Mindfulness and Leadership

Mindfulness - the Inside-Out art of noticing our thoughts, emotions and motivations as and when they happen.

The ability to remain focused only on the present, and filter out unhelpful negative thoughts is a transformational skill, that accounts for a large proportion of effective leadership competencies. But how and perhaps more importantly why is it so effective? What is the true impact that mindfulness has on leadership capabilities?


Inside Out Leadership

Effective Leaders operate from the inside-out; they are able to take personal responsibility for situations as well taking direct action to resolve situations. This is where mindfulness steps in, the ability to be fully present in situations and respond appropriately requires elements of self-awareness as well as other leadership capabilities. A wrong decision made, and situations will spiral out of control, regardless of the strength of the leader that has made that decision. Applying mindfulness to these situations not only requires comprehension of situations and environments, but also of the people involved in situations and environments; enabling better choices and effective decisions. When leaders are mindful, they are more in control of themselves as well as better placed to manage critical situations, due to being immersed only in the present.

Applying mindfulness to challenges

Leadership is rewarding, but can also be exceptionally challenging and difficult. When operating in uncertain times, especially those related to organisational change, crisis or any unfamiliar situation, the ability to remain fully immersed in the present is absolutely crucial.

Leaders are required to provide solutions to problems which are often complex, and troublesome to those individuals involved. Team and organisational dynamics result in differing opinions, where leaders may struggle to facilitate cohesion and remain unable to find an applicable strategy to achieving solutions. Caught up in these situations, leaders may end up becoming contributors to conflicts, and produce unintentional negativity while simultaneously receiving incorrect information from team members. A challenging, uncompromising role such as this can be incredibly difficult for leaders to respond to, leaders will want to appear strong and decisive to their team members, and find ways for their team members to communicate and work effectively, all the while being unsure themselves of the best action to take.

Mindfulness has been shown to be helpful during intense and stressful situations such as these. When mindfulness is strong, leaders are able to respond to these situations in a less reactive and conscious manner, which accepts the negativity of the situation but finds a positive response.

As an example of this, applying mindfulness to see emotional reactions during intense situations often highlights the common emotions of both fear and anger. Rather than instantly reaction with these emotional feelings, becoming mindful makes it possible to accept the existence of the damaging emotions, and to consciously choose appropriate responses to situations rather than instant counterproductive reactions.

Mindfulness in organisations and teams

Mindfulness encourages interaction and cohesion in organisations. It allows leaders to relate to their employees, team members, colleagues and managers in a way which is based on present realities rather than individual thoughts and feelings. Promoting the use of mindfulness throughout an organisation improves diversity awareness, promotes equality and encourages the formation of opinions based on performance and contribution rather than personal opinion

When leading a team, having the ability to leverage the strengths of individuals and to seek out those individuals who are able to succeed during turbulence is a critical skill needed during team formation. Applying mindfulness in conjunction with other People Leadership tools such as Belbin’s Team Role Inventory, enables the formation of strong, cohesive and effective teams. This level of clarity and unbiased selection based on ability only comes from consciously utilising mindfulness as a leadership tool

Extraordinary Mindfulness

The ability to remain focused in the present and mindful of internal states and external environments develops true and extraordinary leaders. The more often mindfulness is practiced and applied, the better able leaders become at influencing, leading, guiding and developing individuals. Essentially applying mindfulness to any aspect of leadership, enables both Personal development and Professional development, and contributes substantially to achieving long term goals and organisational success.

Melissa Wong, Marketing Consultant to Different Dynamics