Zen Leader Blog

The Best Leadership Advice - slow down and STOP!

Posted by Diane Chencharick

Oct 17, 2012 9:31:00 AM

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Topics: leadership advice, stress, rythym of the day, the zen leader, Ginny Whitelaw, energy, managing energy, managing stress

Realizing the Zen Leader: Recounting the Journey

Posted by Anthony Attan

Sep 23, 2012 11:52:00 AM

We often hear from readers of The Zen Leader, talking about their reactions, experiences or insights as they read the book and work through the activities.  Since some are just too good to keep to ourselves, here is a note we received from James Murphy, who described his own reaction to several of the chapters.

What has landed for me are the following:
 

Chapter 5: From Playing Your Strengths to Strengthening Your Play
 

While I’ve done a lot of these personality tests in the past and pretty much know where I am, this was a fun chapter. It was also unique in the sense that this is the first book or course I’ve seen where it is proposed to develop personality attributes that are not your strengths. I think this makes a lot of sense and I will try to do this. Instinctively, for example, I know my collaboration skills are weak and I’ve been trying to get my wife to join a ballroom dancing class to help me to improve this skill. I also know my driver skills are weak and my main physical activities are running and weight lifting. So it is curious that these activities have not resulted in stronger driver attributes.


As a side note, I chose to read this book not for work but for personal reasons. I am building a sailboat racing team and quickly realized that I was not performing as a leader properly. At work, I am not a manager, I am an architect, but I know to turn concepts into reality I need to lead so the concepts here will help me in that role.
 

Chapter 7: From Driving Results to Attracting the Future.

While reading this chapter and doing the exercises I was able to see a future that I hadn’t seen before. In a sense, I knew what some of the components of the future might be but I didn’t put them together into a larger whole. With this exercise I was able to do that. The unfortunate part of the results of this exercise is that if indeed my vision is the future and I am to lead the world to it, then I’ve got a lot of work to do because the future is very big indeed and fundamentally different than what we currently see. The silver lining is that I can see a path that starts with limited scope and can be incrementally expanded. (Note, this vision applies to my work, not sailing)
 

Chapter 10: From Delusion to Awakening

This chapter is good since it sets down some practical steps to make the lessons from this book stick. Indeed practice is required to acquire a Zen mindset. This chapter makes that clear and provides some good guidance. Indeed much of the book, and this chapter in particular were incomprehensible to me mostly because I have not experienced the mind state described in the book. Specifically I am talking about the concepts from the Surangama Sutra and understanding self and host versus guest, etc. I believe that in order to become the whole I will need to consistently practice and probably re-read this book a couple of times. As an ex-competitive runner, I believe my approach will have to be similar to athletic training. A plan, a schedule, making time and being consistent and disciplined.
 

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Topics: zen leader, the zen leader book, mindfulness, spirituality, well-being, zen, the zen leader, energy patterns, leadership, Ginny Whitelaw, managing energy, zen leadership

Step Back, Reflect and Practice What You Preach

Posted by Anthony Attan

Jun 24, 2012 10:02:00 PM

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Topics: zen leader, stress, tension, flips, control, leadership, managing energy, zen leadership

Ginny Whitelaw on the Stu Taylor Show

Posted by Anthony Attan

May 4, 2012 10:00:00 AM

Ginny Whitelaw is interviewed on the Stu Taylor radio show (www.stutaylor.com) about her new book, The Zen Leader: 10 Ways to go From Barely Managing to Leading Fearlessly.  Listen to the full interview below.

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Topics: zen leader, managing change, the zen leader book, zen, the zen leader, leadership, leadership development, whole leadership development, whole leadership, managing energy, managing stress, zen leadership

Video: Why Spend the Energy to Become a Zen Leader?

Posted by Anthony Attan

Apr 4, 2012 3:31:00 PM

In this video, Ginny Whitelaw, author of The Zen Leader, discusses the importance of spending the effort and energy to lead like a Zen Leader. 

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Topics: zen leader, stress, the zen leader chapter 1, zen, the zen leader, leadership coaching, leadership, leadership development, managing energy, zen leadership

Zen Leadership and a Happy New Year

Posted by Ginny Whitelaw

Jan 5, 2012 11:32:00 AM

The benefits of Zen leadership to the world and to yourself are abundant, but let’s start with one: an unconditionally happy New Year. To be masters of our happiness is an inside out choice – a flip from reacting to life to being a part of it and wholly owning our play. And when we make that flip, to quote the Zen koan, “Every day is a good day.”

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Topics: zen leader, zen, meditation, happiness, managing energy

Zen Leadership and a Happy New Year

Posted by Ginny Whitelaw

Jan 5, 2012 10:46:00 AM

The benefits of Zen leadership to the world and to yourself are abundant, but let’s start with one: an unconditionally happy New Year. To be masters of our happiness is an inside out choice – a flip from reacting to life to being a part of it and wholly owning our play. And when we make that flip, to quote the Zen koan, “Every day is a good day.”

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Topics: zen leader, zen, meditation, happiness, managing energy

Zen Leadership and a Happy New Year

Posted by Ginny Whitelaw

Jan 5, 2012 10:29:00 AM

The benefits of Zen leadership to the world and to yourself are abundant, but let’s start with one: an unconditionally happy New Year. To be masters of our happiness is an inside out choice – a flip from reacting to life to being a part of it and wholly owning our play. And when we make that flip, to quote the Zen koan, “Every day is a good day.”

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Topics: zen leader, zen, meditation, happiness, managing energy

Welcome to the Zen Leader Blog

A blog that transforms:

This blog is dedicated to the concepts described in the book The Zen Leader by Ginny Whitelaw.  In this blog we discuss how these concepts are applied to a variety of current situations and applications, helping us all unleash the Zen Leader within us!

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