What are some innovative ways to incorporate mindfulness into leadership coaching?

Before I coach my clients, I try to encourage them go for a brisk walk in nature to help clear the mind and think about what's important for them to address in their session. I've found this mindfulness approach has certainly helped a number of my clients to be more focused and engaged with plenty of energy during my 90 minute sessions. I think this type of check-in is good for all us from time to time. Try it, you might like it...

1) I have them do a brief "sensing" exercise asking - "What is occupying my mind right now?" before the breathing/meditation. This brings self-awareness to any distractions or stresses already on their mind. 2)Tailor the length more - I recommend a maximum of 3-5 minutes. 3) Have them set a clear motivation, question or intention they want to hold during the mindfulness exercise related to leadership, decision-making, etc. This ties it directly to a business purpose. 4) Incorporate a reflection question - "What did I learn about myself right now that could help me lead better?" This draws out key insights they can relate to their real-world responsibilities.

In my opinion, mindfulness is getting the leader to be present and to leave all pressing issues aside. Checking-in has its limitations as the leader say he/she has checked in but there is no way for a coach to verify. I would suggest to engage with the leader in some form of cognitive challenge that can remove them from their pressing issues but to focus on overcoming that cognitive challenge. One example if the leader is prone to linguistic challenge is to get them to learn a phrase in a new language.

Incorporating space for mindful exercises can indeed be helpful depending on a clients personality and coaching goals. What I feel works most powerfully however is to encourage clients to practice mindfulness in their every day activities beyond the coaching session. Clients can be encouraged to do this by simply noticing - noticing what is going on for them whilst paying attention to their lived reality, such as - their own strengths as they live them or becoming familiar with sensations they sense have a deeper psychological content and which may need probing in the safety of a therapeutic relationship. This allows mindfulness, through the medium of noticing, to be effortlessly practiced everyday, thus enhancing growth and healing.

Beim Check-In eines 1:1 nutze ich gern die Erkenntnisse der positiven Psychologie. Studien haben gezeigt, dass wir unseren Wahrnehmungsfilter durch Routinen von einem negativen auf einen positiven Fokus ver?ndern k?nnen. Meine Einstiegsphase ist daher stets: "Was war diese Woche bislang dein gr??tes Highlight?". Damit ?ndert sich die Stimmung meines Gegenüber merklich ins Positive, vor allem an einem bislang sehr stressigen Tag.

Asking questions helps you gain clear answers and know more about your customers. It helps you to get straightforward thoughts, strengths, weaknesses, and perspectives that help you give suitable suggestions or programs. Mindful questions build confidence and trust and provide the necessary guidance to learn more and more value.

The intention is to utilise mindfulness to cultivate more strategic, discerning and creative approaches to complex leadership situations. Questions can steer leaders to challenge biases, understand the consequences of actions, access inner reserves, and interpret challenges as transformations. Where is your attention inclined to go when facing this issue? What interpersonal dynamics or tensions might you be underestimating the impact of now? What options might you uncover if you paused and widened your perspective before reacting? What insight might this situation be trying to teach you about your leadership? What resources do you think could you use to handle this with more wisdom and forethought?

Im Coaching von Führungskr?ften bieten achtsame Fragestellungen innovative Wege, tiefergehende Einsichten zu gewinnen. Systemische, achtsame Fragen, besonders in Konflikten, sch?rfen den Fokus, indem sie beispielsweise nach der Wahrnehmung des Gegenübers fragen und so neue Perspektiven er?ffnen. Die Anwendung der Wunderfrage regt dazu an, nach L?sungen für vermeintliche Probleme zu suchen, w?hrend die Frage nach unmittelbaren Handlungsschritten positive Ressourcen aktiviert. Achtsame Fragestellungen durchbrechen Denkmuster, f?rdern Selbstreflexion und unterstützen Führungskr?fte bei der L?sungsfindung und pers?nlichen Entwicklung.

Mindful questions come from the coach being present in the conversation and not thinking about what to ask next. The coach needs to observe the non verbal cues along with what is being said as most of communication consists of nearly 70% body language cues

1?? Feelings arise from thoughts. 2?? Build a habit of noticing your thoughts before they induce feelings. 3?? Change your state by changing your thoughts.

And finally.... The Power of a Pause: Suggest the practice of taking intentional pauses throughout the day. These moments of stillness can be used to take deep breaths, recenter thoughts, and reduce stress. It's about cultivating a habit of stopping briefly to realign with their intentions and actions.

The essential thread is to make simple mindfulness practices a habitual part of the leader's routine rather than a chore. Start small but be very consistent with tiny behaviours that gradually rewire awareness and attention regulation. The intention is to keep bringing conscious pauses into workflow to enhance presence, relationships, well-being and discerning thinking. 1) Frequent minute-long "sensing journeys" where leaders pause to scan their bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions without judgment. This builds self-awareness muscles. 2) Set prompts on phones/computers to breathe consciously before sending critical communications or making significant decisions. This creates space.

Als Meditationstrainerin animiere ich meine Klient:innen stets dazu, Meditationen und Entspannungsübungen so oft wie m?glich in ihren Alltag zu integrieren. Einige Menschen schrecken davor zurück, da sie unter Meditation verstehen, dass sie sich an einen stillen Ort mit geschlossenen Augen zurückziehen müssen, aber es geht viel leichter. Es eignen sich nicht nur angeleitete Meditationen, sondern auch Visualisierungstechniken und/oder das H?ren von binauraler Musik sowie Tagebuchschreiben oder ein Spaziergang. Hierbei ist nicht wichtig, dass sie diese übungen besonders gut oder besonders lang machen, sondern sich ganz bewusst dazu entscheiden, eine kurze Auszeit zu nehmen, auch wenn es nur wenige Minuten sind.

A mindful practice.... Mindful Walking : Encourage mindful walking as a tool for enhancing problem-solving and creativity. Suggest that during their walk, they focus not only on the physical sensations of walking but also gently ponder a current challenge or creative project. The rhythm of walking, combined with the act of mindful presence, can open up new perspectives and foster innovative solutions, making this a dual-purpose exercise in mindfulness and creative thinking.

I agree with Coach Emma. The "Pause " is one of the most powerful tool that a coachee can use . To stop and just look and assess their responses to different situations and how they can change these actions into more meaningful reactions

The key is delivering feedback to leaders with a spirit of understanding their contexts, uplifting their dignity, and facilitating more conscious self-management. This enables more excellent reception and lasting behavioural change. Frame feedback as an act of care and support rather than criticism. Ask the leader's permission to share difficult feedback specifically. Could you relate the feedback directly to the leader's espoused goals and values? Pose reflective questions, allowing leaders to unearth their conclusions rather than lecture them on yours. Follow more brutal feedback with expressions of encouragement and redemption - balancing push and pull energy to elevate.

In my approach I assure my clients that the answers are already inside them. We just have to discover them. The SBI model is a good starting point. However, clients may run into resistance when objectively identifying situations, behaviors and the impact. When this occurs I like to use the 5 Whys to quickly get to the root cause of the resistance. This also shows clients that the answers are truly within. With training in various neuroscience techniques I also incorporate visualization and future casting to overcome limiting beliefs. Leaders have so many competing demands and ideas to process each day incorporating some play to balance the more serious topics provides balance and allows for increased rapport and trust.

- der mittlere Satz "Darüber hinaus ..." ist nicht vollst?ndig. - wie schon bei der Terminologie "achtsame Fragen" bin ich der Ansicht, dass "achtsames Feedback" eine unpassende Terminologie ist. Die Beschreibung legt schlicht und einfach dar, wie ein Coach gutes und einfühlsames Feedback gibt.

The core emphasis is to humanise the practice for leaders by revealing your own work-in-progress with mindfulness. What matters most is consistently applying mindfulness to foster trust, transparency and growth in the coaching relationship. Share your own regular mindfulness practice when relevant - describe personal benefits and lessons learned. Model vulnerability. Admit when your mind has wandered in a session - pause, reset attention, then carry on. Display what regaining focus looks like. Note any emotions that arise for you during a session before replying. Frame reactions regarding your developmental edges rather than the leader's flaws. Occasionally, check in with the leader on the quality of presence you are able to bring.

Vorleben im Sinne eines "Role Models" ist immer sinnvoll, hilfreich und einpr?gsam. Wir k?nnten auch sagen "Coaches: Walk the Talk!"

Being present, engaged & engaging draws in the attention of those that are there to learn how to apply mindfulness in their lives. I find that working in this space is different. Leaders who want mindfulness coaching are there because they understand the value and how it can transform maybe even save their lives. They’re ready to do “the work”.

Meiner Meinung nach l?sst sich Achtsamkeit effektiv in Coachingprozesse integrieren, indem der Coach selbst w?hrend den Sitzungen und bei jedem Kontakt achtsam handelt. Dies umfasst einen bewussten Umgang mit der Zeit sowie aktives und einfühlsames Zuh?ren. Zentral ist die Ermutigung des Klienten, eigene Achtsamkeitserfahrungen zu teilen. Durch das Hervorheben der Vorteile der Achtsamkeitspraxis kann der Coach positive Ver?nderungen in Denken, Entscheiden und Handeln der Führungskraft f?rdern. Achtsamkeit sollte nicht nur vermittelt, sondern aktiv in den Coachingprozess integriert werden. Das Vorleben von Achtsamkeit schafft eine unterstützende Umgebung, in der Führungskr?fte ihre eigenen Achtsamkeitspraktiken erkunden k?nnen.

I always start sessions with a short meditation and breathing. I find that it brings all of us into the present and connects us to the moment and each other. Another tool I learned is asking the coachee to look around them, notice the colors, notice light, corners, etc. and tell me about it. This tends to ground the person as well.

It's one thing to talk about wellness in the workplace, and another to actually create space for people to get to show up and be supported through an experience that allows them to learn new tools or take a pause from their work. I hear from a lot of people that they would like to make more time for their self-care, but amongst the demands of work deliverables or the unspoken 'look like you're working hard' culture, this can make it difficult for people to prioritize a pause. Blocking out time within regular working hours for wellness workshops, practices, and sessions where employees will not feel more pressure to cram their work in in order to participate may actually be what empowers employees to find more efficiency in their work.

In my practice I customize my approach based on the individual, their perception of mindfulness, and their past experience with using mindfulness techniques. With any mindfulness practice mentoring it is important to take a trauma informed approach. For some clients as they grow in their awareness and practice more mindfulness techniques they may recall past unresolved events. Using breathing techniques and trauma informed language can help them heal and maintain their mindfulness practices. No two clients are the same. Being intuitive, empathetic and adjusting your approach in the moment to provide a supportive experience is paramount.