The Role of Mindfulness in Leading Organizational Transformation: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Heightened individual and organizational awareness and understanding of environments in which they operate are important to meet challenges of global complexity and uncertainty, especially as it pertains to change and organizational transformation (Fries, 2009). Thietart and Forgues (1995, p. 19) analyzed chaos and organizations and noted that, the existences of continuous processes of convergence and divergence, stability and instability, evolution and revolution in every organization further exacerbate conditions and circumstances that challenge organizations and therefore ability to effectively manage change. Kotter (2007, p. 96), acknowledging high failure rate of change efforts in organizations, remarked, the basic goal of a change initiative is to make changes in how business is conducted in order to cope with a new, more challenging market environment. Therefore, this raises question of potential impact of increased individual and organizational awareness and cognition to organizational change, and if can improve success rate of change.This study seeks to investigate cognition and awareness in organizations by conducting a systematic review of literature on and change. The effect of change on organizations makes it an imperative to identify a cognitive strategy that will broadly examine and scan all facets of environment to amend behaviors that may increase likelihood of successful change. Ashford and Fried (1998, p. 305) stated that of organizational behavior is argued to be performed mindlessly, on basis of scripts learned through organizational socialization, work experiences and symbolic management. Collectively, this lack of awareness is problematic, as mindless behavior by organizational members may adversely impact or impede success of positive organizational change. Furthermore, dearth of scholarly literature that explicates on as a strategic imperative for addressing change calls for study, research and investigation to reduce mindlessness and promote mindfulness.To advance discourse on and role and strategies that may have in effectuating change and organizational transformation, this research is guided by following:t How may alter behaviors in organizations?t How may mindfulness/mindlessness affect change in organizations?t What strategies can organizations employ to increase in any organizational change or transformation effort?t What steps can organizations take to reduce organizational mindlessness?This examination culminates in strategies for increasing in organizations.Mindfulness overviewThe literature on is not new and Eastern perspective of existed for at least 2500 years. The origins date back to fundamental teachings on Satipatthana as preserved in Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism; School of Elders (Dhiman, 2009, p. 58). Fries (2009, p. 5) found that mindfulness is usually associated with meditation due to its long history in Eastern contemplative traditions, especially Buddhism. However, has recently become a non-secular practice of many westerners (Emanuel et al., 2010, p. 815).The research on Western or cognitive perspective of and differences that emanated from mindful to mindless behavior originated in 1974 with wide ranging results (Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000). Much of current literature describes as a meditative intervention, or as a socio-cognitive construct addressing varied areas of psychology that include clinical psychology and scientific applications (Baer et al., 2004), social psychology (Langer, 1989), health (Valentine et al., 2010), and education, political theory and communication processes (Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000). In clinical practice, interventions based on are used as coping resources to address a multitude of disorders including chronic pain and stress, anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorders, and panic eating (Carmody et al. …