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June 23, 2008Restlessness, Rewards and Engagement: Finding Meaning in Life and at Work
June 23, 2008June 23, 2008
Antonio Marchesi
Only a cursory critique of American culture is necessary to illuminate the existence of an alarming problem. Though deeply embedded within the fabric of the collective American psyche, a complex pattern can be discerned. The rise in popularity of self-help resources, facial treatments promising eternal youth, and the alarming increases in professional burnout suggest that Americans are dissatisfied. Interestingly, the very fabric of this country’s foundation suggests that its inhabitants refuse to remain docile during times of trouble or dissatisfaction. The entrepreneurial spirit pervading virtually every nook and cranny of the cultural landscape invites all people, regardless of age, race, or gender, to invest in solutions that proclaim the power and potential of American ingenuity to alter circumstances to conform to a new, more desirable reality.
The 21st century is characterized by sweeping technological advances, a cultural landscape that is in a state of change, and a prevailing makeover mentality that encourages an attitude of extreme personal dissatisfaction. Americans are thrust into an incessant quest to redefine the self to correspond to the latest trends of societal acceptability. There is an extreme preoccupation as of late with human deficiencies. Television shows such as MTV’s Made and WB’s Nip Tuck cultivate a gnawing and consuming sense of incompleteness that can only be alleviated by making serious modifications to one’s appearance and lifestyle. People are essentially problems to be solved. Interestingly, the solution to the problem is elusive and defies any and every attempt to bring a lasting state of existential wholeness and completeness as societal expectations change as frequently as the climate. Consequently, the law of diminishing returns is invoked as greater attempts to makeover the self are made while the demand for even more considerable modifications to being loom on the horizon. Interestingly, most of our attempts to construct the “proper self” inevitably deconstruct our abilities to effectively gauge our true selves. The external or outward nature of our focus stifles our aptitude for and interest in allowing our individuality to rise to the forefront of our daily activities thus causing us to live and lead critically disengaged from our soul. The 40 plus hours per week invested in professional activities carry the potential to suffocate rather than sustain, suppress instead of stimulate, as they are spent dealing with matters that are far from vocatio, or calling. An analysis of our work week more closely resembles that of a horse trained to fulfill specific tasks on the farm rather than humans infused with a divine calling or vocation. Sadly, the kinetic American lifestyle acts as a bulwark to self-realization. Consequently, Americans drift from one career to the next, one new experience to another, each promising to provide a greater return in the hope of finding something to satiate a thirsty soul.
The transient nature of the American professional lifestyle describe above might compel one to consider what motivates individuals to continue to strive for something more. In his excellent work entitled, “Treat People Right”, Edward Lawler indicates that expectancy theory is very useful in understanding that motivation is inexorably linked to rewards.
“Expectancy theory argues that people are mostly rational decision makers who think about their actions and act in ways that satisfy their needs and help them to reach their goals..The core of the theory states that people generally try to deal rationally with the world as they see it and to direct their behavior in productive ways. The theory views people as proactive, future-oriented, and motivated to behave in ways that they believe will lead to valued rewards.”
For the purposes of this post, rewards can be differentiated by their intrinsic and extrinsic values. In many for-profit organizations, employees may struggle to find intrinsic worth in their work as it only seems connected to bottom-line outcomes (extrinsic value). In less prestigious contexts, how is an assembly line worker or a sanitary engineer, (i.e. garbage man) to find intrinsic value in their efforts? Activities like teaching, ministry, and environmental protection seem much easier to assign intrinsic value to as they are focused upon improving the quality of life for others. Perhaps one explanation for the professsional restlessness shared by so many Americans is the difficulty in finding a balance between their expectations for intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. When imbalance is present, their is a compulsion to readjust the expectations or to remove oneself from the current context in favor of something that seems more likely to meet one’s established goals. Questions to Consider: As you think about your own situation, what types of rewards motivate you to perform well? What about extrinsic rewards like benefits, salary, etc? Are your espoused needs being met in this area? On another note, do you find intrinsic value in what you are doing? Is making a difference important? If your expectations are not being met, how are you channeling your frustrations? Are you eagerly anticipating the next best thing? Do you think you need to recreate yourslf in order to better correspond to your current professional landscape ? Are you denying your destiny? Do you feel nomadic? To what extent does your work match your calling?
We live in a culture that is committed to productivity. People voraciously search for new strategies that can increase personal efficiency in work and daily activities. Only a peripheral inventory of the newest books in the self-help or business aisles of the local bookstore is enough to elucidate a contemporary obsession with maximizing our output. The ambitious climate of the Industrial Revolution has not yet waned as an incessant drive to accomplish and produce more and more dominates our worldview. In essence, people are what they do. When one meets a new person and learns their name, it is generally only a split second before the question is posed, “What do you do?” The person may respond by saying, “I am a dentist” or “I am a teacher.” While a person may spend in excess of 40 hours per week fulfilling a particular occupational role, it is often customary to formulate our self-identity almost exclusively within the context of our work. In other words, our doing informs our being. While the notion of productivity is as ancient as the Garden, it is imperative that self-worth and identity are not to be found solely within the realm of the job. Humans are much more complex. Any attempt to encapsulate the totality of one’s being within the context of job insults the human race. An animal can be trained to fulfill a particular work task. Machines can be engineered to produce a product. However, humans are recipients of the imago dei, uniquely created as a rare piece of art to fulfill a greater destiny. However, though America celebrates the over-involved individual and is ranked as the most workaholic nation of the planet, Americans are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their lives. Evidently, the latest fads to maximize personal efficiency are not working.
Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, and Tipton (1985) have explored the ramifications of employment within American society. They have identified three dominant orientations toward work that are reflective of most people. Generally people experience work as job, career, or calling. Bellah et al. explained that within the first orientation, people view work as job. They spend their time:
Focusing on the material benefits of work to the relative exclusion of other kinds of meaning and fulfillment. The work is simply a means to a financial end that allows people to enjoy their time away from work. Usually, the interests and ambitions of those with jobs are expressed outside of the domain of work involve hobbies and other interests. For those who view work as a career:
Work for the rewards that come from the advancement through an organizational or occupational structure. For those with careers, the increased pay, prestige, and status that come with promotion and advancement are a dominant focus in their work. Advancement brings higher self-esteem, increased power, and high social standing. (Wrzesniewski, 2003, p. 190)
In contrast to the aforementioned orientations toward work, those who embrace work as a calling, “work not for financial rewards or for advancement but for the fulfillment that doing the work brings. In callings, the work is an end in itself and is associated with the belief that the work makes the world a better place.”
Wrzeniewski noted that inherent within engagement is the presence of passion. He defined passion as an extreme interest in something that promotes intense meaningfulness. To what degree are passions present at work? To what extent do we allow our passions to reveal our calling? Pascal presented a somber account of the life experienced by those who do not cultivate passion. He said:
“Nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without effort. Then he feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his weakness, his emptiness.”
In his text entitled, The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard describes a state that many individuals find themselves in as they are unable to enjoy the consequences of intentional living. He writes:
“Some persons indeed try to abdicate their life, disown their spontaneity, seek security by ‘conforming’ to what is outside of them. But they don’t actually escape life or their responsibility for it. They only succeed in appearing ‘wooden,’ unlively. We may know what to expect from them, but we have as little delight in them as they do in themselves.”
Questions to ponder: Does your soul feel wooden? If your expectations are not being met and you feel disengaged in the workplace, how is this affecting those with whom you interact with regularly: your friends, family members, and colleagues? Do they sense your restlessness? What would it take for you dismiss the notion of yet another temporary fix or makeover and instead, clarify your calling and the right balance of rewards to increase your engagement with your work?
Reflections on Dreamstarters and the Doctoral Process
June 19, 2008I have met many individuals who, upon successfully defending their doctoral dissertations claimed that they did not desire to revisit their work for some time due to the immense, and in many cases traumatic experience of earning the Ph.D. Early in my own process, I recall being confused about why someone would be willing to invest so much effort and time into an undertaking of such magnitude only to place the finished copy on a shelf and walk away. Two years removed from the experience, I now can appreciate some of their feelings. I defended my dissertation on September 21, 2006. Today I opened up the document for the first time since that emotionally charged day. The process of completing the dissertation was perhaps the most difficult and humbling exercise of my life. At times I it felt like a solitary effort as I rode an emotional roller coaster up and down day after day. However, as I glanced through my acknowledgements this morning, I recall that I was not riding alone. Below please find an excerpt from my work:
A skilled archaeologist may invest his entire lifetime in pursuit of a valuable artifact. He may sacrifice his time, money, even his reputation upon even the mildest of inclinations that something of great worth lays below the sandy surface. Most of the time, his efforts promise little fortune as he uncovers those everyday, common pieces that can be found for sale at the market down the street. He dreams of the day when fortune smiles upon his work as he uncovers treasures of inestimable worth. This discovery erases all frustration, disappointments, and even that overpowering sense of defeat that used to beat him up every time he tried to sleep at night. When Dreamstealers perform their jobs, they do so with the utmost of efficiency. The victims remain haunted by the stinging words of the assassins, sometimes for several years, sometimes for their entire lives. The raw nerves that the arrows exposed leave the victim feeling helpless and hesitant to ever reveal his inner thoughts to another person ever again. Like the hopeful archaeologist, many of us long for the day when God looks down upon us from his lofty view and points us in the direction of wonderful riches. He sends Dreamstarters into our lives. What the Dreamstealer seeks to systematically dismantle, the Dreamstarter tries to reinforce in us — to point us away from our past failures, inadequacies, and other insecurities and see ourselves not as we think we are within our limited paradigm but as who we really are and will become. They help us to cling to our child-like wonder and to aspire to develop our abilities to such an extent that we may have an impact upon the world. Instead of limiting our view with words reminding us to keep our feet on the ground and engage only in limited thinking, they encourage us as Mother Robin does her young to spread our wings and give it a try.
I would like to thank the following Dreamstarters for their deep influence upon my life:
Chris Bennetts: A teacher at Monroe High School who first taught me the significance of the relationship of self-awareness to leadership effectiveness.
Joseph K. Byrd, Ph.D: A former pastor and supervisor who saw the potential in me for advanced educational training and encouraged me to proactively respond to the damaging comments made by a former guidance counselor who insisted that I was not college material.
H. Lee Cheek, Ph.D: A kindred intellectual spirit whom I joined while in graduate school in the very important battle against the immanentization of the eschaton.
David Tilley. Ed.D: A person who cared for me as a son while providing me a superb example of transformational leadership grounded in integrity.
Doug Walters, ABD: An individual whose powerful and consistent belief in my personal and professional potential granted me the focus, space, and encouragement needed to complete this very significant personal accomplishment.
Charles Paul Conn, Ph.D: It was because of his fascinating leadership practices that I passionately completed the doctorate in Organizational Leadership rather than in Philosophy. I now am truly convinced that the value of the human element within organizational life must not be underestimated.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Marty Spiker of the University of Charleston, David Chairez of the West Virginia Center for Civic Life, and Dr. Gail Longbotham of the School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship at Regent University.
Reflections on Dreamstarters and the Doctoral Process
June 19, 2008I have met many individuals who, upon successfully defending their doctoral dissertations claimed that they did not desire to revisit their work for some time due to the immense, and in many cases traumatic experience of earning the Ph.D. Early in my own process, I recall being confused about why someone would be willing to invest so much effort and time into an undertaking of such magnitude only to place the finished copy on a shelf and walk away. Two years removed from the experience, I now can appreciate some of their feelings. I defended my dissertation on September 21, 2006. Today I opened up the document for the first time since that emotionally charged day. The process of completing the dissertation was perhaps the most difficult and humbling exercise of my life. At times I it felt like a solitary effort as I rode an emotional roller coaster up and down day after day. However, as I glanced through my acknowledgements this morning, I recall that I was not riding alone. Below please find an excerpt from my work:
A skilled archaeologist may invest his entire lifetime in pursuit of a valuable artifact. He may sacrifice his time, money, even his reputation upon even the mildest of inclinations that something of great worth lays below the sandy surface. Most of the time, his efforts promise little fortune as he uncovers those everyday, common pieces that can be found for sale at the market down the street. He dreams of the day when fortune smiles upon his work as he uncovers treasures of inestimable worth. This discovery erases all frustration, disappointments, and even that overpowering sense of defeat that used to beat him up every time he tried to sleep at night. When Dreamstealers perform their jobs, they do so with the utmost of efficiency. The victims remain haunted by the stinging words of the assassins, sometimes for several years, sometimes for their entire lives. The raw nerves that the arrows exposed leave the victim feeling helpless and hesitant to ever reveal his inner thoughts to another person ever again. Like the hopeful archaeologist, many of us long for the day when God looks down upon us from his lofty view and points us in the direction of wonderful riches. He sends Dreamstarters into our lives. What the Dreamstealer seeks to systematically dismantle, the Dreamstarter tries to reinforce in us — to point us away from our past failures, inadequacies, and other insecurities and see ourselves not as we think we are within our limited paradigm but as who we really are and will become. They help us to cling to our child-like wonder and to aspire to develop our abilities to such an extent that we may have an impact upon the world. Instead of limiting our view with words reminding us to keep our feet on the ground and engage only in limited thinking, they encourage us as Mother Robin does her young to spread our wings and give it a try.
I would like to thank the following Dreamstarters for their deep influence upon my life:
Chris Bennetts: A teacher at Monroe High School who first taught me the significance of the relationship of self-awareness to leadership effectiveness.
Joseph K. Byrd, Ph.D: A former pastor and supervisor who saw the potential in me for advanced educational training and encouraged me to proactively respond to the damaging comments made by a former guidance counselor who insisted that I was not college material.
H. Lee Cheek, Ph.D: A kindred intellectual spirit whom I joined while in graduate school in the very important battle against the immanentization of the eschaton.
David Tilley. Ed.D: A person who cared for me as a son while providing me a superb example of transformational leadership grounded in integrity.
Doug Walters, ABD: An individual whose powerful and consistent belief in my personal and professional potential granted me the focus, space, and encouragement needed to complete this very significant personal accomplishment.
Charles Paul Conn, Ph.D: It was because of his fascinating leadership practices that I passionately completed the doctorate in Organizational Leadership rather than in Philosophy. I now am truly convinced that the value of the human element within organizational life must not be underestimated.
I would also like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Marty Spiker of the University of Charleston, David Chairez of the West Virginia Center for Civic Life, and Dr. Gail Longbotham of the School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship at Regent University.
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The Remystification of Lifelong Learning
June 3, 2008The Remystifcation of Lifelong Learning
Antonio Giovanni Marchesi, June 2008
“The word ‘school’ which comes from ‘schola’ (meaning free time), reminds us that schools were originally meant to interrupt a busy existence and create some space to contemplate the mysteries of life. Today they have become the arena for a hectic race to accomplish as much as possible and to acquire in a short period the necessary tools to survive the great battle of human life. Books written to be savored slowly are read hastily to fulfill a requirement, paintings made to be seen with a contemplative eye are taken in as part of a necessary art appreciation course, and music composed to be enjoyed at leisure is listened to in order to identify a period or style. Thus, colleges and universities meant to be place for quiet learning have become places of fierce competition, in which the rewards go to those who produce the most and the best.”- Henri Nouwen in Lifesigns
The description of the ideal historical academy proposed by Henri Nouwen is undoubtedly a clear departure from what is occurring in higher education across the country. As a professor, I often began the first day of class by sharing the philosophical foundations of my pedagogy or teaching style. Contained within this discussion were my views on the nature of learning. Since I believe that the capacity to learn and create is endemic to the human condition, I am resistant to relegate it primarily to a four-year period enjoyed by those eighteen to twenty two years of age. While a more rigid, prescriptive approach may occur at this time, other, even more exciting opportunities exist. To refuse to indulge in the opportunities on a regular basis is both irresponsible and negligent. Every human is responsible for perpetuating the evolution of the human race. The ability to transcend the immediate or what is and advance our potentiality or what can be helps to ensure that the world which we leave will be better.
As I contemplate the words of Nouwen, I realize that the dichotomy that he elicits between the intention of school as a place in which one’s busy life is interrupted by the infusion of free time or space in order to contemplate the complexities of the human condition and its current state as a place where students vigorously compete for the high grades in order to obtain the best job is perplexing to me. Our country is currently falling farther and farther behind other nations in a host of academic disciplines. Emerging technologies and new knowledge, and the grave global economic forecast seem to invoke the survivalist instinct in us that we have no choice but to critically consider the pragmatic facets of learning. Does the inevitability of an accelerated, prescriptive academic experience entirely prohibit “schola”? Is authentic learning even possible without the presence of schola? I do not think so.
After serving at four academic institutions in various administrative and professorial capacities, I have determined that many of today’s students narrowly view learning as the acquisition of concrete tools to enable them to land a lucrative job upon graduation. The greater the practicality of the curriculum, the more valuable it is. Authentic learning requires three components: Analysis, Synthesis, and Application. This modified version of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning is inclusive of the pragmatic concerns of contemporary students while also incorporating the mystical and transformational elements that challenge individuals to not only consider what can be done with an education but what the education can do to them. What happens when the observer encounters something new- something that creates a level of dissonance? Is it forgotten? Is it stored within the memory for future reference? Learning often starts and stops here. In some cases, questions of utility logically follow. What can I do with this observation? Or better yet- How much must be remembered for the test? The discipline of synthesis which requires schola is absent. The mystical coalescence between the observer and the observed forces the individual into a reflective state as the appetite to evolve- to raise one’s level consciousness, to be changed, becomes insatiable. To what extent does this observation align or depart from preconceived perspectives? How does this observation resonate with the current worldview of the learner? What types of emotions are experienced as a result of this observation? Why? How does this observation connect or integrate with previous learning from other disciplines? How is it similar? How is it different? These questions allow the observation to move beyond mere recollection and penetrate the fabric of one’s being. In other writings, the importance of being informing doing has been posed. Lastly, application is necessary for authentic learning to occur. However, because synthesis has preceded it, the outcome should be more specific, strategic, and satisfying.
The world shows few signs that things are going to be slowing down. The rapidity with which we are required to function is likely to increase. However, the quest to enjoy a meaningful existence will remain highly elusive devoid of efforts to include schola into one’s life. Meaning requires both experience and reflection to occur. It cannot be bestowed upon another. It must be made by the individual. Perhaps the single greatest strategy that educators and other leaders can use to encourage a positive, holistic attitude about learning is through the intentional inclusion of synthesis. How can individuals be forced to wrestle a bit with a particular concept? How can greater ownership be cultivated? How can the process of learning be embraced rather than the product alone? How can the experience connect to the bigger picture? Finally, the absence of synthesis in the learning process cripples the creative capacities of people. Innovation is unlikely to occur.
Four years ago I published an article in a higher education periodical. The article was entitled: Engaging the Meaning-Making Power of Reflection: An Evaluation of the Undergraduate Experience. The article targeted Student Affairs professionals and received a great deal of positive feedback which eventually led to a series of similar pieces of work including national conferences and publications. Though my thinking has changed to some extent in this area, I still affirm the overall goals of this article.
Engaging the Meaning-Making Power of Reflection: An Evaluation of the Undergraduate Experience
By Tony Marchesi, 2004
A timeless, universal constant of the human condition is our inherent longing to live a life replete with meaning. Though consideration of such a proposition evokes a sense of veracity or rightness within us, our ability to encapsulate this nebulous ideal within an analytical paradigm enabling the understanding and communication of its central tenets is formidable at best. Meaning and meaningful are terms repeatedly employed by Student Affairs practitioners to describe the preferred outcome of a particular event, usually those involving students. We ask ourselves and each other, “Was it a meaningful conversation?’ “Did the student discover the meaning of the experience?” Sound familiar? An even more important question to ask ourselves is what is the meaning of meaning and why is it important?
Does our programmatic intentionality containing vital components like authenticity, frequency, and creativity ensure that students will describe a judicial hearing or student staff training as meaningful? No. Though we might insist that our efforts are markedly attentive to the needs of our student population, we must concede that despite the excellence with which we may function, any attempt to craft a meaningful experience is futile. Humans are not presented with a ready-made meaningful existence or one that mechanically generates meaningfulness following certain behaviors; we must learn to make our lives rich and meaningful. It is an act that requires a degree of intentionality, thoughtfulness, and effective assimilation.
It would be imprudent to imply that most programming efforts are negligent in addressing the co-curricular needs of students. It is, however, probable that because our profession contains few measurable objectives that culminate at year-end or upon graduation i.e. final exams, we initiate a relentless programming spree as we educate within a domain that is concerned with overarching life themes like appreciating diversity, considering the benefits of seeking vocation over work, and choosing to engage in relationships that are substantive. An implicit consideration might suggest that since faculty are responsible for educating toward a professional end, Student Affairs personnel focus upon vital life issues. What an enormous undertaking. This approach is exhausting for professionals and students alike. Because our domain is so large and in many cases undefined, we have few curricular and behavioral safeguards to help ensure that our efforts are beneficial and under control. Our quantitative emphasis upon programming and the high value we place upon heavily involved students communicates the message that busyness is better. It is quite possible that our ambitiousness to “program without ceasing” accounts in part for the high turnover rate of co-curricular educators and the exorbitant amount of tired students.
Meaningfulness is not bestowed by educators and it does not occur through the accumulation of numerous travels abroad or extensive leadership involvement. Even some of our best programming series that demand hours of preparation do not produce meaning. Meaningfulness is generated out of the coalescence of experience and reflection. If we are not providing students with the appropriate space and tools to make their out of class experiences meaningful, our efforts are inconsequential and may even exacerbate the undergraduate years.
We exist in a culture that savors a reality marked by perpetual motion and fluidity. Stability could evoke accusations of an ineffectual life or languishing. Our personal landscapes are of a variegated and hardy sort, able to withstand extreme conditions and easily transplantable. We acclimate ourselves according to our perceived needs of the present. In short, we are addicted to change. We amuse ourselves with unbridled materialism, the challenge of hooking up, and high intensity recreation. Our senses are inundated with stimuli as we exhaust our being.
Upon initial consideration, reflection might invoke unpleasant images of sitting in a frozen state for countless hours or wandering through a lonely desert punishing one’s body in order to attain a heightened state of consciousness. While some may choose to reflect in this manner, this is clearly only a miniscule representation of its power and process. Reflection can not only be a pleasurable activity for our students, it is unquestionably necessary if they are to have a meaningful collegiate experience.
Socrates declared that, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Professor Keating (Dead Poets Society) talked of, “sucking the marrow out of life.” Others, still, prefer a technological paradigm by describing reflection as the process of downloading everyday occurrences and thoughts into appropriate files enabling easy access for meaning-making and life application. Let us examine four practical suggestions that can help ensure that our undergraduates are maximizing their co-curricular experience.
Formulate a co-curricular syllabus containing specific learning objectives that accentuate the institutional mission and clearly defines the role of co-curricular education. If it appears as though certain existing programs/procedures are unnecessary or irrelevant, eliminate them.
Refrain from appealing to the more is better principle. More programs can do much to undermine learning and meaning-making. Are our students worn out? Are we fatigued?
As new programs are formulated, be sure to provide adequate space and tools to enable students to make their experiences meaningful. Consider logistical issues (Are we planning too much in too short a time span? Is there sufficient downtime [space]? Are participants informed of the desired outcomes for the program? Are students provided with appropriate follow-up resources to reflect upon and integrate the experience into their lives?)
Familiarize Student Affairs educators and students with meaning-making tools including:
· Reflection (Kinesthetic reflection works best for most people. Use shower time, driving, walking, and exercising to assimilate activities into meaningful categories)
· Solitude (Encourage students to take a walk alone a few times a week. Perhaps it would be advantageous to be prepared with an issue to ponder.)
· Silence (Incessant music, television, IM, and talking bombard our minds with irrelevant stimuli and ideas. Most of these things do not deserve to occupy such a prominent place in our minds. Our reflective capacity and creative faculties are often incapacitated or dulled by unnecessary noise.)
· Journaling (This is a great way to unload and make sense of pressing concerns, the advantages and disadvantages of an impending decision, clarification of motives, and to keep an account of our thoughts. It is also an excellent exercise that enhances reasoning abilities and improves our written communication.)
Like our students, we aim toward a life immersed in meaningfulness. Amidst the flurry of activities that can assault our senses and wear us out, let us learn to grasp hold of the mundane occurrences that generally are concealed from our scrutiny and turn them into something beautiful and meaningful. Student restlessness is due in large part to their unconscious quest for the fulfilled life. As educators, we can reevaluate our current pedagogy and determine if we are suffocating our students. A more focused co-curricular program that provides ample space and tools for reflection can radically redefine and strengthen the impact of Student Affairs within the university. By introducing students to the meaning-making power of reflection, we extend to them ownership for shaping their semesters into an extraordinary undergraduate experience.
Reflections for Sunday Night
May 19, 2008“Of all the soft stuff that executives and managers, and all the rest of us try to avoid, inner consciousness may be the softest of all. Inner consciousness cannot be quantified. It cannot be studied empirically. It cannot be experienced by and of the senses. It is not part of the curriculum of the Harvard Business School. It is hard to understand, much less appreciate. Managers and executives have enough problems with which to wrestle; they see no need to go on an inner journey to find more….It is easier to operate on a belief that what you see is what you get” (Leadership and Spirit By Russ Moxley, 129).
“Some dullards have no curiosity or sense of wonder at the harmony and beauty of creation; others have had it drummed out of them by suffering or deadening educational systems. But traces of the sense of wonder and the quest for meaning survive in most human beings. We find meaning by identifying parts and linking them to each other forming wholes”, Vocation: Discerning Our Callings in Life By Schuurman, p. 65).
“Let no one hope to find in contemplation as escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude of the contemplative experience awakens a tragic anguish and opens many questions in the depths of the heart like wounds that cannot stop bleeding” (New Seeds of Contemplation By Thomas Merton, p. 12).
“We do not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them; we do not leave them in order to have nothing more to do with them, but to find out the way to do them the most good. But this is only the secondary end” (New Seeds of Contemplation By Thomas Merton, p. 80).
“…have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer” (Rilke)
Self Awareness: Inconsequential to Leadership?
May 12, 2008A few years ago, a university president publicly announced to a group of about 75 students (whom I served as their lead professor) that self-awareness is inconsequential to effective leadership. He indicated that “a good leader must only be about achieving the vision.” As these words were shared, several of the students became uncomfortable and started shifting in their seats while they attempted to make eye contact with me. The curriculum of which the students were exposed boasted four foundational components: Introspection, Integration, Individuality, and Intervention. Introspection or self awareness within the context of the academic minor stressed the relationship of being to doing. Students were challenged to explore their “personal owner’s manual” while also identifying those factors within their lives that helped shape or threaten the realization of their goals. Individuality as a foundational curricular component challenged prevalent “one size fits all” pedagogical systems. Students were provided with a context that celebrated higher level diversity: human assets or strengths. Rather than viewing the self as a compendium of personal problems to be overcome, the discovery, affirmation, development and strategic application of strengths generates a model of intentional living that resonates deeply from the soul. Integration encourages students to consider the connectedness of reality and the relationship of belief to behavior. Instead of attempting to address an issue or to solve a problem through only one lens of inquiry, the value of utilizing an interdisciplinary methodology to find cohesion is the aim. Lastly, intervention is based upon the precept that we are uniquely infused with the charge to perpetuate the evolution of the human race. Transforming our respective spheres of influence (i.e. leadership) is a sacred opportunity and obligation.
My philosophy of teaching organizational leadership is firmly grounded in the co-evolutionary dialectic or interaction between self and system. As the individual experiences a transformation, there is a greater desire to and aptitude for transforming systems or organizations. Not only do I believe that student persistence and achievement is positively correlated with this process, I also am convinced that individuals are more likely to take ownership for their lives and seek more than mere transactional relationships with others and with their jobs. It’s not just about the expenditure of personal effort to get the grade to get the good job. It is a sacred commitment to maximize the meaning-making potential of the seemingly insignificant events of life and the as well as the big stuff as they occur within the framework of a life shaped by introspection with the goal constantly clarifying identity.
Is self-awareness inconsequential to leadership effectiveness? Hardly. I advocate that one cannot positively transform an organization unless he or she is also on a similar, personal journey, They are interconnected. You will note from another post that I have been immersed in the writings of Margaret Wheatley. She opens a provocative window into leadership studies that is unrivaled. She writes:
“Leaders managing difficult personal transitions are also engaged in many other changes in the organization. They are supporting teams, fostering collaboration and more participative processes, introducing new ways of thinking. They are setting a great many things in motion simultaneously within the organization. Some work, some don’t, but the climate for experimentation is evident. A change here elicits a response there, which calls for a new idea, which elicits yet another response. It’s an intricate exchange and coevolution, and it’s nearly impossible to look back and name any single change as the cause of all others. In this way, organizational change is a dance, not a forced march.”
From Finding Our Own Way, 73.
Is the vision of the organization important? Yes, but not alone. Vision is inspired by identity. “Organizing occurs around an identity- there is a ‘self’ that gets organized. Once this identity is set in motion, it becomes the sense-making process of the organization. In deciding what to do, a system will refer back to its sense of self.” (37)
Clarifying Questions:
If you are dissatisfied with your organization, what are you doing personally to change? How can your own growth-journey be integrated into your work? In your organization, does cohesion exist between its espoused identity and its behavior? Or, does a belief-behavior dichotomy exist? How can an infusion of being into your organization postively impact its output?
The Highly Human Side of Leadership
May 6, 2008“In their work on human cognition, Maturana and Varela explain that, at any moment, what we see is most influenced by who we have decided to be. Our eyes do not simply pick up information from an outside world and relay it to our brains. Information relayed from the outside through the eye accounts for only 20 percent of what we use to create a perception. At least 80 percent of the information that the brain works with is information already in the brain. We each create our own worlds by what we choose to notice, creating a world of distinctions that make sense to us. We then “see” the world through this self we have created. Information from the external world is a minor influence. We connect who we are with selected amounts of new information to enact our particular version of reality.”
From A Simpler Way by Margaret J. Wheatley and Myron Kellner-Rogers.(49)
For most of my life, I have heard individuals- teachers, pastors, parents, etc. talk about “the truth.” Many, especially within the pastoral context have spoken quite authoritatively and passionately. All truth claims appeal to some type of epistemological system by which information is processed, compared to some standard which authenticates its veracity, and then transmitted through behavior that should conform to its tenets. While I am strongly compelled to embrace the existence of objective reality, I am also aware of the impossibility of gauging reality free from personal “baggage” or those subjective elements which color our perspective. For example, one’s race, religion, gender, socio-economic status, education, sexuality, geographical origin, personal tragedies, etc. all shape one’s worldview. It is impossible to bifurcate our baggage from our inquiry. When we make truth claims, especially within the presence of others, it is important that we consider how our worldview impacts our process of acquiring knowledge.
Much of the impetus behind my initial desire to study Organizational Leadership at the doctoral level came from my need to make sense out of some bizarre behaviors which I observed of some leaders. What qualities are essential for one to be identified by others as a promising leader? To what extent does one’s personal disposition inform leadership decisions? Within the context of religion, what is the relationship of one’s personality to one’s overall conception of God? Often I would hear individuals in church leadership indicate that they were speaking for God- revelation seemed closely interconnected to the disposition of the messenger. While I agree with the tenets of organic inspiration, I also believe that one’s personality can strongly inform one’s epistemological framework for understanding the will of God. In order to more closely align ourselves with truth, we must be aware of the impossibility of considering truth free from subjective constraints, i.e. personality, experiences, etc. We must acknowledge the presence of these factors, consider the manner in which they influence our thinking, and move forward in our inquiry. One of the most important tools that one can use to help expose the subjective elements that shape our viewpoints is the dialectical process or human interaction. It is within the presence of community that we are able to work together to unravel the complexities of the world in which we live and form some conclusions.
Within the context of leadership, however, many individuals choose a more solitary existence. In some cases, while a desire for meaningful engagement might exist, that interaction must never call to question the veracity of the viewpoint of the leader. That is, the leader surrounds himself or herself with people who do nothing but affirm their own viewpoints. While A is occurring in the organization, the universe within which the leader chooses to reside prefers to embrace B as reality. This alternate universe which closely resembles that found within the wonderful children’s book, The Emperor’s New Clothes is primarily self-referential. I have chosen to refer to this common phenomenon as Organizational Solipsism. Solipsism is a philosophical term that is used to describe an anthropocentric worldview or, more specifically, one in which the self or one’s existence operates as the only thing of which one can be certain. Please note the definitions below:
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition solipsism [(sol-uhp-siz-uhm)]The belief that all reality is just one’s own imagining of reality, and that one’s self is the only thing that exists
American Heritage Dictionary -
sol·ip·sism n. Philosophy
The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.
The theory or view that the self is the only reality.
What happens when a leader adopts organizational solipsism?
I once worked for an organization, a college wherein the president persistently offered public praise for the fact that the organization was “on the move.” While brick and mortar was transformed into numerous buildings, many lives were obliterated- both students and faculty. The alternate universe in which the president resided did not allow for divergent viewpoints, healthy debates, or any suggestions that did provide him with an opportunity for direct, explicit self-promotion before external constituencies. Decisions were made on a regular basis that diminished the value of human capital and perpetuated a crippling cynicism and blatant distrust within the culture. Students and staff members were reluctant to express concerns for fear of losing scholarships or jobs for that matter.
Every leader is capable of succumbing to the temptation of engaging in organizational solipsism. Though the allurement of creating an alternate universe where the self reigns supreme might be compelling, the casualties that may be incurred along the way make it a very deplorable course of action. Regardless of our skills, intelligence, or records of success, we must ALWAYS be aware that the “baggage” that we carry can have a marked impact (for better or for worse) upon our organizations and most importantly, upon those with whom we serve. What is truth? What ingredients shape your worldview? What safeguards are in place to help ensure that you are seeing A instead of B? Who in your life (at home and at work) is honest with you no matter what?
