Revisiting Middle Way Management and the Self
In previous posts, I talked about how many of our non-Middle Way Management™ behaviors are born of our fears. I discussed how ego's sole aim is self-preservation, even at the expense of the very creature it inhabits - you! In this post, my intent is to examine self-definition while taking into consideration the content of those previous posts.
So, What Do You Do?
Most of us respond to the question, "So, what do you do?" with a simple answer: "I am my job." We might not say those exact words, but that's what we really mean. "I'm a software engineer." "I'm a dental technician." "I'm a Middle Way Manager." Wouldn't that last answer elicit a surprised look with followup questions!? I always have a hard time answering the "What do you do?" question because I think it's nothing more than a limiting qualifier intended to pigeonhole me into a group or judgment category for the person asking. I often answer, "A little of this, a little of that," which generally doesn't go over very well.
My main concern here is with how people typically answer this question. Most of us respond with our job title. I must admit the first response that often leaps to mind is what I do in my "day job", as well. I've been conditioned to respond this way based upon years of linear, non-Middle Way Management thinking. This thinking was centered around a self-definition based upon my ego needs. For many years, I thought I was an "IT guy." It turns out I'm more than that. Much more.
You Are Not Your Job
As you develop your Middle Way Management practice, always remember you are not your job. You are more than your job. You are someone with a purpose that may or may not have anything whatsoever to do with your job. We have all come to this place at this time for a reason and it is one of your primary duties as Middle Way Managers to discover this reason. Granted, some people know in their hearts that their mission on this planet is to accomplish as much as possible in their organizational positions. Yet, I would remind these people that they, too, are not their jobs.
If you are confident you are fulfilling your life purpose in your current organizational position, I wish you well on your journey. If you are choosing to develop a Middle Way Management practice along the way, even better. But, what about those who do not feel they are in the right organizational position at the right time? What if you are a manager who feels you have somehow fallen off track? What if you, in fact, hate your job, yet you are stuck because you must pay the mortgage, get the kids through school, etc.?
There is hope in Middle Way Management. As you increase the mindful awareness and compassion with which you manage others, you will notice positive transformations developing in every aspect of your life. Shifting the way you choose to define yourself (i.e., you are more than your job) will spill over into every other compartment of your life. There is simply no way it cannot. By practicing awareness through breathing and constant mindfulness as a reactionary safety net, your sense of inner calm and general self-awareness will grow, sometimes without you even knowing it is happening.
Discovering Your True Nature
Combining the breathing exercise (from a previous post) with the phrase, "I am more than my job," is a way to calm yourself and discover your true nature. As you develop your Middle Way Management practice and devote time to reflective thought and aware breathing, you will come closer to discovering your true nature.
You will find that your true nature is more than your job title; it is who you are in the deepest part of your being and who you are becoming. It is in becoming that you will discover your own Middle Way Management path of consciously mindful compassion and genuine empathy. It is through the purposeful practice of Middle Way Management that you will find your true self.
Got a bad boss? How about a good one? My next post considers how to "manage up" using Middle Way Management.
Onward! Darin
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Middle Way Management and Organizational Culture
The Power of Culture
Culture informs our social interactions and how we construct societies and organizations at the collective level. It can determine the outcomes of our pursuit of personal goals and certainly affects our efficacy as organizational members. It is always there, yet it isn't because it's a reified concept of what we believe in the deepest corners of our hearts, and it determines how we behave in every context of our lives.
We belong to several cultures, and sub-cultures, at once. These cultures extend from the personal to the national and include just about every conceivable permutation between the two. Our cultural memberships largely determine our values (and our Values Intelligence), which determine our general and specific focuses in life.
For instance, I belong to the academic culture. Over time, I chose to participate in this culture by acquiring academic credentials and now must take certain steps and measures to maintain my standing in that community. Interestingly, I can opt out of this community in a passive way simply by choosing not to play. Conversely, other cultures are such a part of us that there is no way we can choose to let them go, passively or otherwise.
Some cultures are sodalities with fluid membership and some are so ingrained in us that they affect our decision making processes. A Harley-Davidson group is a sodality, while a religion is a deeply seated culture from which escape can be quite difficult. Regardless of its structural rigor, culture determines who comprises the "in-group" and the "out-group". Cultures are typically reified in hierarchical ways because humans harbor a biological need to organize mental structures hierarchically. It's just how we do things. This means that even within the in-group, sub-in-groups can exist.
The Meaning of Organizational Culture
Organizations as I consider them here are not necessarily profit driven enterprises. An organization is a collection of people committed to meeting agreed upon goals and objectives. Organizations can be created as the result of a culture's need for, well, organization. They can be loosely defined, but it's usually better if they are not. Specific definition provides the sort of clarity that removes barriers and creates common ground upon which organizational members can move forward with confidence.
As organizations grow and mature, even those with the best of intentions develop a unique culture. This can be based upon a shared worldview or preferred language, or, of course, both. I once worked at an organization where I was not allowed to use the word "but". But, I digress. Culture seems to be something that just happens; it is unavoidable. Based upon this reality, my concern here is with two things: (1) Is organizational culture hegemonic by nature and (2) if it is, does it cause suffering among organizational members?
Is Organizational Culture Hegemonic by Nature?
I've always made the assumption that culture is a good thing. As a student of archaeology, the recovery and analysis of material culture and the resulting inferences and assumptions about cultural norms and behaviors were the points of my studies. When cultural norms that challenged my sense of decency surfaced (e.g., cannibalism, slave holding, etc.), they were always viewed as interesting aspects of social-cultural groups long gone. Qualitative judgments about them were never a part of my analytical toolkit. Not so with organizational culture.
While some researchers such as Edgar Schein are content to describe and explain the levels and "dynamics" of organizational culture, others such as Geert Hofstede and Joseph Chilton Pearce have identified the constraint mechanisms of culture. Hofstede recognizes this in the title and body of his major work, Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Pearce writes at length about how culture acts as a constraint on individual behaviors--and not always in good ways. The common undercurrent among all of these is a tacit recognition of the hegemonic nature of organizational culture.
Cultural hegemony is about the domination of one group by another. In the case of organizational culture, the in-group will always dominate the out-group. Organizational culture is hegemonic by nature. Those who do not align with organizational practices and behaviors suffer the consequences; they are brought into alignment through non-sanctioned coercion by organizational members, through corrective managerial action, or they are selected for involuntary exit. Members who will not or cannot find their organizational sweet spot endure long days of frustration and outright anguish; they clearly suffer. So, the answers to my two questions above are "Yes" and "Yes".
Relief of Organizational Suffering
The daily, mindful practice of Middle Way Management™ is a way to relieve suffering by overcoming the hegemony of organizational culture. At the individual level, a mindful Middle Way Management practice will result in attention to the details necessary to align yourself with organizational goals and objectives, if this is really what you want to do. The increased conscious awareness of what the organization truly represents can help you make decisions about your career path with--or without--the organization.
The daily, mindful practice of Middle Way Management can help you work to relieve the suffering of those you manage. Behaviors and language are your clues to the cultural alignment of your team members. A consistently negative attitude and behaviors that determine poor task results are often unconscious indicators of an organizational member's need for change. Most of the time, this need does not care if the change is positive or negative. From the member's unconscious viewpoint, it is change that is required--any kind of change.
As a Middle Way Manager™, it is your duty to help relieve the individual suffering of your team members. By relieving their suffering, you relieve organizational suffering, as well as the suffering of anyone with whom your team member interacts throughout the day. This Ripple Effect perspective will help you manage people with compassion, empathy, and understanding. Now that you understand the hegemonic nature of organizational culture, you have added structural clarity to your already vibrant Middle Way Management practice.
Go now, and manage with compassion!
Onward! Darin
Resources Mentioned in this Post
Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 81-94.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Pearce, J. C. (2002). The crack in the cosmic egg: New constructs of mind and reality. South Paris, ME: Park Street Press.
Pearce, J. C. (2004). The biology of transcendence: A blueprint of the human spirit. South Paris, ME: Park Street Press.
Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational culture. American Psychologist, 45(2), 109-119.
Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
Culture informs our social interactions and how we construct societies and organizations at the collective level. It can determine the outcomes of our pursuit of personal goals and certainly affects our efficacy as organizational members. It is always there, yet it isn't because it's a reified concept of what we believe in the deepest corners of our hearts, and it determines how we behave in every context of our lives.
We belong to several cultures, and sub-cultures, at once. These cultures extend from the personal to the national and include just about every conceivable permutation between the two. Our cultural memberships largely determine our values (and our Values Intelligence), which determine our general and specific focuses in life.
For instance, I belong to the academic culture. Over time, I chose to participate in this culture by acquiring academic credentials and now must take certain steps and measures to maintain my standing in that community. Interestingly, I can opt out of this community in a passive way simply by choosing not to play. Conversely, other cultures are such a part of us that there is no way we can choose to let them go, passively or otherwise.
Some cultures are sodalities with fluid membership and some are so ingrained in us that they affect our decision making processes. A Harley-Davidson group is a sodality, while a religion is a deeply seated culture from which escape can be quite difficult. Regardless of its structural rigor, culture determines who comprises the "in-group" and the "out-group". Cultures are typically reified in hierarchical ways because humans harbor a biological need to organize mental structures hierarchically. It's just how we do things. This means that even within the in-group, sub-in-groups can exist.
The Meaning of Organizational Culture
Organizations as I consider them here are not necessarily profit driven enterprises. An organization is a collection of people committed to meeting agreed upon goals and objectives. Organizations can be created as the result of a culture's need for, well, organization. They can be loosely defined, but it's usually better if they are not. Specific definition provides the sort of clarity that removes barriers and creates common ground upon which organizational members can move forward with confidence.
As organizations grow and mature, even those with the best of intentions develop a unique culture. This can be based upon a shared worldview or preferred language, or, of course, both. I once worked at an organization where I was not allowed to use the word "but". But, I digress. Culture seems to be something that just happens; it is unavoidable. Based upon this reality, my concern here is with two things: (1) Is organizational culture hegemonic by nature and (2) if it is, does it cause suffering among organizational members?
Is Organizational Culture Hegemonic by Nature?
I've always made the assumption that culture is a good thing. As a student of archaeology, the recovery and analysis of material culture and the resulting inferences and assumptions about cultural norms and behaviors were the points of my studies. When cultural norms that challenged my sense of decency surfaced (e.g., cannibalism, slave holding, etc.), they were always viewed as interesting aspects of social-cultural groups long gone. Qualitative judgments about them were never a part of my analytical toolkit. Not so with organizational culture.
While some researchers such as Edgar Schein are content to describe and explain the levels and "dynamics" of organizational culture, others such as Geert Hofstede and Joseph Chilton Pearce have identified the constraint mechanisms of culture. Hofstede recognizes this in the title and body of his major work, Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Pearce writes at length about how culture acts as a constraint on individual behaviors--and not always in good ways. The common undercurrent among all of these is a tacit recognition of the hegemonic nature of organizational culture.
Cultural hegemony is about the domination of one group by another. In the case of organizational culture, the in-group will always dominate the out-group. Organizational culture is hegemonic by nature. Those who do not align with organizational practices and behaviors suffer the consequences; they are brought into alignment through non-sanctioned coercion by organizational members, through corrective managerial action, or they are selected for involuntary exit. Members who will not or cannot find their organizational sweet spot endure long days of frustration and outright anguish; they clearly suffer. So, the answers to my two questions above are "Yes" and "Yes".
Relief of Organizational Suffering
The daily, mindful practice of Middle Way Management™ is a way to relieve suffering by overcoming the hegemony of organizational culture. At the individual level, a mindful Middle Way Management practice will result in attention to the details necessary to align yourself with organizational goals and objectives, if this is really what you want to do. The increased conscious awareness of what the organization truly represents can help you make decisions about your career path with--or without--the organization.
The daily, mindful practice of Middle Way Management can help you work to relieve the suffering of those you manage. Behaviors and language are your clues to the cultural alignment of your team members. A consistently negative attitude and behaviors that determine poor task results are often unconscious indicators of an organizational member's need for change. Most of the time, this need does not care if the change is positive or negative. From the member's unconscious viewpoint, it is change that is required--any kind of change.
As a Middle Way Manager™, it is your duty to help relieve the individual suffering of your team members. By relieving their suffering, you relieve organizational suffering, as well as the suffering of anyone with whom your team member interacts throughout the day. This Ripple Effect perspective will help you manage people with compassion, empathy, and understanding. Now that you understand the hegemonic nature of organizational culture, you have added structural clarity to your already vibrant Middle Way Management practice.
Go now, and manage with compassion!
Onward! Darin
Resources Mentioned in this Post
Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 81-94.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Hofstede, G., & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.
Pearce, J. C. (2002). The crack in the cosmic egg: New constructs of mind and reality. South Paris, ME: Park Street Press.
Pearce, J. C. (2004). The biology of transcendence: A blueprint of the human spirit. South Paris, ME: Park Street Press.
Schein, E. H. (1990). Organizational culture. American Psychologist, 45(2), 109-119.
Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Walking the Middle Way Management Talk
Approaching Ego and Fear with Mindful Awareness
In my last post, I talked about the role of ego and how to face your fears and limitations as a way to enhance your practice of Middle Way Management™. When you recognize that ego is pushing your emotions to the limit or that your fears are getting the best of you, you can take immediate, proactive steps to relieve your own suffering.
By relieving your own suffering, you relieve the suffering of those you lead and manage in both tangible and unforeseen ways. By relieving your own suffering and the suffering of those around you, you relieve suffering throughout your organization via the Ripple Effect.
As a busy Middle Way Manager™, you can accomplish this in two ways, both of which will bring you to a settled place of conscious awareness in the midst of organizational chaos.
The First Approach: Breathing in Awareness
You have one thing in common with everyone else currently living on the planet: You breathe in and you breathe out. When you stop doing this, you've reached what system scientists call the "terminal state." This is not good for your Middle Way Management practice or for your health in general, so do keep breathing.
Recognizing that you breathe in and out on a regular basis, you can use your breath as a way to increase your mindfulness. By coming back to an awareness of your breathing, you are acknowledging your place in the world, that you are vital and alive, doing what you enjoy - managing people in an organization. In this way, you can not only return to your personal island of calm when everything is busting loose around you, you can use it as a way to increase your awareness throughout your busy day.
One of the best ways to practice mindful breathing is to silently recite a phrase or two while breathing in and breathing out. The phrase(s) you choose can be anything you find meaningful and should be something positive that calms you and helps settle your racing mind. For instance, I use two brief phrases: "I am breathing in here, now," and "I am breathing out here, now."
Very simple.
And it helps me focus (those of you who know me well will appreciate this). This is not a mystical or religious practice; it simply brings me back to an awareness of where I am and what I am doing so that I'm living NOW, rather in a "coulda woulda shoulda" space. In my own case, this activity has led me to an increasingly mindful approach to life in general, but that's another post for another time.
Choose two meaningful phrases right now and give it a shot - practice mindful breathing that brings you back to a calm place of awareness. Easy stuff.
The Second Approach: Anchoring a Calming Association
I understand that not every situation will allow you to stop what you're doing to calm your breathing and increase your mindful awareness. Believe me, I've been in those meetings where the fur is flying and it's not a terribly pleasant experience. Typically, the last thing on my mind is coming back to my breathing. Recognizing this brings us to the second approach: Anchoring a calming association.
Anchoring a calming association requires a little more effort than mindful breathing, but not too much more. Anchoring is a proven Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) technique that has been used quite effectively for many years now. Anchoring yourself to a calming association is something you can accomplish very quickly, certainly within the time it takes to read this blog post.
The key to anchoring is your ability to put yourself into a positive emotional state. I do this by thinking of a specific pleasant event I enjoyed with my children. This state does not necessarily have to be overwhelmingly intense, yet it should be something more than a pleasant thought. You must emotionalize your state so the anchoring has a chance to "take." Once you're in a positively emotionalized state, pinch (not hard) the muscle of your hand between your thumb and forefinger. Repeat this exercise until pinching the muscle under just about any circumstance puts you into your chosen pleasant state. Congratulations, you're anchored.
Now, when someone is treating you in a not-so-mindfully-conscious way, you have an unobtrusive anchor you can use to diffuse your own emotional reactions, thereby relieving your own suffering and, probably, that of the person with whom you are interacting. Out of a mindful awareness created by referencing your anchor, you will not be reactive, your voice will be low and calm, and you may even smile (if appropriate).
As you did with your mindful breathing, try this now. It's not hard to do and you can begin using your anchor immediately (why wait?).
That's it for this message. In my next post, I'll discuss how to transcend the hegemony of organizational culture through mindful awareness and the compassionate practice of Middle Way Management. This is important for the Middle Way Manager as a way of maintaining a consciously mindful awareness in the midst of an organizational culture that emphasizes the less compassionate aspects of Western-style capitalism.
Onward! Darin
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
In my last post, I talked about the role of ego and how to face your fears and limitations as a way to enhance your practice of Middle Way Management™. When you recognize that ego is pushing your emotions to the limit or that your fears are getting the best of you, you can take immediate, proactive steps to relieve your own suffering.
By relieving your own suffering, you relieve the suffering of those you lead and manage in both tangible and unforeseen ways. By relieving your own suffering and the suffering of those around you, you relieve suffering throughout your organization via the Ripple Effect.
As a busy Middle Way Manager™, you can accomplish this in two ways, both of which will bring you to a settled place of conscious awareness in the midst of organizational chaos.
The First Approach: Breathing in Awareness
You have one thing in common with everyone else currently living on the planet: You breathe in and you breathe out. When you stop doing this, you've reached what system scientists call the "terminal state." This is not good for your Middle Way Management practice or for your health in general, so do keep breathing.
Recognizing that you breathe in and out on a regular basis, you can use your breath as a way to increase your mindfulness. By coming back to an awareness of your breathing, you are acknowledging your place in the world, that you are vital and alive, doing what you enjoy - managing people in an organization. In this way, you can not only return to your personal island of calm when everything is busting loose around you, you can use it as a way to increase your awareness throughout your busy day.
One of the best ways to practice mindful breathing is to silently recite a phrase or two while breathing in and breathing out. The phrase(s) you choose can be anything you find meaningful and should be something positive that calms you and helps settle your racing mind. For instance, I use two brief phrases: "I am breathing in here, now," and "I am breathing out here, now."
Very simple.
And it helps me focus (those of you who know me well will appreciate this). This is not a mystical or religious practice; it simply brings me back to an awareness of where I am and what I am doing so that I'm living NOW, rather in a "coulda woulda shoulda" space. In my own case, this activity has led me to an increasingly mindful approach to life in general, but that's another post for another time.
Choose two meaningful phrases right now and give it a shot - practice mindful breathing that brings you back to a calm place of awareness. Easy stuff.
The Second Approach: Anchoring a Calming Association
I understand that not every situation will allow you to stop what you're doing to calm your breathing and increase your mindful awareness. Believe me, I've been in those meetings where the fur is flying and it's not a terribly pleasant experience. Typically, the last thing on my mind is coming back to my breathing. Recognizing this brings us to the second approach: Anchoring a calming association.
Anchoring a calming association requires a little more effort than mindful breathing, but not too much more. Anchoring is a proven Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) technique that has been used quite effectively for many years now. Anchoring yourself to a calming association is something you can accomplish very quickly, certainly within the time it takes to read this blog post.
The key to anchoring is your ability to put yourself into a positive emotional state. I do this by thinking of a specific pleasant event I enjoyed with my children. This state does not necessarily have to be overwhelmingly intense, yet it should be something more than a pleasant thought. You must emotionalize your state so the anchoring has a chance to "take." Once you're in a positively emotionalized state, pinch (not hard) the muscle of your hand between your thumb and forefinger. Repeat this exercise until pinching the muscle under just about any circumstance puts you into your chosen pleasant state. Congratulations, you're anchored.
Now, when someone is treating you in a not-so-mindfully-conscious way, you have an unobtrusive anchor you can use to diffuse your own emotional reactions, thereby relieving your own suffering and, probably, that of the person with whom you are interacting. Out of a mindful awareness created by referencing your anchor, you will not be reactive, your voice will be low and calm, and you may even smile (if appropriate).
As you did with your mindful breathing, try this now. It's not hard to do and you can begin using your anchor immediately (why wait?).
That's it for this message. In my next post, I'll discuss how to transcend the hegemony of organizational culture through mindful awareness and the compassionate practice of Middle Way Management. This is important for the Middle Way Manager as a way of maintaining a consciously mindful awareness in the midst of an organizational culture that emphasizes the less compassionate aspects of Western-style capitalism.
Onward! Darin
Copyright © 2009, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.
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