1 / 25

THE IMPACT OF MEDITATION IN LIVES OF SILICON VALLEY LEADERS

Focus. How Varied Meditation Practices Become Integrated Into Lives of Business LeadersThe Sequence of LearningThe Impact of the practices. Context: An Elective Seminar Executive Development. The Group Reported On500 Working Professional MBAsAverage Age 34Religiously DiverseDivided Equally

jayme
Download Presentation

THE IMPACT OF MEDITATION IN LIVES OF SILICON VALLEY LEADERS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

    1. THE IMPACT OF MEDITATION IN LIVES OF SILICON VALLEY LEADERS Andre L. Delbecq, J. Thomas and Kathleen McCarthy University Professor Santa Clara University August 12, 2010

    2. Focus How Varied Meditation Practices Become Integrated Into Lives of Business Leaders The Sequence of Learning The Impact of the practices

    3. Context: An Elective Seminar Executive Development The Group Reported On 500+ Working Professional MBAs Average Age 34 Religiously Diverse Divided Equally - Men and Women High Achieving Scientific, Engineering, Functional Mgrs. 350 Senior Executives Average Age 55 Technology (1/3) and Health Care (2/3) Directors, Vice-Presidents, CEOs, Trustees

    4. Science Based Business Cultures At best unleashes creativity in a decentralized, loosely-coupled, self-directed business culture At worst is a destructive stew of greed, opportunism and activism Dangerous Place for the Psychologically/Spiritually Immature

    5. First Discipline: Presence Meditation Importance of Being Present to “Now” Centeredness Visual/Breath A New Experience to Multi-tasking Managers

    6. Participant Reactions “This puts me outside my comfort zone” “I discovered life does not begin in the future but now” “I now see multi-tasking as getting in the way of connecting with others” “I have lived in a world of fears, obsessions and addictions. Part of the answer has to be to be present so I can listen to God in the Now”

    7. Second Meditation: Light and Darkness in Organization Provider of Products and Services Place Where Talents Enabled Locus of Community Impact on Justice/Injustice Steward of Resources Areas of Darkness/Light From Comparative to Contributive

    8. Participant Reactions “I focused on contributing to organizational light and found my day more rewarding” “I have longed for a sense of purpose and now see it is both received and can be offered” “My relationship with God has been deteriorating as I separated my spiritual life from my work” “If I am going to give that much of myself to work it needs to have purpose and meaning” “The problem has not been my work but my approach to it”

    9. The Unfolding Spiritual Journey: Cycles(Stages) Conversion Answering a call to spiritual deepening and service Purification Admission of and dealing with brokenness Illumination Glimpsing the transcendent in the everyday Unification Living continuously in the presence of the transcendent

    10. Conversion Already Discussed Opening to the “Inner Voice” Beckoning The Leader To Live in New Awareness The Desire for Meaning and Integration

    11. Purification Acknowledging the Messes in our Lives And Turning to the Mystery That Bears a Thousand Names For Healing The Alternative Blaming Others Accepting the False Self

    12. Purification-cont. “It has been a rare thing for me to think of others. My drive toward success has dominated my life. As a consequence of my self-centeredness I am in a self-imposed isolated space. I need to change my ways.”

    13. Purification-cont. I confess my ethics have been warped during the economic boom. “After my meditation I prayed for guidance to regain the purity of purpose I once possessed for my engineering work”

    14. Purification - cont. “In my meditation I felt I could not see beyond my immature actions and selfish petty ambitions. I realize it is myself that is the source of darkness. I now want to be a source of light at work the way I was earlier in my employment.”

    15. Purification-cont. Holding back, procrastinating, daydreaming, avoiding involvement - these are the ways I protect myself from the pain of failure. But of course, I am also cutting myself off from the joy of putting my heart into my work.”

    16. Confronting Darkness - Changing Behavior Purification does not stop with simply recording, complaining about or acknowledging personal darkness at work. The movement is for participants to change their leadership behavior.

    17. Illumination In the Christian tradition: Ability to see God in creation and the daily Movement away from self centeredness toward serving others

    18. Illumination-cont. “I started seeing the hundreds, thousands of connections to all the people in business and government every day touched by our products and services. I was almost overwhelmed with the magnitude of our mission, the impacts that we have that I have not been conscious of. I realized I need this awareness to sustain me through the day to day struggles at work.”

    19. Illumination - cont. “I have changed my outlook on my job. I am no longer simply a program manager, but rather an enabler of collaboration and communication. I help others see how valuable they are and how their work helps society as a whole.”

    20. Illumination - cont. “I now complete my work without complaint and in a positive manner. I help my work team to become more of a family. Life is not always filled with champagne and flowers, but I foresee a future at work with greater meaning because it is a form of service”

    21. Illumination - Humility as Litmus Test “I have chosen to enter my own data. Humbling I can tell you. I say a silent prayer asking forgiveness for the times in the past when I expressed irritation to the data entry person asking “Why can’t you have this by…. Now I put my own “regal” fingers to the keyboard and know why.”

    22. Integrating Practices Into the Busy Leadership Day Beginning the Day with “Emptiness” Practice The temptation from gifts Entering the Workplace With Consciousness of Purpose Aware of Light and Darkness Re-Centering Before Each Major Task Mindfullness, Presence Engaging the “Examen” Upon Leaving Avoiding Repression/Obsession Spiritual Reading in Spirit of “Lectio” In Evening

    23. No Compulsion Regarding Form “Who would want to do sitting meditation after an eight hour flight sitting in Frankfurt Awaiting the Transfer?” “Lectio” at Jackson Hole using nature

    24. Conclusion A Variety of Meditation Practices Introduced and Later Incorporated Into the Leadership Day Resultant Spiritual Growth Interpreted Through the Lens of Stages or Cycles Significant Shift in Self-Reported Satisfaction With Leadership Role Significant Impact on Collegial Relations, Productivity, Satisfaction.

    25. Thank You Andre L. Delbecq, J. Thomas and Kathleen McCarthy University Professor Santa Clara University adelbecq@scu.edu (408) 554-4629

More Related