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Ginny Whitelaw


Homepage: 
www.TheZenLeader.com

Dr. Ginny Whitelaw didn’t dream she’d become an innovator in leadership development. She dreamt of being an astronaut, and wrote NASA at the age of 13 to ask about the courses she should take in junior high school to best prepare. Treasuring the letter they sent back, she followed its advice to study science, which led to 3 years in a high energy physics lab, a doctorate in biophysics, and a lifelong interest in energy and the human body.

From the age of 19, she also started intense physical training, first in martial arts, then in Zen, which led to a 5th degree black belt in Aikido and her becoming a roshi (Zen master) in the Chozen-ji line of Rinzai Zen. She has led dojo (training centers) in Houston and Atlanta, and currently trains and teaches at Chozen-ji Wisconsin Betsuin.

Along the way, she also made it to NASA. There, she went into management, not space, eventually becoming the Deputy Manager for integrating the Space Station program, and receiving NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal for her efforts. It was while attending her first NASA leadership development program that she discovered, to her own surprise, this was her work. She continued to learn everything she could about leadership and combine it with everything she knew about Zen, biophysics, and the human body.

For more than 15 years, Dr. Whitelaw has brought this rich background to the service of leaders all over the world. She co-founded Focus Leadership with an integrated, energy-based approach to developing transformational leaders and their teams. She has worked with numerous Global1000 leaders and businesses, including Dell, Novartis, JNJ, Bank of America, Precor, Sprint, EMC, XL Capital, and Prudential. She is a seasoned keynote speaker, having presented to such groups as the International Coaching Federation, Professional Coaches and Mentors Association, and European Professional Womens Network. The co-author of Move to Greatness (with Betsy Wetzig, 2008), she continues to teach Zen applications to leadership, in which the ideas of The Zen Leader have met with such enthusiasm, they needed to be written down.

Contributions

Sex, Zen, and Whole Leadership
Ginny Whitelaw
Tue, 04/16/2013
Article
Integral Post

OK, let's talk about sex. I've probably grabbed your attention as few other topics could. It's the mountainous life-force energy that, from adolescence through every stage of adulthood, turns our life around through its desires and our varying ability to navigate them. It's the mother lode of all explosive topics and, for better or worse, it's recently exploded together with Zen across many articles and much commentary.

The Fears Leaders Never Speak of (And How AQAL, Zen, and the Chinese New Year Can Help)
Ginny Whitelaw
Thu, 02/21/2013
Article
Integral Post

What keeps you up at night? It's a favorite question asked of senior leaders, whether they're being interviewed on a talk show, addressing a company town hall meeting, or speaking to a group of leaders-in-training. "I worry that we're not moving fast enough," is a common answer to this question, "That what made us great won't keep us great." Another says, "I've picked two areas to change and I don't know if I picked the right two." Most leaders are conscious of at least a short list of worries, and for some, it's a badge of honor to take those worries quite seriously. What leaders are not so conscious of are the fears underlying their worries, and how those fears shape the story of how they'll deal with those macro-level concerns.

Integral Immersion to Make a Better Future
Ginny Whitelaw
Thu, 01/24/2013
Article
Integral Post

I just returned from two days in the future. As part of my leadership work with a health care client, I joined them in visiting innovative disrupters in Silicon Valley, venture capital firms focused on the future in health care, as well as the remarkably accurate forecasting firm: Institute for the Future. Breathtaking. Mind boggling.  And timely, as we start a new year, perhaps with resolve to realize a goal or bring about a desired future.  My biggest takeaway from these days is that the VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) is intensifying and virtually everything is becoming either impossible or possible, depending on the leader.

Sandy Hook and the Fiscal Cliff: The Leadership Imperative
Ginny Whitelaw
Wed, 12/19/2012
Article
Integral Post

It takes the breath away, doesn’t it? All those children. The smiling principal. The wonderful teachers and staff. The insanity of another rampage, another weak-link madman with automatic weapons set to make a grand exit. My heart goes out to all the families in their suffering. Moments of silence cross the nation, but it will be nothing compared to the silence that will haunt this season in 26 families. And all this, only months after the movie theater madness of Aurora, CO.

With Thanks and Giving, Here’s an Integral View of You
Ginny Whitelaw
Tue, 11/27/2012
Article
Integral Post

Ok, we're officially into it: the holiday season. And if anything counter-balances all the hustle and bustle, it is the thanks that herald the beginning of this season, and the generosity that has the potential to come out. So in that spirit, considering your interests as an Integral reader, and my own work in Zen and leadership, I'd like to give you one of the most useful gifts I know for understanding yourself and being able to work with yourself deeply, from inside out. Who knows, it may even help you celebrate (or get through?) this season.

What's Your Reaction to the 2012 Election?
Corey deVos, Terry Patten, Leslie Hershberger, Ginny Whitelaw, Marilyn Hamilton, Michael Zimmerman, and Jeff Salzman
Tue, 11/13/2012
Article
Integral Post

We thought we would take a moment to reflect on last week's election—what we see as significant from an integral view, what our next steps should be, and what kind of implications this election has for America, for the world, and for the dawning of an integral age. Most importantly, we want to know what you think about all of this. Let us know in the comments below!

The Zen Leader Animated
Ginny Whitelaw
Mon, 09/17/2012
Video

Why we might want to flip around our sense of self, and how it's possible....

Democrats and Republicans: Are We Going in the Wrong Direction?
What Zen, Leadership and an Integral Perspective REALLY Tell Us
Ginny Whitelaw
Mon, 09/17/2012
Article
Integral Post

The country is headed in the wrong direction. So say 61% of us in the United States, give or take the weekly fluctuation in the polls. Republicans say the policies of the current administration are taking us in the wrong direction. Democrats say gridlock partisanship and the polarization of wealth are taking us in the wrong direction. Everyone says this election is about which direction we choose for our country. Are all directions created equal, and it’s just a matter of our party affiliation to pick one?

What Olympians Show Us About Zen and Leadership
Ginny Whitelaw
Mon, 08/20/2012
Article
Integral Post

"Follow your dreams." "Believe in yourself." "Never give up." Such were the themes of stories we heard again and again from the great Olympians who thrilled us through the first half of August. Most of us love that message—it resonates with our optimism and models strong personal leadership. Some of us are skeptical, knowing it’s much easier said than done. Judging from the numbers of Olympic spectators versus participants, on the whole, we’d rather watch others put themselves on the line than do it ourselves. Brain research tells us that watching others perform sports gives us about 20% of the neural thrill of victory (or agony of defeat) as if we were doing it ourselves.

The Zen Leader
Ginny Whitelaw and Ken Wilber
Thu, 08/16/2012
Audio
Ken Wilber Dialogues, The Book Shelf, The Future of Buddhism

Ginny Whitelaw talks to Ken Wilber about her new book, The Zen Leader, which offers an exceptionally simple guide to help maximize your health, happiness, and productivity. What's remarkable about The Zen Leader is that it doesn't just present useful concepts to help you think about leadership in a new way, but offers practical ways to continuously check in with your own body—right here and right now—to gauge whatever resistance and self-contraction you may be experiencing, and follows with simple practices to help you sustain a more open and creative state of mind.

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