Whitepaper

Methodology and Vision

As we began to research the EastPoint Leadership approach we realized that there is a fundamental gap in most training approaches, between leadership theories (how many books on leadership are there?) and the experience of leaders and developing leaders in the workplace. It is not enough to simply read about leadership. What is missing is a training environment that allows a leader to learn an approach, try it out in a safe practical environment, receive feedback, and try it again until the approach is familiar and successful. This is a process of learning to embody the leadership role at higher and higher levels – and it is the objective of Eastpoint Leadership training.

We also realized that the training we had received in the 1980's from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, high in the Rocky Mountains, addressed the very gap we had identified. Chogyam Trungpa was the extraordinary Tibetan buddhist teacher who set up Naropa University, and the Shambhala Buddhist organisation, and who taught countless westerners the practice of Mindfulness/Awareness throughout the 70's and 80's (1). Through his many teaching and books, his words have reached people across the world. However, much less well known is his work on experiential training. Through carefully crafted practices and exercises he helped groups of his students learn to lead in difficult and challenging circumstances. His son, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, continues that training process with his students, and continues to develop and propagate his fathers teachings (2). This experiential training has been developed and presented to over 5,000 students in the years since then. Many of the students who received that training are now successful leaders in their organisations and professions. Our wish is to bring some of this training into a more public setting, since it is so appropriate for our times and for the needs of leaders and organisations.

Meanwhile, there has been a tremendous volume of work developed in the west around understanding the developmental aspects and stages of human development and leadership. One important observation from this work is that each developmental stage is natural and sequential. Growth and development happens as a person progresses through the stages. Each stage naturally precedes the next and no stage can be skipped. Unfortunately the leadership stages of many managers and leaders are not developed enough for the organisational circumstances they face. The pace of change is increasing and the level of complexity and interdependence is growing. These circumstances demand a higher level of leadership than we currently have access to in our organisations and companies (6,7).

Among the best known work in developmental models is the work of Daniel Goleman (3), Ken Wilbur (4), Don Beck (5), Bill Torbert & Associates (6), and Bill Joiner & Stephen Josephs (7). They have each drawn on the work of those teachers and researchers who have gone before, as well as their own original research, to articulate the developmental aspects of leadership, until recently not well understood in the west. The approach of each of these authors is backed by solid academic research.

Their work has been a great help in formulating the linguistic and structural framework for the EastPoint Leadership curriculum. However, it is not essential that each EastPoint Leadership participant follow only these approaches - there are clear parallels between the ideas of these writers and the broad conclusions of others.

Our objective is not so much to present the content of these writings, but to give our clients an experiential understanding of the leadership developmental models - including where one happens to be positioned in these "structures", as well as where one aspires to be positioned. In most models, there is a level we occupy when we are in a relaxed state, and a different level we revert to under pressure. EastPoint training focuses on showing participants each of these experientially - often experienced as moments of insight - as well as having participants learn practices that train them to reach the level to which they aspire. If we can recognise the particular state of mind we have in a situation as limiting (our old leadership pattern) and then learn a practice that helps us open to the state of mind of the level to which we aspire, there can be a change of behaviour/approach by the leader in the midst of the situation at work or in life generally. This learning can be a huge asset in the leadership development process - to be able to recognise where one is and take a desired approach (rather than a habitual one) to occupy the desired level of view and behaviour. It is a learning accelerator - once this recognition begins to happen, the change to the more developed leadership level becomes more certain and happens more quickly.

Change in individuals and organisations is difficult for a variety of reasons. Recent breakthroughs in the integration of psychology and neuroscience (8) have demonstrated the mechanisms for resistance to change and the reasons commonly held approaches by managers (usually Behaviourism or Humanism) do not work. Through this research, two key processes have been identified conducive to lasting change. One is the moment of insight - just prior to a moment of insight the brain oscillates at a high frequency and creates (new) links across many parts of the brain (9). These connections have the potential to enhance our mental resources and overcome the brain's resistance to change. Such an insight is self-generated - it usually comes after some mental effort followed by mental relaxation. Secondly, to ensure the insight is well incorporated into the learning (and behaviour) process, the insight requires increased "attention density" - we need to be reminded of it and to incorporate it into our daily life - to encourage lasting change.

EastPoint Leadership addresses both these processes explicitly. EastPoint's "awareness-in-action" exercises help provide the insight moments that create the potential for the brain to change. The second aspect - increasing the "attention density" is achieved through the other significant component of our approach arising from our experience of executive coaching.

Too often, learning at a seminar, conference, or workshop, is temporary. No matter how inspired we are by what we hear or read, if we do not practice the change and development we want to see, the memory quickly fades. Coaching is a proven way to encourage incorporation and consolidation of learning. For example, in a 1997 study of 31 public sector managers by Baruch College (10), it was found that training increased productivity by 22.4%. In contrast, training plus coaching increased productivity by 88.0%.

So to enhance the retention and practice of the insights experienced in the retreat program, we saw the benefits of coaching each participant, both as a means to help remember what to practice day-to-day, and as a way to be accountable - in this case to the coach and to a supportive peer coaching group. The support of the peer coaching group is an additional boost to the probability of retention and practice. The coach and the peer coaching group are great resources to turn to in times of uncertainty and questioning.

So what is the experiential learning approach of EastPoint Leadership? Our participants experience the following Learning Steps:

Seeing - we have to learn to see better, to be more aware - of where others are at, and where we are at. Generally, many of us are too influenced by our own mental processes, projections, and habitual thinking patterns to understand fully what is happening in ourselves and our environment. To address this, we introduce practices of mindfulness and awareness - allowing us to see beyond the obvious, beyond the words people say, to tune into the field of the person or the group we are working with, as well as what we are sensing and experiencing ourselves. Until we can see what is really happening it is unlikely that our actions will have the desired results. This process also includes the development of greater emotional and cultural awareness. Often the experience is of sudden insight.

Recognition of old patterns - now that we can see, and with the help of the retreat experience where we recognise the habitual level from whence we lead by default, we have a choice - to proceed as usual, or to try something different (to get a different result!)

Practice - we practice the way we would like to lead (initially at the retreat and, later, in work/daily life) until we become familiar with it. When the choice arises to do things differently, we have had some experience and therefore have more confidence in the outcome. The retreat practice consists of working closely with a group, leading and following to become familiar with the patterns of ourselves and others. We literally experience leading at the level we aspire to. Also, occasionally (!), we experience reverting to the behaviour of an earlier level. We debrief and recognise what happened, then try again in another situation. Gradually we become accustomed to the feel of the more developed level.

Experimentation - we continue our practice back at the workplace, perhaps experimenting first in small situations, then when we feel confidence and success, experimenting in more challenging situations. As with our experience at the retreat, we begin to embody the level of leadership we aspire to.

Coaching - we work with our EastPoint peers to help them in their situations and receive support in return. Our EastPoint coach holds us accountable for what we say we want to do and the changes we say we want to make.

EastPoint Leadership's experiential training methodology is not only for individuals. By having teams go through this training, organizations can develop stronger, more authentic leadership at all levels, as well as increase employee motivation and loyalty.

Eastpoint leaders learn to develop and rely on their inherent compassion and courage - to meet the fear and anxiety of our time. They learn to discern beyond the superficial, and to act decisively and creatively at a higher developmental level, for the benefit of those they lead and the people and organizations they serve.

We will be conducting two pilot programs in 2009 to verify our approach with mixed groups. Following these Level 1 program pilots, we will then begin a systematic introduction of the EastPoint Leadership path - Levels 1, 2, and 3 - in North America and Europe over 2010 and 2011. Level 1 is grounded in the early levels of leadership development, with a taste of the more advanced levels. Level 2, and then Level 3, develop our familiarity with the later development stages. It will be necessary to have completed the Level 1 program before attending the Level 2 program etc. In 2011 we will also begin to offer the EastPoint Leadership Train-the-Trainer program. We wish to pass on our approach to others and help them present the EastPoint Leadership approach in different countries and to a variety of organisations.

The pilot programs are for HR leaders and training managers and others interested in developing their leadership profiles. We believe the unique approach of EastPoint Leadership offers a potential fast-track leadership development option for individuals of interest to organizations - and we are inviting HR professionals to come check out this groundbreaking approach. We also believe our approach will be of great benefit to leadership programs in law enforcement, peace keeping, fire fighting, government, NGOs and military organizations.

"The only source of knowledge is experience" Albert Einstein

REFERENCES

1. Chogyam Trungpa "Shambhala - The Sacred Path of the Warrior", Shambhala Publications 1984.
2. Sakyong Mipham "Ruling Your World - Ancient Strategies for Modern Life", Morgan Road Books 2005.
3. Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, Annie McKee "Primal Leadership", Harvard Business School Press 2002.
4. Ken Wilber "A Theory of Everything", Shambhala Publications 2000.
5. Don Edward Beck & Christopher C. Cowen "Spiral Dynamics", Blackwell 1996
6. Bill Torbert & Associates "Action Inquiry - The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership", Berrett-Koehler 2004
7 . Bill Joiner & Stephen Josephs "Leadership Agility", Jossey-Bass 2007
8. David Rock & Jeffrey Schwartz "The Neuroscience of Leadership", strategy+business (www.strategy+business.com) May, 2006
9. Jonah Lehrer "The Eureka Hunt" The New Yorker, July 28, 2008
10. Gerald Olivero, Denise Bane, and Richard E. Kopelman "Executive Coaching as a Transfer of Training Tool: Effects on Productivity in a Public Agency", Public Personnel Management 26(4) 1997

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