Recognizing Our Fears and Limitations
Psychotherapy has much to offer Middle Way Management™, particularly with regard to our sense of Self and our ego natures, and how both of these inform our interactions with others.
We are told by psychologists that our sense of self begins to evolve early in our lives - very early. As we come to recognize that we are separate from our mothers and then our fathers, we develop multiple fears that affect how we define ourselves over the course of our lifetimes. This can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing. As we strive in later life to increase our awareness and compassionate practice, we ultimately arrive at a place where we must bravely face our fears head-on and recognize and acknowledge our limitations.
Some people never arrive at this place of increased awareness. These are the managers with which we are all too familiar: The controlling, perpetually nervous, often angry, somewhat sociopathic supervisors who largely determine our success or failure in an organization. In these cases, little introspection has been exercised and reaction has become the modus operandi. Exuberant reactivity is the result of a self-definition that values difference so that every situation is a competition, rather than an opportunity for collaboration. The best examples of this are managers who model their operational wisdom on ideas from books such as The Art of War or The Prince, rather than the I Ching or The Bible.
The Ego and Self-definition
The ego as I discuss it here is interested in one thing: survival. Given the fact that American-style managers have been raised in a predominantly egoistic social milieu, it is not surprising that the metaphors used in an organizational management context usually involve competitive, or even war-like, language. Listen to the words a manager uses; they are the true indicators of the management approach. Words are powerful things; they not only reflect our thoughts, they become our actions and behaviors. As members of an egoistic society, it is extremely difficult to break out of such behavioral patterns because they have become comfortable and assuage the constant, underlying (i.e., unconscious) fears we all harbor deep in our hearts.
As a typical American-style manager transcends fear through consciously mindful awareness, his metaphors begin to morph into something less brutal. This often results in both the manager and the organization coming to the realization that the mutual fit once so convenient to all parties no longer applies. In this case, the manager will either self-select for exit or be aggressively separated by the organization. Either way, this gets at self-definition and how important it is that we not only define ourselves in ways appropriate to our intended goals and objectives, but that these goals and objectives mesh with those of the organization.
I've been "aggressively separated" (yes, fired) from an organization for "practicing servant leadership without a license" because I did not understand that my chosen management style and personal path were at odds with the organizational assumptions and perceptions of what it takes to effectively lead and manage people. Had I understood this sooner, I would have left on my own. Isn't the 20/20 vision of hindsight grand?
Decisions to Make
As you develop your Middle Way Management practice, you must be keenly aware of what such a commitment entails. Middle Way Managers are compassionate and empathetic, while, at the same time, holding people accountable for their words and actions. If you are entering an organization as a new managerial member, ensure the organization will support your philosophy before you take up residence. Likewise, if you decide to shift to a mindful awareness and embrace Middle Way Management in a context in which your prior words and actions may not have been so compassionate and empathetic, be prepared for resistance and possible fallout from your decision.
In the end, it's about whom you decide you are. What's your definition of your Self? Are you ready to create ripples of positive energy that extend beyond your organization and into the lives of those you manage? Are you prepared for how your friends and loved ones will react to your new comportment? Be aware that those already familiar with your "style" will not come around to your new way of thinking, speaking, and acting immediately; they will continue to interact and react with you as if you are still your un-conscious, and not-so-compassionate, self. This is truly an opportunity for you to practice the patience and kindness I talked about in my first post here.
And how does one really go about doing all of this? Well, that's the topic of my next post, of course. Stay tuned - you'll like what I have to say.
Onward! Darin
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Precepts and Percepts of Middle Way Management
Part Two: Percepts
The percepts of Middle Way Management™ are the assumptions and presumptions many of us make and carry around in our heads regarding an approach to leading and managing people that emphasizes compassion over the bottom line. Typically, assumptions like these are created from incomplete or inaccurate information about what it takes to manage people in an organization.
Percept #1: Middle Way Management is a soft approach to leading and managing people in organizations
American-style organizations have long operated under the assumption that people are nothing more than resources to be exploited with the singular goal of increasing shareholder value. The roots of this attitude lie in Chicago School/Friedmanian economic theories that consider humans rational beings (we generally are not) to be manipulated in ways designed solely to increase productive output. This largely discounts stakeholder theories that emphasize common ground and the sharing of success and failure across a broader spectrum of interested parties, including shareholders/owners, managers (as representatives of the shareholders/owners), employees, partners, suppliers, and even competitors. Middle Way Management emphasizes personal accountability at all organizational levels, leaving no "wiggle room" for lapses in ethics or responsibility. Because of this, Middle Way Management is not "soft" on people in organizations; it holds them to the highest possible standards.
Percept #2: Some (most?) managers will not accept or adopt Middle Way Management
The temptation here is to use the old sales adage, "Some will, some won't, so what, who's next?" I understand that not everyone will ken to my presentation of Middle Way Management and I'm fine with that. As I explained to a colleague who presented this idea to me, if everyone went along with my concepts, I would be able to change water to wine and then walk on it! I fully expect many, if not most, American-style managers to discount the ideas here because they have been steeped in the points I make in Percept #1. My primary goal is to present the concepts and let the seeds germinate and take root where they will. If I can help even one manager reach a new awareness about his or her role, I've accomplished something wonderful.
Percept #3: Middle Way Management is nothing new
As another old saying goes, "There is nothing new under the sun." So it also goes for Middle Way Management. A major task when one undertakes knowledge creation is to synthesize and evaluate both disparate and similar ideas, to show them in a new light. As I frame management in new ways, I am presenting new possibilities that some managers may never before have considered or, if they have considered them, did not possess the practice tools to make them a reality. The fundamental concepts of Middle Way Management are not new, which is why I truly believe it will succeed as a new way of leading and managing people in organizations.
Percept #4: Middle Way Management is a Buddhist apologetic
Middle Way Management does, by virtue of its name, share much with Buddhism. The attention to mindfulness, compassion, daily review(s) of behaviors, and an emphasis on right thought that leads to right speech and right action are all Buddhist concepts. Yet, they are also concepts that can be found in other leadership and management approaches, as well as other philosophies and ideologies. Middle Way Management is not an apologetic because it is not focused on recruiting anyone to the Buddhist religion/way of life nor is it intended to be used as a rationalization for adoption of Buddhist philosophy. As you will see, Middle Way Management is a way to lead and manage people in organizations that is more than all of these.
Percept #5: Middle Way Management is a New Age approach
The intent of Middle Way Management is to encourage a leadership/management sensibility of compassion that generates a more positive and creative organizational environment. Because of the language I use, some will see it as a New Age approach when, in fact, it is closer to Buddhism, which has a 2,500-year history of success. As with anything I write, the conclusions people come to will be entirely their own. I can only offer my ideas for consumption and then see how people embrace and apply them. This should prove to be an interesting journey, indeed.
Stay tuned for more - I've completed the articles I was committed to writing and now have more time to develop and present Middle Way Management for your comments.
Onward! Darin
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
The percepts of Middle Way Management™ are the assumptions and presumptions many of us make and carry around in our heads regarding an approach to leading and managing people that emphasizes compassion over the bottom line. Typically, assumptions like these are created from incomplete or inaccurate information about what it takes to manage people in an organization.
Percept #1: Middle Way Management is a soft approach to leading and managing people in organizations
American-style organizations have long operated under the assumption that people are nothing more than resources to be exploited with the singular goal of increasing shareholder value. The roots of this attitude lie in Chicago School/Friedmanian economic theories that consider humans rational beings (we generally are not) to be manipulated in ways designed solely to increase productive output. This largely discounts stakeholder theories that emphasize common ground and the sharing of success and failure across a broader spectrum of interested parties, including shareholders/owners, managers (as representatives of the shareholders/owners), employees, partners, suppliers, and even competitors. Middle Way Management emphasizes personal accountability at all organizational levels, leaving no "wiggle room" for lapses in ethics or responsibility. Because of this, Middle Way Management is not "soft" on people in organizations; it holds them to the highest possible standards.
Percept #2: Some (most?) managers will not accept or adopt Middle Way Management
The temptation here is to use the old sales adage, "Some will, some won't, so what, who's next?" I understand that not everyone will ken to my presentation of Middle Way Management and I'm fine with that. As I explained to a colleague who presented this idea to me, if everyone went along with my concepts, I would be able to change water to wine and then walk on it! I fully expect many, if not most, American-style managers to discount the ideas here because they have been steeped in the points I make in Percept #1. My primary goal is to present the concepts and let the seeds germinate and take root where they will. If I can help even one manager reach a new awareness about his or her role, I've accomplished something wonderful.
Percept #3: Middle Way Management is nothing new
As another old saying goes, "There is nothing new under the sun." So it also goes for Middle Way Management. A major task when one undertakes knowledge creation is to synthesize and evaluate both disparate and similar ideas, to show them in a new light. As I frame management in new ways, I am presenting new possibilities that some managers may never before have considered or, if they have considered them, did not possess the practice tools to make them a reality. The fundamental concepts of Middle Way Management are not new, which is why I truly believe it will succeed as a new way of leading and managing people in organizations.
Percept #4: Middle Way Management is a Buddhist apologetic
Middle Way Management does, by virtue of its name, share much with Buddhism. The attention to mindfulness, compassion, daily review(s) of behaviors, and an emphasis on right thought that leads to right speech and right action are all Buddhist concepts. Yet, they are also concepts that can be found in other leadership and management approaches, as well as other philosophies and ideologies. Middle Way Management is not an apologetic because it is not focused on recruiting anyone to the Buddhist religion/way of life nor is it intended to be used as a rationalization for adoption of Buddhist philosophy. As you will see, Middle Way Management is a way to lead and manage people in organizations that is more than all of these.
Percept #5: Middle Way Management is a New Age approach
The intent of Middle Way Management is to encourage a leadership/management sensibility of compassion that generates a more positive and creative organizational environment. Because of the language I use, some will see it as a New Age approach when, in fact, it is closer to Buddhism, which has a 2,500-year history of success. As with anything I write, the conclusions people come to will be entirely their own. I can only offer my ideas for consumption and then see how people embrace and apply them. This should prove to be an interesting journey, indeed.
Stay tuned for more - I've completed the articles I was committed to writing and now have more time to develop and present Middle Way Management for your comments.
Onward! Darin
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
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