Mindful Leadership

Everyone can benefit from being a mindful leader as it applies to our personal and professional lives. Mindfulness is being aware of our thoughts, emotions, and actions. It means paying attention to the present moment and experiencing it nonjudgmentally. Leadership depends upon our ability to understand others and communicate in a way that motivates people to overcome challenges while achieving their goals. With mindful leadership, we can perceive people and their actions with a fresh perspective, rather than stay mindlessly stuck in negative assumptions and judgments. The greater the diversity of people and personalities we can successfully connect and communicate with, the more effective we become as a leader.

The practice of mindfulness helps us to be fully present and respond to situations with attentiveness, rather than over reacting to circumstances. One way we can practice being a mindful leader is to imagine that our thoughts are totally transparent to those around us. If they were, we’d certainly be more aware of every thought we have. Yet, the more aware we are of our thoughts and feelings, the better we can make positive choices with our words, attitudes, and actions. Mindful leadership helps us create incredible success in serving others and creating a better community for us all.