Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation

1228 Pages·2018·18.96 MB·English

by  Judi Neal

Judi Neal
Editor
Handbook of
Personal and
Organizational
Transformation
Handbook of Personal and Organizational
Transformation
Judi Neal
Editor
Handbook of Personal and
Organizational
Transformation
With 84 Figures and 34 Tables
Editor
Judi Neal
Edgewalkers International
Fayetteville, AR, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-66892-5 ISBN 978-3-319-66893-2 (eBook)
ISBN 978-3-319-66894-9 (print and electronic bundle)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66893-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018940526
# Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the
material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors
or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims
in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of
Springer Nature.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
For the past 25 years, I have focused my career on understanding the relationship
between spirituality and work, and then organizing and disseminating what I have
learned. One of my efforts to disseminate this information was a book I wrote in
2012 called Creating Enlightened Organizations (Neal 2012). The purpose of that
book was to provide an overview of all the ways that organizations have
implemented workplace spirituality. I also edited a volume for Springer (the pub-
lisher of this Handbook) titled The Handbook of Faith and Spirituality in the
Workplace, a collection of writings from leading-edge thinkers and practitioners
on cutting-edge research and on breakthroughs of organizational practice. I was the
founding director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at
the University of Arkansas, and as part of that role, I created a website that brought
together syllabi for workplace spirituality courses, doctoral dissertations, popular
press articles, and case studies of exemplary organizations.
During all this time, I have sensed there is something more unfolding in humanity
– something that encompasses workplace spirituality but also transcends
it. Workplace spirituality is but one facet of a larger transformative shift. I have
tried in vain to name what I am sensing. There is a well-known parable about the
blind men and the elephant that originated from the ancient Indian subcontinent. The
group of blind men encounter an elephant, a creature that none of them had ever
come across before. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant’s body, such
as the tail or trunk, and then each man describes the elephant based on his partial
experience, as if his experience were the truth of the whole elephant. Each blind man
is partially right, but no one has a completely accurate description.
This Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation is my attempt to
blindly feel parts of the elephant that I cannot see. I have invited authors from around
the world and from many disciplines to explore with me and to describe the parts of
the elephant that they sense in the hopes that out of this dialogue with great minds,
hearts, and souls, some higher collective wisdom will emerge. I do know that this
field of transformation has something to do with the evolution of humanity.
I remember my excitement when I first read Teilhard de Chardin’s thoughts on
evolution in The Phenomenon of Man (1959). He stated that evolution was a given,
and that all things were evolving naturally – mankind, the cosmos, consciousness,
and God himself.
v
vi Preface
Blind indeed are those who do not see the sweep of a movement whose orbit
infinitely transcends the natural sciences and has successively invaded and con-
quered the surrounding territory – chemistry, physics, sociology, and even mathe-
matics and the history of religions. One after the other all the fields of human
knowledge have been shaken and carried away by the same underwater current in
the direction of the study of some development. Is evolution a theory, a system, or a
hypothesis? It is much more: it is a general condition to which all theories, all
hypotheses, and all systems must bow and which they must satisfy henceforward if
they are to be thinkable and true. Evolution is a light illuminating all facts, a curve
that all lines must follow (de Chardin 1955, p. 219).
Although it can be difficult to see in today’s world, de Chardin is right, and it has
become a core tenet of my faith, and of the workplace spirituality movement, that we
indeed are evolving together toward a consciousness of unity – what he calls the
Omega Point (de Chardin 1959). I have a bias toward looking for what works and
toward looking for signs of progress. New thought philosophers and theologians call
this the Law of Attraction – “what you pay attention to grows” – and the field of
positive psychology has scientifically confirmed that there are more positive out-
comes when we build on what is best, highest, and most effective than when we
focus on problems and on what is wrong, broken, or not working (Seligman and
Csikszentmihalyi 2014). This is actually not new wisdom; the Bible states “what-
soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
This Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation is centered on
how this evolutionary process might work, and on what we can do individually and
collectively to support this unfoldment of higher consciousness for the good of
humankind.
In order to see positive transformation occur in the world, we must begin by
shifting our individual consciousness to a higher level of thinking and being, and
then we must also utilize systems or approaches that can scale up to generate a
collective shift in consciousness in groups, work teams, villages, governments, and
corporations. The structure of this Handbook basically follows this progression of
analysis from individual transformation to global transformation.
This Handbook aims to pull together in one place the best and most creative
thinking about the field of transformation, to be an encyclopedia of leading edge
theories and approaches for both the academic and the practitioner. These days, the
lines between academic and practitioner are becoming more and more blurred. Many
management faculty also consult to organizations, deeply enriching their teaching
and research. And many successful full-time consultants conduct high quality
research to support their approaches and change initiatives. This Handbook aims
to be a creative dialogue integrating theory and practice. This is an impossible task
because new knowledge and thinking emerge faster than we can collect and codify it;
nonetheless, I believe that this attempt to bring quality ideas together into one
volume is worth doing. This volume is published as a print volume, but also as an
electronic volume. The print volume will, by nature, be static. But the electronic
volume will constantly be updated and will continue to grow as a living database of
new thinking and practice in the field of transformation.
Preface vii
This is not a textbook of mainstream ideas that have been around for a long time,
although the pioneering and traditional work is referenced and built upon. Many of
those traditional and commonly accepted ideas and approaches simply do not work
in any sustainable way in today’s complex and unpredictable world. Instead, I
invited authors on the cutting edge of new theories and new approaches to give us
their latest thinking. Some of these ideas are conjecture about what is possible in
human, organizational, and societal development. Some of these approaches are
currently being tested in the field and may not yet have scientific results. And some
of these theories and models have stunning results but may not have been published
in academic journals because the author is a practitioner instead of an academic, or
because the concepts are a little too far out of the mainstream.
The objective of this Handbook is to expand the reader’s perspective and to
empower people to be courageous about their involvement in creating transforma-
tion at whatever level they feel called to do so. I also want this book to give people
hope that things can and are getting better. First, you must believe that transforma-
tion is possible (Neal 2018), and the chapters in this Handbook provide overwhelm-
ing evidence of the power of transformative practices.
There are three unique contributions of this Handbook of Personal and Organi-
zational Transformation:
1. Integrating theories and practices from all levels of analysis, from interpersonal to
organizational to global.
2. Encompassing theories and practices from multiple disciplines including psy-
chology, sociology, health and well-being, ecology, neuroscience, consciousness
studies, and the arts.
3. Featuring authors who are passionate about creating positive change in the world
who are willing to take risks and break new ground.
When I invited scholars and practitioners to write a chapter for this Handbook, I
asked them to consider the following questions in their writing:
1. What is the difference between change and transformation?
2. Why is human change so difficult?
3. Why do we need more effective transformation processes in the world today?
4. How can we make positive transformation more sustainable?
5. Where are the exemplary change leaders and case studies? Why are not these
taught more often in Business Schools?
6. What is the inner work of the Change Agent?
7. What is the role of human consciousness and spirituality in transformation?
8. In what ways do the hard sciences provide models and theories that can be used
in social systems?
9. What is the contribution of the so-called softer sciences, such as psychology,
sociology, theology, economics, and so on?
10. What role does art, music, poetry, improvisation, and other creative expressions
play in creating personal and organizational transformation?
viii Preface
11. What is our relationship to unpredictability, and how can we improve our
adaptability and resilience?
12. Do we need new ways to define and measure transformation?
13. What is the link between personal and organizational transformation?
14. What is missing in our transformation processes that might make them more
effective?
It is my hope that you find these questions richly answered in this volume and that
other even deeper and more profound questions will be raised by these cutting-edge
thinkers and change agents.
One of the basic principles you will find throughout this book is that there can be
no team, organizational, or global transformation without personal transformation.
Anything else is just a case of the blind leading the blind, and we see that all too often
in systems today. The authors in this Handbook repeatedly address the challenges
faced by humanity and the need for transformation. Several of them mention the
apparently apocryphal quotation from Einstein: “No problem can be solved from the
same level of consciousness that created it.” A search for the original source of that
quotation came up empty handed, but this quotation speaks the same sentiment:
Problems are best solved not on the level where they appear to occur but on the next level
above them . . . Problems are best solved by transcending them and looking at them from a
higher viewpoint. At the higher level, the problems automatically resolve themselves
because of that shift in point of view, or one might see there was no problem at all. (Hawkins
2009, p. 176)
Organization of This Handbook
There are eight sections to this Handbook. Each builds on the next, but each can be
read independently.
Part I, titled “Overview of the Field of Transformation,” consists of chapters
providing a background on various transformation theories and practices. This
section title is a bit ironic because there is not yet a professional field of transfor-
mation, but it is my hope that this book might provide some inspiration and energy
for such a field to be created.
Part II, “Personal Transformation in an Organizational Context,” examines ways
in which personal transformation takes place from several perspectives including
psychology, neurobiology, creativity, and spirituality. These chapters also discuss
why personal transformation is a prerequisite for more systemic forms of transfor-
mation. Contributors to this section include academics, therapists, a medical doctor,
and consultants.
Part III, “Leadership Transformation,” offers several cutting-edge approaches to
leadership transformation, including the concepts of leadership convergence as a
form of practical wisdom; leadership applications of Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s
Journey”; religious and spiritual disciplines including prayer and meditation; and the
role of virtue ethics in leadership transformation.
Preface ix
Part IV, “Group Transformation,” focuses on working with groups using non-
traditional approaches that lead to higher levels of coherence and performance.
These chapters describe the use of music in different contexts as well as the use of
energy healing in teams. Interestingly, each of the authors in this section bridge the
worlds of academia and practice; their chapters are theoretically supported and also
based in grounded consulting experience.
Part V, “Organizational Transformation,” also offers a couple of chapters that provide
approaches with the use of music, but this time at the organizational systems level. There
are also chapters describing methods that draw upon a variety religious wisdom and
spiritual models of consciousness for raising levels of consciousness in organizations. All
of the authors in this section have practical applied experience in organizations, andmany
of the chapters provide brief case studies or organizational examples.
Part VI, “Global Transformation,” tackles the really big questions about how we
can act effectively to create a better world for all. Several approaches are explored,
including the connection between culture and finance, how to cultivate a global
mindset, and the role of entrepreneurship in global transformation. Most importantly,
we must believe, as de Chardin proclaimed, that global transformation is part of our
natural evolution; one of the chapters provides very concrete visions of our imminent
future, inspiring us each to do our part.
Part VII, “Management Education Transformation,” gives us one particularly
effective lever for creating transformation at all of these different levels of analysis.
Business is the most powerful institution on earth, and business schools have a major
impact on the development of its influential leaders. This section provides examples
and models of what is on the cutting edge in university settings, where transforma-
tion is beginning to happen in the ways business schools are teaching management
and leadership.
Part VIII, “Case Studies and Application,” provides concrete examples of
transformation at the individual, leadership, group, and organizational level. The
accomplishments described in this section are like Roger Bannister’s 4-min mile. Up
until the 1950s, it was commonly accepted that it was beyond human capacity to run
a mile in under 4 min. But on May 6, 1954, with minimal training, Bannister ran a
mile in 3 min 59.4 s. His accomplishment shifted the mindset of what was presumed
as impossible, and many more went on to break his record shortly thereafter. These
case studies demonstrate that transformation is possible and provide several different
roadmaps for how this can be achieved.
As far as I know, there are no university courses specifically on transformation,
although some course may address in their content some of the sub-topics of
transformation. And, it is not possible to get a degree in transformation. There are
many leaders and consultants who are committed to bringing about transformation,
but there is no established training or credentialing in the field. This Handbook aims
to create a larger, more richly informed dialogue about the ways in which transfor-
mation unfolds and can be supported for the greater good. Perhaps, this dialogue will
lead to a greater professionalization of the field of transformation.
If, as you read the chapters in this book, you find ideas or practices that inspire
you, I encourage you to reach out to the author(s) and start a conversation. If you
x Preface
have your own ideas and experience with transformation that are not currently
expressed here, consider writing your own chapter. This is an ongoing project and
will be a growing database of the latest thinking on transformation, and I invite you
to contact me to get involved.
I want to close with a quotation about global transformation from my friend and
colleague Lothar Schafer, a chemist who authored Infinite Potential: What Quantum
Physics Reveals About How We Should Live:
Physicists such as Bohm, Eddington, Heisenberg and Jeans started this process. All of a
sudden, they found themselves in a reality in which the invisible is real and mindfulness
must be accepted as a property of the universe. With this, they were drawn into ancient
structures of consciousness, but their minds didn’t become archaic or magic minds because
the ancient concepts appeared quite naturally, without any stress, within the rational struc-
tures of physics. The outcome is something absolutely exciting: an integrative view of the
world that accepts all the virtues of the past, unifying all aspects of reality: its physical order
as well as its mental and spiritual order.
Previous jumps in the evolution of life typically occurred in times of global stress, when
life as a whole was challenged and survived through the cooperation and mutual support of
its various forms. Thus, when unexpected aspects of the wholeness of the world appear
together with signs of stress, as this is happening at the present time, it seems prudent to
prepare for another movement of the evolution of life. (Schafer 2013)
It is my prayer that in some small way, the ideas in this book contribute to this
movement of the evolution of life.
May 2018 Judi Neal
Fayetteville, Arkansas
References
de Chardin T (1955) The phenomenon of man. Harper Perennial, New York
Hawkins DR (2009) Healing and recovery. Veritas Publishing, Sedona
Neal J (2012) The handbook of faith and spirituality in the workplace. Springer,
New York
Neal J (2013) Creating enlightened organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Neal J (2018) First you must believe: an overview of transformation. In: Neal J
(ed) The handbook of personal and organizational transformation. Springer
Nature, New York
Schafer L (2013) Infinite potential: what quantum physics reveals about how we
should live. Deepak Chopra Books, New York
Seligman MEP, Csikszentmihalyi M (2014) Positive psychology: an introduction.
In: Flow and the foundations of positive psychology. Springer, Dordrecht