The concept of Mindful Leadership has gained momentum in the past years. There are plenty of books on this topic, coaches specializing in mindfulness & leadership who are offering training programs and plenty of meetups / events with relevant talks broadly available. In addition, organizations have realized the positive impact of mindfulness on their business and are introducing mindfulness programs widely with measurable success.
A few years ago this was not the case. Is Mindful Leadership just another hype or trendy buzz word to attract attention?
Let’s clarify first what mindful leadership and its intention is:
„The intention of mindful leadership is to embrace a mindset of present awareness and mindfulness as an underlying foundation to all your thoughts, words, and actions.“
In essence, mindful leadership adds a dimension of mindfulness and awareness to all your daily activities with a side effect of adding “super powers” like
being more effective as a leader,
fostering stronger collaboration & unity in the teams,
improving active listening,
better self reflection,
becoming more resilient to stress,
working with enhanced focus,
making higher quality decisions based on intuition and wisdom
These positive side effects of being mindful are worthwhile to strive for not just for your professional, but also for your personal life.
Furthermore, as the mind becomes more quiet and alert, various research has shown that your emotional intelligence (EI) increases as well (see https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-emotional-intelligence)
However, similar to other skills like playing the piano, or becoming a professional snowboarder, being mindful requires your time, resources, and an ongoing effort to train your mind. The encouraging news is that you will see results fairly quickly within a few weeks, but it will take a few years of mastery to stabilize it on a daily basis.
You have to decide on how you want to grow as a leader.
Larger corporations usually provide access to training classes on “leadership effectiveness, how to build high performing teams etc.” In addition, there are countless online programs & classes, books, YouTube videos, and other training material available to consume as part of your „information diet“.
While there are many good offerings on acquiring or improving specific skills, you also have the option to invest in a more fundamental effort and journey which includes mastery of your mind by learning and engaging in regular mindfulness practices or meditation. In my experience the latter will add a deeper dimension to your personal growth and leadership effectiveness.
If you are or want to become a Mindful Leader, it has shown to be important to surround yourself with a community of like minded professionals and experts to support you in your journey.
For this reason I have recently created the Fellowship of Mindful Leaders. Together with other leaders we embark on a powerful mission to change the business landscape on this planet. The Fellowship is there for you to support you in your personal growth during this journey, and that you have the opportunity to mastermind and connect with your fellow Mindful Leaders and subject experts.