Management Education and Transformational Learning: The Integration of Mindfulness in an MBA Course

Abstract

Most management classes are taught by modified traditional techniques in which the acquisition of facts and rote skills is primary. However, traditional pedagogies fall short when the desired result is not inculcating knowledge about a subject, but rather constructively altering worldviews and behaviors. Leadership, ethics, strategic management, and communications are some of the subjects for which worldview change is imperative and traditional, knowledge-inculcating pedagogies are inadequate. The type of cognitive restructuring required for deep understanding of these subjects is termed transformational learning. This article presents an instructional innovation in which transformational learning is facilitated by incorporating mindfulness practice into an MBA course. Specifically, we suggest that mindfulness increases learners’ awareness of their own and others’ perspectives and decreases resistance to novel ways of seeing and doing things. This increases the likelihood that transformational learning will occur. We evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness practice in inducing transformational learning in the course.

Mindfulness and Coaching to Improve Learning Abilities in University Students: A Pilot Study

“…The results have shown that mindfulness improves self-control abilities and awareness (e.g., [50]), increases self-efficacy (e.g., [25,51]), coping strategies (e.g., [52]), that are connected with resilience, enhances attentive skills (e.g., [53]), improves cognitive performance and metacognition (e.g., [54]), and decreases stress, anxiety, and depression (e.g., [47,[55][56][57][58]). As a consequence, it is not surprising that mindfulness-based training has been introduced permanently in several universities around the world [40,43,59,60].…”

Bringing Mindfulness Practice to Leadership and Business Education

“…Leadership and business educators have also advocated for mindfulness training (Dumas, 2007;Kuechler & Stedham, 2018;Reitz & Chaskalsonas, 2016), suggesting that enhanced awareness of self and others helps leaders and students more effectively deal with complex and dynamic organizational realities. Business schools such as New York University's Stern School of Business have developed mindfulness initiatives to build students' leadership skills and enhance their emotional intelligence (Kim & Shy, 2015).…”

“…Business schools such as New York University's Stern School of Business have developed mindfulness initiatives to build students' leadership skills and enhance their emotional intelligence (Kim & Shy, 2015). Other management educators have discovered that incorporating mindfulness into the business curriculum increased students' acceptance of novel perspectives (Kuechler & Stedham, 2018). Relative to leadership development, studies suggest training and practice in mindfulness resulted in increases in leader resilience, the capacity for collaboration, and the ability to lead in complex conditions (Reitz & Chaskalson, 2016).…”

“…Instructors need to know how to conduct the exercise, along with the challenges or insights of the activity. Ideally, mindfulness exercises should be taught by instructors who have regular mindfulness practices (Kuechler & Stedham, 2018). Instructors with limited mindfulness practice experience are encouraged to form alliances with mindfulness professionals on their campuses or within their communities (Kuechler & Stedham, 2018).…”

“…Ideally, mindfulness exercises should be taught by instructors who have regular mindfulness practices (Kuechler & Stedham, 2018). Instructors with limited mindfulness practice experience are encouraged to form alliances with mindfulness professionals on their campuses or within their communities (Kuechler & Stedham, 2018). Organizations like the Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education offer resources and opportunities to network with like-minded academics interested in incorporating contemplative approaches to teaching.…”