Abstract
ABSTRACT Purpose: To validate if mindfulness practices contribute to increase the perception of clarity of the own professional sense of purpose. Originality/value: The research shows synergy of mindfulness practices with metacognitive reflections based on Otto Scharmer’s Theory U attention modes, increasing the perception of authenticity in the statements defining the own professional sense of purpose. Design/methodology/approach: This is an exploratory, prospective intervention study, with pre and post-intervention data collection. Data collection was carried out with organizational professionals who voluntarily participated in the proposed course in the cities of São Paulo and Ribeirão Preto, in Brazil. Findings: The proposed educational program improved the perception in relation to the “meaning in life at work”, “greater purpose in the work”, “meaning in life” in general, the “satisfactory purpose in life” and the “level of mindfulness”. We also concluded that mindfulness practices are synergistic with metacognitive reflections based on Theory U attention modes, providing a greater perception of clarity, focus and authenticity regarding the sense of purpose statements.
Highlights
Academic journals in organizational sciences, such as the Journal of Management and the Academy of Management Review, have published research on mindfulness (Good et al, 2016; Kudesia, in press)
We find only a few articles in academic literature focusing on the relationship between mindfulness, sense of purpose in general, and meaning of life in general, but we have not found empirical research on the relationship of mindfulness to the professional sense of purpose and meaning in life at work
The authors did not Mindfulness and Theory U for the professional sense of purpose analyze the data for the sample portion of office workers alone, so we cannot be sure that this online course of mindfulness improves organizational professionals meaning in life
Summary
Academic journals in organizational sciences, such as the Journal of Management and the Academy of Management Review, have published research on mindfulness (Good et al, 2016; Kudesia, in press). Otto Scharmer, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has developed an organizational management method for multidisciplinary groups of professionals to develop qualitative levels of attention conducive to creating innovation with a systemic vision. This management method, called Theory U, argues that people create social life from four different types of attention with increasing degrees of sense of presence for the organizational system as a whole (Scharmer, 2010). Mindfulness practices for the sense of professional purpose can be enhanced if they are practiced synergistically with meta-cognitive reflections arising from a management methodology based on levels of attention The initial hypotheses were: 1. organizational professionals have greater clarity about their own sense of purpose after training in mindfulness; and 2. mindfulness practices for the sense of professional purpose can be enhanced if they are practiced synergistically with meta-cognitive reflections arising from a management methodology based on levels of attention
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