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leadership
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Its easy to get caught up in a swirl of thoughts
and worries. But what we really need as leaders
is continual attention to detail and to the needs
of others while still appreciating the big picture.
Janice Marturano, former vice president
at General Mills, shows us how its possible
to find the space to lead.
Practice 1
Begin by sitting comfortably and closing When you listened for Ability of a leader to
your responses to the connectto self, to others,
your eyes. Notice the sensations of reflection questions, you and to the larger community.
your breath. Allow your mind to let go of might have noticed that they Connecting to self is how we
distractions. did not include too many stay connected to our values
of the typical measures of and our ethics. Its the rudder
When youre ready, bring to mind a
organizational leadership. For we steer with in the midst of
person you believe embodies leadership example, you probably did the chaos. How deeply we are
excellence. This could be someone you not put consistently makes able to connect authentically
know personally or a leader you have his quarterly numbers as the with others is the difference
reason you admire the person between an organizational
read about. Allowing yourself some time as someone who leads with environment that values
to let the answers arise, ask yourself the excellence. Rather, your list inclusion and one that is insular
following questions: might have included some of and divided into silos that rarely
the qualities named by other communicate with each other.
leaders who have explored this Connecting to the community
Why did this person come to mind? reflection with me: comes from being able to see
the bigger picture and not
What is it about this persons leadership Respectful get caught up in the minutiae
Open thinker of a single objective. That
that made you think of him or her when Compassionate wider connection is how great
asked about leadership excellence? Clear vision organizations give meaning to
Able to inspire their existence and inspire their
Great listener employees.
Be patient; hold the question in your mind
Creative
with a sense of openness and curiosity. Patient
2
You dont need to overthink the question. Collaborative
Set aside the first answer or two to see Kind
Teacher Ability of a leader to
if more qualities emerge. As you open skillfully initiate or guide
your eyes, you may find it helpful to write Its not that hitting the change. The important word
your answers on a piece of paper before quarterly numbers isnt is skillfullyleading not by
important; it is. What sets command and control but by
reading further.
people apart as leaders, collaborating and listening
however, is something much with open curiosity and
bigger than quantitative a willingness, at times, to
metrics. The people we call live within ambiguity until a
to mind in this reflection have decision becomes clear. Its
touched us, inspired us, and also this capacity that fuels a
made us feel their leadership. leaders willingness to take a
The qualities can be rolled courageous stand, lead the
up into just two capacities organization or industry into
of leadership excellence, new arenas, and accept failures
and these two capacities are as experiments from which
embodied by those we identify to learn.
as leading with excellence. From Finding the Space to Lead
Yet time and again, they feel as though their capa- What Exactly Is
bilities and their leadership training are inadequate.
They tell me that even as they execute well and meet
a Mindful Leader?
the quarterly goals, they simply do not feel they are
living their best livesat work or at home. They feel A mindful leader embodies leadership presence by
something is missing. But what? cultivating focus, clarity, creativity, and compassion
The most frequent answer is: in the service of others.
Leadership presence is a tangible quality. It
Space requires full and complete nonjudgmental attention
in the present moment. Those around a mindful
We often simply do not have the space, the leader see and feel that presence.
breathing room, necessary to be clear and focused, A friend of mine decided to attend a local rally to
and to listen deeply to ourselves and to others. How see if he could get an important healthcare question
can we expect to generate the connections with our answered by presidential candidate Bill Clinton.
colleagues and communities that we need when Of course, when he arrived, he faced a teeming,
we are so busy that all we can really do is check off screaming crowd, but he maneuvered his way to the
boxes, squeeze in a perfunctory hello to our cowork- police barricade and waited. Clinton soon arrived
ers, and get through the days meetings and calls? and began walking along the barricade shaking
Can we realistically expect leadership excellence hands. As my friend stretched out his hand and
when we spend whole days on autopilotlooking Clinton took it, he yelled out his question. In that
at our watches and wondering where the day went, moment, the candidate stopped, faced him, and
looking at the calendar and wondering how it could responded to the question. Later my friend told me,
be spring when just yesterday it was Thanksgiving? In those few moments when we spoke together, it
Whether our leadership affects millions, hun- seemed as though Clinton had nothing else on his
dreds, or a handful, we can no longer afford to be mind. It was as if there was no other person there.
on autopilot in our lives, with our families, or in He felt heard and respected. Thats leadership
our organizations. We can no longer afford to miss presence: you give your full attention to what youre
the connections with those we work with, those we doing, and others know it.
love, and those we serve. We can no longer make Leadership presence is powerful. In your own
decisions with distracted minds, reacting instead life, you can probably recall times when you expe-
of responding or initiating. We can no longer lose rienced leadership presence, either in yourself or
touch with what motivated us to lead in the first someone else. It might have been in a one-on-one
place. We need mindful leadership to lead with conversation, or it might have been in an audience
excellence. filled with people. Presence can be felt even from
So far we have been exploring the need to be far away.
present for leadership roles in the workplace. There You can undoubtedly recall the much more
is an equally, or perhaps more, important need to be common experiences when you feel only partially
present for your leadership roles in your personal in the room, or you feel the person youre speaking
life. Excellence involves making conscious choices with is not really there. Like all of us, even when
about not just how you work but how you live your you have every intention to be focused, your mind
life and how you connect with your family, friends, becomes easily distractedthinking about the past
and community. We need mindful leadership to live or the future, and only partially in the present if at
with excellence. all. In those moments, you are not embodying the
innate capacity everyone possesses to be present.
Why is that? What do we know about being present?
As a beginning, you might recall a moment when
you experienced full awareness in a situation. When
there seemed to be nothing else but whatever you
Leadership presence is were noticing. This might have been a momentous
moment like the birth of your child. In that moment,
not only critical for us as time seemed to stand still, and nothing else existed
but the warmth of that miraculous being softly
individuals but also has a sleeping in your arms. You were not distracted by
the to-do list or the noises in the hall. Your full
ripple effect on those around attentionmind, body, and heartwas completely
absorbed in that moment.
us: the community we live in, Or it might have been an ordinary moment, the
kind often overlooked and not particularly cele-
and potentially the world. brated. You may have lingered to notice a sunset.
Where You Are been just a couple of seconds. In those seconds, you
became aware of the shades of pink and orange,
the intricate play of light and shadow, your bodys
absorption of the waning energy of nature, and
Most of us spend a great The main part of this the feeling of belonging to something bigger than
deal of time sitting behind practice involves whats called yourself.
our desks, or in conference a body scan, which is very Maybe you were at the coffee shop in the morn-
rooms or colleagues offices, simple to do. ing, your mind racing through the details of the
so having a short practice that Begin by bringing your upcoming day, and you looked up from your coffee
helps you relax while at work attention to the sensations of and actually noticed a piece of art on the wall or
can be beneficial. What I call your breath. When youre ready, the warm, comforting aroma of the shop. Whatever
the desk chair meditation gives direct your attention to the it was, it interrupted the busy mind, and you were
you a way to incorporate a soles of your feet, opening your living that moment of your life more fully.
short mindfulness practice into mind to whatever sensations Such momentswhen we fully inhabit our bodies
your day. are there to be noticed. and our senses are at work on more than an internal
You may need to be creative Perhaps you are noticing the storyline, checklist, or rehearsed conversationare
to find the quiet place. Many pressure on the soles of your what give life true meaning. Beyond that, for those
people have told me that feet as the weight of your legs of us who hold positions of influence, the ability to
theyre best able to do this rests on them. Perhaps the be present, to embody leadership presence, is not
practice by first leaving their soles of your feet feel warm or only critical for us as individuals, but it also has
office and finding an empty cool. Just notice. No need to a ripple effect on those around us: our families
conference room, or even judge or engage in discursive and friends, the organization we work within, the
leaving the building to sit in thinking. If your mind is pulled community we live in, and potentially the world
their car during part of their away or wanders, redirect your at large. Just as a pebble thrown into a still pond
lunch break. The desk chair attention, firmly and gently. can create ripples spreading throughout the whole
part need not be taken literally. Move your attention next to of the pond, so too can the cultivation of leadership
This meditation can be done the tops of your feet, ankles, presence go far beyond the effect it has on us alone.
anywhere you are able to sit lower legs, knees, and so forth.
quietly and practice, even an Gradually scan through your
airplane seat. body, noticing sensations, When the Institute for Mindful Leadership
noticing discomfort, and works with an organization to bring mindful
noticing areas of your body leadership training to its employees, we witness an
where you detect an absence example of the ripple effect. We often start with
of sensations. You simply retreats or courses for the more senior leaders, and
dont notice any sensations in as the training begins to change how they lead,
your shoulders right now, for those around them notice the change and soon ask
example. No need to search for to enroll in the training as well. Its not unusual to
sensations; just keep scanning hear people tell stories of the transformation they
through your body, taking your noticed in their manager. As leaders we know that
time and being open to what we often underestimate the impact, for better or
is here. worse, that we have on those around us. When we
From Finding the Space to Lead are present and engaged, the effect is very different
from when we are distracted and on autopilot. But it
isnt enough to want to be more present, to want to
ILLUSTRATION BY jason lee