TRANSCENDING CSR - cultivating future mindsets for an emerging sustainable holistic vision
Anna Rosengren Anna is founder and co-creator of the GNH network in Sweden. She is also founder and CEO at Ethics in worklife Ltd and has, as an ethics consultant, initiated many theories, methods and networks and projects around leadership, core values, diversity, social sustainability, holistic health, existential leadership and personal development. For 20 years Anna has also been a priest in the Swedish church, but has also for many years practiced Vajrayana buddhism as a support for deepening and widening conscious transformation. Anna is nowadays mainly working with visions and mindsets in and between complex contexts, organizations and society networks, mainly connected to the emerging network around GNH, Gross National Happiness.
CSR and profitability - a fruitful combination? The new law in India making it mandatory for organizations to spend a minimum of 2 % of the profit on corporate social responsibility initiatives has rendered many diverse reactions. Many seem tp be positive about this, but there are also many who are worried that there will not be enough knowledge, means and methods. The country is facing so many socioeconomic challenges and although some guidelines are to be presented, few know how to manage CSR initiatives. Questions arise about whether CSR is going to threaten profitability and whether it is a fruitful alternative to impose it like this. In this short article I would like to contribute by transcending these questions. First of all I would like to suggest that CSR needs to be seen not only as an external responsibility for a local context but also has to start from within and be linked to sustainability in general. CSR cannot and must not be introduced merely as an external add-on. It has to be linked with, and start with a shift of mindset within individuals. Authentic change and development takes place from inside out, not vice versa, although inside and outside are mirroring, deeply connected aspects. I will also suggest that the very dichotomy between economy and social welfare could be seen as part of an older paradigm, slowly giving way to a new one where CSR and profitability are not enemies, but members of the same family. An emerging vision in the world right now has it that economic abundance itself cannot be sustainable without integrating other dimensions of welfare, such as good governance, diversity, participation and health. This emerging vision is also connected to a shift of mindsets, where we mature into a wider mental complexity. Because we cannot, with Albert Einsteins words, solve our current problems by using the same thinking and tools we used when creating them. Paradigmshift - what kind of mindset do we need now? Many modern thinkers, Menas Kafatos and others, mean that we are in the midst of a profound change and several scientists, physicists as well as philosophers, have started
formulating it by pointing to insights that do not match the old approaches. At times in history we seem to need a new way to think and relate to everything, to go "outside the box" in order to find meaning and context of what is happening. This might well be a time like that. According to Thomas Kuhn, who coined the term paradigm, a paradigm is a kind of housing of ideas and truths in a society / culture / age that harbor what matters, thus formulating norms for what should (must) be and not be, answers what is relevant and how experiments must be performed. When new ideas are formed, which do not match with the prevailing paradigm, a new one will emerge. The new paradigm will first become contradicted and opposed, mocked and questioned, but eventually it will replace the old one when it proves to include and explain more observations. The old paradigm will crack and the new become natural. Examples of paradigm shifts is what occurred in connection with for example, the discovery that the earth is round, that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa, the theory of relativity and so on. The new paradigm of our time is, according to some far-sighted scientists associated with the new vision and human potentials. It contains new ideas about for example: • • • •
How inside is connected with outside and vice versa How we can influence our life, our future and our destiny, what potentials we have How we evolve as humanity and how our mindset includes more and more complexity How everything is connected in an all-inclusive holistic inter-connected entity
If this is true, if we are in the midst of a paradigm shift where much more is possible: What is the potential we now want to realize? What kind of mindset do we need in the new paradigm? Research in recent years has drawn attention to many theories and methods based on this emerging paradigm, searching for methods and theories that open for meaning and coherence, integration and balance. Leadership is one arena where this is expressed. One example is value based leadership based on a clear set of values. Another is situational leadership that has contributed to our ability of changing leadership style in alignment with the context. Communicative leadership has been mentioned a lot and research shows that the quality of communication between leaders and followers has a serious impact on the outcome, also the economic outcome. Salutogenetic leadership is also well known and its base in Aaron Antonovsky's research fosters our sense of coherence, SOC. In order to be productive, creative and happy, we need to have a sense of coherence in life so that it is perceived as meaningful, comprehensible and manageable. There is also a lot of research showing remarkable links between profitability and trust, manifested as an open authentic work place culture. One study shows that profit increases by as much as 186% in organizations with an open climate.
Mainstream management and leadership theories seem to agree on the interconnection between the inner and the outer aspects of human wellbeing and potential as well as of the impact of wellbeing and openness to the sustainable outcome in an organization. Results in the outer sphere are simply not possible without balance in the inner sphere. Another thing that seems to be a mainstream agreement, especially within sustainability and CSR contexts, is the need for every individual and organization to start with themselves. Before starting up any external projects, we need to grant that we walk the talk. In a comparative study it has also been shown that substantive CSR actions have a positive impact (or no impact) if it is directed toward high-proximity stakeholders. This means that there is also a need to cultivate close relations with all stakeholders in order to get fruitful results. What is really missing though, according Avolio, Fred Walumbwa and Todd Weber among others, is more focus on some emerging issues, such as: • • • •
Employee participation Global awareness Holistic understanding of the human being and reality Existential aspects of ledarskap
It is as if there was a hole in research, a vacuum where the existential aspects need to come in and connect our synapses. We need to become aware of our inner values and mindsets. This means that there is a readiness and a desire to examine and explore these questions as the basis for leadership. GNH - a holistic Copernican revolution The change of mindset initiated by the polish mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe, is one of the many examples of paradigm shifts in history. A modern example of an almost similar shift of values and priorities that is expressed in our approach to sustainable prosperity and welfare. Our view of what constitutes wellbeing for individuals, organizations, societies and planets has shifted somewhat radically. Economy is no longer seen as the single factor for measuring welfare. Living standard is interlinked with other values and dimensions in a way that could be called a ”Copernican revolution”, since it refurnishes our
”universe of values” so that economy is no longer seen as the center, but as one of many ”planets” in the system of sustainable welfare. The ”sun” i.e. wellbeing and happiness of every sentient being is more and more taking over the place at the center, integrating and supporting all other dimensions. One of the more interesting examples of this is GNH, Gross National Happiness. GNH is a phrase coined in 1972 by Bhutan's fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, representing a holistic worldview interlinked with an approach where wellbeing and resilience consists of many diverse dimensions, not merely economy as in GDP, Gross Domestic Product. GNH has resulted in a profound improvement for the country as a whole. The very idea has brought the nation into fruition and improved happiness in many ways, while also strengthening culture, meaning and a sense of belonging. There are many similar integrated models of evaluating and sustaining welfare, for example Social Progress Index, balancing basic needs with foundations of wellbeing and level of opportunities. GNH, however, offers a more profound shift and defines more dimensions. It is also a model that is easy to understand and implement for any individual as well as for organizations, societies and global contexts. With this perspective CSR becomes an almost unnecessary term, since the whole idea is based on a holistic worldview. Helping others is so obviously linked to helping myself that the distinction itself becomes less interesting. Integral perspektive An essential aspect of a sustainability is to see the big picture and to integrate every effort with other aspects, departments, organizations, networks, processes and events. A brilliant example of this kind of holistic approach was created by Ken Wilber in what he calls the integral perspective. The approach is based on a view of the world as constantly evolving, from the Big Bang to atoms, molecules, humans and other sentient beings as well as societies, cultures and ways of thinking. Everything strives towards a greater unity, while at each new step including and transcending the former capabilities. Complexity is simultaneously increasing, so that we time and again need new maps that align with our new reality, thus making the world understandable. An integral approach balances inside with outside, individual with common perspectives. It includes four dimensions, as shown in the picture. All these dimensions are as necessary, none of them can be developed without the other. We need to understand the interconnectedness both in theory and in practice - the quality of our future is obviously a matter of systems and organization, efficiency, economy and profitability, but also of personal development, individual well-being, diversity management and common values. We simply cannot have the one without the other, this is the key to development. Spiral Dynamics is another integrating approach, based on the work of Clare W. Graves and elaborated by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan, that explains our development by a
number of paradigms that describe aspects of the human mind as well as of human history. The theory says that from time to tome we shift our view of ourselves and the world so radically that it must be called a fundamental paradigm shift. New paradigms have been emerging since the beginning of humanity and will continue to do so as long as we exist and develop. Each new paradigm provides a wider, more complex understanding of what it means to be human and therefore what is a reasonable and wise vision.
 Each shift includes, corrects and complements the previous, taking us one step further. When a new step is about to occur, it will be disseminated through various cultural, social and organizational "codes" that affect everything from religion to economics and politics. We live in a flow of constant paradigm shifts. The different paradigms in this theory are connected with different colors, which makes it easier to talk about, integrate and overview. The process of development also often depicted in a spiral image where development passes the different colors again and again in new levels, constantly integrating new insights. Learning about the different paradigms can help us as leaders, since they are not only historically chronological events, but also exist more or less simultaneously in our current context. The wisdom in leadership is all about knowing what kind of potentials and challenges associated with each context based on the recognition of the paradigm that colors the context. At the same time we need to understand at what level humanity as a whole exist today, and have an overall awareness of how everything on an existential level is linked through space and time. Spiral Dynamics is a basic frame for understanding our contemporary context, especially when combined with other approaches such as the integral model. This combination, often called AQAL, All quadrants, all levels, gives us a multi-dimensional view of reality. We can think of the combination as a building, where the four squared quadrant image could be
imagined as apartments in four directions, while the levels could be compared to the floors. In order to reach the next floor, we would need to have ”cleaned up” or ”covered” all four apartments on the former level. This means we will include and transcend all the other floors, being ready to move on to the next. Inside out Our reality can thus be described as a complex system of interconnections. What we see around us is a reflection of what is happening within us. When we experience conflicts, misunderstandings or resistance in our environment, this will be linked with something within us that is not yet settled. When there is peace and abundance in our external affairs, this is connected to peace of mind in our internal life. Instinctively we all know this, but we keep forgetting and escaping this insight, thus creating wider and wider gaps between and within us. As if there were an inescapable essential difference between the one and the other, and as if there was an inevitable division between failure and success, profit and non-profit, right and wrong, good and evil, up and down. This very mindset also leads us into more and more conflicts and divisions where we avoid other viewpoints than our own or our habitual ones. From a more holistic perspective where everything is connected, other viewpoints will not be perceived as divisive and threatening, but as enriching. With a wider and more mature leadership mindset we would rather affirm diversity, even cultivate the differences, supporting them into co-existence, much like instruments in an orchestra. The more conscious and integrated we become, the more we will see how the exterior and the interior are linked. Our view will be clearer and we can act on aware choices rather than on emotional reflexes, fearful egotism or plain obedience. The outer and the inner become specular angles of the same events, so that the leadership will merge with participation.
We will not only conductors, we become simultaneously the orchestra and each instrument in the as well as the music and the notes, the audience and the composer. More and more we will be moved by the whole and the separateness of particularities will diminish. Reprogramming the hard drive In order to lead consciously and sustainably, we would need to have an idea about where the hard drive is located. There are many theories about this. From an existential perspective we would argue that the hard drive is that space within us that handles questions about meaning and coherence, human dignity and deeper values. This perspective is closely connected to existential philosophy that says there are no templates to life and no way out of this human trap, other than accepting our position, choose and take responsibility for what we choose. We can not lean on any specific theory or social norms and habits, each one of us is at the mercy of his/her own responsibility and potential. It is our human destiny to live in this anxiety-creating situation with no way out. The existential view has of course implications for analysis and methods for leadership and sustainability. A good leader creates opportunities for people to grow in this their existential predicament so that all involved become more autonomous, healthy and free. Sustainable change needs to grow from within by methods that open for dialogue and that utilizes the collective experience of what is happening. One concept that offers both analysis and methods for such self awareness is the FIROtheory created by Will Schutz in the middle of the last century. FIRO (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation) is a theory about how we can strengthen our selfesteem and understand how it is linked to results. This is a good basis, but for a sustainable integrated context we would need to go beyond this. We would need to take this one step further and see what's inside our self images, into the core of existence, the hard drive of our mindset. This is where we program our basic paradigmatic views and this is therefore as deep as we would be prepared to go if we wish to mature and learn more about handling complexity. CSR, mindsets and levels of awareness What does this mean for CSR and for the current situation in India? Well, it could be an explanatory model for understanding where we are and what has to be done in order to move on. Let us therefore explore our position. What would a CSR approach look like on the diverse floors? Let us stick with the five floors in the middle, that would be most relevant for contemporary work life. At the red level the approach would be a kind of basic egotism, which is also necessary to include. We might think that protecting the ego is not a very flattering quality. But letting go of ego is not possible if we have not first held it properly. However, when we
limit ourselves to this level, or stay attached to it, our world becomes more or less a chaotic mess, a kind of anarchy. CSR initiatives on this level would hardly be relevant at all, but if they were they would be filled with short-sighted self interest. An inspiration for next level would be based on the need for orderliness and justice. It might be in my self interest also, to allow for some rules, for example in traffic or in the environment. At the blue level law and order would be prevailing, keeping everything neat and tidy, based on a momentum to be good. Being able to follow rules and agreements is of course good, especially when it comes to CSR. But of course there is more to a sustainable life than rules. Sometimes we would need to think and act outside the famous box in order to grow and expand, which might be the start of an inspirational mindset for the next orange level. At the orange floor results and achievements will be at the center of attention and there will be a larger freedom as to work �outside the box� in the sense that rules are followed in a more relaxed way. Success is the main focus, rather than obedience and being good. Branding and self development is also important on this floor, where CSR would be much about strengthening identity by means of charity or sponsoring. Inspiration for next level might be difficult, especially if the strategy seems successful or if profitability is low. However, there might be a chance, at least for individuals, to grow into an insight through experiencing the shallowness of mere success or through having enough of the repetitive, unending feeling of scarcity. Sooner or later we will understand that we need each other at a human level, that relationships are the basis of all sustainable agreements, also in business and that corporate success needs to interconnect with environment and peace. At the green floor, then, business and work place relationships will deepen as well as our understanding of each others perspectives. Conflicts and disagreements will be solved in an easier way, since we have
the empathic potential of seeing things from another persons angle. Trust, quality and collaboration will be key words and there will be no need for development until we realize the importance of participation. We might be surprised at some point, that not everyone listens to our reasonable approach, thus understanding the need for integration and learning to speak the language of all diverse floors. As long as we dismiss other perspectives we will not have fully integrated them. So for the yellow floor to open up, we need to integrate all apartments in all floors and develop our skills to switch languages and communicate in any context. Here our thinking will change to more overview and holistic responsibility. Our skills will manifest as integrated initiatives that combines the interests of many diverse individuals, departments, businesses, organizations or regions. From here the new holistic paradigm can grow, where the combinations and connections will become even more natural and organic, less egocentric and more ecocentric and so on, until an inherent universal vision emerges. 
 Inspiring leadership for an emerging future
 
 So where do we start? Where do we find a suitable method for shifting our mindsets and leading towards, or from, an emerging future? Given this in-depth dialogue about paradigms, levels of awareness, mindsets, leadership and existential dimensions it may seem somewhat superficial using a method simplistic highlighting the advantages. Nevertheless, it may be a good beginning, as well as any, to take as its starting point the potentials, as long as we are aware of our vision and where we want to bring this development. The new paradigm is of course also full of ideas about our potential and what we can achieve. Starting with the positive, many times, though not always, be a way to start that allows events to swell and leads to new understandings without change lose either speed or depth or complexity. Appreciative inquiry is one example of such a method, that aims to develop the strengths and opportunities and follow them far beyond expectations. Where traditional methods for change usually focus on identifying problems, analyzing causes of problems, formulate solutions to problems and implement solutions in a systematic way, Appreciative Inquiry instead takes as its starting point what works. Now, if we would apply this approach to the Indian business context for CSR today - what would we find? Maybe we just might find that we have all we need for shifting our mindset. We might also find support for our exploration within different theories and methods that are inherent in the context and culture, but maybe slightly forgotten, but give us more or less essential building blocks if we dare to develop them or combine them in new ways, with new perspectives. This could be a way of bringing to awareness and then fruitfully utilizing treasures of our culture that we might have neglected. An example is what happened with Bhutan, when GNH became a more outspoken framework for the
ideals and the culture that was already inherent in the context. Leading from an emerging future also implies listening to history and the treasures that quietly rest within the identity of the region. A next step in line with this approach could be to revise the conditions that are present in any optimal situation and then expand them into a maximum. What would happen if we were always in contact with our perceived cultural center and aware of the connection between the inner and outer? Who might we be if we always took care of all the potentials? What kind of business mindset would arise? What leadership styles would be formed? What would sustainability mean?
Holistic innovative large scale impact, learning and transformation The inside out perspective might lead us to conclude that it is wise to start with small steps, at a private arena. However this is not at all necessary. The approach is very well suited for large scale impact and transformative learning. Worldwide right now more and more groups of people gather in innovative "hub-s" for mutual learning, often interwoven with the acquisition of knowledge online. A hub is a kind of group that is specifically designed to foster collaboration and innovation. The hub is often a global, or glocal (globally conscious, locally based) community of people from any background, profession or culture that practices new ways of relating to the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges. Much of the events might remind us of our traditional public education, where learning is spread through mutual volunteer responsibilities. However many initiatives are also of a different nature, with innovation and co-creation as common values. The phenomenon, which is a genuine grassroot movement and perhaps the future variant of popular education, is closely linked to entrepreneurship and cooperation across borders. It's a learning that both promotes and builds on diversity and openness and that intertwines several different contexts, methods, techniques and contexts. Being to a large extent self-organizing, the system of learning "hub-s" generates creativity and learning in a way that spreads almost organically, often voluntary. U. Lab is a good example of this form of innovation and mutual learning society in the form of action learning that is now spreading in the world. U.Lab is based on an initiative of M.I.T (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in Boston. The last time a course like this was given, in it involved 28,000 people from 190 countries and created 350 local venues around the world. U. Lab based on an ambition to transform society as a whole, in line with Theory U, a theory compiled by Otto Scharmer, which is about how we can co-create fruitful conditions that allow the emerging future to take place. The theory provides an understanding of what is the basis for real change and methods to create radical, sustainable change. Through the course and ”hub participants” the global and local activity contributes to a better future.
Without a doubt there are easily available, free of charge, highly effective and large scale methods and theories that can help us transform our society and raise our awareness without loosing anything but our illusions. Emerging vision Once we enter a holistic awareness, we will get in touch with a tremendous potential to contributing in transforming our world. From within this co-creative culture the future will emerge together with a deeper vision. This vision would of course encourage us to support a more resilient planet, but above all, develop our awareness. Supported by such a vision sustainability will be something that naturally embraces not only responsibility for the closer context but the essential dignity of every sentient being.
Reading List Antonovsky, Aaron (1987) Unraveling the Mystery of Health. How People Manage Stress and Stay Well, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Avolio, Bruce J. Fred O.Walumbwa and Todd J.Weber (2009) Leadership: Current Theories, Research, and Future Directions, Annual Review of Psychology Beck, Don Edward and Cowan, Christopher C., (1996) Spiral Dynamics - Mastering Leadership, Values and Change, Oxford, BlackwellBenhabib, Seyla, Situating the Self: Gender, (1992), Community and Postmodernism in Contemporary Ethics by New York, Routledge Cummings, Tom and Keen, Jim (2008), Leadership landscapes, New York, Palgrave Macmillan van Deurzen, Emmy (1988). The existential conversation - a perspective for psychotherapy, Stockholm: Nature & Culture Greenleaf, Robert K., 1977 (1991, 2002) Servant Leadership: A Journey Into The Nature of legitimate power and greatness, New Jersey, Paulist Press Ishmael Jennan, The Situated Self (2007.2009) Oxford University Press Kafatos, Mena and Nadeau, Robert, (1999), The Non-Local Universe: The New Physics and Matters of the Mind, Oxford University Press Kuhn, Thomas S. (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, University of Chicago Press, Chicago MacQuarrie, J. (1973). Existentialism. London: Penguin Books Prasad, Ashok, India's new CSR law sparks debate among NGOs and businesses Monday 11 August 2014 17.21 BST Schutz, Will (1979), Profound Simplicity, New York, NY: Bantam Schons. Laura and Steinmeier, Maria, Walk the Talk? How Symbolic and Substantive CSR Actions Affect Firm Performance Depending on Stakeholder Proximity, DOI: 10.1002/csr.1381
Scharmer, Otto and Kaufer, Katrine (2013) Leading from the Emerging Future: From EgoSystem to Eco-System Economics, San Francisco, CA; Berrett-Koehler Publishers Surowiecki, James (2004), The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, New York, Doubleday Wilber, Ken (1996), A Brief History of Everything, Boston: Shambhala