It is my pleasure today to talk with Ginny Whitelaw, President of the Institute for Zen Leadership, noted author of the seminal books Zen Leadership and Move to Greatness and a major contributor to the What NOW conference over New Years.

As we all watch the cultural reality show that is continuing to unfold, our leadership skills are naturally challenged as fear arises. Fear of where we are headed as a culture, fear that if we don’t stand up for the generative world we are trying to create, we’ll never see it in our lifetimes. As with any constriction of the heart, mind, or body, Ginny’s simple instruction to take a breath, calm ourselves, and find our center before we react is clearly critical in our current era.

In this short discussion, we model the process we will be utilizing at the What NOW conference over New Years. Becoming more aware the stories and themes that are most attractive to us, exploring how our practice can help us manage our anxieties and fear-based responses, and learning to surrender to whatever transformations emerge as a result of doing the work and taking an more integral perspective.

At the moment, Ginny is particularly concerned about the lack of leadership that both President Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un are displaying in their escalating war of words, and in this discussion she helps work through the very fears that naturally arise as a result. I put Ginny on the spot as I ask her to sit in the room with the two of them and attempt to shift them from their playground bully antics to more stabilized and less fearful positions. You’ll enjoy the skillful means and guidance that Ginny offers here.

As we continue to climb the ladder of chaos, Ginny Whitelaw helps us remember that we have leadership abilities way beyond what we can imagine. And we are so happy that she will be joining us at this year’s What NOW conference, and we hope you will join us too.

-David Riordan