Leveraging Mindfulness and Transformational Leadership

• In Event: Tempestuous Times Call for Transformational Measures

Short Description

Given the multitude of proven theories and approaches leaders can utilize, should mindfulness be leveraged as one of them to serve as a catalyst for transformational leadership? This presentation will utilize recent findings on mindful leadership research to demonstrate the connection between mindfulness and transformational leadership.

Detailed Abstract

Our current state of affairs is such that we are experiencing rapid change at an alarming rate. A few of the changes taking place range from political uprisings and destabilization of governments to uncertain energy resources and environmental sustainability. While modern civilization is accustomed to adapting to change, the totality of the changes taking place, collectively, represents an enormity never before experienced. Leaders, as a result, must determine how best to lead their teams, organizations and societies as a whole to not only address these critical challenges but also lead others to successfully overcome them.
I posit it is during these paradoxical, unpredictable times where the need for exceptional leadership is heightened. As leaders navigate the complexities of the terrain, they must make choices regarding how best to function and ultimately thrive. Leading research scholars have provided various theories, models, and approaches that leaders can leverage in their role on behalf of their key stakeholders and institutions. One other option available to leaders is a method created more than 2000 years ago known as mindfulness. How the leader integrates the mindfulness practices varies greatly from the adoption of leadership theories, and research has shown its utilization has far reaching benefits.

Mindfulness is best described by leading expert, Jon Kabat-Zinn: “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” Said differently, mindfulness is about experiencing reality as it is. Numerous scientific studies performed by Kabat-Zinn and others demonstrate remarkable benefits of mindfulness such as stress reduction, prevention of depression, and cognition improvement. While these are proven benefits, mindfulness is not a panacea for all things. Yet, in turbulent times, when mindfulness is combined with the transformational leadership model, it constitutes a powerful combination that can yield extraordinary leadership. Subsequently, organizations such as Google, Salesforce, Aetna and Goldman Sachs Group offer mindfulness training to their employees.

Today’s leaders face challenges unlike ever before. Given the multitude of proven theories and approaches leaders can utilize, should mindfulness be leveraged as one of them? Can leaders trust that mindfulness, as a systematic method, serves as a catalyst for transformational leadership? This presentation will utilize recent findings on mindful leadership research to demonstrate the connection between mindfulness and transformational leadership, the potential effect on organizational outcomes, and why mindfulness is especially relevant for leading effectively during turbulent times.

During this session, we will take a deeper dive into the mindfulness phenomenon. We will use a recently published study that demonstrates how mindfulness positively impacts transformational leadership behavior. This session will also demonstrate the latest technology available to “measure” mindfulness / the changes that occur in the brain. We will also explore what the potential organizational impacts are for leaders who combine mindfulness with transformational leadership behavior and how this is particularly relevant during turbulent times.

The presenter will show how mindfulness has the potential to build both individual transformational leadership capability and organizational transformational leadership capacity to make a positive impact at the individual, the team and the organizational level. This is a critical tool that leaders can use to increase effectiveness in all areas of their lives.

Participant

• Barbara Steel, Bersin by Deloitte