Now, more than ever, we need mindful leadership.
Understanding how our actions are driven by our thoughts and emotions can unpack how we can redefine what it means to lead with people-centered change. While the hallmarks of mindful leadership are leading in the present moment, it is helpful to be cognizant that our mind is much more powerful in generating our verbal and nonverbal communication. Currently, anger, frustration and anxiety plague people’s minds as they are unlikely to swiftly adapt to the changing times of a global pandemic. As such, many people conjure up vile, distasteful remarks that are captured in real time and its toxicity is reverberated to incite more negativity and ultimately diminish people’s credibility as leaders. The sage advice of thinking before saying anything is but one level of unpacking mindful leadership. For those true to mindful leadership, thinking about thinking is the next level to being a successful leader. If meta-cognitive practices in business can help to provide clarity in business decisions, then business leaders can strategize more effectively.
Mindfulness is primarily seen and heard in health industries but it has traveled its way to all industries such as business and education. It has permeated the spaces where it was previously dismissed. The roots of mindfulness in Asian philosophies of life and religion may have been a part of the reason it was not disseminated and embraced because it was seen as practices of the “other.” Mindfulness has existed for centuries but it has only been widely accepted in mainstream societies more recently and touted by many who are new in practicing mindfulness as their own creation. In diffusion of innovation, mindfulness is characterized by its relative advantage and observability. It is better than what’s already out there. It is seen as useful. So, mindfulness is embraced. Educators use it to help with learning and teaching. Some use mindfulness to handled trauma and promote deepened learning. Others use it to enhance behavioral changes and classroom management. On the other hand, businesses have incorporated the benefits of mindfulness to their business decisions for areas in marketing, human resource, strategic planning, and leadership development.
So, how can mindful leadership help in difficult times? First, it helps to develop empathy which is desperately needed in these challenging times. Empathy puts people at the center of how to conduct business. People matter, and that guides decision making for strategic purposes. The value placed on how other human beings are treated are fundamental to good business practices. Second, it helps to develop patience in times of crisis. Mindful leadership allows for a little bit of time and space to breathe, think and assess what needs to be done. Hasty decisions can be detrimental to a company’s image.
There’s a difference between using mindfulness in leadership and using mindful leadership. Using mindfulness in leadership allows a person to practice mindfulness whenever it is needed, so the role of mindfulness is just another aspect of leading a business. Mindful leadership, on the other hand, puts mindfulness at the center of the people-center change. It isn’t just a practice that executives and managers use whenever they please. It is integrated into the system to change an organization’s culture of doing things. While the practice of mindfulness in leadership is still better than having nothing at all, it is the integration of mindful leadership that changes the fundamental operations of leading people and teams.
With that said, mindful leadership doesn’t necessarily discount the past or future. In fact, the mindful leadership demands that leaders are constantly straddling the past, present and future. Mindful leadership encompasses the strength that comes from focus, clarity, creativity and compassion. For businesses to thrive in the future beyond these difficult times, they have to ask the question, “Do we have mindful leaders?”
Leading in Uncertain Times: Why Mindful Leadership Matters
