Pioneers of Contemplative Practice in Business: A Phenomenological Study

Organizational leaders and decision makers are searching for those who “do the right thing” regardless of moral complexities or cultural norms. Researchers have categorized these individuals as mindful, authentic, etc., and suggest their more attentive, and less reactive nature enables them to maintain unique ways of seeing, thinking, and acting in the world. Interest is building in secular adaptations (e.g., mindfulness training) of teachings from antiquity (e.g., Buddhist mindfulness), however scarce attention has been given to practitioners. To address this lack of understanding about contemplative experiences, a phenomenological study was undertaken to explore contemplative practice as experienced by American businesspeople. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with executives, managers, and career professionals (n = 29) who had an ongoing contemplative practice at the turn of the last century, and follow up interviews were conducted 15 years later to explore the trajectory of these individuals as professionals and contemplatives. At present (n = 7) of the original participants have been interviewed, and their experiences are the focus of this second wave of the study. The broad discovery is that over time, contemplative practice becomes an experiential framework for daily life, informing and influencing life choices in both personal and professional domains.