reality.

The Nature of Consciousness The notion of consciousness has long been recognized as being nigh on impossible to nail down in terms of definition. Just like the “soul,” consciousness defies definition. Awareness, connectedness with a higher wisdom, intuitive power. . . Nothing quite gets there and encompasses the fullness of this concept. And yet its meaning can be intuitively understood, and experienced, and it is this comprehension and practice which is so critical for modern leaders. Christof Koch, one of today’s most well-known experts on consciousness, takes a neuroscientific view on consciousness. In his work Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist, Koch addresses the difficulty in defining consciousness. He offers four different perspectives that together point toward a tentative definition. The first, the “common sense” definition, infers that consciousness enables perception and degrees of “awakened-ness.” It is present in sleep and dreaming, but not in death. “Ecclesiastes had it right: For the living know that they shall die but the dead know not anything,” Koch posits (2012).

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The “behavioral” definition identifies behavior that evidence consciousness. For example, in a hospital emergency room, adequate response to stimuli signals a degree of consciousness, whereas a coma would not. Although Koch supports this definition, he notes a number of its drawbacks. “Although this measurement is perfectly reasonable when dealing with children or adults, the challenge is to come up with behavioural criteria appropriate to organisms that can’t readily be asked to do something, such as babies, dogs, mice, or even flies.” The third definition is “neural,” which “specifies the minimal physiologic mechanisms required for any one conscious sensation” (2012). The philosophical perspective, finally, observes that consciousness is “what-it-feels-like-from-within,” which is to say that consciousness means phenomenal awareness, the ability to experience. In his later work, Koch contends that all living beings including animals, nature, and the elements are able to perceive and feel things. Together with neuroscientist Giulio Tononi, who developed the Integrated Information Theory (ITT), he writes in Consciousness: here, there and everywhere that “. . .in line with the central intuitions of pan-psychism, ITT treats consciousness as an intrinsic, fundamental property of reality” (2015). Koch and Tononi’s research shows (Tononi et al. 2016) that consciousness is everywhere. If we apply these definitions, you could certainly say that I was to some extent “conscious” of the earthquake, and yet, this was nothing more than a subjective attribution in a conscious state. The level of consciousness was not equal to its content.

Objective Consciousness The theory of continuity of consciousness, in whatever form or vehicle, is further supported especially by the work of David Bohm and Karl Pribram. Neuroscientist Pribram collaborated with Bohm to build on the work of Nobel Prize winning physicist Dennis Gabor. Gabor invented the holography method, and in 1963 published an eminently, endlessly timely title Inventing the Future which addresses the three major challenges facing the global community: war, overpopulation, and the age of leisure. Pribram’s work (see e.g., Pribram, K.H. (1991) Brain and Perception: Holonomy and Structure in Figural Processing) further postulates that Gabor’s holography findings show how interference patterns are created in the brain and in relationships. David Bohm, a key theoretical physicist of our time, developed the notion of implicate order, mentioned above. Implicate order proposes a model in which structures and processes preexist any awareness of these structures and processes by individual elements – including people, animals, trees, and the elements. In the 1980s, Bohm applied this concept in order to transcend the dichotomy of mental vs. material realities that had prevailed following a western, Cartesian model and showed that these realities are in fact composed of one substance. In Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Bohm considers reality and knowledge to be objective processes, which individual objects respond to secondarily. “I regard the essence of the notion of process as given by the statement: Not only is everything changing, but all is flux. That is to say, what is is the process of becoming itself, while all objects,

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events, entities, conditions, structures etc., are forms that can be abstracted from this process” (Bohm 1980). Applied to consciousness, Bohm’s theory opens the door to the spiritual experience of unity. “The new form of insight can perhaps best be called Undivided Wholeness in Flowing Movement. This view implies that flow is, in some sense prior to that of the ‘things’ that can be seen to form and dissolve in this flow. One can perhaps illustrate what is meant here by considering ‘the stream of consciousness’” (ibid). Prior to Bohm’s ground-breaking research in physics, in Psychology and Alchemy, Carl Gustav Jung held that the objective psyche, sometimes equated with the unconscious, is accessible to humans not through form, but rather by means of symbolic representations of life’s eternally evolving reality. While providing direction, the objective psyche enables us to experience transient glimpses of understanding of the soul, or the Self. “Indeed, it seems as if all the personal entanglements and dramatic changes of fortune that make up the intensity of life were nothing but hesitations, timid shrinkings (sic), almost like petty complications and meticulous excuses for not facing the finality of this strange and uncanny process of crystallisation. Often one has the impression that the personal psyche is running round this central point like a shy animal, at once fascinated and frightened, always in flight, and yet steadily drawing nearer” (C.G. Jung 1968, CW 12 } 326). The objective psyche, in Jung’s definition, refers to a state of knowing beyond ego or attachment, in other words, the subjective psyche. Certainly, most of us humans are attached to life, to protecting offspring, ensuring professional quality, investing in friendships, and so forth. However, Jung postulates that the objective psyche engineers these processes, most of the time without subjective, conscious awareness, let alone deliberation. Michael Talbot in the Holographic Universe (1991) describes, in line with Bohm and Pribram, how the implicate level of reality equals the spiritual reality, the realm that in terms of manifestation precedes that of material objects and phenomena. Referencing Bohm, Talbot conjectures that the separation of matter and spirit is a mental construct (1991). This work on the nature of consciousness provided an implicit foundation for modern theory on selforganization and personal leadership development, taking wholeness as a starting point. See the business case section below for more on this point.

Subjective Consciousness

My cheek rests on my lover’s hairy chest as I think, “So, this is how love feels.” After a while, not reaching any deeper than a conscious awareness of this feeling, I turn to face him in the dark and say, “This is how love feels.” I sense his gaze, feel his hand grab my shoulder a bit more firmly, and hear his reply: “Mmmh.” Together, we know more than we do individually.

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Wordless reality needs continuous confirmation by self and the other – the third place, the connection, the relationship, the love, and the force – whatever name you give it. The mesh of interconnected consciousness desires to be known. Who is the knower? You – and the other. The crux of the matter in terms of leadership development at this pivotal moment (I note again that nothing is new, and every moment is in its own way pivotal) is that we are finally becoming aware of the forcedness that has come with the proliferation of separation, difference, and judgment in organizational culture. There is a growing, strong, motivated awareness of the need – for organizations and individuals alike – to rediscover, acknowledge, and engage with the interconnection between human beings, circumstances, energy, and potential. When we acknowledge our connectedness, everything changes. Power shifts. It changes what we expect, how we behave (Cooper Ramo 2016). It is a shift that cannot be fully understood by reading, or discussing, but only by experiencing. It is about looking beyond language and culture and background and judgment of all of these. It is not about the “how,” because when we understand this deep level of connectedness, the how manifests organically. It entails an understanding that individual liberty and interconnectedness are not mutually exclusive; in fact, they depend on one another. Individuals have the opportunity to create conscious connection with the source of all that is continuously manifesting. Similarly, organizations make a contribution through offering services in their field of expertise with authenticity and passion, while staying innately aware of the bigger picture around them – the greater scheme in which they operate. There is an overlap too, because the individual realizes that they are interconnected, and the organization, through the transformation in awareness, consciousness, and perspective in its management and directors, becomes imbued with an awareness that it is the sum of its parts, a mutually beneficial consciousness is formed. This realization of the interconnectedness between not only human beings, but human beings and things, ourselves and nature, and even our interconnection with the cosmos, has finally now reached mainstream society. No longer is this oneness the realm of ancient mystics and new-age hippies. Propelled by advances in technology and natural sciences, this awareness has extended to and spread among the vast populations of the current younger generation. Implicitly, in turn, the focal point of a conscious leader shifts from individuality – my consciousness of the world around me and the other’s consciousness of the same – to what lies in between and in fact everywhere: the interface of consciousness with consciousness, the “third place” which is actually the only place, the eternal flow of interaction. It is this dynamic awareness and the courage to tap into it, which has the potential to change everything.

Part Four: Conscious Leadership in Practice Notions of consciousness, applied intuition, and personal development in a senior leadership setting are best understood through experience and specific examples rather than theoretical postulations. In order to reveal, in practical terms, how

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personal and organizational development are both interdependent and critical to modern leadership, I’ll share insights on a high-level organizational transformation in which I have recently been closely involved. It was late in December 2013 when I received a call from the CEO of a large Dutch hospital. He was about to lead a merger with a neighboring hospital which had been decided for reasons of quality and efficiency, with the aim of meeting the clinical needs of the community and allowing patients to receive high-level care close to home. Both hospitals firmly backed the merger, and their boards of directors shared an understanding of its importance and urgency. Their question to me was how to create one hospital, a common culture and a shared, new story. The work on bridging the two different cultures started at top level in early January 2014. During one-on-one interviews with each of the four board members, it became apparent that although the motivation for merging was shared, their individual approaches differed, primarily due to personality-related factors (which were revealed in the interviews as well as a formal character and profile assessment). In addition to their individual views on style and action, subtler differences proved key in determining each individual leader’s capacity to deal with the demands of the merger which were as yet only known in theory. The not unsubstantial task for me was to address these differences in order to facilitate mutual understanding and acceptance, which in turn would enable meaningful collaboration. In order to achieve this, I organized a series of off-sites which were held over the course of 1 year, which I prepared together with the board members and structured such that they would support the new organization’s leaders with the demands of the merger and the delineation of a new organizational model, while simultaneously creating greater awareness of the board members’ personal biases in leadership style and communication patterns. While listening to and incorporating their perceptions of the business issues, possible solutions, and especially how they envisioned tackling them, it was clear that creating a common base – a common space for interaction and consciousness – would be essential. Knowing that leadership development relies on the willingness to engage in personal development, that the former relies on the latter, I knew the off-sites would provide the optimal space and possibility for both to occur. Each off-site had its own focus and was linked into the following gathering in an organic energetic flow. However, certain fundamental parameters were established from the outset. For example, I started and concluded each session with a short guided meditation and a couple of minutes of silence. I hadn’t actually planned this specifically in advance; it was simply a response to the way everyone arrived full of busy intention, dedication, and a very long to-do list and was partially inspired by Bohm and Scharmer (see above) and also by my own professional experience and research (Jironet 2010). In these kinds of situations, it is my experience that during individual dialogues, a vigorous, extraverted approach is unproblematic – energy naturally moves the way the speaker intends, without collision or drama. But when assembled, sitting in a circle, a need for gathering and focusing attention arises. This was exactly the case here.

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Not everyone exhibited patience with those minutes of meditation and silence; some – sighing loudly or purposefully crossing their arms across their chest – considered it a complete waste of time. But despite the resistance, those practices served an important purpose. They meant that each session commenced as free from immediate urgencies as possible and encouraged openness to the flow of the now. The meditation created an opportunity to arrive at a place of common perception and purpose in the present moment and to start from that ground. The first off-site focused on personal life histories, for instance, the individuals’ approach to decision-making and their entire outlook on and perception of the merger. Openhearted and truthful sharing of parental, sibling, and partner relations – birth and death, marriages, and divorces – enabled the whole group to feel connected with a sense of a shared humanity. No story was alien; all was within the scope of comprehension and much respect, and emotional support was expressed. However, when we moved onto the topic of how personal leadership would set the tone for a common, new expression of leadership, it suddenly dawned on the participants that in order to do this, they would have to take each other into account. For some members of the group, fear and resistance cropped up in the form of body language, pacing, and short attention spans – the usual indicators. Between off-sites, one of the board members moved toward immediate operational action, another toward active postponement, a third felt sheer logic was needed, and the fourth invested in bridging the gaps. During the course of the year in which we held the off-sites, it became clear that a new, common, public form of leadership style would be extremely difficult to achieve based on the individual contributions of the four board members. Their subtler personality differences emerged as sensitivities and around ego-pride and habitual ways of perceiving reality, and these created a pressure to take immediate action rather than reflect on the bigger picture. In order to clarify the role and importance of perception, attribution, and being present to what is, I introduced the work of Otto Scharmer (2009) and the excellent Presence (Senge 2004), the latter of which sets out how the whole is entirely present in any of its parts and that perception of the present now determines ability not to remain stuck in old patterns of seeing and acting. We discussed these works and looked into their relevant applications for the new hospital, but the differences remained, and I knew I would have to create a more transformational learning experience for the board members. Having provided them with the experience of how meditation, silence, and connection could create common ground, I introduced a model which I developed together with my colleague, Jungian psychoanalyst Murray Stein (Jironet and Stein 2012), in order to overcome the tensions produced by differences in approach. The purpose of the practice is to create a field for a group in which to find fresh solutions to ingrained barriers. It comprises three steps: deep listening, close attunement, and transformational shifts. It’s worthwhile taking a moment here to be clear on what each of these elements entail. Deep listening is a technique for allowing insights to emerge into consciousness. This involves a subtle process of listening closely for a voice which speaks from the

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unconscious, from recesses below the habitual thinking and behavior which govern daily life. Deep listening seeks to “turn up the volume” of that inner voice and help the listener to intuitively accept the guidance that comes. The success of this method depends on the listener’s capability to enter and navigate the realm of the unconscious. Unlike traditional quantifying principles where more is more, here realization relies on (a) accessing previously unconscious material and (b) retaining awareness of this material long enough to integrate it into consciousness. Easier said than done. The board members gradually set aside their predominantly extraverted behavior in order to familiarize themselves with this intense, internal listening. Despite being strongly invested in concrete manifestations, they each demonstrated a ready ability to shift to symbolic analysis and making sense of the immaterial reality. There was no hesitation in the exchange of impressions and interpretations, and this enabled me to shift to the second stage of the practice: close attunement. Close attunement involves sharing the voice of the unconscious, one’s own inner knowing, with another person or persons and is essential for strengthening the insights and solutions that arise from deep listening. Attunement denotes synchronization of two or more psychic energy fields (Jung 1966), and the term is also used in Sufi teachings to signify a form of concentration (Hazrat Inayat Khan 1960). Close attunement occurs when two (or more) people enter into the same unconscious space simultaneously, as if jumping into a pool of water together. It is a shared moment in which the water is entered at the same for all involved and those leaping into it are on the same journey, while still individually experiencing the moment. Close attunement can be geared to address a particular dilemma or more broadly to inspire or build up interpersonal relationships, for example, among coworkers. During this phase, the group’s objective was primarily to create a common vision of what they identified as their immediate responsibilities – unified leadership and transparent governance – and how these should be approached. This practice helped them to focus on a cohesive goal: the new hospital – what was it going to look and feel like? How would things operate in that environment, and how would they move the two hospitals in one direction together? In the process of translating images into actions and coming to grips with the implementation of processes in the new environment which would yield a unified whole, the board members continued to diverge. Despite their common understanding of image and intention, profound disagreements began to surface in action. Some even reached the point where they felt they were unable to contribute to the new leadership model and stepped down. In the meantime, the third stage of the model had started to manifest: transformational shifts. These occur when a new awareness is fully experienced and recognized as true and meaningful. This experience constitutes a fundamental transformation of consciousness and changes the basic attitude and outlook on life of the individual and potentially of the entire group. For the impact to spread, two fundamental principles must be addressed. Firstly, while the previous stages laid the plan, now it has to be executed. For this a new narrative must be created which frames the intention and ensures that all dispersed energy – everything people do in the workplace – naturally fits into and contributes to that new narrative. The narrative transforms the ideas and energies

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released in deep listening and close attunement into a plan of action, not in the traditional sense, but on a metaphorical level. To create this narrative, we have to address the following questions. What is cooking? Find out what is going on behind the scenes and identify the main theme at play. What is the germ? The germ hangs in the air, but is as yet unrealized. It therefore can encompass a new attitude to the unspoken energy that exists. Who is drawn to it? The narrative is shared by communicating, preferably by gathering people who want to contribute. Together, the story is told and retold until the individuals are confident that although they have their own story, it represents the shared narrative and has the potential to resolve whatever dilemma is at hand. After going through this three-step process with the board members, the change in outlook and attitude regarding the new leadership narrative was distilled into a key-point focus on the following notions: – – – – – –

Start with the patient’s interests. Invest in what works to create positive results. Trust your colleagues in doing the same. Excel through collaboration with colleagues in order to serve the patient. Develop your personal leadership intelligence continuously. Follow the flow with confidence.

Although this is of course a very brief glimpse of many hours of dialogue, it is clear that this narrative not only has consequences for the conceptualization of shared rather than hierarchical leadership but it also encourages sharing, lets go of control and dominance, encourages team work, and fosters communication skills and the ambition to know yourself. This leadership narrative speaks to an intensely relational process of constructing meaning and action while inviting staff to cultivate interpersonal trust and connection and to become more aware of the fabric of their connectedness. It results in cognitive and behavioral transformation toward self and distributed leadership. Secondly, it is the responsibility of those who lead to discover and regulate their own behavior, communication, and intention while using energy patterns, as well as being able to change these states at will. Just as the narrative impacts behavior and communication, it had consequences for decisions regarding how to implement the merger. If the goal is to serve patients, what are the implications for specialization, joint locations, and shared services? Beyond leadership, the narrative emphasized top-level healthcare, hospitality, and collaboration with external parties. The decision was made to concentrate resources in specific areas of healthcare in one location, so-called “lateralization of resources,” so doctors move rather than patients and entire wards move and settle in a new culture. As much as this disrupted habitual patterns and triggered resistance and competition between previously separate locations, at the same time, it created a unified, positive energy. “Yes, this will work.” That “yes” to extra workload, emotional upheaval, and frenzied interaction between best friends was clearly acutely needed by those directly reporting to the board.

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Having woven together a narrative for future leadership, which was then tested and refined over the period of a year, the board of directors decided to create a similar learning experience for their direct reports, a group of about 26 directors. Trusting (or at least hoping) that the new leadership narrative would be enhanced once understood by their colleagues, they opted to retain the inductive approach, although the actual sessions were adjusted to group size and other conditions. The initial design for this specific training rested on principles described, for example, in Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change (Cooperrider and Whitney 2005). Together with Srivastva, Cooperrider formulated a social constructionist perspective on change and development which stresses open dialogue as a means of reaching agreements about what works and how to be creative and achieve amazing, unimagined results. The beauty lies in the simplicity of this work and its model, described as “collective inquiry into the best of what is, in order to imagine what could be, followed by collective design of a desired future state that is compelling and thus, does not require the use of incentives, coercion or persuasion for planned change to occur” (Kessler 2013). It has been employed in many different contexts; see, for example, Positive Deviance (Pascale et al. 2010). The first off-site was held at a location by the sea. I started, as usual, with a short meditation and a moment of silence, which seemed to last for longer than the 2 min it took. The CEO talked about his own journey toward crafting a new vision on personal leadership. I introduced the purpose of the day and gave attention to the joy of opening up, exchanging, and enjoying each other’s company while exploring individual dreams, purposes, needs, and who they would like to be teamed with in order to optimally realize their dream. We sought to link subjective perception and motivation with objective consciousness as manifested in the group’s overall intentions and purposes. All participants felt the benefits of sharing dreams, imagining where to go and how to reach new vistas. However, during the following two off-sites, certain tensions crystallized. The effect of exercising loosened control, to make statements such as “I don’t know” or “it hurts me when you. . .,” in plenary was disturbing to a number of directors who felt uncomfortable in this blurred territory of decisionmaking and shared responsibility. Very few opted to resist the change actively, but some did so passively through noncompliance. During the course of 2015–2016, this reactivity was the major cause of tension among a group of directors who felt natural affinity with shared and distributed responsibilities and another group which was drawn to control. The indirect nature of this resistance to changing from the established culture (e.g., glacial-paced reporting lines and embedded responsibilities) meant that the directors only gradually became conscious of the inefficiency these antiquated practices caused. The resistance was indirect, so it was addressed indirectly. In order to create conscious awareness of the differences between the old and the emerging leadership style and to create ownership of, and passion for, new responsibilities, I knew I needed to invite the directors to take part in the new narrative rather than insisting. As a result of the processes utilized in the workshops, which drew on the thinking behind Appreciative Inquiry and the fundamentals of qualitative research (Glaser and Strauss 1967), the four fundamental pillars were

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further defined and discussed. Individual team members who joined the workshops continued to develop different sub-themes together based on passion and function.

Polarization and Parallel Shifts As so often in creative endeavors, I observed movements in opposite directions occurring simultaneously. In a way, I believe this is what led to ultimate coherence: polarization is required for union. Imagine you have a close relationship with a few colleagues. You talk everyday, text, joke, and then at a certain point, there is a tension. They take a different view than yours. You feel unhappy because the basis you’ve trusted seems undone and every email, WhatsApp message, or personal encounter is disconcerting. You can hardly bear it. But, do you suddenly tell them you agree with everything they say to avoid the discomfort? No. And this is why creativity is an often painful process of self-realization. The more you express your true character, the more tension arises with those who are also expressing themselves. But evolving as a leader does not just mean that you are conscious of this rising tension: it means that you know how to live in harmony with and accept it, if not welcome it, as part of the process. In its great cohering motions, life is a poet. It brings together seemingly separate elements to create and discover new meaning. Life moves, creating more of itself in the unlimited space of wholeness (Wheatley and KellnerRogers 1998). As the work progressed and changes were implemented accordingly, two parallel shifts occurred organizationally. One was the decision to increase openness in communication and direct participation by those implicated in decisions, dilemmas, or problems. It meant increasing involvement of those members of staff who reported to the 26 directors, and this quickly led to much greater transparency and agility throughout the organization. Reporting lines and formal decision-making procedures which had been taken for granted for years were acknowledged as old-fashioned and were swiftly abandoned. This development was supported and stimulated by frequent communication from the CEO, who made a point of regularly encouraging everyone to be a leader and to support each other in fulfilling their responsibilities (Grant 2016). A second movement was toward an increase in control and overview as a counterweight to the chaos and havoc that inevitably comes with a merger of this scale. Some were afraid of losing power as they relinquished control, and this fear jeopardized the many operational challenges related to the merger. Specializations in different locations, allocation of surgery theaters, introduction of a central telephone number, digitalization of patient records, negotiating contracts with insurance companies, reinventing relationships with general practitioners, and a vast number of other, intensely demanding, merger-related challenges quickly seemed overwhelming and

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out of control to staff when these issues were not clearly under the close supervision of senior staff. Transparent, frequent, and thorough (but not overwhelming) communication was critical. The response to these developments provided its own challenges. The reaction of many staff was motivated partly by work ethos or the habitual perception of “control = power = success,” but primarily by fear – particularly the fear of losing the faulty idea of control that inherently comes with holding a certain job title. Although no one was overtly against the concept of “everyone is a leader in their own way,” there was a strong, passive resistance which manifested in delay, procrastination, apathy, a lack of communication and openness, and a tendency to say “yes” and do “no.” Active resistance also reared its head in communication and noncompliance. There were even moments of sheer acting out born of a desire to gain control: raised voices, imposed activities, manipulation of events and meetings to attract attention, or to have the last word in a public sphere. Maturity was not always apparent in these actions. Eventually, over the period of about 18 months, these two movements grew into a polarization around leadership acumen. It was now apparent that the look and feel of the new leadership narrative and culture was clearly defined and irrevocable. CEO of Zappos Tony Hsieh describes this moment of truth extremely clearly in an email he sent to his personnel. “We’ve been operating partially under Holacracy and partially under the legacy management hierarchy in parallel for over a year now. Having one foot in one world while having the other foot in the other world has slowed down our transformation towards self-management and self-organisation.” (Greenfield, https://www.fastcompany.com/3044417/zappos-ceo-tony-hsieh-adoptholacracy-or-leave). This was true for this newly merged hospital too. Once the word was out about the stamina of the new leadership model, the transformation sped up significantly. Again, the enduring polarization (and it is at times tedious back and forth between the old and new leadership narratives) had fulfilled an important function. It had actually served to prepare the organization for the inevitable: a change toward an entirely new way of serving clients and each other while providing excellent healthcare. Were it not for the process of open exploration, and the shared experience of grief, joy, and discovery, among more than four thousand employees, selfleadership could never have been embraced so emphatically. However much it might be needed, however right it might seem to be, it would just have been another top-down decision. Instead, it grew through conflict, dialogue, and collective, engaging experience. And it took time. Discovery is not about finding something once and for all, such as a continent or a repressed memory; discovery means continuous awareness (Jironet 2010, 2016). In order to help staff members across the organization to better understand the transient space the merger and its implications for a new leadership narrative had created and provide external affirmation, I introduced them to the tremendously important work of Laloux (2014) whose writing has affinity with the work conducted by Bohm on consciousness and Robertson (2015) who similarly deconstructs bygone notions of processes that slow down organizational effectiveness through advising on how functional themes rather than individualistic ownership can achieve rapid results.

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So, once the discovery and deep realization of self-leadership reached a conscious level of awareness among a majority of the hospital’s employees, it was in turn affirmed and further explored. Ultimately, the entire support system went through an overhaul. “Collaboration is the new competition” resonated from the top down throughout in the organization. In one of our off-sites, the implicit perception of support roles as being less important or valuable was fiercely debated. This led to distinctions among “managers” being abolished in favor of functional teams, which are self-selected smaller groups composed of those whose expertise is needed for optimal performance. The groups have concrete, short-term focus and implement incremental changes that make a difference for the totality. This approach injects energy and confidence into the organization and the various functional teams. The different way of organizing interaction manifests positively not only in larger meetings but also in app groups and personal communication. This demonstrates how essential it is to learn through experience as a confirmation of perception, as well as the power of continuous, ongoing learning. True to its nature, this learning process takes the form of the individual’s choice, be it reading, listening, dialoguing, reflecting, analyzing, assessing, or choosing where to put attention. There is nothing programmatic about it – nobody learns to discover, but rather to recover, recognize, and be reminded of what they already know.

Personal Development as a Precursor to Leadership Development Alongside the movements and shifts which are central to transforming interpersonal and organizational dynamics, the intrapersonal dimension of consciousness development is also critical. What did it take for the CEO to surrender his own power for the benefit of a model which he believed in but had never experienced? Which dilemmas did he encounter, and how were these tackled? Below I highlight a few main themes that reflect his personal process toward a successful merger of two hospitals as well as greater subjective wholeness or individuation. Consciousness may seem too new age, or hippy, or mystical to be taken seriously by CEOs and other senior leaders. However, the top executives who seek my assistance see the importance of consciousness in their role and look to simplify, clarify, learn new ways of thinking, and let go of unwanted emotions which block their judgment. The CEO of the new hospital had an extra advantage: in his thirties, he worked with a Freudian psychoanalyst who took him on as his last patient before retirement. He spent 60 min on the couch, 5 days a week, for 6 years and refers to this period as his most important learning experience. “It cost me everything and it brought me everything. I am so grateful.” This CEO – let’s call him John – now wanted to get his thinking straight around strategy and the planning and processes involved in the merger, as well as to spend time on actively visualizing an embodied image of the new hospital, one that he could carry with purpose and integrity. He also wanted to learn more about intuition and how to tap into it, and he was keen on exercising how to be clear in

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communication, in such a way that the recipient would both understand and accept the message. First we addressed communication, focusing on listening/receiving rather than expressing/sending. John had been the chairman of one of the hospitals and was now the CEO of an organization twice as large with more than double incoming correspondence. He found himself immediately confronted with a challenge: support staff with whom he had previously worked without issue were suddenly overwhelmed and completely inflexible in their approach. John struggled with this, feeling a sense of obligation and indebtedness toward these particular staff and tried numerous means of facilitating growth or change in order to smooth out the experience and change their methodology to reduce stress, mistakes, and miscommunication. Some staff members who showed themselves again and again unwilling to adapt to the new circumstances were eventually let go. It’s hard to act as a strong leader and to live up to the often enormous expectations while feeling torn, doubtful, and vulnerable to critique. Leaders in these kinds of intensely challenging situations often ask the question “why?” “Why is it so difficult for me simply to say thank you and goodbye?” “Why am I so sensitive to others’ opinions?” “Why do I feel bad when she is underperforming?”

For John, the answers were centered around deeply held beliefs on responsibility. Like so many western men at the top, he almost fearfully clung to the conviction that he was responsible for the whole enterprise and everyone’s well-being and happiness. It wasn’t a conscious belief, but when we looked at patterns in dreams, associations, and interrelationships, it became apparent that they formed an important underlying conviction which caused him to automatically seek “to save the situation.” It took courage for John to let go of that conviction. It was the work of wakeful, unattached attention to the interface between habitual consciousness (“I must take full responsibility”) and new consciousness (“nobody can take full responsibility”) which liberated John from a major subjective as well as collective form of consciousness and enabled him to access a new, “third place” in his consciousness. And it proved to have the potential to change everything. It led to the ultimate organizational design and implementation in which everyone is the leader and is fully responsible toward peers, patients, and safe, high-quality healthcare. In order to explore how to manage resistance to change in a big organization, John and I delved into his own resistances and the way these gradually were made available to his consciousness. In the process of doing so, certain elements related to childhood experiences, later relationships, and creativity came up for scrutiny. There was a moment toward an intense session, when he looked up from the chair across, “I’ll do my best. I will. Now I let go. I trust the flow that has started.” Again, personal transformation proved itself to be critical to organizational transformation. Without courage, consciousness, and hard work, both may have failed. Working together with John, the other board members and senior managers in the newly merged organization provided numerous insights into leadership development

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and transformation. Perception is key; for some the merger came as an opportunity, for others as a hassle. Openness or resistance was demonstrated as a result. Dealing with the different, highly personalized, and often fear- or ego-driven responses caused me to reach to my knowledge and experience of Sufi mysticism as well as my training as a Jungian psychoanalyst. Leadership is no longer just a matter of being a boss; new leadership is by definition a simultaneous, transformative experience of consciousness for the individual and the organization. There is simply no other way.

The Imminent Future Is Now There are all kinds of uncertainties and fears that arise when we start looking at changing the way we lead. This is because tinkering with our behavior often taps into deep, long-held beliefs we have about ourselves and the world around us. This psycho-spiritual journey appears terrifying and time consuming, so we write it off as a waste of time and get back to work. However, in the interests of the very existence of humankind right now, with global transformation whirling around our ears and making itself impossible to ignore any longer, this fear, while natural, has to be overcome. As I mentioned above, the time, as always, is now. We cannot sit and wait for consciousness to simply occur spontaneously and imbue leaders, and the organizations and societies they lead, with the wisdom, perspective, and intuitive strength they require to face the challenges with which they are confronted. Leaders at all levels must take active steps toward self-realization – they need to find the courage to relinquish antiquated beliefs and behaviors in order to create space for consciousness and ancient (yet seemingly new) methods for interacting with themselves, others, and the universe itself. It is ironic that this process of letting go of unhelpful past behavior and ways of thinking is something which brings up much fear in many leaders, who are afraid of failure, of rocking the boat, or being viewed as strange. When in fact this, self-realization as a first step to conscious leadership and global transformation, is a deeply liberating and enriching experience – perhaps the most liberating and enriching experience a person can undergo. The more leaders realize this to be the case and delve into the transformative work it requires, the more in flow we will find ourselves with the implicate order and brighter our imminent future will be.

References Alighieri D (1955) The Divine Comedy II: Purgatory. Translation Dorothy Sayers. London. Penguin Classics. Avolio B, Gardner WL (2005) Authentic leadership development: getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. Leadersh Q 16:315–338. Elsevier, Amsterdam Bohm D (1980) Wholeness and the implicate order. Routledge, New York

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