adult development – Page 3

An Integrative Leader Development Framework for the 21st Century

As the rate of change continues to increase exponentially and our lives become more interdependent, complex, and uncertain, humanity needs holistic or integrative frameworks to better understand and respond to the unprecedented demands of the 21st century. These unparalleled demands include threats to our very survival as a species from pressures of climate change, terrorism, water scarcity, food insecurity, poverty and social inequality, political corruption, and economic instability.

Consequently, U.S. philosopher Ken Wilber proposed that any truly integrative or integral view of human and social phenomenon must minimally include the individual subjective/interior, the individual behavioral/exterior, the collective intersubjective/interior, and the collective interobjective/exterior. Borrowing from Wilber’s All Quadrant All Level or AQAL framework, an integrative approach to leader development addresses the individual internal and individual external dimensions while acknowledging the larger context of leadership development and leadership. Thus, in this more expansive context, an integrative leader-development framework must first consider human existence and well-being from a holistic perspective, as well as the insights and learnings from adult-development theory.

Given that leaders are first and foremost human, the foundation of this integrative leader-development framework is a comprehensive view of human existence and well-being or wellness. Wellness is a holistic and proactive view of health that regards humans as beings with physical bodies, mental bodies, emotional bodies, and spiritual bodies embedded in social and natural environments and dependent on a vibrant planet Earth. Wellness also emphasizes the overall quality of life and not solely the absence of disease. Wellness is highly significant to leader development because general wellness supports full and consistent access to current developmental capacities and provides the “fertile ground” necessary for ongoing self-development. Although various models of wellness exist, a general framework includes physical, mental-emotional, financial or material, spiritual, social, and environmental dimensions.

Physical well-being is a core dimension of wellness and generally refers to the capacity to meet the demands and potential crises of ordinary life. When physical health and vitality are compromised, it is more difficult to be one’s best self or tend to other areas of wellness. Physical wellness includes regular exercise or body movement, healthy weight, strength and flexibility, rest and relaxation, and sleep. It also includes one’s food and beverage choices and how they affect one’s overall well-being, including general health, vitality, energy, mood, weight, body-mass index (BMI), and stamina.

Mental-emotional wellness refers to awareness, constructive expression, and healthy integration of thoughts and feelings. Thus, mental-emotional wellness includes numerous areas that are highly relevant to an integrative approach to leader development such as mental attitudes, beliefs, mindsets, thoughts, feelings, personality, shadow, identity, motivation, will, self-awareness, perceptions, and self-regulation. Financial or material wellness refers to having adequate financial or material resources to meet essential basic human needs (e.g., food, potable water, clothing, and shelter) and support the fulfillment of higher needs (e.g., self-actualization).

Spiritual wellness refers to a sense of interconnectedness or relationship to and with all life/Life (immanent and transcendent), as well as a sense of awe and appreciation for the mysteries of life/Life. Furthermore, spiritual (or existential) wellness relates to the meaning and purpose derived from contributing to ideals or causes beyond the self (e.g., justice, peace, and sustainability). Social wellness refers to one’s ability to have and maintain healthy adult relationships in all areas of life (e.g., intimate, family, work, and community). Also, social wellness refers to a sense of belonging in the world as well as the capacity to engage in authentic, skillful, and constructive self-expression and communication. Environmental wellness refers to the overall quality and stability of one’s social and natural environments.

Furthermore, as highlighted in Wilber’s Integral Theory, the physical body can be viewed as three bodies, not one, which is also highly significant in an integrative leader-development framework. The three bodies are the gross body, the subtle body, and the causal body. The gross body or actual physical body includes all aspects of the body we typically think about—our skin, bones, muscles, systems, organs, tissues, cells, blood, etc.

The subtle body includes energies of the life force associated with human existence. Wilber’s AQAL associates the subtle body with dream states where earthly laws disintegrate. However, the energies of the subtle body are not limited to sleeping states. They are activated and alive in times of vision, inspiration, and creativity. Thus, although still not formally recognized by Western physiology, growing appreciation for and acceptance of subtle energies enlivens our being, as found in Eastern healing and religious traditions such as tai chi, yoga, and Hinduism. Furthermore, as other leadership writers have emphasized (e.g., Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz, 2005 and Bruce Schneider, 2008), leaders who understand the role of subtle body energies will increase their potential for effectiveness, especially in the turbulent times of the 21^st century.

The third body, the causal body aligns with deep sleep and an infinite openness, stillness, and formlessness or the Ground of Being. This is the body or state that the great mystics of the ages speak of, as expressed in the poem, “Expands His Being,” by Meister Eckhart (1260–1328):

All beings are words of God,
His music, His art.
Sacred books we are, for the infinite camps in our souls.
Every act reveals God and expands His Being.
I know that may be hard to comprehend.
All creatures are doing their best
to help God in His birth of Himself.
Enough talk for the night.
He is laboring in me;
I need to be silent for a while,
worlds are forming in my heart.
—In Love Poems from God (Ladinsky, 2002)

Thus, the three human bodies—gross, subtle, and causal—are highly relevant to this integrative leader-development framework, as addressed further throughout this book.

Note: This essay is an excerpt from my book, “Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders” available on Amazon. An audiobook version is also available on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon.

Motivated into Constructive Action by Crises: One of Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders

When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity. John F. Kennedy

As emphasized in the management literature, employees frequently resist organizational change for a variety of reasons to include fear of the unknown. As we all know from our own lives, resistance to change also occurs on the individual level as well as the organizational level. Consequently, individuals and collectives tend to be more open to learning and growth opportunities when they are faced with a personal or professional crisis. When a personal and professional crisis propels a leader to move into unknown territory in and through constructive action, it can serve as a transformative learning opportunity.

Transformative learning occurs when radically new experiences induce a tectonic shift in perspective in the way one views him/herself, others, and the world. Longtime leadership scholar and author, Warren Bennis refers to these types of transformative events as crucibles. He and co-author Robert Thomas wrote in their seminal article on the topic that highly effective leaders are the people who can find meaning in and learn from their most painful and difficult crucibles. Such leaders emerge from the ashes more confident, strong, and more committed to the things that deeply matter to them.

Effective leaders that use their crucibles as learning opportunities have growth mindsets. In her work on mindsets, Carol Dweck makes the distinction between fixed and growth mindsets. Leaders with fixed mindsets view themselves and others as being born with a limited amount of capacity and potential for learning. Thus, the emphasis is on protecting their image and proving themselves. From the fixed mindset, failure is feared and avoided at all costs.

In stark contrast, leaders with growth mindsets hold the view that they and others can build upon the capacities they with which they were born. They see failure as a natural and welcomed dimension of learning and development. Leaders with a growth mindset also know that success does not simply happen to them. They celebrate that success (as they define it) requires passion, effort, training, and yes, failure. The growth mindset is illustrated in the stories shared by the mindful leaders interviewed for my 2015 study (insert link).

At the time, I was really struggling with depression and anxiety, and it had been recommended for me to take that (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) class. And the unexpected side effect was the really powerful impact of helping me create a daily mindfulness practice, which for me is a combination of meditation, daily taking time out for just mindfulness moments, trying to do things in general, everything I do, more mindfully, being more aware of it. (Female middle manager and marketing researcher)

But in terms of my more recent delving into it (mindfulness), it’s been maybe about 3 years, 2 and a half to 3 years where I’ve been seriously getting into meditation, and to be perfectly honest with you, what prompted me was my wife’s illness and being able to get myself to a place of being able to deal with and handle that. The self-awareness, the centeredness, the calm, the ability to sort of control the uncontrolled, I think were the more attractive things about it and just not only that, the relieving of stress was one of the things that attracted me to it, ‘cause I was undergoing a lot of stress and I felt like I needed to get a handle on it. I exercise, I walk, I do those things, but you know, I felt that there was a, maybe a better way to attain that, I think, so yeah. (Male senior manager and administer in higher education)

Thus, leaders yearning to be and become more self-aware and effective turn their crises into opportunities for constructive action. By choosing growth mindsets over fixed mindsets, they open themselves to unforeseen possibilities that alter their lives in powerful and profound ways. So, next time you face a personal or professional crisis, follow the lead of mindful leaders who turned their crises into opportunities to turn inward and experiment with mindfulness meditation and other transformative practices.

Note: This essay is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders by Denise Frizzell, Ph.D. Denise offers leadership and organizational coaching and consulting for spiritual activists, evolutionaries, progressive change agents and their organizations. Visit https://metamorphosisconsultation.com/schedule-a-coaching-appointment/ to schedule a FREE 20-30 minutes exploratory session.

Greater Self-Other Empathy and Compassion: One of Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders

We need the compassion and the courage to change the conditions that support our suffering. Those conditions are things like ignorance, bitterness, negligence, clinging, and holding on. Sharon Salzberg

Jane Dutton and Monica Worline’s book on compassion in the workplace, Awakening Compassion at Work, offers a helpful lens in which to think about the significance of our seventh developmental theme of mindful leaders, self-other empathy and compassion. They equate empathy with compassion, the feeling of “suffering with” another person in a way that emotionally connects and elicits a compassionate response. It is important to note that self-compassion is an essential element of empathy and compassion toward others as it is extremely difficult to give to others that which you do not give to yourself.

Dutton and Worline’s research indicates that employees who experience empathy and compassion from managers-leaders and the organizational context via culture, climate, structure, etc. feel seen and affirmed in their pain and thus bounce back more quickly with increasing satisfaction and organizational commitment. Furthermore, employees have more constructive emotions in the workplace while exhibiting more supportive behavior toward other stakeholders. Therefore, the growing empathy and compassion of mindful leaders act as a positive contagion in the workplace on the employee and organizational levels as illustrated in the following narratives.

Another thing is just a kind of emotional empathy. Like I think I’m much better able to read emotional states. I’m still working on that, but a lot of times I can very quickly pick up on, ‘Oh, this person is distraught right now. I can’t really come down on them about some technical question. I need to, like, address their personal issues.’ And, so that empathy is, again, something that builds very naturally. (Male middle manager and professor)

I’ve used mindful self-compassion prior to some very difficult conversations that I’ve had to have with team members. Sometimes performance improvement kinds of conversations. And looking at how can I as a leader be as empathetic as possible when I’m delivering, say, a complaint that’s been shared by a patient or a family member or even an employee to an employee kind of thing. (Male middle manager in the healthcare industry)

It is different now. I mean now, it is part of my life and I have gained so much wisdom along the way and I have noticed so much about myself which helps me see in that in other people. I can see when other people are stuck in the stress cycle and I am not taking it personally. I am able to bring some compassion to them and some kindness and help calm them even though they don’t know I am doing that. So we come to a space where we can problem solve together. (Female entrepreneur and former healthcare senior executive)

Some of us may not view empathy and compassion as significant qualities of organizational managers-leaders or for our workplaces. However, the mindful leaders in my 2015 study, as well as a growing body of research to include the work of Wolin and Dutton, indicate differently. These two lines of scholarship (mindful and compassionate leadership) demonstrate that being able to “stand in another’s shoes” and see as they see and feel as they feel, enhances the subjective states of both the manager-leader and the direct report as it relates to how they feel toward one another and toward their organization. Furthermore, as highlighted above, such positive inner states ripple outward and favorably impact the larger culture, climate, and performance levels.

Note: This essay is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders by Denise Frizzell, Ph.D. Denise offers leader/leadership and organizational coaching and consulting for progressive change agents and organizations. Visit https://metamorphosisconsultation.com/schedule-a-coaching-appointment/ to schedule a FREE 20-30 minutes exploratory session.

Greater Inner Calm and Peace: One of Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders

There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace? Peace Pilgrim

Pink lotus flower on a pond While the term spiritual is used in different ways, I often use the term to refer to a sense of relatedness or connectedness to others, life, and all that is and ever shall be (i.e., God, Spirit, Source, Allah, etc.). Also, my use of the term spiritual includes finding meaning and purpose in a way that contributes or benefits others or life beyond the self.

Cindy Wigglesworth, in her 2014 book, SQ 21: The 21 Skills of Spiritual Intelligence, expands this working definition to include a sense of inner calm and peace regardless of circumstances, internal or external while also having a sense of relatedness to life in all its diverse expressions. Wigglesworth proposed that spiritual intelligence (SQ), along with intelligence quotient (IQ), emotional intelligence (EQ), and physical/kinesthetic intelligence, is a core intelligence for living a healthy and fulfilling life in the 21st century.

Wigglesworth’s proclamation about the essential nature of SQ in the 21st century is highly significant for individual leaders and organizations given that the topic of spirituality is often undiscussable in the work environment. Interestingly, the mindful leaders in my 2015 study identified the dimension of SQ, greater inner calm and peace, as well as the increased capacity to tolerate uncertainty (Theme 10) as a result of their mindfulness practice as demonstrated in the following narratives.

It’s interesting, through a downsizing, I started practicing (mindfulness meditation) formally, approximately 2, 2 and a half years ago, almost 3. In the middle of that time period, we had a major reshuffle or reorganization by my employer, so my role expanded in size by about 40 to 50% of what it was previously. So we had two smaller departments, the two were merged and became one super department. We still had the same amount of hours in a day to get the work done, still the same amount of limited resources, however, I found that that through mindfulness I’m able to better handle and focus on the different tasks that are coming at me at any given time. I’m able to free my mind to keep that calm atmosphere and a particular focus on the paths [projects] given, and I’m also able to complete more tasks in a more timely manner. (Male middle manager working in higher education in New Zealand)

I think too there’s a sense of peace you get when you meditate. It really is a stress reducer and anxiety reducer. And, I don’t know if you [have to] do (experience) that necessarily….but it’s a really nice byproduct that I think allows you to be a better leader. (Female middle manager and marketing researcher)

Oh, there is a much bigger sense of calm for me because there is time. There isn’t as much frantic energy being expended. It is a lot more–softer. It’s not a hard push. There is an acceptance, a peace around it that I know the resolution will come. Let’s just give it the time and the opportunity and staying with it. (Female senior manager in information technology).

Perhaps, we can borrow from Peace Pilgrim’s quote at the beginning of this essay and extrapolate that the criterion by which you can determine if a developmental practice is right for you is: Has it brought you greater inner calm and peace? For the 20 mindful leaders in this 2015 study, the answer is yes and perhaps unbeknownst to them, all the while cultivating spiritual intelligence!

Self-Awareness: A Developmental Theme of Mindful Leaders

Portrait Artist's Studio “Self-aware leaders are attuned to their inner signals. They recognize, for instance, how their feelings affect themselves and their job performance. Instead of letting anger build into an outburst, they spot it as it crescendos and can see both what’s causing it and how to do something constructive about it.” Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, & Annie McKee in Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence

An ancient teaching of philosophy and the wisdom traditions to, “know thyself” speaks to the significance of leader self-awareness, an element of emotional intelligence (EQ). EQ represents a developmental concept, supported by a weighty body of research, that examines “how should I feel about this?”

The interest in EQ has been growing in popularity and influence since 1995 when Daniel Goleman published his seminal book based primarily on the research findings of scholars, Peter Salovey and John Mayer. Since that time, thousands of research papers and hundreds of books on the topic have been published. While a trendy and popular topic of the leadership literature for years, EQ and its four elements (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, social management) are as relevant today, if not more so, when it comes to leader effectiveness in our ever increasing VUCA environment.

The good news is that the ten developmental themes that emerged from my research (and my experience as a meditation practitioner for the last seven years) reinforce the growing understanding that mindfulness meditation can and does cultivate self-awareness and EQ in general. Without self-awareness, leaders are inclined to react from unconscious habitual patterns of thought, word, and actions (i.e., blind spots) that often have negative impacts on the work environment. The more blind spots leaders have, the more at risk they are for costly missteps.

Greater self-awareness provides the “inner-space” one needs to notice sensations and see thoughts arising within and to choose a constructive response over a destructive reaction. Expanding self-awareness also typically evolves into the capacity to comprehend more complexity, which naturally involves a transition toward a more inclusive self-identity. Consequently, greater self-awareness translates into more intentional leading and living over time as illustrated in voices of these mindful leaders.

So, it (mindfulness practice) has helped me to notice how I am in relationship and how I come across. It has helped me to continue to refine how I am with others so that I can work better with people. It has helped me to manage conflict with people when there is conflict. It’s helped me to just kind of have a better sense of my strengths and weaknesses and how to bring that into meetings and working with the team. (Female middle manager in the personal-development industry)

So through self-awareness, I take a bigger picture approach, so I’m more open to what they (more senior leaders) are wanting to achieve and I can see the bigger context of why decisions are made. And in direct relationship experiences with superiors, I find that I’m more…probably more balanced, more open to discussion as well and having more confidence in myself and belief in my ability as a leader and manager of a group then I can integrate with persons of a higher authority and I’m not feeling challenged or inferior. I can see, not necessarily as an equal in status or rank, but an equal as a person to person kind of thing…discussing the ideas and then making it happen, so that’s been a definite change in me. (Male administrator higher education)

Thus, mindful leaders are more attuned to their inner worlds through growing self-awareness that makes a positive and powerful difference not only in their formal leadership roles but in all areas of their lives. This developmental theme of mindful leaders and the nine others that emerged from my research, as well as my own life-experience, support the transformative potential of mindfulness meditation. So, what are you waiting for? Try mindfulness meditation for yourself and begin reaping the developmental fruits associated with an active, consistent, and persistent practice (i.e., the path of mindfulness meditation is a PATH, a very rich one, but it is not a quick fix).

Note: This essay is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders by Denise Frizzell, Ph.D.

Commitment to the (Mindfulness Meditation) Practice: A Developmental Theme of Mindful Leaders

young man exercising yoga

Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose – and commit myself to – what is best for me. Paulo Coelho in The Zahir

Modern neuroscience is illuminating humanity’s understanding of the nervous system including the human brain and the evolutionary discovery that the human adult brain has a quality of neuroplasticity, the ability to change. This ability to change permits rewiring of the neural pathways or circuits established by longtime habitual cognitive-emotional-behavioral patterns throughout the entire lifespan.

It is difficult to emphasize the significance of this finding (and numerous others), because it undercuts a paradigm historically held by scientists and mental health professionals that the human brain becomes “hardwired” in childhood. Thankfully, humans can and do rewire our brains and form new habits throughout our lives which is extremely good news for individuals, organizations, and humanity’s collective future!

Despite the good news of neuroplasticity, we all know that changing longtime habitual patterns is not easy. This is in part due to our highly efficient human brains that naturally seek to conserve energy by autopiloting repetitive thoughts-emotions-action loops so as to free up cognitive capacity for new, creative, and more complex endeavors.

However, a growing body of scientific findings on meditation and the brain indicate that practices such as mindfulness meditation support the replacement of self-defeating habits with more constructive habits (to include meditation itself!) while also facilitating structural changes that enhance well-being. The mindful leaders in my 2015 doctorate study demonstrated the capacity of the adult brain to rewire neural pathways and form development-oriented habits through a commitment to their mindfulness practice as depicted in the following example.

And when I don’t practice, I miss it. I long for it, and I feel, it helps being married, having a barometer [laughs] that lives with you. Who says, ‘Has it been a couple of days since you sat?’ ‘Or a couple of weeks, perhaps?’ You know, ‘What’s going on?’ And, usually he doesn’t have to say that. Usually just my own reactivity speaks to me, his responses to me speak to me that show me that I’m off base. And I do miss it and it was profound for me when I realized that meditation is like food. It’s nurturing. So, there’s no longer the hammer of a should, if I don’t practice there will be negative consequences. It’s more that I really long for my own sanity I think.

Thus, the mindful leaders studied appear to be experiencing the fruits of their practices and the promise of neuroplasticity. They are freeing themselves from unproductive habitual patterns and choosing new constructive habits for better (and more sane) lives to include commitment to their meditation practices. For more information on the good news of neuroplasticity and additional (r)evolutionary findings in the realm of neuroscience and meditation, check out “Buddha’s Brain” by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.

This essay is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, Ten Developmental Themes of Mindful Leaders by Denise Frizzell, PhD, Holistically-Oriented Transformative Coaching and Management Consulting (http://www.metamorphosisconsultation.com).

Revised 7/12/2017

Ego Inflation: The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership

Americans tend to have a fascination with charismatic leaders. They can awe and wow us with their apparent confidence and boldness. We may equate such boldness and swagger with some type of super- human power that we lack. Consequently, our inner child may experience a tug or pull to give our power to the charismatic leader. We may reason that with such confidence surely he or she knows more than I do. Furthermore, we may reason, that if they know more than I do, perhaps they can protect me from the evils of the world.

Unfortunately, some charismatic leaders may welcome our immature fantasies. Such charismatic leaders believe that they are special, more capable, and more intelligent than others are. They may also believe that this specialness entitles them to say and do whatever they want to say and do, and others will fall in step regardless of the unlawfulness, immorality and insanity of their propositions. Minimally, this type of distortion represents ego inflation (narcissism, a clinical personality disorder, is a more severe expression of this phenomenon), the dark side of charismatic leadership.

Charismatic leaders under the spell of ego inflation have a highly distorted sense of self. They cannot see any of their flaws or shortcomings. Furthermore, fear fuels the inflated ego as everyone and everything is a potential threat to its grandiosity. The inflated ego cares only about protecting itself and getting what it wants at all costs. It is blind to the carnage in leaves behind in its wake.

We might expect an inner warning signal to go off when we encounter the dark side of the charismatic leader. However, if we are not healthy, mature, and confident in our being, our inner child is vulnerable to the seduction of the charismatic leader. In his seminal book, Escape from Freedom, Erich Fromm (1900-1980) proposed that the thought of real freedom, freedom to choose, create, and live one’s life, frightened people more than inspired them. It appears some of us may long for a perpetual childhood where others tell us what to do and when. When we do, we refuse to accept responsibility for our lives or the state of our world. Instead, we would much rather blame some “evil” other for our misery. Unfortunately, there are people who will gladly take our power and claim that he or she alone can save us or fix it all.

Confidence and self-esteem are essential elements of leadership. They allow us to embrace our strengths and take stands for what we care most about in our lives. This confidence and self-esteem are necessary for effective leaders as well as healthy adult maturation. However, BEWARE of the charismatic leader with a highly inflated ego, who has lost touch with reality and is willing to do everything and anything to protect its fragile identity. We know from our life experiences and history that this type of leader is dangerously destructive to his or herself, the people with who they live and work, and potentially to America and our world.

Leadership, Gun Violence in America, and the Necessity of a Global Mindshift

Illustration of world map in human head, vector

These last few weeks have me dazed and confused. No doubt, we live in uncertain and complex times. It seems that life, as we know it is in a major state of flux and flurry. We face unprecedented challenges to our quality of life and the lives of future generations such as global climate change, gun violence, growing inequality, global terrorism, and mass extinction of species, just to name a few.

Given the scale of our collective challenges, leaders are called to “show up” with their gifts, talents, and resources and ask, “How can I contribute to real solutions that address the global challenges most concerning and meaningful to me? Real leadership and real solutions call us into our higher natures. It does not separate, rouse hate against some “evil other,” nor play to our animalistic fears. Consequently, real leadership and real solutions necessitate a global mindshift, because underlying all our mayhem is a separation consciousness that operates from an either/or mindset.

As Einstein and many others have stated, we cannot and will not solve our most pressing challenges with the same thinking that created them. Consequently, solving our most urgent global challenges requires a global mindshift to more holistic thinking and acting. However, holistic or integral thinking does not mean that everything is equal. It requires movement from either/or thinking to both/and thinking as well as discernment of breadth and depth.

Ideally, as highlighted by American philosopher Ken Wilber and numerous other thought leaders (e.g., Warren Bennis) a holistic or integral mindset needs to include the individual “I” or subjective, the collective “we” or cultural, and the collective “it” or systems (social and natural) dimensions. Leaders have a unique opportunity and responsibility to help midwife this essential global mindshift at every level of society. While there are numerous areas demanding more holistic thinking, for this essay, I would like to focus on one critical issue on many hearts and minds, gun violence.

Gun violence tragedies are ravaging our lives in increasing numbers. Approximately 30,000 Americans die from gun violence annually (www.americansforresponsiblesolutions.org). A holistic or integral mindset would require questions and solutions from the four basic areas highlighted above. For example, possible questions include:

The individual “I”: How do individuals cultivate ethical sensibilities? What role do identity and human consciousness play in gun violence? What role might contemplative practices play in helping people thrive in a changing and uncertain world? How can individuals increase capacity for peaceful conflict resolution? What type of capacities do people need to live peacefully in uncertain times? What is true security? What role does fear play in gun ownership? How does a person decide if he/she needs a gun? If one decides that he/she needs a gun, how does one decide what type of gun?
The collective “we” or cultural space: What role does the prevalence of violence in our movies, music, video games, television shows, books, etc. have on our gun violence crisis? How do we continue to heal our cultural wounds of racism?
The collective “it” or systems space: What would responsible gun reform public policy look like? How do we hold our elective officials responsible for upholding all of the Constitution—protecting our right to bear arms, providing for the common defense and promoting our general welfare? How do we continue to right the systemic wrongs of racial discrimination, inequality, and poverty? How do we ensure that our elected officials put our (the public) interest over corporate interests? How do we address growing inequality in America?

Gun violence in America is a complex and difficult issue, and I do not claim any expertise here. However, like many Americans, I am deeply troubled by our current gun violence crisis, and I offer these questions as a starting point. Furthermore, I yearn for real leadership and real solutions on this issue, which I propose will only come about through a global mindshift to more holistic thinking and acting.

Consequently, 21st century leadership requires a global mindshift from either/or thinking to BOTH/AND thinking. Sounds good, but how do leaders go about making this type of perspectival shift? This is THE question of personal transformation for which there are no easy and definitive answers. However, we start where we are and begin the transformative journey toward psychological maturation or self-actualization and awakening (please see the essay, Waking, Up, Growing, Up, and Showing Up). There are numerous transformative practices, East and West, to help facilitate this global mindshift. However, presently meditation is the most evidence-based transformative practice available. Furthermore, the power of meditation is enhanced with a wellness lifestyle that honors body, mind, spirit in self, society, and nature. Yes, this is a tenuous and lifelong journey, but it promises to be the greatest adventure one will ever take!

Revised 1/13/20

The Leadership Imperative: Waking Up, Growing Up, and Showing Up

Conceptual keyboard - Wake up (green key with smiley symbol) The prolific American philosopher and Integral theorist, Ken Wilber, is fond of stating that Integral Theory (his noteworthy contribution toward a “theory of everything” ) is ultimately about waking up, growing up, and showing up. The direct, simple, and profound truth of his statement deeply resonates with me in my personal journey and as a leadership scholar and consultant who views this (i.e., waking up, growing up, and showing up) as the leadership imperative of the 21^st century.

Waking up speaks to the urgent need for leaders to reconnect with their spiritual nature or essence. As spiritual teachers gently remind us, we are spiritual beings having a human experience not human beings with an occasional spiritual experience. However, for a variety of reasons including our fast-paced and highly stimulated lives, many of us have lost connection with this deeper dimension of our being. The spiritual realm of human experience concerns our ultimate nature and relationship to self, all sentient beings (people and creatures), our planet, and all that is—seen and unseen for which there are many names (e.g., Spirit, God, Jehovah, Allah, Goddess, Universe, Source, etc.). Consequently, the leadership imperative to wake-up involves slowing down and quieting the mind to befriend one’s innate wisdom, the still small voice that knows who you really are. This reunion requires ongoing cultivation and nurturing. Thankfully, there are many spiritual practices such as meditation and prayer to support our continued awakening. Spirituality and Practice (www.spiritualityandpractice.com ) is an excellent resource containing practices from many different traditions.

Growing up refers to the leadership imperative for psychological and emotional maturity. While I certainly do not make any claims here (or in any realm of this imperative), over the last six years, I have wholeheartedly contemplated what it means to be a healthy and mature human being. In so doing, I have engaged in deep personal work (e.g., meditation, self-observation, coaching, counseling, etc.), and read numerous related books (e.g., The Places that Scare You by Pema Chödrön, Guide to Rational Living by Ellis & Harper, and I’m Okay, You’re Okay by T. Harris). Consequently, I have come to see that one key element of being and becoming a healthier and mature adult and leader is accepting full and complete responsibility for one’s life. It also includes the difficult work of facing one’s shadow (see essay, Leader Self-Development and The Necessity of Shadow Work). While personal responsibility and shadow work take courage, patience, and compassion, it is at the heart of growing up.

Lastly, but certainly not least, showing up. Showing up (what leaders tend to do best!) refers to the imperative to be and become part of the solution to the numerous unprecedented global challenges that threaten the quality of our lives and the lives of future generations. These challenges (e.g., terrorism, climate change, economic uncertainty, gun violence, etc.) call leaders to access more of their potential (through ongoing inner work) then to show up as their unique authentic selves to contribute real solutions to humanity’s global challenges.

The leadership imperative of the 21^st century—waking up, growing up, and showing up. What do you think? I think it sounds a little scary. However, American Buddhist nun and author, Pema Chödrön, encourages folks to start the inner journey where they are. This is good advice, advice, which I will heed as I clumsily walk this path called my life and accept this invitation, however imperfectly. Will you join me?

(Revised and reposted 6/17/2016. Previous version posted on former blog, Paradigms4Progress).

Mindfulness Meditation: A Path to More Conscious Living and Leading

Mindfulness-Meditation-Toronto-Bay-Street-chinese-young-manager-meditating As mindfulness meditation grows in popularity, more people are beginning to realize that meditation is not what they thought. Actually, I was one of those people. In April-June 2010, I completed introductory meditation courses with the Boston Shambhala Center and the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program, with The Center of Mindfulness affiliated with UMass Medical School in Worcester, MA. Since that time I have had a regular sitting practice. While I still see myself as a beginner, I have noticed significant changes in how I see and relate to my own thoughts, feelings, and life experiences as well as other people and the world. Thus, I see tremendous value in starting and maintaining mindfulness meditation as a path to more conscious living and leading.

The primary difference I have noticed since starting the practice is the mental space it has given me, which has allowed me to start (notice, I stated, start—smile) responding to situations in a more constructive manner. I readily admit to being a self-help book connoisseur. I am also a lay student of psychology. Prior to starting my sitting practice, intellectually, I was able talk about “moments of awareness” and the “gap” or space between stimulus and response where one has the freedom to choose. However, the gap eluded me, and I frequently (particularly in difficult situations) reacted out of habitual patterns such as defensiveness even though I deeply desired to respond in a more constructive way.

As evidence by a plethora of magazine articles, news stories, blog essays, and books on the topic, there is a growing interest in the West in mindfulness meditation practices frequently associated with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Vipassana (or Insight) meditation, and Zen Buddhist meditation. This growing interest is not surprising given the mounting research findings indicating extensive beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation on mental health and well-being, physical health, self-regulation and interpersonal behavior.

As highlighted in the expanding body of mindfulness literature (including my doctorate research), through the process of intentionally focusing nonjudgmental awareness on the contents of mind, the mindfulness (meditation) practitioner begins to strengthen ‘the observing self’. By cultivating the capacity to witness emotional states, practitioners begin freeing themselves from habitual patterns in a way that enhances self-regulation and fosters conscious living. My life experience and research affirms this conclusion which is what the Eastern traditions (and some Western contemplative traditions) have been teaching for over 2,000 years.

Meditation…. it is not what you think! If you are tired of living out the same old tired scripts, then I invite you to choose to live more consciously by starting a mindfulness meditation practice. Before you start, I highly encourage you to get instruction from a trained and seasoned mindfulness meditation instructor. The technique is simple; however, if not executed properly you might as well be surfing the Internet.

(Revised and reposted from former Paradigms 4 Progress blog May 2016)

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