The Power of Mindful Leadership
Mindfulness might seem like a buzzword that yoga teachers, wellness experts, and mental health counselors use it to encourage self-care, but it’s not to be ignored if you’re a leader in your organization. Being mindful in how you communicate and interact with those around you is critical to leading effectively, especially now, as you and your employees work to manage the stresses, fears, and challenges of COVID.
Matthias Birk, PhD, explained in a recent Harvard Business Review article that in times of crisis, we are less likely to be mindful and more likely to engage in worst-case-scenario thinking and deny potential threats. We also have less access to the creative and analytical parts of the brain.
The problem. Not only are these all critical leadership skills, but, Birk explains: “Unfortunately, those are the exact skills we need as leaders in times of crisis. We need the full capacity of our brain to weigh best possible options, question our assumptions, come up with new and creative ways of doing things and remain calm in order to reassure employees, customers, and business partners while listening and taking their concerns seriously.”
The good news is, leveraging mindful leadership can allow you to move past the challenges of a global pandemic and tap back into the skills you need to be effective in your role. But what is a mindful leader? The four main attributes of a mindful leader are focus, clarity, creativity, and compassion in the service of others, according to Janice Marturano, founder of the Institute for Mindful Leadership.
The long-term impact of leading from this place of mindfulness is evident when you look at the data. For example, leaders who practice mindfulness for at least 10 minutes daily exhibit higher levels of resilience, collaboration, and the ability to energize their teams in the midst of complex situations, based on a study from Harvard Business Review.
The research also indicates that mindful leaders become “less reactive and more responsive,” which teaches them to regulate emotions, focus on the present, consider different viewpoints, empathize with others, and adapt to circumstances or transitions.
This has a spill-over effect on team members also. When interactions and behaviors are rooted in awareness and tuned into the interests of each person on your team—job satisfaction, goal attainment, and overall performance increase, according to Frontiers in Psychology.
That’s not all. Get familiar with the power of mindful leadership so you can bring it into your routine and leadership strategies now and in the post-COVID workplace.
Challenges Are Seen as Learning Opportunities
Obstacles, mistakes, conflicts, and moments of stress are inevitable. What isn’t inevitable is your reaction. You can choose to be discouraged and overwhelmed in these moments, or you can reframe them into opportunities to learn, grow, and problem-solve as a team.
Mindfulness reminds you to slow the anxious, rapid-fire thoughts and worst-case scenario fears and instead, redirect that new energy into a solution and action. This mindset shift enables you and your team to ask questions like, “How can I find purpose or meaning in this difficult event?” “What can I hope to learn?” “What skills can I develop? How can I benefit from this challenge?” and “How can I use this change to build something better?” suggests Tim Jackson, PhD and President of Jackson Leadership Inc.
In our monthly community gatherings, Modern Mind Mornings, there were managers who expressed stress from being laid off from their jobs. On any ordinary day, losing a job is already stressful and anxiety-inducing. In this COVID-19 climate, the uncertainty of ever landing another job can be even more overbearing.
Despite the roller coaster of emotions they were feeling, years of mindfulness and meditation practice had taught them to take a step back and gain perspective.
For example, one participant took the time to journal and get clear on what kind of career she wanted, where she could find meaning and contribution, and what organizations and companies actually match what she is looking for.
Another person realized that it had been a long time since she was able to take a break and recharge from her non-stop work schedule. Now, during COVID, she has found renewed purpose in helping employees with work from home strategies and finding new opportunities to contribute and be helpful.
We’ve been hearing from colleagues and the community about how grateful they are to their mindfulness practice during these challenging times of COVID and sudden disruptions to their everyday routines. It gave them the perspective to focus on what’s important and have the awareness to direct their energies towards what’s helpful to them, their families, their role in the company, and their contribution to the world as a whole.
Different Perspectives Inform Better Decision-Making
It can be tempting to lean on your own expertise or frame of reference when managing projects and team members. While your expertise is critical, listening to and amplifying the ideas and voices of your team can open your mind to new possibilities, solutions, and ideas.
Taking these unique perspectives into account in your decision-process can enhance interpersonal bonds; which “brings compassion into the emotional climate of the workplace,” says Sherrie Campbell, psychotherapist, and author. The more compassionate you are toward someone else’s point of view, the more unified and invested your team will be in the decisions you make. More importantly, the more likely you are to get the best out of your team because they feel their voice and ideas are heard and appreciated.
Mindfulness enables this perspective-taking and compassion because it keeps us in the present, where we’re able to truly address what is happening, what is needed, and how we can best lead in that situation. Instead of focusing on all the doubts, fears, and “who’s to blame”, you can take an objective approach to problem-solving.
Creativity and Curiosity Have Room to Expand
When you let go of perfectionist ways of thinking and instead, allow yourself to step into each situation with a mindful outlook, creativity is allowed to flow in.
We often share in our workshops: “When you’re in the energy of curiosity, judgment cannot exist.” One of the key components in practicing mindfulness is approaching it with an attitude of curiosity and kindness. Mindful.org explains that Dutch psychologist Matthijs Baas felt the ability to observe is closely related to openness to experience, a personality trait that several studies have shown to be one of the most robust indicators of creative success.
We also bring the power to observe, as a mindfulness tool, to tech companies who are trying to help their leaders and teams be more creative in problem-solving and more innovative in product creation. Participants are guided through an open awareness meditation where they train their minds to become an observer of their thoughts, emotions, and experiences from moment to moment. This opens doors to insights that they don’t normally see or ‘catch’ when they’re on autopilot.
Another exercise we love using is simple yet powerful. Pick up a pen with your less dominant hand and trace a character you don’t know the meaning of. Whether it’s the team leaders, the UX designers or the engineers, their eyes lit up when they have an AHA moment of what the character means to them. They often refer to this exercise as one to help them be more open-minded and open to new ideas.
Well-Being Is Prioritized Over the Bottom Line
A mindful leader brings compassion into the equation, caring more about the team’s well-being than on how much they achieve or produce—because the latter is indicative of the former. If your team is disengaged or underappreciated, they’re less likely to produce or achieve at the level you expect. When each team member feels connected, valued, satisfied, and balanced, their work ethic naturally rises to the occasion which means a great output.
It’s common for leaders to make their bottom line the main objective, but research shows that prioritizing human capital ahead of other target benchmarks inversely helps the bottom line. Leaders who are mindful of their team’s well-being and satisfaction report a 10 to 12 percent increase in performance and a 21 percent increase in revenue, according to Gallup’s Workplace Well-Being Committee.
Leverage the Power of Mindful Leadership
Mindfulness is more than just a buzzword—it’s also a powerful asset for leaders. Employees will take on the traits you present, so if you lead with empathy, intention, curiosity, and presence, they will too. To cultivate greater mindfulness, check out some of our other resources:
We’d love to hear from you. Tell us what you do to bring mindfulness into your leadership practice in the comments!
If you’d like to work on mindset with us, join our Modern Mind Mornings event on April 29th. We’ll be talking about the power of mindful leadership, including the benefits of mindful leadership and daily practices you can use to embody mindful leadership.
p.s. If you ever need a warm hello, a 😊emoji, or some kind words to uplift your spirits this season, pop over here and say hi. We're here for you.