Mindful Leaders Develop Happier Employees
Mindfulness is a proven solution for helping leaders manage stress.
This reduces employee stress (all the research shows), creates a better workplace
and improves the bottom line.
Research studies from Harvard show that when leaders are stressed and anxious,
they pass these negative emotions onto the entire organisation.
This is because the Emotional Energy of an organisation Starts at the Top.
Stressed leaders impact and influence their people negatively. They get in their way.
We know that creating an emotionally safe work environment has never been more vital than now given the slump in Employee Engagement.
Yet, how many leaders/ managers ask themselves
– what does my emotional presence tell our employees about me and the company?
What am I spreading around today?
Am I a positive, uplifting and caring presence or am I the opposite?
What is Mindful Leadership about?
Mindfulness is a positive, scientifically proven way of effectively managing stress and developing emotional intelligence. Harvard say that when leaders /mangers actively engage in mindfulness practices, the “psychological capital” of the organisation rises, which shows in four ways:
- Hope: A positive motivational state
- Optimism: Expecting good things
- Self-efficacy: Task-specific self-confidence
- Resilience: The ability to bounce back
This is because Mindful leaders have mastered 2 specific ways of processing their experience:
- They don’t take stressful events personally
- They are able to respond skillfully to challenges rather than react in negative habitual ways.
Mindfulness Training involves the mastery of 3 specific areas:
- Metacognition – the ability to observe what is happening from a distance
- Allowing – being open to what is happening without judgement
- Curiosity – embrace opportunity to learn and understand more from everything
The first step to becoming a Mindful Leader is to develop self awareness
(which Harvard Research calls the Superpower All Great Leaders Master).
How to develop Mindful Leadership Skills?
We cannot change what we don’t know.
Leaders can raise their own awareness by paying attention to how they are showing up with people and in various situations at work. Once we become aware of how we are reacting and engaging, we can intentionally be more present and aware.
One of the easiest ways to get started is to introduce is a: 3 Minute Pause – several times a day, to diffuse reactions and emotions.
But integrating mindfulness into our daily lives is often easier said than done, because it involves change and change is never easy.
Read the Full Story from Harvard Here
For more information on Mindful Leadership Training:
Our experience is that most people need to engage in a Course or Workshop to gain Emotional Intelligence Skills. We offer a range of options to teams and individuals. Please get in touch to learn more.
