Mindful
InclusionCornell

Certificate Program

Meditation has gained immense popularity in the Western world, made evident through the abundance of books, courses, and apps available on the subject. Western science is increasingly backing the physical and emotional benefits of meditation for overall well-being. In this course, you will be guided through the foundational philosophy and practical insights for establishing a successful meditation practice.

The course encompasses various mindfulness meditation routines based on Tibetan Buddhist practices learned from Master Khenpo Sodargye. While emphasizing the current Western interest in meditation, the course aligns with classic Buddhist techniques in posture and breathing exercises. Through instruction and exercises, you will discover traditional mindfulness foundations, tailored to address contemporary societal challenges and encourage compassion and empathy toward diversity. Whether a novice or an experienced meditator, this course is designed to enrich your techniques and foster personal growth, contributing to healing relationships and building compassion.

In order to get the most benefit from this course, you will need to be prepared to set aside a total of 10 to 30 minutes each day to practice the meditation exercises.

The formal structure of a workplace inherently places limitations on how the members of certain groups access power while privileging others. Spearheading a project, leading a team, or overseeing staff requires a keen understanding of these formal structures to create inclusion in the workplace. This course is designed for leaders at any level who are seeking a heightened awareness of inclusive practices.

You will begin with an analysis of formal organizational structures, as they are extremely difficult to redesign, and understanding boundaries is a crucial starting point. You will explore questions like what do you have to work with, what structure do you have to work within, and how does this impact communication and networking? From here, you will move to diagnosing your own informal social networks within this larger context, identifying the potential shortcomings of your own networks and how you can begin to remedy them. Finally, you will focus on how to diversify the networks within your organization by exploring who you are connected to, what the limitations of those connections are, and how you can expand them. Meditation will be used throughout as an avenue for mindful self-development.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Using Mindful Meditation to Strengthen Relationships

So many theories come and go about how to develop leadership. Originally, people thought leaders needed specific capacities, such as decisiveness or charisma. A common expectation in many cultures is that you have to be an extrovert to be a leader, but that is not necessarily true. There are plenty of examples of introverted leaders, and you don't have to copy others in order to be a successful leader. Leadership is complex; it hinges on understanding followers and their environment. As a result, your ability to mindfully assess your followers' characteristics and the environment is crucial to both the overall survival of you as a leader and your organization. This course encourages you to identify your own strengths and use that self-awareness to lead authentically, discovering the importance of being authentic and true to yourself.

In this course, you will investigate universal ethical standards that transcend cultural boundaries and rise above cultural differences. The primary focus will be on your unique development as a leader, and in addition to exploring the variety of leadership models, you will identify factors that affect your leadership identity. By drawing on your mindful meditation practices, you will reflect and integrate lessons, further developing your own distinct professional identity. You will also explore success stories of authentic, ethical leaders and reflect on these qualities for your leadership journey, assessing the roles that team and environment play in how you lead. Through instruction and practice, you will discover how authenticity and ethics are the pillars of impactful leadership in a multicultural society.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Using Mindful Meditation to Strengthen Relationships

The social sciences emphasize three elements when it comes to navigating diversity and cultural differences. The first is cognitive: Do you know what to do? Another is affective: Can you feel for others? The last is behavior: Can you carry out the appropriate behavior? This course explores various dimensions of diversity and cultural difference. It starts by providing an introduction to several scholarly approaches that you can use to identify the intercultural dynamics at play within your organization. You'll also look at a variety of ways that business leaders effectively manage intercultural conflict and use this during your meditation to reflect on your own strategies for managing conflict.

The mental rehearsal that mindful meditation allows us is a jumping-off point, and from here you'll look at many East/West cultural comparisons. Through instruction and exercises, you will have the opportunity to expand your focus beyond geographic, national, education, and racial differences to cultural comparisons that are relevant to personal situations. As you engage in meditation, you will explore the connectedness of humanity across cultural differences. Finally, you will explore stories of companies that grew to command a global presence to see how a diversity mindset — or lack thereof — affected innovation. This will include reflection on your own attitude toward inclusiveness and how it can enable positive change.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Using Mindful Meditation to Strengthen Relationships

Research shows that there are unique challenges and particular steps to knowledge management and collective innovation. In this course, you will explore those steps in a practical way, developing strategies and skills such as self-awareness, mindful reflection, authentic and ethical leadership, and a recognition of the advantages of a diversity mindset. By investigating methods from organizations that have done this well, you will be able to grow your own strategies to create a culture that is conducive to innovation, encouraging knowledge sharing and retention.

Meditation continues to form the basis for leadership reflection and growing self-awareness. You will start by looking at ways to promote the exchange of information across your team and assess potential challenges. You'll then delve into the significance of addressing the distinct hurdles to innovation and explore management strategies aimed at nurturing it — a critical aspect of staying competitive in today's dynamic landscape. Finally, you'll address the issue of knowledge retention and what you can do to ensure that your organization is able to retain critical information when employees leave. You'll expand your leadership journey by enhancing self-awareness and fostering innovation to ensure lasting success in today's dynamic environment.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Using Mindful Meditation to Strengthen Relationships

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Leadership Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium in which we’ll discuss the ways that leaders across industries have continued engaging their teams over the past two years while pivoting in strategic ways. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to relevant topics for leaders. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine different areas of leadership, including innovation, strategy, and engagement. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from various industries.

Upcoming Symposium: February 11, 12 and 13, 2025 from 11am – 1pm ET

• Tuesday, February 11, 2025 11am – 1pm ET
• Wednesday, February 12, 2025 11am – 1pm ET
• Thursday, February 13, 2025 11am – 1pm ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.