Tamara asks Dalai Lama about bringing your values to work

October, 24, 2014

From the exuberant children’s choir to Shane Koyczan’s insightful poetry to the interesting panel discussion, the Heart-Mind Summit on October 21 was an inspiring event. But the highlight of course was the Dalai Lama himself, whose joy in life and commitment to his values shone through to the thousands in attendance at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Vancity president and CEO Tamara Vrooman was invited to participate in the panel discussion with the Dalai Lama, along with other distinguished panelists like Janet Austin, Sir Ken Robinson, Dr. Kimberly-Reichl, and Peter Senge. Each member of the panel had the opportunity to ask the Dalai Lama one thought-provoking question.

To help her decide what to ask His Holiness, Vrooman reached out to Vancity employees for suggestions on the credit union's intranet. Employees responded with great suggestions, from "How does the Dalai Lama define wealth?" to "How can we bring compassion into banking?" Employees who submitted the top 10 suggestions received a ticket to the Heart-Mind Summit.

After reading and synthesizing the many wonderful suggestions from Vancity employees, Tamara's question was about how to get people to bring the same values to work that they show in the rest of their lives. The Dalai Lama noted that it is short-sighted not to bring your values to work, as long-term success depends on living the values you believe in.