THE NARRATIVE JOURNEY OF THE CONSCIOUS LEADER Corrie A. Voss A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 2017 Committee: Chris Willis, Advisor Deborah A. O'Neil Graduate Faculty Representative Paul Johnson Joyce Litten Margaret Hopkins © 2017 Corrie A. Voss All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Chris Willis, Advisor The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the developmental journeys of conscious leaders who were practicing the ethics-based philosophy of conscious capitalism. Emphasis was placed on investigating the turning points that occurred throughout leaders’ lives, and on outlining the developmental aspects used by these leaders to promote their internal development. Five senior executives in for-profit businesses, participated in two, one-on-one narrative interviews designed to identify details about their journeys to conscious leadership, and how they continuously developed as conscious leaders. Each of the participants took two assessments: one that tracked their career in life story and the major transition points, and a second that measured their emotional intelligence from a 360-degree perspective. Data from the interviews and assessments were used to answer two research questions designed to investigate why and how these leaders developed into conscious leaders and conscious capitalists. A delimitation of this study was that these leaders were practicing conscious leadership and conscious capitalism, thus it excluded executives who were conscious leaders but who were not practicing conscious capitalism. A limitation of this qualitative study was that the interviews consisted of self-reported memories of the participants’ experiences, therefore how the participants narrated those events may be different from what happened. Findings suggest that the participants are more likely to narrate their influential life turning points in a positive way, focusing on the meaning and lessons learned from those transitions, rather than on the difficulty of the transitional moment. Study findings also suggest that there is a framework of developmental perspectives, comprised of various behavioral aspects, that conscious leaders use to continually increase their levels of internal development: mindfulness (seeing), authenticity (presenting), and interpersonal ability (interacting). Further understanding of these leaders’ journeys, and how these mindsets and development perspectives might be replicated, adds value to iv the discussion on why the emerging constructs of conscious leadership and conscious capitalism may provide preferable strategic frameworks for business leaders operating in chaotic environments. Results provided insight on conscious leaders’ identity development, and offers direction on how business leaders can practice these development perspectives to drive increased personal and professional development. Keywords: Conscious Leadership, Conscious Capitalism, Leadership Development v This dissertation is dedicated to my family. To my husband who was my sounding board and unwavering supporter, to my daughters who can now see that anything is possible with hard work and perseverance, to my mom who inspired my love of human behavior, to my dad who is my biggest fan and always told me that I could do anything, and to my brother who has always been my inspiration for greatness. This work was only possible because of your love and encouragement! Thank you #team #givevoice vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is my pleasure to acknowledge the contributions from a few individuals that made the completion of this research possible. First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my chair, Dr. Chris Willis, and to my committee members, Dr. Paul Johnson, and Dr. Joyce Litten. I enjoyed working with you during this journey, and I truly appreciate the time, ideas, guidance, and patience you provided to me during this process. I would also like to acknowledge my external member, Dr. Margaret Hopkins, for the critical questioning that helped to elevate this work, and for sticking with me through the many changes and iterations. Also, a special thank you to our senior secretary, Ms. Leslie Cookson, who always had an answer to my many questions, and did it with a smile every time. Two individuals were vital to my success in this process, Dr. Deborah O’Neil and Dr. Irv Rubin. Dr. O’Neil saw value in me before I saw it in myself. She provided mentorship, support, and friendship from the application process to the final defense. Dr. O’Neil, you read my drafts when they were unfocused and confusing, you generously gave your time and expertise to assist in my development, and you always believed in me. Thank you. And, Dr. Irv Rubin, who serendipitously joined me as a friend and mentor half way through the process; thank you for being passionate about the work and for providing me with a steadfast source of inspiration, learning, and encouragement. This process brings many highs and lows, and Dr. O’Neil and Dr. Rubin were there to celebrate, and to pick me up when I needed it most. Your kindness and generosity did not go unnoticed, and I hope to pay it forward to other students in the future. A big thank you to my EMOD family and doctoral friends who walked beside me during the journey and have remained great sources of feedback and encouragement. And finally, a very special acknowledgement goes to my first teacher, Ms. Carolyn Young, who has cheered me on since I was little, and now gets to see what her love and encouragement helped to accomplish. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 Background of the Study ........................................................................................... 1 Interconnectivity and the Global Business Market ........................................ 2 Business leaders’ influence ................................................................ 3 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................... 6 Capitalism: Self-Interest and Morality........................................................... 7 Current business leadership ............................................................... 8 Shareholder and stakeholder perspectives ......................................... 9 Competence and integrity in leadership ............................................. 12 Using Leadership Influence to Create Positive Reactions in the Global Network .................................................................................... 13 Doing well by doing good.................................................................. 13 Open systems theory .......................................................................... 14 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................. 15 Conscious Capitalism..................................................................................... 15 A legal and ethical approach to capitalism ........................................ 17 Conscious capitalism: The four tenets ............................................... 19 Conscious leadership ......................................................................... 21 Anti-conscious and unconscious leadership .......................... 22 The Leadership Shift: From Unconscious to Conscious Leadership .............. 23 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 24 vii Conceptual Framework .............................................................................................. 25 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 26 Delimitations of the Study ......................................................................................... 26 Limitations of the Study............................................................................................. 27 Organization of the Study .......................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 29 A Brief History of Capitalism and its Use for Social Good ...................................... 29 Capitalism’s Philosophical Underpinnings .................................................... 30 A Brief History of Capitalism for Social Good ............................................. 33 VUCA Business Environment ................................................................................... 39 Conscious Capitalism................................................................................................. 42 Tenet One: Higher Purpose ............................................................................ 45 Tenet Two: Stakeholder Integration .............................................................. 46 Tenet Three: Conscious Culture and Management ........................................ 48 Tenet Four: Conscious Leadership ................................................................ 50 Human Development Theories .................................................................................. 51 Early Theorists ..............................................................................................