Inspiration and Engagementin Business Education

Ursula Glunk

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What do I do?

2

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Inspiration and Engagement

When did you last feel inspired and engaged? - in your free time- as a student / learner- as a tutor / coordinator- as a researcher

Take the body posture of being inspired and engaged

What are the “symptoms” of being inspired and engaged?

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“Symptoms” of being inspired / engaged

• Flow state (Csíkszentmihály, 1990)• Full immersion into an activity• Forgetting time• Feeling energetic and joyful, alive, awake,

alert, switched on• Feeling spontaneous, creative, connected• Feeling enriched

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The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.

David Whyte

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What does inspire / engage me?Doing something I find meaningful• Learning / talking about an interesting new

perspective or topic• Actions that are aligned with my values - even if

risky• Creativity, improvisation, unpredictability• Challenge, autonomy• Authentic involvement of others• Dealing with the messiness of life, wisdom• Contributing positively, having impact

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... in Business Education?

• The “intangibles” in organizations: creativity, team dynamics, leadership

• Leadership development as an art (rather than a science)

• Coaching, seeing people grow• New approaches to doing business (e.g., CSR,

dialogue)• New approaches to business education

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.... of yesterday’s theories about the world and human beings

We are prisoners ...

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Tutors

Students Coordinator

Topics

Approach

Ripple effect: It starts with the coordinator

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Students / Tutors

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Challenges for “engaged” coordinators

The more we care about teaching, the more heartbreaking it can be.

If we teach things we care about, we become vulnerable to indifference, judgment and ridicule.

We have to face our own difficulties with taking risks, with being a “deviant”, with uncertainty, messiness, ambiguity.

Potential disenchantment / resignation….

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Students who only care about passing the exam with as little effort as possible.

Status differences between wholehearted researchers and wholehearted teachers.

Academia cultivates the illusion of objective knowledge and tries to ignore or eliminate all that is intangible, uncontrollable, unpredictable, not measurable.

The educational system? Well, actually the system provides lots of possibility to increase inspiration and engagement....

Challenges for me

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• Myth and reality• Paradigm shifts• Paradox• Learning• Leadership• Teams• Creativity• … No text book

Example 2.1 IB: Topics

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The intention of this course is to create an environment where you are actively engaged in your learning, where you can bring in your personal style and capacities, and where your can expand your understanding of management and organizations.

In order to achieve this, you will be asked to manage and organize something yourself, i.e., a tutorial meeting. From session 4 onwards, we will work with pairs of facilitators who will be in charge of a full two-hour meeting.

In terms of material, the course uses a set of articles that provides refreshing views and food for thought.

Tutors will be there for support and encouragement. They will make sure that the level of understanding is deep enough, challenge you where necessary and clarify things when needed. In the first three sessions, they are the discussion leaders. 

Example 2.1 IB: Teaching Approach

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The Future: 1.1 ….

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Safety and challenge

Structure and flexibility

Diversity and unity

Content and process

Polarities in Teaching

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“Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.”

Parker Palmer (1998): The courage to teach.

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Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály (1998). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. Basic Books.

Freire, Paulo (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.

Palmer, Parker (1998). The courage to teach. San Francisco: Wiley.

Whyte, David (2001). Crossing the unknown sea. Work as a pilgrimage of identity. Riverhead.

Inspiring Readings