Mindfulness for Managers: The Importance of Helping Others through Mindful Leadership
This article explains and defines Mindful Leadership and will illustrate how to become a Mindful Leader.
Mindful Leadership is a comparably new concept that evolved in the last few years. One reason for this development is the extensive research on mindfulness meditation in the last four decades. Many positive effects of mindfulness meditation were identified in the medical and psychological domain, such as stress reduction, concentration or well-being. These positive results caused Mindful Management to get into the corporate context and became part of leadership training. A new concept evolved: Mindful Leadership or alternatively Mindfulness for Managers.
One scientific study was made by Brendel and Bennett (2016). They believe that Mindful Leaders who connect their body-mind experiences via mindfulness exercises, can learn to become open to internal and external experiences, which may impact their performance. “[Mindfulness] sustained over time, new patterns of thought, emotion, and behaviour emerge, resulting in a leader’s ‘new way of being’” (Brendel & Bennett, 2016, p. 421). Mindfulness influences authenticity and authentic leadership, which is needed to create lasting business performance (Baron, 2016). This sounds promising. The question arising and the aim of this article: Mindful Leadership Defined and Explained.
Mindful Leadership Definition
Mindful Leadership can be defined as the “cultivation of focus, clarity, creativity and compassion in the service of others” (Marturano, 2014, p. 11). To develop mindful leadership skills, the incorporation of (1) present moment attention, (2) intentionality, (3) creativity, (4) compassion for oneself and others, (5) witnessing awareness, as well as (6) clarity are important (Marturano, 2014; Reb, Sim, Chintakananda, & Bhave, 2015; Sinclair, 2016). The following pages describe this definition in more detail:
Mindful Leaders Cultivate Present Moment Awareness
The first feature of a mindful leader is ‘present moment awareness’. This is one of the core elements of mindfulness in general. Bringing the attention to the present moment reduces multitasking, that mentally strains and produces mistakes (Paridon & Kaufmann, 2010). ‘Present’ leaders will have better relationships with their colleagues and their subordinates. One reason is, that they are less distracted (e.g. by e-mails) when being in a conversation. This is closely related to respect and attentiveness (Reb et al., 2015). Reb, Narayanan, and Chaturvedi (2014) studied the effects of mindful leaders on subordinates. Nearly 100 supervisors and their employees participated in their study. The authors conclude that mindful leaders influence the subordinate job performance and their well-being positively. One down-side of being too much in the present, maybe to be less future oriented (Reb et al., 2015). Planning ahead is significant for any corporation. However, the authors suggest a balance: being in the present and thinking ahead.
Mindful Leaders are Intentional with a Good Will
The second element of a mindful leader is intentionality. The essence of intention is to do things on purpose (Etymonline.com, 2017b) with a good will and be open for other opinions, ideas and worldviews (Reb et al., 2015). This concept is the opposite of automatic pilot, where employees function automatically, in an unaware mode. When being intentional mindful leaders act in a good will. Reb et al. (2015) calls it: wholesomeness. Wholesome can be understood as “of benefit to the soul” (Etymonline.com, 2017c) or to be “…in servant for others” (Marturano, 2014). Reb et al. (2015, p. 263) believe that if “…the content of intention is ‘wholesome’ (e.g., prosocial), mindfulness, […] would be beneficial as it aids the implementation of these intentions”. By being intentional leaders can pursue their goal more efficiently and positively for them and the entire company. But what if, the intentions are not-social, or unwholesome? If leaders practice mindfulness to pursue greedy interests? This is a dilemma that must be kept in mind when developing mindful leaders. The trainer has quite some responsibility to teach correct ethical values. This is where making use of a professionally qualified and experienced Mindfulness Training Consultancy such as MindEvolved is critical to ensure correct implementation of a Mindful Leadership Coaching program.
Mindful Leaders Allow Creativity to Evolve in Silence
Creativity is the third part of the mindful leadership definition. Creativity is demanded by most corporations. New ideas, products and innovations enables companies to prosper. The challenge is, that creativity enfolds when individuals are relaxed (O’Connor, Gardiner, & Watson, 2016). Most of us experience that an idea to a problem comes up, when we are outside walking in the forest, under the shower or lying in bed. In many companies multitasking, deadlines and pressure are predominant and being under pressure reduces creativity. Mindfulness meditation gives the opportunity to get into silence, to relax and eventually find a creative idea. Long-term mindfulness practitioners that cultivate open-monitoring meditation tend to think differently and have an enhanced creativity (Berkovich-Ohana, Glicksohn, Ben-Soussan, & Goldstein, 2017).
Mindful Leaders are Compassionate
Compassion is the fourth element of the mindful leadership definition. Compassion can be defined as “a warm positive state associated with a strong prosocial motivation [to help oneself and others]“ (Klimecki, Ricard, & Singer, 2013, p. 257). Compassion to oneself and others lead to greater motivation, personal flourishing and resilience (Neff & Germer, 2013). Kindness and tolerance can be viewed as fundamentals for ethical value systems (Grossman, 2013). Self-compassion allows meditators to reduce frustration and de-motivation when the mind wanders constantly (Reb et al., 2015). A compassionate attitude allows mindful leaders to deal with personal set-backs more efficiently. Being kind to oneself, can also lead to caring behaviour towards others (Boyatzis & McKee, 2013). Mistakes are dealt with in a more respectful and understandable way. Friedman and Gerstein (2017) believe that compassionate leadership is the key to a positive, inspiring and productive corporate culture.
Mindful Leaders try to Witness in a Non-Judgmental Manner
Witnessing awareness is the fifth part of the mindful leadership definition. Witnessing awareness can be understood as becoming aware, non-judgmentally of what is going on inside and outside of a mindful leader. Managers have the possibility to de-identify. Dis-identification helps to recognize experiences as separate from the self (Reb et al., 2015) – to witness. This separation gives a clearer understanding of what is, in a more rational manner without being too caught up in emotions. Reb et al. (2015) believe that witnessing awareness leads to a clearer, less biased and less restrictive views of the environment. This can influence the decision-making process. Practicing mindfulness meditation may help to balance intuition and deliberate decision making (Karelaia & Reb, 2015). Additionally, Reb et al. (2015) think, that the reduced identification may lead to less involvement of the ego. Team and company goals may therefore be more important, than the individual once. Further, when witnessing the element of non-judging is important. This concept is sometimes misleading, as non-judging is not possible. We tend to label everything with likes and dislikes. Being non-judgemental means to become aware of such judgment, to step back and be open for what is. Non-judgmental behaviour improves interpersonal relationship qualities (Mellor, Ingram, Van Huizen, Arnold, & Harding, 2016). “In essence, a witnessing stance may allow leaders to create a sense of (safe) space for employees to articulate their ideas, concerns, and feedback. As a result, relationships with employees may improve as may employee productivity” (Reb et al, 2015, p. 267). A downside of such behaviour could be that managers are perceived as less emotional and less involved. This may lead to less motivation of the colleagues (Reb et al., 2015).
Mindful Leaders Cultivate Clarity in the Business of Business Life
Clarity is the sixth trait of the mindful leadership definition. Clarity is closely related to witnessing. In the midst of turbulent organisational environments, the actual goal, why someone works, may be lost (Marturano, 2014). Clarity can be understood as ‘brightness’ (Etymonline.com, 2017a). “Clarity is likely a resource that helps leaders implement their goals: the clearer the goal, the more likely they are to be implemented […]” (Reb et al., 2015, p. 268). Being receptive for once own judgment help to gain clarity. Non-judgmental behaviour supports to put on another lens to the situation or the problem at hand. The perspectives are broadened. By noticing our own reactivity to certain situations, leaders become able to ‘step-out of their limited box’ and see a bigger picture. This is especially helpful in the complex busyness of business life. Rushing from one subject to the other hinders managers to see clearly what is happening. They are in a tunnel and mostly react, instead of acting. This may cause managers to often “see what they expect to see, what they hope to see, or what they want to see” (Marturano, 2014, p. 37).
How do YOU Become a Mindful Leader?
Formally: The question is, how to become a mindful leader? Regular (daily) mindfulness meditation is necessary and the answer. Without regular meditation, it is difficult to keep the constantly wondering mind in an aware, non-judgmental, clear focus. Mindfulness meditation allows you to have breaks during the day and to refuel your own energy. When you refuel your own energy, you have the capacity to deal with others challenges and problems. These silent breaks also gives you the chance to access your creativity and to find solutions you have not considered before. Being creative is a core skill of any employee in the company, and specific meditations allow you to access those. Many scientists agree, that regular mindfulness meditation is necessary and important when learning mindfulness (Davidson & Begley, 2012; Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011; MacCoon, MacLean, Davidson, Saron, & Lutz, 2014; Vu & Gill, 2018). During a workday, formal meditations can take place throughout the day. For example, before starting the computer in the morning or directly after lunch. This gives the chance to train the mindfulness skill. Sitting down and meditate brings us away from the constant state of doing into a state of being. Doing, distracts our mind from ourselves. Silence, that we encounter when meditating, confronts us with our self (Bodhi, 2010). What is going on in the mind? How do I feel? What is important? Awareness of the minds work and its acceptance, produces wiser actions (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2006).
Meditating for at least 10 minutes (longer is better) relaxes the individual and allows them to get out of the ‘action mode’. In these moments there is no need to rush to the next meeting, answer an email or respond to a phone call. During these short meditations mindful leaders have the chance to gain clarity. Clarity of what is. Clarity of what is important and relevant. Meditating at work gives leaders the opportunity to recharge their battery (Reb et al., 2015). A saying is: “in order to speed-up, you have to slow down”.
Informally: Another approach is to regularly pause throughout the day and to do things on purpose. For example, writing an email, drinking coffee or walking to the printer. These informal practices that may last from a few seconds to minutes, calm down the mind (Kabat-Zinn, 2013).
Summary: Mindful Leadership & The Importance of Helping Others
To summarize, a Mindful Leader schedules a habit of regular mindfulness practice to cultivate focus, clarity and compassion. A Mindful Leader serves others by putting their employees/subordinates needs first. Helping others before helping themselves. It is not about their own individual performance; it is about collective development. Mindful Leaders have the chance to improve this society to a more positive and kinder one and help to develop more ethical business practices for an ever evolving future.
References:
Berkovich-Ohana, A., Glicksohn, J., Ben-Soussan, T. D., & Goldstein, A. (2017). Creativity is enhanced by long-term mindfulness training and is negatively correlated with trait default-mode-related low-gamma inter-hemispheric connectivity. Mindfulness, 8(3), 717-727.
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