Mindful leadership is a foundational leadership competency that helps people become more effective, trusted, and compassionate leaders.
Leadership is more than fiduciary responsibility, strategy development, and tactic delegation. Leaders represent the company, its goals, and its journey. Leaders wield the institutional power that dramatically influences not only the business but also the people it serves and who serve it. In today's world of unprecedented change in political, environmental, and social climates, mindful leadership has gone beyond the scope of being a “buzzword” to being a fundamental criterion of effective leadership.
Why Mindful Leadership Is a Core Leadership Competency
While many people in leadership roles may have the “hard skills” of management, such as strategy, finance, and organization, that does not mean they can unlock their employees’ motivation, trust, and potential. Mindful and compassionate leadership requires more; it requires the leader to be able to look inward to identify empathy and compassion. To tap into this wealth of knowledge, mindfulness practices critical. Meditation is a mindfulness practices that is particularly beneficial.
The Benefits of Meditation for Business
Cultivates Capacity for Uncovering Biases - Leadership roles are often hectic, leaving little time for individuals to pursue greater knowledge of their environment and those within it. When we lack time, it can be easy to fall back on what we “know” (or think we know), which can be biased or prejudiced information. Meditation enhances our capacity for empathy and compassion, provides greater social awareness, and offers the self-regulation skills necessary to disengage from toxic biases and emotions.
Reduces Stress & Burnout - Societal expectations are far more demanding than ever before. People are expected to balance a job, a family, a home, a social circle, a financial portfolio, a hobby, an exercise routine, and more, all while taking care of themselves, managing a pandemic-ruled environment, getting plenty of sleep, and progressing in their career. It comes as no surprise that 55 percent of Americans report feeling stressed during the day, with 63 percent of US workers being ready to quit their jobs to avoid work-related stress. Meditation is shown to supply immediate and lasting stress relief to practitioners.
Regulate Emotions - Workplaces can become heated, especially in high-stress environments such as emergency centers, educational facilities, or high-profile corporations. Excess strain on an environment and piled-on stress can lead to a lack of focus and poor decision-making. Meditation allows practitioners to disengage from negative emotions, focus on unbiased problem-solving, and regulate future reactions amid complex challenges.
Enhance Creativity & Innovation - Removing stress and unhelpful emotions paves the way for creativity and innovation to shine. Leaders and employees alike are able to switch gears, think outside the box, and step away from limitations to create something better.
Of course, meditation doesn’t come naturally for everyone, but it can be learned in a meditation for leadership course.
Meditation for Leadership Course with Workplace Peace Institute
Mindful leadership is a foundational leadership competency that helps people become more effective, trusted, and compassionate leaders. Through Workplace Peace Institute’s Mindful Leadership course, we teach leaders various skills that will allow them to create a more human world of work where people thrive and deliver extraordinary results. For more information on the Mindful Leadership Course, click here.
Workplace Peace Institute Leadership Academy exists to support leaders in honoring basic human needs and dignity needs in the workplace, so they can actualize human potential in the workplace. The online Leadership Academy optimizes competencies in human behavior, communication skills, conflict resolution, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging to create highly engaged workplaces where basic human needs and dignity are consistently honored. All our courses are offered online and can be customized for in-person workshops and seminars.