A contemplative leadership?

We seem to be convinced. Leadership is all about action, initiative, decisiveness, change agency, implementation, and follow-up. These are the abilities that are valued in organizations and that are taught and practiced in typical leadership training programs. Reflection is also taught, but usually as a way to think about one's own or others' actions. The concepts of action learning, and action reflection learning (ARL) emphasize action as the starting point and goal of learning and reflection.

Identifying action with what is truly human is a relatively recent phenomenon in Western thought. While ancient philosophers did discuss the difference between conscious and unconscious actions, it was primarily Karl Marx who taught us to see action, and especially work, as the path to self-realization, if only capital does not stand in the way. Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition from 1958 is perhaps the most influential contribution to a philosophy of action. There, she distinguishes between labor (heavy and repetitive work), work (creative work), and action (political agency as an expression of human freedom).

Let’s think critically. What if our true humanity lies not in our actions or work but in our capacity to comtemplate, to daydream, and to celebrate? This provocative - and enticing - hypothesis is put forth by the South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han in his latest book Vita contemplativa. Known for his insightful interpretations of contemporary phenomena such as burn-out, the digital revolution, transparency, globalization, and power politics, he now addresses modern hyperactivity and helps us to think critically, beyond the sometimes tedious psychological theories discussed in mass media.

According to Han the essence of humanity is played out in our capacity to meditate, play, and innovate, not in our ability to produce or reproduce; something that machines, even thinking ones (AI), can do just as well as, or even better than, us. True human creativity, he argues, comes more from a place of total inactivity, i.e. from a contemplative presence that refrains from thinking about immediate returns. Hence the importance of rituals and celebrations. In his critique of Arendt who believed that humans realize their potential primarily through political engagement, Byung-Chul Han points out that humans inhabit three places, not just two, namely the public sphere or politics (agora), the private sphere (oikos), but also the inner realm (temenos), the physical or spiritual temple where time, space, and activity are suspended. The word contemplative comes precisely from the Greek term temenos and which means precisely to observe quietly and attentively.

"The Great Acceleration" is a concept used in both social and natural sciences to highlight the exponential increase in human activity measurable in various phenomena such as water consumption, international tourism, fertilizer use, and deforestation. These social phenomena have in turn caused dramatic changes in critical ecological indicators such as ocean and land temperatures, as well as methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide levels in the atmosphere. Our activity level stresses us. But it's not just us humans who are stressed. Our entire ecosystem exhibits tangible symptoms of stress.

How can we reverse this trend and slow down without jeopardizing our remarkable achievements in the areas of social welfare and public health? How can our organizations be more in tune with nature and promote sustainable societal development? At this critical juncture in human history, it is time to ask entirely new questions from a completely new inner space. The usual leadership questions such as "what do we want to do and how do we achieve our goals?" must now be preceded by questions such as "what really needs to be done and how can we do it sustainably?"

Phil Lane, a leader of the Chickasaw and Dakota Nations, once said, "The longest road you will ever walk is the sacred journey from your head to your heart." In the same spirit, Dag Hammarskjöld wrote: "The longest journey is the journey inwards." Isn't it time for leadership to be associated with, and perhaps above all, this inner journey of transformation, where we can truly think critically and innovatively?