Why Does Mindful Leadership Matter?

Leaders trained in Mindful Leadership know how to combine their traditional business and leadership skills and hard-won experience with their training of the mind.

Mindful leadership practices and exercises have taught them to notice the strong pull to react, the mind’s propensity to narrow the focus when under stress, the dynamics of difficult conversations that can sometimes be resolved by reaching the lowest common denominator to gain agreement, rather than the most skillful choice, and the negative effects of information overload.

The training also helped them choose to hold the ambiguity of “not knowing the answer” for a while, providing the quiet and spaciousness needed to see clearly and to respond. Neither their traditional business training nor mind training alone would have sufficed to help them reach an optimal decision. It’s the combination of the two that proved to be so powerful.

When people talk about how their choices change when they take a purposeful pause, or how their ability to see their own filters and ‘story-telling’ helps them to find clarity and focus in the midst of the chaos, other people become intrigued. Speaking about their experience to a friend or colleague is an act of generosity. Leaders share the wealth by helping spread the word.

Mindful Leadership can be used to:

1. Improve strategic thinking
2. Stay attentive to the present, not the past or future
3. Minimize auto-pilot
4. Respond with clarity under pressure
5. Listen to ourselves and others
6. Hold ambiguity until a better time to make a decision
7. Prioritize work
8. Learn to stay focused on a project from beginning to end
9. Engage/Reengage employees
10. Have difficult conversations
11. Eliminate unneeded tasks
12. Hold effective meetings
13. Reduce errors
14. Create the space for innovation
15. Manage stress
16. Increase employee well-being and satisfaction