You're a manager who wants to lead more effectively. How can mindfulness help you achieve that?

To get very practical on this, you can use a tool called the "Johari Window" with your team. All you need is 2 hours and a flip chart. I have done this with my teams of up to 30 people. Each time it has been tremendously beneficial to my effectiveness as a leader and to the openness and trust in our teams. Discuss and explore with your team - your open area (known to you, known to them) - your hidden area (known to you, not known to them) - your blind spot (not known to you, but known to them!) - your unknown (neither known to you nor to them) It is recommended to have a facilitator to introduce the objectives, decide on the format, support the discussions and resolve any conflicts. Perhaps your HR team would be happy to help?

If you what to lead more effectively and do not know where to start, always start with yourself. Self-awareness leads to empathy towards yourself as a person and a leader and towards you team. You can start with simple observations of your mental patterns that lead to emotions, decisions, actions. Then analyse them without judgement and criticism to find inefficiencies and points to improve on as a leader.

One of the most powerful things that we can do as leaders is to develop a healthy and purposeful relationship with our purpose as a leader. This is the 'why' of leadership. Our motivations and intentions to lead can often be mixed, bringing all of these into conscious awareness gives us power to examine them and see how they are impacting our leadership behaviours.

It is practically impossible to find out the status of things, without being able to take a long and hard work in the mirror, without fear of what one might find

Compassion and empathy are core skills of a true leader. Mindfulness is about befriending ourselves and our experience (which we are usually so critical of) so we can truly befriend others, especially when they struggle.

I think that true empathy and compassion begins with a purposeful response to our own suffering, pain and fear. I've noticed that those who are hardest on others are often at war with their own internal experience and have not met with their own pain. One way that we can do this is to intentionally feel all the fear, pain, worry and hurt in our life and choose to meet those sensations in a compassionate way. When we do this, our capacity to meet others with empathy and compassion seems to increase.

We can't think our way into creativity and innovation. Yet, research shows us that mindfulness practice boosts creativity and innovation. Developing a non-judgemental and accepting relationship to our direct experience - the thoughts, sensations, emotions and mental activity of the inner world - is a great place to start to build the skills of creativity and innovation.

Mindful leaders can foster an environment of innovation. Mindful leadership makes room for open-mindedness and new ideas, allowing creativity to flow within the team. By practicing mindfulness, leaders develop a heightened awareness of their own biases, assumptions, and preconceptions, enabling them to approach situations with curiosity and a willingness to consider alternative perspectives. Mindful leaders create space for team members to explore new ideas without fear of judgment or criticism, creating a safe space for experimentation and creative expression. This inclusive approach fosters a culture of collaboration and idea-sharing, where innovative solutions can emerge from collective brainstorming and dialogue.

Mindfulness meditation is, at its heart, a training in purposeful and healthy concentration. It is the most effective tool I've found for reclaiming the power or attention that is being constantly stolen in the Attention Economy.

Supporting our own wellbeing is a vital leadership competency; to ensure that we are healthy to lead and thrive in the demands in our work, as well as modelling a regulated nervous system which helps others that we work with to also regulate. Research shows that a mindful leader's team members will develop greater well-being than those of a leader who does not practice mindfulness. (Yuyang Zhou, Chen Wang & Hock-Peng Sin (2022): Being “there and aware”: a meta-analysis of the literature on leader mindfulness, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/1359432X.2022.2150170)

One way that I have helped to develop mindfulness is literally just a practice over and over again. Sitting through the discomfort or the distraction without trying to change anything. I have also found that practicing with a timer can be very helpful as it can set a deadline for the practice, so if it comes in achievable goal with a finish line, so to speak

Mindfulness can help you lead effectively by enhancing self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and decision-making. Practicing mindfulness fosters a calm and focused mindset, enabling you to respond thoughtfully rather than react impulsively to challenges. It promotes empathy and active listening, strengthening relationships with your team. By being present and attuned to your own emotions and those of others, you can create a supportive and inclusive work environment, inspiring trust and collaboration.

Mindful leaders are capable of creating positive work environments. Mindful leadership promotes a positive work culture characterized by trust, respect, and psychological safety, leading to greater employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity.