Vipassana Meditation as an Enabler of Values Based & Servant Leadership Development

The authors argue that values-based leadership and servant leadership, while promising, often fail to produce deep, sustainable personal renewal. They propose Vipassana meditation as a technique that can provide the transformative experience needed to develop the timeless qualities these leadership frameworks require. The document describes the philosophy and practice of both leadership approaches, explains the background of Vipassana meditation and the 10-day residential course, and links the benefits of Vipassana practice to the essential qualities of the two leadership frameworks to suggest a potential combined impact.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Much of the current practice in developing leaders is limited in the extent to which deep personal renewal which is sustainable can be affected. Two enduring approaches to leadership development include values based leadership and servant leadership; both of which are comprised of certain timeless qualities which lend themselves to more in-depth, transformational development experiences. Vipassana meditation is a technique which has been found to provide those willing to make the effort with just such an opportunity to transform themselves and become more effective as values based/servant leaders. This document describes the philosophy and practice of both of values based and servant leadership development. It goes on to explain the background of Vipassana meditation and the experience of attending a 10-day residential course. Finally the benefits of practicing Vipassana are linked to the essential qualities of the two leadership development frameworks, in order to describe the potential impact of their combination.