Mindful leadership
“The pursuit of Mindful leadership will help you achieve clarity about what is important to you and a deeper understanding of the world around you. Mindfulness will help you clear away the trivia and needless worries about unimportant things, nurture passion for your work and compassion for others and develop the ability to empower the people in your organisation.”
- Bill George, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School, 2012
When one thinks about effective leadership in our contemporary organisational structures, one should immediately be filled with feelings and visions of integrity, inspiration, motivation and clear guidance towards a shared ideal- especially during times of constant change and uncertainty. However, there seems to be a great deal of incongruence between this ideal and the reality of many people in leadership positions.
Unfortunately, there will always be an uneven ratio between leadership positions and natural born leaders. Which begs the common question, “are leaders made or born?” Well, while each of us may have a differing predisposition to effective leadership the practice of mindfulness and meditation seems to be having an effective impact on making effective leaders in some of the leading organisations in the World. Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” programme was developed by a Google employee as a way of bringing mindfulness to their thousands of employees. In addition, organisations such as Disney and General Mills have made mindfulness an essential part of their organisational cultures due to, amongst others, its ability to cultivate effective and authentic leaders.
So how does mindfulness translate into effective leadership? Well, the practice of mindfulness happens to be an essential tool in developing key qualities needed to be an effective leader:
Self-Awareness
Leaders who are introspective seem to have a more genuine understanding of their qualities and their vulnerabilities. As a person develops a deeper and clearer understanding of himself or herself they tend to relate to those around them with far more compassion and understanding, while having a better foundation with which to further their own development.
Presence
Mindful leaders are able to be fully present when interacting with others, therefore allowing them greater insight into the needs of those they are leading and thus are able to be more effective when coaching and mentoring. Furthermore, being present improves one’s ability to listen and provide useful feedback.
Calmness and Positivity
In times of uncertainty and change followers look to their leaders for guidance and a feeling of stability. Leaders who keep their focus in the present moment have the ability to be more calm and positive in all situations. This heightened level of optimism filters down to their followers. In contrast, leaders who lack emotional regulation tend to react to challenging times rather than responding (see, - Session Two) in an appropriate manner and thus, reduce their team’s chance of success.
Focus and awareness
Distractions are ever present and generally derail a team’s pursuit of success. Leaders are responsible for keeping a team’s focus on what is important and the goals for which they are working. Mindful leaders are aware of these distractions and can maintain their own and their team’s focus on what is most important in the present.
Acceptance
All teams and organisations face circumstances out of their control. It is a natural response to dwell on or resist these, often, unfortunate circumstances. However, leaders who quickly accept what they cannot change move their team back on the path towards success far earlier (see, Session Three – spheres of influence).
Impeccability
Authenticity is regarded as an invaluable component in effective leadership. Authentic leadership requires one to keep their moral compass directed towards their ‘true north’ under all circumstances. Mindful leaders have a true sense of what they believe and what they value; they therefore are able to maintain their integrity through honest and impeccable decision-making (see, Mindfulness and values-based behaviour).
Courage
With the ability to stay in the present moment comes a feeling of courage. Regardless of the outcome of a risky decision, mindful leaders believe they have the ability to keep moving forward. This belief allows leaders and their followers to take the necessary risks needed to be successful.
Whether we are born to lead countries or organisations, or whether our leadership roles are on a much smaller scale, at some point in our lives we will be required to lead. Either way, mindfulness harnesses the necessary qualities that will inspire and motivate those that we lead to success.
In order to gauge your own level of mindful leadership and how you would go about improving these qualities, answer the questions below:
In which roles in your life do you serve as a leader?
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
Which characteristics of leadership (mentioned above) do you naturally embody?
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
In which areas could you improve, and how would you go about making those adjustments? What would be your plan of action?
- Bill George, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School, 2012
When one thinks about effective leadership in our contemporary organisational structures, one should immediately be filled with feelings and visions of integrity, inspiration, motivation and clear guidance towards a shared ideal- especially during times of constant change and uncertainty. However, there seems to be a great deal of incongruence between this ideal and the reality of many people in leadership positions.
Unfortunately, there will always be an uneven ratio between leadership positions and natural born leaders. Which begs the common question, “are leaders made or born?” Well, while each of us may have a differing predisposition to effective leadership the practice of mindfulness and meditation seems to be having an effective impact on making effective leaders in some of the leading organisations in the World. Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” programme was developed by a Google employee as a way of bringing mindfulness to their thousands of employees. In addition, organisations such as Disney and General Mills have made mindfulness an essential part of their organisational cultures due to, amongst others, its ability to cultivate effective and authentic leaders.
So how does mindfulness translate into effective leadership? Well, the practice of mindfulness happens to be an essential tool in developing key qualities needed to be an effective leader:
Self-Awareness
Leaders who are introspective seem to have a more genuine understanding of their qualities and their vulnerabilities. As a person develops a deeper and clearer understanding of himself or herself they tend to relate to those around them with far more compassion and understanding, while having a better foundation with which to further their own development.
Presence
Mindful leaders are able to be fully present when interacting with others, therefore allowing them greater insight into the needs of those they are leading and thus are able to be more effective when coaching and mentoring. Furthermore, being present improves one’s ability to listen and provide useful feedback.
Calmness and Positivity
In times of uncertainty and change followers look to their leaders for guidance and a feeling of stability. Leaders who keep their focus in the present moment have the ability to be more calm and positive in all situations. This heightened level of optimism filters down to their followers. In contrast, leaders who lack emotional regulation tend to react to challenging times rather than responding (see, - Session Two) in an appropriate manner and thus, reduce their team’s chance of success.
Focus and awareness
Distractions are ever present and generally derail a team’s pursuit of success. Leaders are responsible for keeping a team’s focus on what is important and the goals for which they are working. Mindful leaders are aware of these distractions and can maintain their own and their team’s focus on what is most important in the present.
Acceptance
All teams and organisations face circumstances out of their control. It is a natural response to dwell on or resist these, often, unfortunate circumstances. However, leaders who quickly accept what they cannot change move their team back on the path towards success far earlier (see, Session Three – spheres of influence).
Impeccability
Authenticity is regarded as an invaluable component in effective leadership. Authentic leadership requires one to keep their moral compass directed towards their ‘true north’ under all circumstances. Mindful leaders have a true sense of what they believe and what they value; they therefore are able to maintain their integrity through honest and impeccable decision-making (see, Mindfulness and values-based behaviour).
Courage
With the ability to stay in the present moment comes a feeling of courage. Regardless of the outcome of a risky decision, mindful leaders believe they have the ability to keep moving forward. This belief allows leaders and their followers to take the necessary risks needed to be successful.
Whether we are born to lead countries or organisations, or whether our leadership roles are on a much smaller scale, at some point in our lives we will be required to lead. Either way, mindfulness harnesses the necessary qualities that will inspire and motivate those that we lead to success.
In order to gauge your own level of mindful leadership and how you would go about improving these qualities, answer the questions below:
In which roles in your life do you serve as a leader?
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
Which characteristics of leadership (mentioned above) do you naturally embody?
1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
In which areas could you improve, and how would you go about making those adjustments? What would be your plan of action?