leadership Tag

 Heeding the Call to Transformation  There are many catalysts for conscious transformation. For many individuals and for organizations, the call to transformation can be related to a particular moment or event. For others, transformation may be a process of small steps leading to some moment when the way of conducting business is no longer viable. It can involve positive, life-affirming openings, often thought of as epiphanies or breakthroughs. More likely, the greatest portal for transformation is a painful or disruptive experience; something that upsets the steady state of everyday experience. “Business as usual” no longer fills the needs of the company...

Examine Your Core Assumptions Examining our core assumptions and worldviews is vital to the creation of business as a transformative practice. This includes the analysis of our core images for work and business. As noted in a report called "Changing Images of Man," written several decades ago by Willis Harman and his colleagues at SRI International: Images of humankind that are dominant in a culture are of fundamental importance because they underlie the ways in which the society shapes its institutions, educates its young, and goes about whatever it perceives its business to be. Changes in these images are of particular concern...

Developing New Habits Transformative practices are central to moving from the call to personal and professional change to the development of new and sustainable habits and patterns of behavior. In this way, business can become a transformative practice with the right conditions. As we have learned from neuroscience, our brains lay down neural pathways based on repetitive experiences. If these pathways are associated with dysfunctional behaviors, we may find ourselves facing a crisis of meaning and purpose. Historically it was thought that brains are not capable of change as we move into adulthood. But outdated behaviors that limit personal growth and development need...

Expanding Worldviews For nearly two decades, I have engaged in research on worldview transformations. Working with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, we have systematically explored the dynamics of transformation. These include the identification of catalysts for worldview shifts, the elements of transformational practices shared across diverse spiritual and psychological traditions, and the outcomes and consequences of conscious worldview transformations for individuals and social institutions, including science, education and healthcare. Worldview transformation practices have been seen to increase self-reflection, personal and social awareness, cultural competence, innovation, resilience, collaborative inquiry, collective problem solving, and prosocial behaviors such as compassion and empathy (Schlitz et al.,...

 Taking the Hit as a Gift Within every culture throughout history, people have developed modes of economic exchange. Today, business is the dominant institution in the world. Engaging in business encompasses a vital flow of commerce, global exchange, means of livelihood, and the lifeblood of many people who define themselves through their work. Business is a common denominator in our complex and interconnected world. It is also an institution that is experiencing profound transformation that is shaking everyone’s worldview. This is the first in a series of blogs about the application of research on transformative practices on the development of conscious...