Insights make pieces of us immortal
Maybe what makes artists “immortal” is the insight and meaning they have managed to articulate in their works. Is that a glimpse of what eternal life could look like? Maybe eternal life is eternal insight — a complete understanding of all things that transcend time and space.
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Luke 21:29-33. My words will not pass away
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 329: NOVEMBER 25, 2022]
It takes courage to pursue insights
The past few weeks have been filled with many research defenses both at the graduate and undergraduate level. Having sat both as a panelist and as an adviser, my key takeaway is that the pursuit of insight requires courage.
Are researchers willing to swim through uncertainty to fill gaps in our knowledge?
Are panelists willing to trust the capabilities of the researchers?
Are we willing to rethink conventions at the cost of challenging our supposed stock knowledge and preconceived notions of how research should go?
Indeed, it takes courage to pursue insights.
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Luke 21:20-28. There will be signs
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 328: NOVEMBER 24, 2022]
Basketball, flowing, and being in the zone
I’m always amazed by basketball athletes playing at the highest level. Basketball is so fast paced and requires so many improvisations — it is not a good game for the overthinker. Teams who play the Beautiful Game build a chemistry that seems so unreal — imagine your teammate sensing what you’ll do even before you think you’re going to do something.
In this context, optimal performance of an athlete does not necessarily mean having pre-ordained plans and following them to the letter. Optimal performance means the moves and reads have become second nature that the player does not need to “think” it. Like how we breath or how we walk, those who enter the zone are those who are fully and truly present in the moment.
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Luke 21:12-19. You are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom…
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 327: NOVEMBER 23, 2022]
Training ourselves to feel morally obliged
Ignorance is bliss, but ignorance is the opposite of attentiveness, insightfulness, reasonableness, and responsibleness. The latter four states of being is what Fr. Bernard Lonergan describes as the transcendental precepts of authenticity.
Thus, to pretend to be ignorant is to fool ourselves; and it is very inauthentic.
How many times have we tried convincing ourselves that we don’t need to know more? To exert a bit more effort? To just wait for the apple to fall from the tree? To just pray for manna to fall from heaven when the bread is just a few walks away?
Ignorance is illusory bliss because it is the state when we conveniently choose to not ask questions or stop exerting effort anymore. But what we don’t realize is the moment we kill our curiosity is the moment we start murdering our authentic self.
Luke 21:5-11. “All that you see here the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 326: NOVEMBER 22, 2022]
To give more than the sum of our parts
One of the most fascinating principles of systems thinking is that a system’s value can be more than the sum of its parts.
The best example I could think of is the 2014 NBA Finals where the Spurs beat the Heatles headlined by three superstars. The Spurs executed what was dubbed as “beautiful basketball”, using team chemistry and unselfish extra passes to create high-efficiency opportunities. On paper, the Miami Heat had more star power, but the 2014 Spurs was able to embody what it meant for a team’s basketball “value” to be greater than the sum of its individual players’ skills.
This is way easier said than done, because a system’s parts, or more appropriately its stakeholders (for a social system like a team) should be on the same page – coherent and harmonizing like beautiful prose or poetry.
It is not easy to pull this off. For this trimester of teaching research methods, I recognize that there are research groups who may be struggling with the high demands of a major course. There are times when I feel my more flexible style of coaching and research workshops, which worked for previous batches, are not as effective anymore. Despite recorded videos and a carefully curated research Google Drive resource I compiled throughout the years, it feels like there are groups who struggle to engage with some of the materials or may be downright overwhelmed by the expectations. There are some groups who excel and hit the ground running even at the start of the trimester, but this is more an exception than the rule. Maybe we are all undergoing transitions – coping with the risks and perceived inconveniences of a hybrid setup. To be fair, we have gone through some COVID infections and other personal disruptions this trimester. Maybe I am being too hard on myself and my students.
In experiencing these struggles, one may wonder whether it is all worth it – when one’s best may not necessarily be enough to engage or to inspire others. Trying to be at our best all the time can be exhausting and consuming. It may not be practical.
But the day ended quite well. Earlier, one of my thesis groups defended their proposal. The students of this group were my former research methods students exactly one year ago (research methods is same course I’m teaching to a new batch this term). Listening to their very coherent presentation and brilliant answers to panel questions delighted me to no end, being reason enough to not give up my attempt to give more than the sum of my parts. These rare flashes of brilliance is more than sufficient for a teacher to get nourishment for the soul. And it makes the struggle worth it.
Attempting to give more than the sum of our parts may be exhausting at times, but witnessing others be greater than their sum makes it all more than worthwhile.
Luke 21:1-4. She has offered her whole livelihood
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 325: NOVEMBER 21, 2022]
Renew, not resume
The end of this year’s Catholic liturgical calendar seems to coincide with a holiday season where everything is going back to normal. It has been more than two years of the pandemic, and at least, the light at the end of the tunnel has never been so brighter. As we in the field would say, “back to business as usual.”
However, wouldn’t it be such a wasted opportunity to just go back to our old practices before the pandemic? I offer three questions for reflection as we hopefully truly move towards the post-pandemic era.
First, what old practices and work norms can we dispense with? The pandemic has been an opportunity for numerous workplaces to radically experiment with work setups. In the course of these experiments, we stumbled upon work arrangements that can replace the old ones. It is possible (or even preferable) for some industries and sectors to not require employees to come to work every day. There are time, personal energy, and monetary cost savings. Managers must be courageous in inquiring whether we can do away with old work habits that are not anymore viable in a more hybrid-oriented setup.
Second, what old practices and work norms can we revive? The pandemic has shown us that communal activities and cultivating a culture of belongingness cannot be effectively done only through digital setups. Teambuildings, informal gatherings, or simple get-togethers are some of the things we may have neglected and missed dearly during the pandemic. Facilitating human connections and interactions are important to invest in.
Third, what new ways of working should we consider given a more hybrid or omnichannel work setup? As we undergo yet another transition, it is important to open ourselves to change and embrace a mindset that allows for continuous piloting of improvements and work setups.
Hopefully, by pondering on these three questions for reflection, we collaboratively find answers that can make our workplaces more humane. The challenge for managers and organizations is to not merely resume but renew our way of doing business. Dare I say, the challenge is to renew our way of life.
Luke 23:35-43. Christ the King
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 324: NOVEMBER 20, 2022]
Life is an opportunity for infinite meaning-making
Memes, slangs, idioms, figures of speech – these are manifestations of how much meaning (positive, mundane, or negative) humanity can make. Our power to create meaning can even transcend life and death, for even when we leave the world of the living, we can also leave behind a legacy or bundle of meanings we’ve created with and for others.
Luke 20:27-40. “… and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 323: NOVEMBER 19, 2022]
Mission drift
Steering away from our intended mission is called “mission drift”. And since we live in a world that can be characterized as an open system, many forces emanating from structures that surround us can distract us from pursuing our goals. Just as waves and weather can stop ships, so to can other forces stop our trips.
This is why being self-aware or at least committing to examine our selves is very critical. Just like a shipwright needs to fix the ship or know when to recommend that the ship pause its travels, so to shall we need to fix our weaknesses and understand our identity and align ourselves towards the mission we aim to fulfill.
If we find ourselves drifting from mission fulfillment often, we should reflect: are we really committed? Is it time to pivot? Or do we need to rebuild ourselves so we can better do what we are meant to do?
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Luke 19:45-48. “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 322: NOVEMBER 18, 2022]
The gift of self-determination
The freedom and autonomy to choose our paths can be a great gift. Thus, the leaders who influence organizations to promote self-determination and integral human development are managers who treat the profession as a true vocation.
Maybe to lead is not necessarily to direct nor control; but rather, to lead is to grant unto others the gift of self-determination.
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Luke 19:41-44. “If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 321: NOVEMBER 17, 2022]
Maximizing our potential is an obligation, not an option
These past few days, we’ve been interviewing applicants of the Applied Corporate Management program. And maybe the overarching question is: have the aspirants done their best in maximizing their potential and opportunities given subpar and suboptimal conditions?
It’s not easy to summon drive, passion, and discipline in an online setup.
It feels risky to go outside our comfort zone when the world out there seems to be so unsafe.
But if we are to authentically pursue integral human development, we owe it to ourselves to be self-aware, to know our weaknesses, and do our best to flourish and bloom where we are planted.
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Luke 19:11-28. The parable of the coins
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 320: NOVEMBER 16, 2022]