In Dr. Guenther’s chapter, Enacting Leadership from a Place of Oneness, Stacey invites us to reimagine leadership if it emanated from Oneness and its focus was on creating a space for the magic of interbeing and oneness to happen instead of focusing on power, hierarchy, and efficiency. In lieu of highlighting the person of the leader, we must instead celebrate the collective and structure our social systems to share leadership and have power with instead of power over (Follett, 1995). Leadership from a place of oneness could completely shift the way that we work and interact with each other.

While many empirical studies of groups focus on group performance, productivity, and effectiveness, or group “doingness,” this paper introduces a recent study that explored group “beingness” and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, an intersubjective phenomenon called coherence.

In Chapter 2 of  Exploring Personhood in Contemporary Times, a philosophical exploration what it means to be a person edited by Lemuel W. Watson, Dr. Guenther argues that being human is an intersubjective phenomenon. As such, she calls for leadership that is grounded in intersubjectivity. Included in the chapter are some suggested developmental practices.

To be human is to be a member of myriad groups. While most empirical studies of groups focus on group performance, or group doingness, this study explored group beingness and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, which is an intersubjective phenomenon that has been called coherence.

Edited by Xiaoan Li, Michelle Scheidt, and Stacey K. Guenther

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In Dr. Guenther’s chapter, Reframing Groups: From Doingness to Beingness, she introduces a recent study that explored group beingness and the experience of manifesting deep union and oneness, an intersubjective phenomenon called coherence. She argues that approaching groups from their beingness instead of their doingness creates a space for spiritual development and increased sacredness.

In this book, I present coherence as the antidote to the separateness, loneliness, and burnout that is at epidemic level in the Western world. The book is presented in three parts. Part one is an overview of what coherence is and why it matters. In part two, I delve into my research on coherence. The third and final section is all about ways to open to and move toward coherence. I include practices, activities, and inspiration for how to be in groups in this age when groups often face polarization and divisiveness.