On moral imagination and indigenous wisdom: How leaders approach moral-ethical tension in post-modern Bali

Moral imagination can be defined as an act or process that involves the consideration of a moral-ethical tension and the generation of a novel and appropriate course of action that accommodates the situation. The purpose of this study was to understand how, ifat all, might Balinese leaders demonstrate moral imagination using their sociocultural values. The following supporting research questions frame this study: (a) What sociocultural values inform the process by which Balinese leaders approach moral-ethical tension? (b) What specific interventions are part ofBalinese leaders' process in achieving their stated vision? (c) How, ifat all, might the stated sociocultural values inform the process by which Balinese leaders develop and implement interventions? Through a series of 60-90 minute interviews, this qualitative cross-case analysis examined 13 Balinese leaders representing various professions. This study found a collection of sociocultural values that clustered into two main categories-harmonic values (subcategorized into macroharmonic and microharmonic values) and dharmic values. Macroharmonic values included having a relationship with nature, one's community, and God or spirit. In addition, experiencing internal harmony of one's thoughts, words, and actions as well as one's wisdom, motivation, and apathy were microharmonic values found to be of importance to leaders in this study. Dharmic values included having a reverence toward the traditional past; providing economic, cultural, and natural resources for future generations; and paying attention to karma pala, or the consequences one is creating through one's own actions in the world. Findings from this study reveal that morally imaginative Balinese leaders from various professions intervened in their sociocultural system in three ways: (a) by developing creative practices related to their line of work, (b) developing creative spaces for transformation, and ( c) finding creative ways to construct relationships. Study findings also reveal that Balinese sociocultural values informed how leaders in this study perceived and intervened in their sociocultural context, established intentionality to accomplish difficult feats, involved others in their decision-making, and used supporting actions that sustained their creative decision-making and work process. This study offers deep insight into the interrelationship between sociocultural values and moral imagination from a unique indigenous perspective. DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated with love to the Balinese-for their pursuit in the cultivation of beauty and wisdom-over the course of many centuries. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge several individuals who have made an impact in bringing this study to fruition: • Marcia Jaffe, for your generosity in sharing your life's worth of experiences in Bali and helping me to find the right interviewees for this study; • My parents, Eddie and Sandra, and my brother Kenric for supporting and providing for me as I researched and wrote tirelessly over the last few years of my life; • Dr. Cheryl Getz, for your fine work in guiding my academic journey and helping me to temper my research with love and compassion; • Dr. Zachary Green, for providing your depth of practical and scholarly insight on leadership research and adding significant value my personal and intellectual growth; • Dr. Steven Gelb, for your unique interdisciplinary perspective into leadership and education from a global standpoint and your role in helping me to see and think with critical depth of reflection; • Dr. Rose Martinez, for inspiring me to think outside the box and everything you do to make my work and life all the more colorful and soulful; • Ruthie Inacay, for instilling in me the courage to create a unique possibility for myself by doing fieldwork research in Bali, and letting me know time and time again that anything is possible and that passion beats logic every time; • I Putu Wira Guna, for your support in being willing to drive me for long distances around the island and for acting as an interpreter in order to make sure I got the data I needed; • And my beautiful American Eskimo Dog "Miko," who always makes me smile with her sense of innocence and curiosity and keeping my spirits lifted.