Laughing Buddhas: The Everyday Embodiment of Contemplative Leadership

259 Pages·2016·3.64 MB·English

Antioch University
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Dissertations & Theses
Dissertations & Theses
2013
Laughing Buddhas: The Everyday Embodiment of
Contemplative Leadership
Kim Nolan
Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change
Follow this and additional works at:http://aura.antioch.edu/etds
Part of theHistory of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, and theLeadership Studies
Commons
Recommended Citation
Nolan, Kim, "Laughing Buddhas: The Everyday Embodiment of Contemplative Leadership" (2013).Dissertations & Theses. 61.
http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/61
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LAUGHING BUDDHAS: THE EVERYDAY EMBODIMENT OF
CONTEMPLATIVE LEADERSHIP

KIM NOLAN

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program
of Antioch University
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

August, 2013
This is to certify that the Dissertation entitled:

LAUGHING BUDDHAS:
THE EVERYDAY EMBODIMENT OF CONTEMPLATIVE LEADERSHIP

prepared by

Kimberly A. Nolan

is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in Leadership and Change.

Approved by:

_____________________________________________________________________________
Lize A.E. Booysen, DBL, Committee Chair date

_____________________________________________________________________________
Carolyn Kenny, Ph.D., Member date

_____________________________________________________________________________
Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., Member date

_____________________________________________________________________________
David Caruso, Ph.D., External Reader date
Copyright 2013 Kim Nolan
All rights reserved.
Acknowledgments
I want to take pause and acknowledge the loving people who have patiently guided my progress
toward completion. Those who have served during me in this journey – in their own unique way
- deserve a deep bow of gratitude:
• To my mother—you were the first woman to tell me things could be different and
equality was possible.
• To my father—you consistently upheld the value of education, especially for a young girl
he recognized as having her sight set on creating big change.
• To my sister—you listened and encouraged even when I could tell you had no idea what
my ramblings were about.
• To my daughter—I lack the words to express my profound motivation to empower you
and teach the lesson that a determined woman can achieve whatever she desires. I
confess, maintaining a curious mind and role modeling discipline during snuggle time has
not always been easy. I am grateful we can now return to each other.
• To my partner – you have been an incredible cheerleader and refuge during my journey.
Your enduring love and encouragement reminded me that I do indeed possess the power,
not just to step into my own light and dignity, but to be a guide to others along the way.
• To friends and other family members—I am now free to play again .
• To my brothers and sisters of Antioch… particularly within cohort 10—the blend of
brilliant conversation (often way beyond my bedtime), laughter, and sincere
encouragement is deeply embedded within the sacred journey of my PhD.
• To the women of Vermont Works for Women, especially the honorees of Labor of Love.
• To the Turkey Land Cove Foundation for granting me a week of research retreat.
• To the faculty of Antioch’s Leadership & Change program – your patience and wisdom
has become deeply embedded in the way I walk in the world.
• To the members of my dissertation committee—your expertise and gentle guidance has
elevated my work and thinking.
• To my advisor and dissertation chair – you have been a beacon for me. You have literally
walked the doctoral path with me from learning achievements to recommendation letters
to pep talks and advice. I am deeply grateful our paths have crossed and become
connected.
• Lastly, to myself – for having the courage to follow my own calling.

i
Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to my lineage:

The woman ancestors who have come before me—I proudly give voice to your wise and
compassionate ways of being in the world. Your everyday lives embodied the balance
between vita contemplativa and vita active, making you pioneers of contemplative
leadership.

The children who will come after me—I pray that each of you hear a call to carry the torch of
contemplative leadership forward and create positive change into the world.

Life and death are of supreme importance
Time passes swiftly
Awaken
Awaken
Do not squander your life.
~ Zen evening chant

ii
Abstract

Many of us struggle to find a theoretical framework within which to approach leadership. We
may draw upon personal aspects of spiritual practice, scholarship, and vocational experience
with hopes of developing a deeper method of conceptualizing all the elements that comprise
relevant and meaningful ways of being and leading in the world. The purpose of this
phenomenological study extends the inquiry, examining leadership as a path toward wholeness
and investigating the research question – what is called into being for the contemplative leader?
The roots of the question originate with the conceptual framework set forth by Kriger and Seng
(2005), advanced by Fry and Kriger (2009), and further elaborated upon by the author (Nolan,
2012a; Nolan 2012b), adding new perspectives on progressive stages of mental complexity
(Kegan & Lahey, 2009) and progressive stages of being from the Buddhist wisdom tradition. In
order to enter the lifeworld of contemplative leaders and inquire into their everyday embodied
experience, five female leaders serving within community-based settings engaged in a series of
in-depth, phenomenological interviews. Thick and rich data emerged. Findings of this study
suggest there are eight C’s of a being expressed by the contemplative leader, supporting the
construction of an integrative model of Contemplative Leadership. The electronic version of this
Dissertation is accessible in the open-access Ohiolink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd

iii
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................i
Dedication..........................................................................................................................ii
Abstract.............................................................................................................................iii
Table of Contents..............................................................................................................iv
List of Tables....................................................................................................................xi
List of Figures..................................................................................................................xii
List of Hyperlinks...........................................................................................................xiii
Chapter I: Introduction.......................................................................................................1
Building Blocks Along the Path Toward Contemplative Leadership..........................1
Background: The First Stone........................................................................................1
Statement of Problem.......................................................................................3
Cultivation of My Research Question..........................................................................7
Definition of Key Terms...............................................................................................9
Spirituality........................................................................................................9
Wholeness and Spirituality.............................................................................11
Workplace Spirituality....................................................................................15
Leadership.......................................................................................................16
Spiritual Leadership........................................................................................17
Contemplative Leadership..............................................................................18
Significance of the Study............................................................................................19
Research Method............................................................................................20
Organization of the Study...........................................................................................22
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Chapter II: Literature Review.................................................................................................24
Introduction to Spiritual Leadership: The Second Stone................................24
Spiritual Leadership Definition......................................................................27
Literature Review of Spiritual Leadership and Workplace Spirituality.........30
Exploring Major Themes of the Literature Review........................................37
Defining and Operationalizing...........................................................38
Effectiveness and Outcomes...............................................................42
Direction, Implication, and Methodology of Continued Study..........44
Gaps in Literature and Ethical Implications.......................................46
Now What?........................................................................................ 49
Critical Discussion of the Being-Centered Leadership Theory......................51
Level V-Physical and Sensory World.................................................51
Level IV-Images and the Socially Constructed World.......................52
Level III-Soul and Matters of the Heart.............................................54
Level II-The World of Spirit and Self-Transcendence.......................56
Level I-Non-Duality...........................................................................58
Conceptual Elaboration on Being-Centered Leadership Theory....................59
Commentary on Being........................................................................59
Level IV: Discussion of Shadows.......................................................61
Level III: Discussion of Self-Care......................................................62
Level II: Discussion of Leadership Expressed at Level II Being.......63
Stewardship.............................................................................63
Servant Leadership.................................................................64
v
Spiritual Leadership................................................................66
Introducing Contemplative Leadership..................................68
Defining Contemplative Leadership...........................69
Contemplation as Meditation......................................70
Contemplation as Inquiry...........................................73
Buddhist View on Contemplation as Leadership.......74
Level I: Discussion of Threshold............................................77
Individual Leadership Development.......................................80
Conceptual Advancement of the Being-Centered Leadership Theory
Toward an Integrative Model of Contemplative Leadership..........................80
Progressive Stages of Mental Complexity..........................................83
Socialized Mind......................................................................84
Self-authoring Mind................................................................84
Self-transforming Mind..........................................................85
Summary.................................................................................86
Progressive Stages of Buddhism........................................................86
Bodhisattvas, Laughing Buddha, and
Contemplative Leadership...................................................88
Origination of the Laughing Buddha......................................92
Insight into the Bodhisattva Vow...........................................96
Conclusion..........................................................................................97
Chapter III: Phenomenological Research Methodology.........................................................99
Introduction to Phenomenology as Research Method: The Fourth Stone......99
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