Category: Mindfulness
Mindful Leadership
by Marguerite Ham I recently reread a powerful book by Janice Marturano, “Finding the Space to Lead,” about mindful leadership. Because of all the turmoil in our country and world, it seems that everywhere I look, experts are talking about the importance of Mindfulness, Emotional Intelligence, and Empathy. This includes the World Health Organization, CDC, MindfulLeadership.org, Forbes, Huffington Post, Harvard Business Review — the list goes on. This blog focuses on mindfulness and its impact on our ability to lead. So, what is mindfulness? Let’s start with saying what it is not! Mindfulness isn’t: Religion New Age, Chanting, Burning Incense Emptying the Mind Not about stopping thinking Achieving Relaxation There are lots of definitions of mindfulness. Here are a few: Janice Marturano: Non-judgmental, moment to moment awareness. It is about becoming more of who we are. MindfulLeader.org: Ability to see oneself and the world with clarity and equanimity, enabling actions to arise from a place of stillness, understanding and compassion. Wikipedia Definition: the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. A mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a …
Shifting Our Mindset
7 Ways to Shift your Mindset as a Leader Shifting our mindset from “how does this impact me” to “what is the greater good for the greatest number of people” is not an easy shift! It takes time for most to let go of old and outworn beliefs and thoughts and replace them with new life-affirming mindsets. But this kind of change can have a great impact on the organization as a whole. For leaders of the future, the following seven shifts may be good places to start in the workplace. Shifting our Attention: From and To 1. Sickness to Well-being Concentrate and invest in physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. How many people are well and have true life balance? Celebrate wellness, and set targets around well-being. Focusing attention and energy upon absence and sickness means it is created and prolonged. Focus on what we want to create consciously, a culture of Well-Being, personally and professionally. 2. Scarcity to Abundance Instead of cutting costs, settling for second best, or laying off employees, develop possibilities of generating ways to grow and increase wealth. Be generous and don’t allow FEAR or guilt about finances be the decision-maker. Think through changes strategically and …
What People Want
What do customers, friends, the socially networked, users, neighbors, classmates, servers, administrators, employees… maybe even brands… want? notice me like me touch me do what I say miss me if I’m gone The above blog was written by Seth Godin, Saturday, May 14, 2011. I thought about this and how it applies to leadership and the most impactful way to treat people. The following are my thoughts and expansion on what Seth wrote. As a leader, it is imperative that you constantly feed your staff. They want to hear it from YOU! Notice me – acknowledge me when I do something right and value what I bring to this company Like me – smile, ask about ME, get to know me, ask me what I do when I am not at work Touch me – send note cards with acknowledging and supportive comments, connect with the heart Do what I say – ask for my suggestions and take action on some of my suggestions Miss me if I am gone – always acknowledge the strengths a person has brought to the organization All of your staff like to be “touched” by you. Not in the physical sense of course! In the heart. You as the leader, have the “magic touch” to motivate, …