The Flips of Transformation
Written by: Michal Peceny
I start where I am.
“If you don’t know where to start, start where you are,” I have read somewhere.
So, I start where I am…
I am sitting in a tiny little house, on a small island in the Norwegian sea, above the arctic circle. I am surrounded by great mountains and majestic blue ocean. A big yellow moon and green polar lights are looking at me from above.
In this tiny house at least ten people could find refuge in the old days. Today we are nine. My family and our dear friend’s family to whom this lovely place belongs.
I feel lucky, inspired and at peace.
What a wonderful moment to sit down and reflect with a flickering candle beside me and the blue light from the computer screen in front of me (yes, there is electricity in this house).
My attention and memory go back to the whole period of more than two years where I’ve been immersed in the Zen Leader training. My aim was to become a Zen Leader Coach.
Last September, I succeeded in finishing with a certificate. But without a doubt I have gained so much more than a piece of paper for my CV. A transformation has happened.
“This training is simple but not easy.”
I remember our teacher saying this sentence several times. And that is very true. It’s not easy because it’s subtle. Subtle, and therefore empowering.
We were working with our physical bodies trying to set our minds free. Working with our physical bodies so we could get in touch with our energy bodies.
I loved to hear our teacher remind us: “What a marvelous instrument you have.”
This may sound very esoteric and yet so down to earth. In fact, so far down that I have been catapulted into heaven.
And so, it began.
It all started right before Covid, where I was asked by my supervisor to try leading a project after being an engineer for quite a few years. I immediately felt an internal “yes.” So, I jumped into the deep sea of project management.
Being a project manager in a relatively big energy company can be a challenging affair. The rough sea of emails, chats, meetings, people all the time wanting an answer or guidance from you, clients’ requirements, constantly reporting on plans and costs. And finally – accountability for everything that’s happening in the project’s rigid frames. It’s quite easy to be blown away or even drown in this ocean. And yet, I felt from the very beginning that precisely by staying in these rough waters, I could grow as a human being. But I also sensed that bringing some REAL value, needed another kind of transformation.
As one who has inherited some resilience to begin with, I could cope - as long as my physical and mental strength were with me; bringing all my talents and goodwill to the table. But there were times when this was not working; exhaustion and meaninglessness arrived. “I am a simple mechanical engineer!” I often found myself saying, meaning: “What am I doing here? Let’s get out of here.”
It’s been said that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. And so, an online course - “Lead with Purpose” - led by Ginny Whitelaw Roshi found me and immediately resonated (the phenomenon of resonance, I found later, was one of Ginny’s favorite topics). Great presence, warmth and openheartedness met me. I was sold. After finishing this online course, I was hungry for more. Institute for Zen Leadership, founded by Ginny herself, set me on a path of transformation. The path of the Zen Leader had started.
The “flips” of a Zen Leader
Without any previous formal management/leadership education I was curious and ready to learn more.
As a movement teacher and yoga practitioner I knew that without in some way including our bodies on this journey (or any journey for that matter) would be only “half business.” I knew that the body is the entrance door to growth and wisdom. Approaching leadership only by intellectual means would not solve the challenge I was stuck in.
Hearing Ginny say what leadership is for her at the beginning of the course - “Authentic expression of the whole Self to create wondrous value,” followed by that she wants to “equip leaders with embodied practices/leadership skills so that they can bring thriving and healing to the world around them,” I immediately knew I was in the right place.
The main pillar of the Zen Leader path is built on ten “energetical flips” which should be practiced until they become embodied. These flips showed me how to first be aware and then flip around my habitual and unaware structures of navigating my inner innate energies. These energies, when released, rearranged and transformed can establish the forgotten connection to ourselves and the world around us.
Here is my very short summary of the “Ten Flips of a Zen Leader” as I have understood and experienced them, still being in a humble state of wonder and curiosity.
Flip #1 – From coping to transforming
The very first flip, and the most important one to begin with. Hara breathing is introduced, putting my system in a state of acceptance while lowering my center of gravity.
To proceed in the “right” direction, “to use the pressure rather than be used by it,” we need to relax completely, letting things come, not pushing anything away. We need to immerse ourselves in the world that comes at us every moment; flipping from feeling stuck to creating a free and directed movement.
Flip #2 – From tension to extension
This flip teaches me that by releasing tension in the body spontaneous relaxation occurs, which can be followed by directing this released energy intentionally wherever needed. From the center of our being and outwards.
Flip #3 – From “or” to “and”
This flip suggests how to navigate a paradox: feeling the seemingly opposing forces as one single whole and sensing when it is the right time to shift from one force to the other, never missing the whole picture. For instance, to observe and feel the healthy tension between the inhale and the exhale in your own body is rewarding. This very tension is literally keeping us alive. And how about the tension between work and family life?
Am I urged to only defend my opinion as a vendor, or can I expand and also see the opinion of the customer? Can we find that healthy tension which brings us closer to each other and lets us grow together?
Flip #4 – From “out there” to “in here”
Let’s look sincerely into the mirror. What do we see? How deep can our vision bring us? If we meet the inner roots of our own fears, are we then able to respond more gracefully to the outside world? What happens if we melt our fears away? “Fear comes from disconnection” was a great sentence for me to embody, followed by another one: “Among the biggest gifts we can give to each other is fearlessness.”
Flip #5 – “From playing to your strength to strengthening your play”
A personality tool was introduced – the psychometric tool “FEBI – Focus Energy Balance Indicator.” This gave me awareness of the four essential energies in my system: Driver – pushing energy, Organizer – energy of holding one’s shape, Collaborator – energy of swinging and flow, Visionary – energy of big horizons and inspiration. From there I experienced how to work with these energies and also how to engage them when needed. In other words: “build your ‘inner bench’ and set up the ‘right team’ for the situation at hand.”
Flip #6 – From controlling to connecting
“Become the other, go from there” – Ginny encourages us. Can we step into the shoes of others and feel what’s happening there?
I immediately feel beauty when I softly invite connection. I love to wait and see what arises from this mutual resonance. I keep this connection by cultivating a sense of trust.
Flip #7 – From driving results to attracting the future
“Change is not ‘out there,’ the leader IS the transforming agent,” resonated deeply.
I could feel immediate relief in not needing to chase results in the future but rather attract them in the present moment. Being in and cultivating the generous moment of Now with a clear intention and inspiration is the main practice.
“We need to become the change we want to see in the world around us.”
Flip #8 – From ”It’s all about me” to “I am all about it”
Let us for a moment suspend “our needs” and see how we can SERVE the arising situations around us. We need to show up in our full power and yet relaxed and opened. Our hearts should come forth at this stage as a main power of guidance.
Flip #9 – From “local self” to “whole self”
From this point, the leadership starts to be juicy and very REAL.
Ginny’s words bring clarity: “Be the best token on the chessboard as you can be but don’t forget the chess - the game, itself.”
Can I become larger than my tiny problems? Can I widen all my horizons even more? I am trying to connect all the dots simultaneously. “Become both the wave and the ocean at the same time.”
Flip #10 – From delusion to awakening
Again, Ginny’s help is needed: “No matter what pathway we follow, if we go far enough – before subject and object separate, before “I” distills out to mistake thinking as its essence and creates a world “out there” – we end up in the same place of no-thing, emptiness, all-abiding awareness of that which has nowhere to go. Rest in this all-abiding awareness. It is none other than your own Being: boundless emptiness in which all forms take place.”
I am taking these words in, letting them penetrate and work me. What remains is Silence.
Leading from your whole self as a connected human being
So how to bring all these flips into daily work/life?
Again, start where you are and practice where you can. Practice with trust and curiosity. Stay humble. Work hard but don’t break; pause when needed. Be compassionate with yourself when things do not work. And give yourself a smile, often.
Here are some examples of my own practices:
General practices:
Sitting in silence and doing Hara breathing each day (at least 20 minutes per sit)
Trying to keep my body supple and open by doing different stretches/movements
Cleaning my “instrument” – doing Okyo practice (“singing my chakras”)
Connecting with nature - walk/run/play/swim or just sit and be
Staying connected in any way with my community
Practice at work:
Microbreaks for breathing, “shaking it out” and resetting – especially after challenging meetings or important conversations
“Movement snacks” with my colleagues twice a week – group/teamwork feeling
Sense which FEBI pattern to engage – especially prior to important meetings/conversations or when creativity is needed
Don’t rush – sense the right pace for the activity/workday
Listening, not only with my ears
Working in different bodily positions if possible – sitting on the ground/squatting/kneeling/standing
And finally, maybe the most important ones:
Breathing into Hara
Staying aligned between Earth and Heaven, never closing my Heart
Not taking everything so seriously - especially and most importantly oneself
Let this journey never end
For me the journey of a Zen Leader is a journey of bringing leadership to the next level. The level where we become connected to our real potential. The potential where we get out of “our own way” and become infinitely resourced, as Ginny marvelously puts it. With these “resources” we can truly become an authentic expression of the whole Self, aiming for nothing less than creating wondrous value in the world around us. And the Joy which naturally emerges will be contagious.
The flickering candle beside me has almost burned down and my eyes are exhausted from the blue light of the computer screen. My being is full and my heart is open. I blow out the candle and close my laptop. I go out in the darkness and immerse myself in the beauty and wholeness of the eternal Now, feeling hungry for the next adventure.
If you dare to embark on this Zen Leader journey, it will never end…
Michal Peceny is an engineer by training and works as a project manager at Aibel A/S in Norway. Amidst a busy daily routine, he relies heavily on his daily meditation practice, high doses of movement and connection with nature. He is a MovNat certified trainer and a longtime yoga practitioner and teaches meditation, movement classes and retreats when time allows. He has recently completed his Zen Leader Coach certification.
He has always been drawn to the integration of movement, science and spirituality.
In recent years, through the Zen Leadership certification program, he has found new ways to explore this integration further, thus growing and learning by applying the “flips” of the Zen Leader.
He is currently based in Harstad, Northern Norway, with his wife and two children.