Holistic Leadership: A New Paradigm for Today's Leaders

317 Pages·2017·2.85 MB·English

by  Satinder Dhiman (auth.)

h
o
purp ose
h
l
u e va ues
m x
i
i c i v
leadership
i l e s
t
t l a i
y e self o
i
n n
c
c
servi e
e
p
A New Paradigm
i
for Today’s Leaders
r
i
t
Satinder Dhiman
Holistic Leadership
Satinder Dhiman
Holistic Leadership
A New Paradigm for Today’s Leaders
Satinder Dhiman
School of Business
Woodbury University
Burbank, California, USA
ISBN 978-1-137-55570-0 ISBN 978-1-137-55571-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-55571-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958193
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed 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 pub-
lisher 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.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Nature America Inc.
The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.
A
cknowledgements
Our life is the sum of all that has touched us, all and everyone who has
made a difference in our lives. Life is a book that is virtually being writ-
ten as it unfolds, a symphony that is continually being played even as it is
composed, and a song that is unceasingly heard, ever so softly at times.
Writing a book is a synergistic endeavor. “A man will turn over half a
library to make one book,” observed Samuel Johnson. Every writer who
ever picks up the pen is forever indebted to all the kindred spirits who have
illumined the path before. S/he verily stands on the proverbial shoulders
of the giants. And when one has also been fortunate to have personally
sat at the feet of some great contemporary masters, one’s debt is hard to
recount.
I am grateful to Peter Drucker for one of the most enlightening
encounters and for generously sharing his ripe wisdom and favorite stories;
to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi for granting me the privilege of
two personal interviews full of insights and foresights; to Ron Heifetz of
Harvard’s JFK School of Public Policy for his wonderful dialogs on what
really matters in life and leadership; to Peter Senge, for his thoughts on
generative learning; to Chris Argyris for one of the most illuminating con-
versations about organizational defenses and fancy footwork; Bob Kegan
for his unique perspectives on immunity to change; Lee Bolman for his
self-effacing presence; Ellen Langer for her unique perspectives on mind-
ful creativity; and Max De Pree of Herman Miller for his sage recreations
of the art of leadership.
Life also provided the rare privilege of sitting at the feet of some of the
great contemporary Vedānta scholars-seers: Swami Dayananda Saraswati,
v
vi ACKNOWLEDgEMENTS
Swami Paramarthananda, Swami Brahmatmanandji Saraswati, and Swami
Narayan Prasad Muni. Their teachings and life examples continue to be a
beacon of inspiration and guidance on the path of Self-knowledge culmi-
nating in selfless service.
Interestingly, school and life keep different curricula: School gives us
the lessons first, and then the test; life gives us the test first, and then
the lessons. However, they seem to have one thing in common: Lessons
are optional; the tests are required! The lessons shared in this book are
taken largely from the “school of life.” They represent a happy amalgam
of search and research.
The concepts presented in this book are of universal import. That is,
they are applicable to all walks of life. The alchemy of transformation in life
is similar to that of leadership. Discipline, humility, and right attitude are
as critical in life as they are in leadership. Nobody has ever become a great
leader without first becoming a good human being.
In this sense at least, the lessons presented here are of holistic nature.
The journey of writing this book is undertaken by this author for the
sole purpose of gaining some clarity on his own part about the timeless
art of life and science of leadership. Rumi, the great Persian poet, said it
so well: “You are the only student you have; all others eventually leave.”
It is submitted as a humble offering in the spirit of sharing with the fellow
travellers of some lessons incidentally found along the way.1 The wisdom
of leadership is as old as hills. Peter F. Drucker once told this author that
the person who supervised the construction of pyramids in ancient Egypt
probably knew more about leadership than any CEO of a modern Fortune
500 company.2
After a lifetime study of history and its heroes, Will Durant, that great
lover of lovers of wisdom, offers the following refrain in his final testament
of wit, wisdom, and humility, entitled Fallen Leaves:
Please do not expect any new system of philosophy, nor any world-shaking
cogitations …. If you find anything original here it will be unintentional,
and probably regrettable. Knowledge grows, but wisdom, though it can
improve with years, does not progress with centuries. I cannot instruct
Solomon.3
1 “Ours is to know and let know, not to argue and win.”—Narayana guru.
2 Personal Communication, 1995, Claremont College, CA.
3 Will Durant, Fallen Leaves: Last Words on Life, Love, War, and God (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2014), 10–11.
ACKNOWLEDgEMENTS vii
Spiritual search does not fill any coffers nor does it make one rich and
famous. If the spiritual quest is truly successful, we do not gain anything
except losing everything that is untrue and inessential. The author is
reminded of the wise words of a modern sage:
If you expect any benefits from your search, material, mental or spiritual,
you have missed the point. Truth gives no advantage. It gives no higher
status, no power over others; all you get is truth, and freedom from the
false.4
The topic of leadership is vast and deep. I recognize that I have barely
scratched the proverbial surface, and humbly and gratefully acknowledge
my debt to all those who have blazed trails before me. My debt to my
teachers in life and spirit—who stoked the “search for the sacred” in my
soul—is too deep for words.
I am grateful to the Palgrave editorial team, especially Stacy Noto and
Marcus Ballenger, for their expert help, every step of the way. Special
thanks are also due to Ian Mitroff, Vemuri Ramesam, and Judi Neal for
their generous endorsement of my work. I am grateful to my dear friend,
Manoj Chandra Handa, whose creative inspiration is visible in many of
the figures in this book. Finally, I want to thank my wife, Shally, for her
support and for envisioning the creative book cover; and our three sons,
Rohit, Nitin, and Tarun, for their kind understanding and generous shar-
ing of time to enable me to work on this book.
Above all, my debt to our Common Creator is ineffable. We conclude
with a benedictory verse from the Bhagavad Git̄ā which many consider as
the essence of the entire text. In this seminal verse, addressing the Divine
within us all, Śri Kṛsṇ̣ a, the universal god in human form, declares to
Arjuna, the warrior-prince:
I am the Universal Self seated in the heart of all beings; so, I alone am the
beginning, the middle, and also the end of all beings.—10.20
With folded hands and a deep bow, I offer this humble work at the lotus-
feet of Śri Kṛsṇ̣ a, the Inner guide, antaryāmin—the master creator of the
blessed Song Celestial, the compassionate Lord who transforms difficul-
ties on the path into pilgrim’s joy.
4 Maurice Frydman (tr.), I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (Durham, NC:
The Acorn Press, 1986), 313. [Emphasis added].
c
ontents
1 Introduction: On Becoming a Holistic Leader 1
2 Self-Motivation: Motivating the Whole Person 17
3 Self-Mastery: Mastering the “Me” in Leadership 43
4 Creativity and Flow: The Art of Mindful Creativity 65
5 Emotional & Multiple Intelligences: 10 Different
Ways of Being Smart 97
6 A ppreciative Inquiry: Discovering the Best in People
and Organizations 133
7 S piritual Leadership: A Superior Way to Be and Serve 155
8 M eaning & Purpose in Leadership: What Are You
Willing to Bet Your Life On? 181
ix
x CONTENTS
9 Find Your Fulfillment: Winning Habits of Highly
Fulfilled Leaders 205
10 Being the Change: A Hero’s Journey and Legacy 241
11 Epilogue: From Position-Power to Self- Power—
Integrating the Lessons of Holistic Leadership 275
Index 303
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 1.1 Cycle of holistic leadership, Satinder Dhiman (2016) 8
Fig. 1.2 Holistic leadership framework, Satinder Dhiman (2016) 9
Fig. 2.1 Adapted from Abraham H. Maslow, “A Theory of Human
Motivation,” Psychological Review, 1943, Vol. 50 (4) 370–396 19
Fig. 4.1 Creativity, flow and mindfulness, Satinder Dhiman (2012) 93
Fig. 6.1 4 D model of appreciative inquiry 150
Fig. 9.1 Adapted from Seven Habits of Highly Fulfilled People
framework, Satinder Dhiman (2012/2014) 208
xi