Mindfulness for Leadership
Generally, we spend large amounts of the day directing our energy away from home trying to do meaningful work, or at least enough work to comfortably earn our livelihood. But any professional can tell you: it is not always comfortable. While work can be a source of great fulfilment, it can also be the source of great stress. Burnout, a consequence of chronic stress, is not uncommon among professionals leading to higher exhaustion, lowered motivation and diminished performance.
Needless to say, stress is not good for business. Yet, it rears its head in almost every workplace. Leaders are not immune to this. In fact, sometimes leaders can feel the greatest pressure. Running a company or leading a team is not easy. There are responsibilities to shoulder, tasks to delegate efficiently and be accountable for and achieve profits to stay afloat in a competitive market.
This is where mindfulness comes in: the practice of being aware and non-judgmental acceptance of the present. In order to drive a mindful, resilient organization, there is a strong need for leaders who are mindful themselves. A mindful leader has certain qualities: they are attentive to their employees' needs, promote a work culture of positivity, encourage feedback and open communication, foster a creative and vibrant environment, emphasize on the means and not just the ends, cultivate strong interpersonal relationships, and focus on the awareness of the present as well as the future.
The benefits of mindfulness in the workplace for leaders and the workplace include but are not limited to the following:
Decreases cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and aids in stress relief
Increases resilience against illness and improves overall physical health
Improves emotional regulation and self-control
Boosts mood and psychological well-being
Enhances memory, concentration levels and attention span
Facilitates satisfaction in interpersonal relationships
Fosters empathy and compassion
A lot of research is being done in the area of mindfulness and its effect on the brain. Neuroscience teaches us that our brains are actually far more malleable than we had previously believed. Rather than something that is “set” for life, the brain can physically be altered. Jeffrey Schwartz, a research psychiatrist, coined the term “self-directed neuroplasticity” to explain how individuals can rewire their neural networks by focusing on their own attention, i.e., being fully present in the moment.
Leaders with this skill in their tool-belt can survive even the most punishing environment by making mindfulness a daily ritual. Engaging in mindfulness through practices such as deep relaxation breathing, body scanning and anxiety awareness exercises can help. Mindfulness has a positive impact on performance and productivity at work with specific improvements in attention, behaviour, cognition (memory and concentration), feelings and physiology. Studies also show that mindfulness practices can help form healthier interpersonal relationships and enhance effective leadership and teamwork.
While mindfulness works as a preventive and remedial measure to combat stress, it is also associated with aspects of growth and wellness. Thus, not only does it help prevent unhealthy patterns, it also promotes processes conducive to leaders. This includes higher levels of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, higher flexibility and adaptability, all crucial elements for modern leaders. This also helps businesses to thrive and profit follows not long after productivity.
It is heartening to know that we can learn how to reshape our minds and brains through mindfulness practices the way we can reshape our bodies with the right kind of physical training. Mindfulness could sound religious or spiritual, but is in fact very scientific; this ancient practice combined with the empirical evidence from modern neuroscience draws a compelling picture for the kind of mindful leadership we need in the present.
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Author: Debanjali Saha
Debanjali Saha is a counselling psychologist who works primarily with young adults using a compassion-focused approach in therapy. She is very passionate about Self-Compassion, a topic she has been researching since 2014. She has started a wellness community called Couch of Compassion, where she tries to help people relate to themselves with kindness through her writing and workshops.
