| This exploratory research project investigated contemplative leadership as experienced by seven people out of 22, who attended a multi-day seminar on the subject at a major university. Little has been written about contemplative leadership as applied to business and none of this prior research has presented a process for leading from a contemplative perspective. People in today's workplace teams are faced with complex problems that require breakthrough solutions, i.e., approaches that transcend current paradigms. Business leaders need an effective leadership process. A prime example is the area of project management. Participants of the seminar experienced such breakthroughs; however, no process theory was provided to help participants replicate these results either in other seminars or in their workplaces. This research project results in a notional model for this process. Through heuristic research methods, 12 seminar themes are identified. These themes are used to construct the following 7-step contemplative leadership process: (1) establish intention, (2) create a generative space, (3) guide individuals through personal transformations, (4) guide the group through a group transformation, (5) use dialogue to lead the group to a breakthrough regarding the intention, (6) administer follow-through, and (7) verify that the results satisfy the intention. Transformation is defined as a change in worldview and/or way of being by a person or group. The researcher's experience of successfully applying contemplative leadership to project management is also explored. Specific contemplative leadership methods such as silence, deep listening, storytelling, and dialogue are identified for overcoming the major reasons why projects fail as reported in the literature. Specific examples of how the contemplative leadership model was used to revive three failing teams at a major aerospace firm are included. A comparison of research results to some of the management and leadership theories prevalent in the literature is also provided. Recommendations include future research into the effect of increasing the number and diversity of seminar interviewees, the impact of changing the seminar duration, a more detailed study of the use of contemplative leadership in project management, and the relationship between contemplative leadership traits and process. |
