In the recent CEO report to the Board of Trustees, this passage stands out:

Sponsored by Trish [McEntee] and Scott [Stillinger], Jan [Sinclair] and the EEteam conducted two 2 hour all staff meetings to communicate results of Leadership Culture survey

This is a misleading statement. Actual detailed numbers were never released because the results came out very poorly. The staff at Esalen has been told that the results are available only if one makes an appointment with Director of Guest Services Jan Sinclair. Unfortunately, the implicit motive behind that move appears to be one of intimidation.

—Anonymous

[Esaleaks invites the raw results of the Leadership Culture survey for anonymous publication on this web site.]

Thank you for publishing the Esalen Community Representative Report of October 2010. It is apparent that the issues we have as a community are being ignored and that when the issues are swept under the rug or thrown a token of appeasement we quiet down for a bit. Unless a real change is made and honest communication takes place I fear the same things will be true in 2012.

If the administration hasn’t paid attention in the past I invite them to pay attention now. The administrative class around the world is paying the price for their arrogant lack of attention to the people they are “leading.” Decades long dictators are being dethroned, tried and executed. Governors are being recalled by their constituents. Esalen is a microcosm. Please listen to us now and choose to be a hero for what is right, and not another example of disgraced elite, out of touch with the base of power that exists in the people.

—Anonymous

These executive compensation figures apparently do not include health insurance or housing allowances. With all benefits included, these seem to be very hefty compensation packages. The Board believes these levels are necessary to attract “top talent.” An alternative HR process might (1) compare Esalen top earners’ total compensation and benefits package with that of other similarly-sized non-profits and/or hospitality services. With this knowledge, we could then (2) advertise positions with a salary range that tops out somewhere slightly below standard levels, and see who bites. If the positions are intrinsically attractive, qualified candidates might bid the compensation cost down.

The executive team may claim they have already more or less used this approach, but it is highly questionable whether there has been enough transparency for those outside the cabal to verify the effectiveness of Esalen’s hiring practices.

—Anonymous

[The placement of Tricia McEntee in the CEO role without conducting a public talent search, or even interviewing qualified candidates put forward by the community, exemplifies administration's preference for opaque hiring practices and favoritism. —Ed.]

Esaleaks presents the Esalen Community Representative Report of October 2010. The report is now over a year old, yet the problems it outlines remain overwhelmingly unaddressed — including a hostile working environment, disregard for individual skills and potential, a lack of open collaboration, and the sense that management is orchestrating a major cultural shift without openly discussing its intentions.

Esaleaks would like to announce the start of the “Esaleaks Compensation Project” in which the salaries, qualifications, and performance of Esalen managers and executives is discussed. What are they being paid today, and is it commensurate with what they’re doing and what Esalen needs? Could people with better qualifications and greater resonance with Esalen history, teachings, and spirit be hired at similar salaries? Who are they? How well are the “executive team” (CEO and HR Director) performing in the context of the Institute’s goals of supporting personal and social transformation, and how does their relationship impact hiring?

As the project proceeds, we invite thoughts about these questions, current compensation data, and many new questions being asked.

We begin with a sampling of top salaries from Esalen’s 2009 IRS Form 990 Part VII, graciously provided by an anonymous contributor.

Is the Board willing to admit having learned anything from the tragic and costly tenures of Harry Feinberg and David Patterson? If not, how does this bode for Esalen’s ability to evolve a successful hiring process?

Our contributor notes:

Please be aware that the Form 990 filing only requires disclosure of salaries for officers, board members, key employees & “highly compensated employees” (as defined by IRS). Hence, the whole tier of directors now in place at Esalen doesn’t appear here. And, I believe (I have no accurate numbers to back this up) that their compensation currently falls in th $60K-$80K range.

The growing number of assistants to the top level administrators are asked to work 29 hour weeks, like some members of maintenance are, in order to keep them under the statutory levels that would require them to receive health care benefits. More horrifying still, additional hours are “contracted” so that even if the person works more than 29 hours the additional work time won’t push them into the statutory level for benefits.

That sounds like an evil legal loophole tactic that puts money over the health and well being of our community, the human beings who make Esalen magical.

A long-term member of the community was kept at “staff fill-in” status in the Kitchen for months, to avoid having to provide her benefits. Another long-term member of the community has recently been struck with major illness, and has no health care benefits because he has been kept at 29 hours indefinitely.

—Anonymous

A contributor writes:

I have heard from reliable sources that the donation given to Esalen to pay for the construction of Garden View was specifically given for the purpose of providing staff housing. Now there are only a few rooms left. Staff housing has trickled away. I invite anyone who has the name of that donor to release it… [I]t is important to protect the integrity of our donors’ wishes so that the generous supporters of Esalen will be confident in giving their gifts in the future.

Another reader answers:

The donor was Dr. John Heider, who sadly passed away in 2010. The donation was earmarked for staff housing, and the resulting project was Garden View. The Esalen board waited until John’s death to fully dishonor his wishes.

Another reader answers:

Your report about the Staff Housing is in attitude correct. The facts: I was at Esalen in the sixties, when my dear friend and companion John Heider spoke to Lany Stephens, a wealthy fan of Esalen about the horrid living conditions of the staff. We were mostly living in our autos. She donated the money to build the lower units along the hillside. This donation was understood to be for Staff Housing in perpetuity. David Price knows of this arrangement. Begining about 15 yrs ago, weaseling managers have wiggled the staff housing into the hotel system quietly. The present Staff units of Garden View were built later and probably belong to the Institute.

Full contribution follows:

The last time the staff housing at Garden View was threatened to be taken, the people who lived there forced meetings on the issue. In those meetings, the head of the gate and the person in charge of safety pointed out to the administration that it was important to have people close to the gate to help respond in the case of an emergency. People who live here are invested in the safety of our community, we know where resources are and are familiar with the geography of the property should emergency needs arise. This argument resulted in the administration backing down and deciding not to convert staff housing into guest rooms, apparently only for the time being.

Has that argument lost its power? Do we no longer care about maintaining our community and our safety? Read the rest of this entry »

“Wheeler gives a special spin to much of what he writes, a spin that seemed to me to be often of questionable accuracy in its understanding of Gestalt therapy theory and intellectual history and his analysis and construction of theory are remarkably flawed. Moreover, he frequently sets up inaccurate strawmen summaries of his theoretical predecessors as a support for his alternative.”

“Wheeler has a tendency oversimplify and misunderstand positions and issues.”

So read excerpts from a review of Gordon Wheeler’s book Gestalt Reconsidered in the publication Gestalt Journal. Wheeler’s deftly delivered revisionist take on gestalt is an eerie echo of his performances at Esalen, as is a must read for anyone who’s sat in a community meeting with the Esalen president or wonders how the institute has wound up where it is.

The full article is available here [local backup]

More excerpts follow:

I did not find the accurate understanding of history and theory upon which the bold new steps were to be constructed and old contradictions resolved. Certainly my initial enthusiasm in scanning the book turned into incredulity and dismay at the theoretical weaknesses revealed by a thorough examination of the theory in this book… Read the rest of this entry »