MODERN LEADERSHIP
your indulgence in thoughts can be
a little like giving up your favourite
chocolate addiction—you can feel
less happy initially. But over time
you will start enjoying the improved
mental and emotional health that
the consistent commitment to being
present in your current activity or
experience gives. You’ll start to
see that the time you devote to
mindfulness, both formally and
informally, pays dividends you can’t
afford not to have.
Mindfulness and Leadership
As a leadership mindfulness coach,
my clients are extremely intelligent
high achievers. They are trained
to analyse the “business case.”
This has been one of my favourite
elements of teaching mindfulness
to business people — the need for
disciplined clarity, free of jargon
or assumption. And time and
time again they have discovered
that in practice, mindfulness is a
vastly superior value proposition.
It delivers mental acuity, emotional
intelligence, wellbeing, inner
ease, creativity and connection.
Mindfulness is worth it, and it’s
sorely needed in leadership.
I experienced this for myself when,
within a few years of starting my
journey with mindfulness, I was
fortunate enough to meet two
wonderful mentors who taught
me the connections between
mindfulness and leadership. As
mindfulness became my deepest
passion, they invited me to
teach and make a living from the
work. This was at a time when
very few organisations offered
transformational leadership
development programs, let alone
mindfulness training. Back in the
late nineties mindfulness was a
radical idea, even stigmatised. I
took a great risk when I left my own
thriving paper merchant business
and joined them in the trailblazing
venture of teaching mindfulness
and leadership to business and
government.
But it worked, and far exceeded
my expectations. The programs
were radically successful. Before
any research on mindfulness was
available, people connected with
the elegant common sense of
mindfulness in a leadership and
transformational context, and the
results were usually life changing.
The key is the integration of
mindfulness and leadership. Just
being mindful is not enough. Even
with serious mindfulness training
we can still be poor leaders. But
when mindfulness is fully integrated
into leadership, exponential
progress can be made.
Through mindfulness we develop,
both internally and externally,
a clear-eyed view of the world.
We see reality as it is, not as we
want or don’t want it to be. We are
present to what is happening in
front of us, right now, at this very
moment: the breath under our
nose, the colours in the room, the
texture of our clothes. Right now
is real. Everything else is memory
of the past or imaginings of the
future. Reality is always now. And
mindfulness is living and being fully
present in the now.
Today you’ll decide how you’ll
spend your time. You’ll decide
whether your current trajectory
leads to fulfilling and rewarding end,
or something else. Mindfulness
isn’t easy, but it promises peace,
contentment and happiness that are
worth deeply considering. If in the
past you’ve thought you don’t have
time for mindfulness or can’t afford
the commitment, think again, and
consider that you are already paying
for the effects of mindlessness.
Mindfulness opens a new world
of possibilities for your physical
health, emotional well-being and
leadership potential. Choose to
make time for yourself and your
best and brightest future. Making
this choice is important because
you are worth it and you can make a
difference. The practice itself is an
affirmation of your value to yourself,
a clear message that you matter,
that your state of mind matters, and
that an open heart matters.
Choosing mindfulness shows
you believe you can make a more
positive difference in this world
when you are mindful and grounded,
and that you want to do so.
Michael Bunting is the bestselling
author of The Mindful Leader and A
Practical Guide to Meditation, and
co-author of Extraordinary Leadership
in Australia and New Zealand. He runs
leadership consultancy WorkSmart
Australia, a certified B-Corp. For more
information, visit www.mindfulleader.net
November 2016
ModernBusiness
57