11] The Impact of Meditation Practices in the Daily Life of Silicon Valley Leaders
Andre L. Delbecq
Earlier chapters focused in detail on specific contemplative practices, elaborating on their spiritual and psychological character as well as impacts on individual growth and functioning. The purpose in this chapter is to share how a group of varied practices become integrated into the lives of business leaders in Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley has a unique culture familiar to those who read the business press. Fast moving, entrepreneurial, innovation driven, wired, hectic, and internationally linked, it is a frenzied intersection of engineering, science, business acumen, and entrepreneurship. At its best the Valley is a place that unleashes the human spirit through a culture of decentralization and empowerment, enabling creative development of products and services for humankind.1 At its worst, the Valley can be a destructive stew laced with greed, opportunism, and activism. The Valley can be a dangerous place for the spiritually confused. Without an inner compass, the unaware will lead a life of increasing stress and quite often join the ranks of “burned-out” refu- gees fleeing in a state of brokenness.2
INTRODUCING MEDITATION
In the last decade over 450 working professional MBAs, divided equally between men and women, and 350 senior executives have par- ticipated in an elective seminar called Spirituality for Organizational
Leadership at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit and Catholic school located in Silicon Valley in Northern California. The average age is 34. Most are high-achieving engineering, scientific, and functional business managers—knowledge workers in their career prime who drive the core strategic business units in the Valley. A few are entrepreneur- owners. Occasionally a participant is between positions (e.g., has sold a company, has been laid off, or is seeking a job change). Typically two or three consultants and two or three CEOs also join the seminar.3
The seminar meets from 8:30 to 2:20 on five Saturdays, so a pre- cious day is sacrificed by highly stressed Valley leaders who otherwise would be available “for catch-up” and attention to personal matters. Yet they fill a classroom each quarter the course is offered, largely through word-of-mouth encouragement from earlier participants. A frequently reported reason is to learn meditation practices.
The participants encompass diverse religious backgrounds. Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims, Jews, a variety of Hindi faiths, Christians, agnostics, and a few self-proclaimed atheists are usually represented. The Christian tradition is embraced by approximately 40 percent of the attendees.
By means of quotations taken from reflection assignments, this chapter provides exemplification of how meditation/contemplative practices reshape consciousness and behavior. It is assumed readers have familiarity with the practices themselves (or similar meditation forms) in order to give attention to context, pedagogy, and the devel- opmental sequence achieved through a combination of practices.
THE OVERALL PEDAGOGY
Each seminar meeting is composed of three modules, two topical lecture modules and one contemplative/meditative practice module. The fourth seminar varies, as it is a 12-hour retreat. The module topics together with the meditation/contemplative practice form central to each are:
1. An overview of the Faith/Spirit at Work movement as a societal trend, and as an interest group within the Academy of Management Meditation on being present to the “Now” (guided)
2. Investigating business leadership as a calling within a spiritual journey
Meditation on light and darkness in organizations (guided)
3. Listening to the voices of future generations impacted by business practices
Meditation on “Living Voices of Future Generations” (guided)
4. Spiritual/psychological development associated with transforma- tional leadership
Meditation on personal calling to leadership (guided)
5. Discernment as an overlay on strategic decision making
Introduction to “Lectio Divina” (thereafter self-directed)
6. Approaches to prayer and meditation in the lives of transforma- tional leaders
Introduction to the “Examen” (thereafter self-directed)
7. The spiritual challenges of leadership power and potential distortions of hubris
Introduction to “Apophatic” Meditation (e.g., Zen, Centering Prayer, Mantra Meditation, etc.)
8. The spiritual challenges of wealth creation and the need for poverty of spirit
“Apophatic” Meditation (self-directed)
9. Contemplative practice in the hectic space of leadership
“Apophatic” Meditation (self-directed)
10. Group retreat
“Lectio Divina,” Breath Meditation, Walking Meditation, Meditation on Calling (group and self-directed), “Apophatic” Meditation
11. Exploring the mystery of suffering as part of leadership
“Lectio Divina” with spiritual writings focused on suffering (self- directed), “Tong Len” (self-directed)
12. Summing up
Following each gathering participants are given two assignments. The first is to reflect on the lectures, seminar dialogue, and readings. (The course has an extensive reading list. Participants are allowed to pursue each topic through the lenses of different spiritual traditions.) Participants are asked to indicate how their perspectives have been influenced, and what behavioral changes they have integrated into their leadership within the workplace during the two weeks following the seminar. The primary orientation is “action learning” rather than simply theoretical synthesis.
The second assignment is meditation based. Participants are given forms of meditation to practice each day until the next seminar
meeting. Again they are asked to reflect on how their leadership per- ceptions and behaviors have been influenced during the two weeks as a result of the meditation experience.
Normally assignments when submitted are two to four pages in length. (There are other traditional term paper assignments, but they are not our focus here.)
Space precludes treating in detail all the meditation/contemplative practice forms included over the three months. Here we will describe just two meditation forms together with the topics covered by the lec- ture to illustrate through quotations how meditation impacts on perceptions of leadership.
PRESENCE MEDITATION
The first module of the seminar deals with definitions of spirituality, the contemporary literature regarding Spirit/Faith at work, motivations for exploring the topic in the context of organizational leadership, and norms of appreciative inquiry in interreligious conversation. The mod- ule closes by noting how the “Spirit at Work” movement has grown in North America. It reviews the current manifest interest in the topic by both management scholars and business professionals.4
Participants are told that spirituality is about “experience,” not simply knowledge. Just as they cannot learn to sail a boat simply by reading about boats and oceans, they cannot enter into the spiritual unless they embrace spiritual disciplines and experience. So in every module participants share a meditation form.
The first meditation focuses on “presence.” With music, the profes- sor leads a reflection on the importance of being present to the “now.” Asking participants to return to a place and time when they experienced inner peace in their earlier lives, they are encouraged to examine the burdens that have accumulated in mind, heart, and spirit since that time and place, and invited to let go of fears, anxieties, work concerns, frus- trations, etc. They are invited to experience the freedom of just “BE- ing.” After this five-minute meditation they are asked to gently return to the seminar and to be completely present to the ensuing lecture and shared dialogue; to step away from multitasking and concern with the past and their future. The implications of why it is important for a leader to be fully present for each subsequent task are then discussed.
For many participants this is already new ground. They readily admit they are often not fully present in the frenzy of daily work.
It is an important lesson they continue to examine while engaging this meditation form during the two weeks before the seminar meets again.
Quotations taken from participants’ reflection assignments received two weeks later indicate new perspectives.
The meditations in class have set me up for a more personal expe- rience of the material than I had expected. I had envisioned a more lecture-based approach instead of the more active experience and participation that is needed for this class. My initial reaction was “this puts me way out of my comfort zone.” I don’t think I would have been able to jump into the meditation assignments without the practice of the “Now” meditation during the lecture.
My life is a circle. I run around and around. Each day is the same. Month and years all appear the same. I am in a rut. The first meditation brought something to light inside of me. I discovered life does not begin in the future, but now. I began to think that I can break the circle apart.
Multi-tasking is something I feel comfortable with; feel like I am good at. I now see it sometimes is getting in the way of my connections to others. Being present to the moment means putting less priority on multi-tasking and paying closer attention to the people with whom I work in order to understand and appreciate them.
Thomas Merton sums up exactly what I am thinking. I am work- ing on finding my true self, but there are so many distractions at work that I’m not always sure which of my feelings are real. How do you overcome all of the fears, obsessions and addictions in order to find yourself? Part of the answer has to be to be “present” so you can listen to God in the “now.”
MEDITATION ON THE ROLE OF CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATIONS
In the second module, attention turns to the importance of the contemporary organization to modern society and why accepting leadership within these institutions can be an important life calling.5 We reflect on how the goods and services our neighbors depend on are created within and distributed through organizations. We remind ourselves that religious traditions see meeting the real needs of others (e.g., educational, health, housing, nutritional, transportation, etc.) as
important service. However, in modern life, these needs are often met through complex chains of causation enabled by organizations whose ultimate clients are at a distance beyond personal contact. A mystic’s eye is required by a leader to understand organizational roles as forms of service so that work is not hallowed of transcendent purpose.
We reflect on how charism/gift/talent is unleashed or inhibited within organizations through appropriate decision processes that support the unfolding of individual creative expression.
We reflect on how the contemporary organization is a central “community” replacing former villages or neighborhoods as the dom- inant primary group for most of the workweek. We remind ourselves of the role of leadership (formal and informal) in creating nurturing group experiences, and of the high psychological cost of pernicious work settings.
Finally, we examine issues of justice and injustice and the impacts of organizations on broader societal well-being. We examine the obliga- tions of stewardship in global business organizations that sometimes control more wealth than smaller nation-states. We look at wealth cre- ation and how it supports governments, the arts, health, social services, and education.
The dark side of the contemporary global business organization is also discussed; e.g., the distortions of power, greed, employee exploita- tion, environmental degradation, and negative impacts on indigenous cultures caused by global business practices.6 We come to an under- standing that those who accept organizational leadership are not called to a second-rate spiritual path. We discuss the spiritual writers who admonish us to avoid any false dualism between day-to-day work within organizations and the spiritual journey.
These discussions and readings end with a guided meditation that par- ticipants practice each day prior to the next class gathering. It is a “Daily Reflection on Light and Darkness in the Organization in Which I Work.” A detailed description of this meditation is provided in the Appendix to give the reader a sense of what is meant by “guided” medi- tation in the context of the seminar. Participants are asked to spend a few minutes, either seated in their car or on a bench outside their work- place before entering to undertake their daily duties, engaging the medi- tation. They are also encouraged to practice the “Presence to the Now” meditation after they complete one important leadership activity during the day and before they undertake the next critical meeting or activity.
The following quotations are again taken from students’ assign- ments received two weeks following the first seminar gathering:
My workdays were more productive because I focused my thoughts and tasks for the day toward contributing to organiza- tional light at the very beginning of the work day [sic]. I stopped my rush to quickly enter my office without attention to the over- all purpose of my organization. With focused thoughts my days were more productive.
It was common when I was growing up to hear people talk about teaching as a vocation, or hear people say about some occu- pations comments like “that nurse is wonderful, you can see her vocation.” I have begun to long for “my vocation.” It never really occurred to me that a vocation is both something that is offered and something that is received. I am beginning to see my organi- zational leadership calls me to serve others both within my com- pany, and by serving my company clients, and that this requires spiritual development. I am very excited to see how this new insight develops in my business life.
I have realized my personal relationship with God has been deteriorating as I consumed myself in daily work. I seem to have entirely separated my spiritual life from my work and it has resulted in an unfulfilling path “on the road to success and career progression.” I recognized this only after deep, careful thought stimulated by the meditations following our last seminar gathering. Starting with the lecture, the idea that really struck me was a note that I wrote down: “If I am going to take that much of myself to work it has to mean something. Is my work worth giving so much of my deep self to? I give myself to my job creatively and intellectually, but I have not given my heart. The meditations then helped me to start to see that I don’t dislike my job as much as I thought. I just haven’t been looking at it from the perspective
on how I impact on my client’s [sic] lives.”
It is true that time pressures at work are extreme. However, this is a problem with respect to my spiritual growth only because I have compartmentalized the spiritual aspect of life into a separate box that needs it’s own place and time. I now realize that my spir- ituality needs to be integrated into everything that I do at work. This especially includes the one component that is demanding the most of my present time—my leadership challenges.
My meditation is teaching me that the problem has not been with my work but rather my approach to work. I have been forc- ing myself to be someone whom I desperately do not want to be at work by leaving my spirituality at the door before I went into
the office building everyday [sic]. In essence I have been putting on a mask as soon as I walk in.
Embracing my spirituality as integral to my organizational work is helping me react more positively to different situations. It is helping me view the situation with the greater good in mind, not just to focus on narrow tasks that center around myself. I am reaf- firming my respect for my organization that enables technologies by producing the semiconductors that enrich our daily lives.
I have had dreams of a vocation that provides for the common societal good, but felt myself mired in the reality of making a living and trying to find a way to get where I want to go. Now I begin to understand I am sitting on my dream—my biotechnol- ogy, scientific and engineering roots are embedded in the dream I have been seeking. I just didn’t recognize the dream of spiritual fulfillment was hidden within the day to day of my organiza- tional life.
OTHER MEDITATION FORMS IN THE SEMINAR
Space precludes a detailed description of the remaining course con- tent and forms of meditation in order to preserve space for a summa- tion of the overall inner journey participants move through, and a description of how practices are incorporated into the leader’s day.
Again, the guided meditations incorporated into the seminar are guided meditations and contemplative practices.
GUIDED MEDITATIONS
Meditation on Being Present to the “Now”
Meditation on Light and Darkness in Contemporary Organizational Life
We have discussed the first two guided meditations—Meditation on Being Present to the “Now,” and Meditation on Darkness in Contem- porary Organizational Life—and the related seminar topics. The remaining forms are:
Meditation on Impacts of the Organization on Future Generations Meditation on Personal Calling to Leadership
The Examen
Lectio Divina Tong Len
A quick summary of these additional remaining meditation/con- templative practice forms follows:
The meditation “Impacts on Future Generations” builds on a Lakota Sioux “Circle of Living Voices” asking leaders to consider the meaning of today’s decisions for those whose “faces have not yet emerged from the earth, seven generations from now.”7 Participants in the seminar find this reflection a powerful reminder that what is done today in their leadership role has implications for the future that is “veiled” but that a mature leader must take into consideration. In a time of increasing sensitivity to environmental concerns, the medita- tion resonates with participants.
The meditation on Leadership Calling is a guided meditation wherein participants examine personal gifts, the needs of others whose voices they have become conscious of, and steps that might be taken to deepen a response to the calling (either within a present organization or later in another organization). The emphasis in using the medita- tion is not to “answer” the questions but rather to allow the questions to flow over one’s consciousness in order to become increasingly aware of responses in mind and heart.
The Examen is a meditation formulated by the Spanish Mystic
Ignatius of Loyola.8 In the form used in the seminar, it is a mental review at the end of the leadership day, hour by hour, to become aware of blessings/light found in the day expressing gratitude to confront difficulties/darkness that were present and then to commend all of the day to the Mercy of the Spirit that bears a thousand names. Participant reflections indicate that the practice helps to elevate consciousness regarding the day’s leadership efforts.
Lectio divina9 is the ancient monastic practice consisting of four
steps: (1) reading out loud a short passage from scripture or a wisdom text, finding in the passage words or a phrase that you are particularly attracted to (lectio); (2) reflecting on why that passage has caught your attention, and what lessons might be suggested for your life and lead- ership (meditatio); (3) speaking as inspired to the Mystery that bears a thousand names with complete sincerity (oratio); (4) and then entering into silence, simply being present (meditatio). Participants particularly like this form of meditation, which provides a different way of con- necting their active minds as knowledge workers to spiritual writing that inspires a movement into heart and silence.
Tong Len is a Buddhist practice of compassionate presence in the face of suffering, breathing in the suffering of the other(s) dropping the story line (this isn’t fair, shouldn’t happen, etc.), and breathing out in compassion on behalf of all sensate beings who share a similar form of suffering.10 It is used in connection with the module that deals with forms of suffering associated with leadership.
CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES
The contemplative practices are:
Centering Prayer Mantra Prayer Zen
Walking Meditation
These contemplative practices (apophatic forms, i.e., meditation moving away from thought, feelings, and sensation into inner quiet) are intro- duced midway and become the dominant forms for the remainder of the seminar.11 Specific instruction is given in Christian Centering Prayer, Zen, and Walking Meditation. If participants already engage another contemplative practice (e.g., Transcendental Meditation, Buddhist Mindfulness, A Vedic Form, Breath Meditation, etc.), they are encouraged to use the practice they have already appropriated. Par- ticipants’ reflections affirm the frequently reported benefits of this form of practice (e.g., greater ability to listen and be present to others, greater freedom to create and focus, lessened dysfunctions of fear and anxiety, higher perceived quality of life, etc.).
THE UNFOLDING OF THE SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
The spiritual journey in the Christian tradition is often described as encompassing stages or cycles.12 There is variation in the language, but the following descriptors are representative. (Again, space pre- cludes dealing with parallel conceptualizations in other traditions, though excellent current efforts in this regard are available.)13
Conversion—Answering a Call to Spiritual Deepening and Service Purification—Admission of Brokenness
Illumination—Glimpsing the Presence of the Transcendent in Day- to-Day Life
Unification—Living Continually in the Presence of the Transcendent
However, thinking of these experiences as stages can be misleading so I prefer the term cycle or rhythm. New awareness associated with a particular stage is often not permanent; nor are the cycles perfectly sequential. For example, even the advanced spiritual traveler cannot remain always with the consolation of sensing the presence of Tran- scendence. Nonetheless, it is helpful as we conclude our discussion of the experiences of seminar participants to group some quotations around these rhythms within the spiritual journey.
CONVERSION
Many of the quotations already cited are suggestive of conversion, an initial opening to the “Inner Voice” beckoning participants to live in new awareness. Now we turn our attention to participant reflec- tions representative of later cycles.
PURIFICATION
Progress in the spiritual journey requires one to be in touch with personal brokenness. We need to acknowledge the messes that entan- gle our lives. In the Christian tradition, a sense of this “brokenness” and its attendant suffering is often the prelude to a deeper turning toward God. Otherwise, we remain in the delusion that we can resolve our quest for happiness through our own efforts, focused on the needs of the false self.14
As we become aware of the suffering in our life, there is a tempta- tion to embrace a false resolution: blaming the problems on the organization and on others. For the most part, participants in the seminar come to confront the darkness in self without seeing them- selves as victims of others or as victims of the organization.
The following quotations provide examples:
I feel a sense of guilt for my own insensitivity. It has been a rare thing for me to think of others. My drive toward success has domi- nated my life. I learned the valuable lesson from my meditation that I could not go on in this manner. I need people in my life,
but as a consequence of my self-centeredness I am alone at work. I am in horrible, self-imposed, isolated space, and I need to change my ways.
I must confess that my work ethics have been warped during the Internet boom. Prior to the boom, I had a very pure view of my engineering career. After my meditation I prayed to God for guidance to regain the passion and the purity I once possessed for my engineering work because I want to be performing my work in a way that glorifies Him.
In my meditation and reflection I felt that I was decaying in my work. I could not see beyond all the immature actions and selfish petty ambitions. As I zoom into the darkest spot within my com- pany, I realize that it is myself that is eating up the light. I have been bitter for the last weeks. The source of darkness that was
me is starting to show a glimmer of light. I realized how awful my attitude was, and how much it harmed me and all the people around me. The idea that we should be spiritual at work starts to ring in my mind. I no longer want to contribute to darkness, but want to be a source of light at work the way I was earlier in my employment.
In many occasions I have given into anger and loss of control. I realize I have to spend time reflecting on the root cause of my behavior. I need to come to understand the pressures of my work life. I am coming to the realization that “helping others” rather than devoting my career to just satisfying my own self-interests will be an upheaval in my life. My preoccupations with presenting myself as a shrewd business player who understands the financial aspects of a business has [sic] made me disregard the true intent of this organization.
In another of my meditations on Light and Darkness at work I saw the difference between working out of ego and working out of freedom. I realized that I bring darkness to my organization when I work from ego. I need to change and bring light to my organization and everyone I come in contact with. I now realize that this is possible when I work from freedom.
I see work as so busy and boring. My work seems almost the same everyday, yet I know there are many challenges I should open up to. Even though I am doing well and my superiors are satisfied with my work, I don’t experience any joy in my career. But
now I am beginning to understand I can approach all of this as a relational challenge. Work can be a place where we can meet friends, communicate, learn and teach. I myself may be a source of some
darkness. I have been complaining with my friends in the company. So my emotion influences others, or may discourage them.
Holding back, procrastinating, daydreaming, avoiding involve- ment—these are 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.
These quotations parallel the classic stage of purification. The pur- pose of the italicized type (added for emphasis) is to make clear that purification does not stop with simply recording, complaining about, or giving into organizational darkness. Rather, the movement has led participants to undertake to change their leadership behavior.
ILLUMINATION
Another cycle in the spiritual journey is characterized by “illumina- tion.” In the Christian tradition this cycle is reflected in two movements of The Spirit:15
• the ability to see God at work in creation
• movement away from focus on self toward a focus on serving others
The journals show seminar participants experiencing this cycle within the spiritual journey as well:
I was seeing the main office in San Francisco from a bird’s eye view, at first focused on the immediate organizational setting like we did in class. But then I started seeing the hundreds, thousands of connections to all the people, other organizations, government offices, planning departments, everywhere influenced by every- thing our work touches. Not only in the present, but I saw these connections in the past as well. I was almost overwhelmed with the magnitude of our mission, the impacts that we have that I have not been conscious of. Now I have a sense that my work touches hundreds, maybe thousands of people every day. This is a wonderful and empowering feeling. I realized I need this image, this awareness of the bigness of my work, to sustain me through the day to day of what I do.
Clearing my mind before work has been an absolutely enlight- ening experience. I enter each work-day [sic] when I complete the
Light and Darkness meditation with a new sense of purpose. I have changed my outlook on my job. In my heart I am no longer simply a Program Manager, but rather I am an enabler of col- laboration and communication. I help others see their place on teams and how valuable they are to the company and how their job helps society as a whole. I have stopped bringing my laptop to meetings and I have tried to attend more meetings in person to let others know I am entirely there. I feel as though people are appreciating the fact that I am giving them the attention they would like. I have also noticed myself listening to people com- pletely rather than formulating my answer or opinions before they have completed what they have said.
With new understanding that work can be spiritual, happiness has settled in my inner self. I could not but reflect that my life is exactly as I need it to be to begin the new “me.” One of our clients recently sent us a letter praising our work. In the past I wouldn’t have thought about the letter. Now, everyday [sic] I think about that letter when I come into work. My meditation has given me a purpose, a mission possibly. I am exactly where I should be.
I always thought we just made “electronic widgets.” Nothing spiritual about that! Now my meditations help me to see that our product is important to medicine, education—practically every important societal sector. I realize that I need to see that we are engaged in a very important service that helps many people.
I now complete my work without complaint, and in a positive manner. I help my work team to become more of a big family. Life is not always filled with champagne and flowers, but I foresee a future at work with greater warmth.
Finally, a litmus test of spiritual growth is growth in humility, which must underpin progress. One sign of humility is that the less glamorous aspects of one’s work can be embraced as being equally meaningful as more notable actions. As expressed in the Christian tradition, Mother Teresa of Calcutta speaks of “small actions done with great love.” This is likewise an aspect of St. Therese of Lisieux’s “little way.”16 So in clos- ing I offer the following ode to humility written by a participant:
With regard to hubris, I find myself trying to contain and dissolve occasions of feeling irritated at little things. I did a direct mail campaign and I have chosen to enter my own data in the database. Humbling I can tell you. I’m learning “garbage in garbage out”
and what that statement really means. Before I thought I under- stood it, but now I realize that I didn’t have a clue. I’m put to test about this. I find I want to do it right. I also say a silent prayer asking forgiveness for the times in the past, on other jobs, when I was in charge and expressed irritation to the data entry person while asking “why can’t I have this by the end of the day?” Now, with having to put my own “regal” fingers to the keyboard I know why!
INTEGRATING PRACTICES INTO THE LEADERSHIP DAY
The discussion has focused how participants have been exposed to a variety of meditation and contemplative practice forms, and reported changes in consciousness and behavior over the course of the seminar.17 The chapter will close by sharing how a variety forms become integrated into the leadership day of an average participant following the seminar. Of course there are differences across individuals, and some drift away from any practice. However, many do incorporate continuing practice and a typical description would be as follows.
Following the seminar most participants begin their leadership day with an apophatic form of contemplative practice consistent with their (non)religious tradition. Whatever the form (e.g. Breath, Mantra, Zen, Christian Centering Prayer, Hesychia, Kabbala, etc.) participants indi- cate that since the seminar a morning contemplative practice shapes the rest of the day. These intellectually gifted and action-oriented lead- ers know that without such a practice, the ego easily leads them into patterns of hubris and hyperactivity. So they see an anchoring contem- plative practice as critical.
When arriving at the workplace, before entering, they quickly return their consciousness to the overarching purpose of their organi- zation, the light that is encompassed by their important social institu- tion, and the darkness that must be wrestled with. They recommit to leadership as a form of vocational service within their organization.
Throughout the day before each subsequent critical task, they pause to recenter in order to be fully present to the “now” of the next task and to the next individual or group with whom they will be collaborat- ing. Without this practice, the intense experiences of one task overrides attention on the next task. Since leadership is a constant movement across complex shared problem solving, they find this practice essential.
As the day draws to a close, in their office or as they get into their car to leave work, they replay the day in the spirit of the Examen in order to find closure and inner peace. Like oncologists and burn unit personnel, they have discovered that unless they book-end the day with this type of spiritual practice, the stresses of the day will flow over into their return to home, precluding their being fully present to fam- ily and the opportunity for rest. They find that some form of practice parallel to the Examen allows them to avoid both repression and obsession.
Finally, most participants include a bit of spiritual reading before retiring in the spirit of Lectio. They report that this practice helps move them into refreshing sleep.
In all of this, they are not compulsive about a particular form. Who would want to do sitting meditation after hours of business travel? So they might substitute walking meditation after being on an airplane. Who would want to do spiritual reading when one could meditate with nature during a meeting at a beautiful resort? So they make use of nature as a form of Lectio.
Thus participants flexibly use of a variety of meditation forms dis- covered in the seminar (and after the seminar). However, they are aware that unless they build forms of practice into their leadership day the pressures of contemporary organization life can rapidly lead to anxiety, ego–distortion, and decreased spiritual meaning.
CLOSING
Often meditation practice is learned in settings where the primary focus in on the “inner life” of the individual. In this chapter we shared how a variety of meditation/contemplative practice forms have been introduced in the context of workplace leadership challenges. We illustrated how resultant spiritual growth, viewed through the lens of classic stages referenced in the Christian tradition, is enhanced through a combination of practices throughout the day.
Future research might fruitfully explore the motivational power of learning practices contextually in occupational settings. It might also address the advantages of juxtaposing a variety of meditation forms, encouraging individuals to use a form that has a natural resonance with different challenges. The seminar experience reported here sug- gests that learning a combination of forms has been mutually reinforc- ing and enriching.
APPENDIX I
Daily Reflection on Light and Darkness in the Organization in Which I Work
Andre L. Delbecq Santa Clara University
E-mail: adelbecq@scu.edu
© 4/6/03
Place yourself in the presence of “The Light” that enlightens all people.
(the Transcendent Mystery, Spirit, as you understand it)
Spend a moment meditating on the revelation of this Light in the day-to-day of your organization at work. Where do you see the manifestation of Light in your organization?
Let us remind ourselves that without this Light, our organization becomes a cold place, devoid of creative energy, mutual caring, and enduring courage, a place unable to maintain a commitment to noble purpose and service to others.
Express gratitude for the presence of this Light in your organization.
If you have lost the sense of “Light” in your organizational setting, due to darkness in the organization, or darkness in yourself, ask that your sight might be restored. Ask for the blessing to be present to this Light so that at the beginning of each day/each Monday morning, you can enter into your organizational world with a renewed sense of joyful freedom to undertake work that matters within an important contem- porary institution.
Spend a moment reflecting on the wholeness of your organiza- tion through this Light. Ask for the sight to see the organization in all its dimensions and to witness the presence of Light in each dimension.
Examine the nobility of the mission of the organization in which you work and its creative potential to be a force for good in the world.
— its centrality in providing an important product or service that truly serves society
— its power over resources: financial, time, energy, decision agendas, human talents
— its locus as a place that should call on your fullest expression of individual creativity
— its influence on the presence (or absence) of community that nourishes your spirit and that of others
Spend a moment examining the presence of Darkness in yourself and in your organization.
Confront Any Darkness in your organization.
Is there darkness in your organization that diminishes its potential for goodness and service to society?
Who are the “poor” and oppressed in your organizational setting (not necessarily economically only)? Whose gifts are ignored; who cannot be part of the agenda? Who is marginalized in your organizational setting?
Have you personally contributed to organizational darkness?
Have you given undue power to organizational darkness by failing to witness to Light at decisive decision moments?
Are there aspects of the overall organization that you ignore or fail to support because of lack of reflection, fear and anxiety, or preoccupation with a narrow, private agenda?
Is there darkness within yourself, such as concern with self- importance, careerism, ambition, or activity wherein you anxiously depend entirely on yourself, that casts a shadow on your contribution to the organization?
Have you been a source of darkness for others by failing to include, mentor, encourage, or respond to your organizational neighbor?
Spend a moment meditating on the call to “holiness” (Wholeness) through and within the busyness of day-to-day organizational life.
We are told by the spiritual masters we will discover everything we need to know about Light, and have all the experience we need perfect our spiritual journey exactly “where we are today” ... in the “eternal now.”
Even in the case where later discernment may suggest that at a future point in time you need to change your organizational setting, it is in today’s organizational experience that you must see the Light of the transcendent. Ask for greater openness to this Light.
Expression of Gratitude
Spend several moments in gratitude for all the ways that the Light of insight, truth, wisdom, joy, compassion, and courage reveals itself in the organiza- tional setting in which you work—in the many blessings and opportunities of which you have become aware in your meditation.
Sharing and Comment on Your Meditation Experience
For group reflection, participants may wish to share insights that emerged in their meditation. Members should listen with a spirit of “appreciative inquiry”—openness to the truth within another’s experience.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to Michael Naughton, Director, the John A. Ryan Center for Catholic Thought, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, for accepting a first discussion paper on this topic and for allowing me to incorporate here material from this prior essay. Delbecq, A. L. (2003). Crossing the frontier to vocational awareness. Fifth International Symposium on Catholic Social Thought and Manage- ment Education, Universidad de Deusto, Bilboa, Spain (later included in e-book proceedings, Michael J. Naughton and Stephanie Rumpza, Business as a Calling: Interdisciplinary Essays on the Meaning of Business from the Catholic Social Tradition, http://www.stthomas.edu/cathstudies/ cst/publications/businessasacalling.html).
NOTES
1. Delbecq, A. L. (1994). Innovation as a Silicon Valley obsession. Journal of Management Inquiry, 3(2), 266–275; Delbecq, A. L., & Weiss, J. (2000).
The business culture of Silicon Valley: A turn-of-the-century reflection.
Journal of Management Inquiry, 9(1), 34–44.
2. Delbecq, A. L., & Friedlander, F. (1995). Strategies for personal and family renewal. Journal of Management Inquiry, 4(3), 262–269.
3. Delbecq, A. L. (2000). Spirituality for business leadership: Reporting on a pilot course for MBAs and CEOs. Journal of Management Inquiry, 9(2), 117–128.
4. Mitroff, I., & Denton, E. A. (1990). A spiritual audit of corporate America: Multiple designs for fostering spirituality in the workplace. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass (Chapters 1 and 2); Delbecq, A. L. (2009). Spirituality and business: One scholar’s perspective. Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Business, 6(1), 3–13.
5. Weiss, J. W., Skelley, M. F., Haughey, J. C., & Hall, D. T. (2004). Calling, new careers and spirituality: A reflective perspective for organiza- tional leaders and professionals. In M. Pava (Ed.), Spiritual intelligence at work: Meaning, metaphor and morals: Research in ethical issues (Vol. 5, pp. 171–201). New York: Elsevier; McGee, J. J., & Delbecq, A. L. (2003). Vocation as a critical factor in a spirituality of executive leadership in busi- ness. In O. F. Williams (Ed.), Business, religion and spirituality (pp. 94–113). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
6. Delbecq, A. L. (2000). Spirituality for business leadership: Reporting on a pilot course for MBAs and CEOs. Journal of Management Inquiry, 9(2), 117–128.
7. Aschenbrenner, G. (1972). Consciousness examen. Review for Religious, 33, 14–21; Gallagher, T. M. (2006). The examen prayer: Ignatian wisdom for our lives today. New York: Crossroad.
8. Loyola, I. (1970). The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. (G.E. Ganss, Trans.). St. Louis, MO: Institute of Jesuit Sources. (Original work published in 1556).
9. Pennington, B. M. (1998). Lectio divina: Renewing the ancient practice of praying the Scriptures. New York: Crossroad.
10. Chodron, P. (2001). The places that scare you: A guide to fearlessness in difficult times. Boston: Shambhala.
11. Fontana, D. (1999). The meditator’s handbook: A comprehensive guide to Eastern and Western meditation techniques. Boston: Element.
12. Ware, K. (2002). The orthodox way. Crestwood: NY: St. Valdimir’s Press, 105–133.
13. Fry, L. W. J., & Kreiger, M. P. (in press). Toward a theory of being- centered leadership: Multiple levels of being as a context for effective leadership. Human Relations.
14. Keating, T. (2002). Open mind, open heart. New York: Continuum, 127–132; Haughey, J. (2002). Housing heaven’s fire: The challenge of holiness.
Chicago: Loyola Press, 11.
15. Keating, Open Mind, 127–132; Ware, The Orthodox Way, 105–133.
16. Teresa, M. (1998). Everything starts with love. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press; Gorres, I. F. (1959). The hidden face: A study of St. Therese of Lisieux. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
17. Delbecq, A. L. (2006a). Business executives and prayer: How a core spiritual discipline is expressed in the life of contemporary organizational leaders. Spirit in Work, 6, 3–8, and 7, 3–7.
REFERENCES
Aschenbrenner, George. (1972). Consciousness examen. Review for Religious, 33, 14–21.
Chodron, Pema. (2001). The places that scare you: A guide to fearlessness in difficult times. Boston: Shambhala, 55–60.
Delbecq, Andre L. (1994). Innovation as a Silicon Valley obsession. Journal of Management Inquiry, 3(3), 266–275.
Delbecq, Andre L. (2000). Spirituality for business leadership: Reporting on a pilot course for MBAs and CEOs. Journal of Management Inquiry, 9(2), 117–128 (provides a description of the overall seminar).
Delbecq, Andre L. (2006a). Business executives and prayer: How a core spiri- tual discipline is expressed in the life of contemporary organizational leaders. Spirit in Work, 6, 3–8, and 7, 3–7 (provides a more detailed description of the daily integration of spiritual practices).
Delbecq, Andre L. (2006b). The spiritual challenge of power: Humility and love as offsets to leadership hubris. Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 3(1), 141–154.
Delbecq, Andre L. (2009). Spirituality and business: One scholar’s perspec- tive. Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion, 6(1), 3–13.
Delbecq, Andre L., & Friedlander, Frank. (1995). Strategies for personal and family renewal. Journal of Management Inquiry, 4(3), 262–269.
Delbecq, Andre L., & Weiss, Joseph. (2000). The business culture of Silicon Valley: A turn-of-the-century reflection. Journal of Management Inquiry, 9(1), 34–44.
Fontana, David. (1999). The meditator’s handbook: A comprehensive guide to Eastern and Western meditation techniques. Boston: Element.
Fry, Louis W., & Kreiger, Mark P. (in press). Toward a theory of being- centered leadership: Multiple levels of being as a context for effective leadership. Human Relations.
Gallagher, Timothy M. (2006). The examen prayer: Ignatian wisdom for our lives today. New York: Crossroad.
Haughey, John. (2002). Housing heaven’s fire: The challenge of holiness. Chicago: Loyola Press, 11.
Keating, Thomas. (2002). Open mind, open heart. New York: Continuum, 127–132
McGee, James J., & Delbecq, Andre L. (2003). Vocation as a critical factor in a spirituality of executive leadership in business. In O. F. Williams (Ed.), Business, religion and spirituality (pp. 94–113). Notre Dame: IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
Mitroff, Ian, & Denton, Elizabeth A. (1990). A spiritual audit of corporate America: Multiple designs for fostering spirituality in the workplace. San Francisco: Jossey Bass (Chapters 1 and 2).
Naughton, Michael, & Rumpza, Stephanie Rumpza (Eds.). (2005). Business as a calling: Interdisciplinary essays on the meaning of business from the Catholic social tradition. St. Paul, MN: Center for Catholic Studies, St. Thomas University.
Pennington, M. Basil. (1998). Lectio Divina: Renewing the ancient practice of praying the scriptures. New York: Crossroad.
Ware, Kallistos. (2002). The orthodox way. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Press, 105–133.
Weiss, Joseph W., Skelley, Michael F., Haughey, John C. Haughey, & Hall, Douglas. (2004). Calling, new careers and spirituality: A reflective per- spective for organizational leaders and professionals. In Moses Pava (Ed.), Spiritual intelligence at work: Meaning, metaphor and morals: Research in ethical issues in organizations (Vol. 5, pp. 171–201). New York: Elsevier.
CHAPTER 12
