How Mindfulness can help you become an exceptional leader

"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom" – Viktor Frankl (Holocaust survivor)

The present day workplace is a cauldron of unforeseen risks, unprecedented pressures and constant expectations to deliver, that more often than not bubble up into unregulated emotions, unhealthy reactions and a highly stressful work environment. Waking up has become the need of the hour. No wonder the business world is buzzing with Mindfulness and it’s now considered a crucial cognitive skill for building a positive work environment. This quote from HBR says it all.

Mindfulness should no longer be considered a “nice-to-have” for executives. It’s a “must-have”, a way to keep our brains healthy to support self-regulative, affective decision-making capabilities and to protect ourselves from toxic stress.

Mindfulness is not just one quality. It requires focusing one’s full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations with openness and curiosity. In the workplace, this idea translates into bringing more awareness, calm and focus within yourself to be able to create a healthier response to external stimuli in the form of people, situations and other workplace triggers such as escalations and fast approaching deadlines.

How Mindfulness can literally change the structure of your mind

There is enough science backed research out there today that has shown that a sustained mindfulness practice leads to significant increase in the density of grey matter. Meditation can literally change the structure of our brain by affecting multiple regions within it in a positive way. There is promising evidence of how it impacts two key regions that govern performance in the work place.

• Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)

What it is

Located in the front and center of the brain it is associated with self-regulation, helping in ignoring distractions and paying attention, suppressing knee jerk responses, and adapting to new strategies. Damage to ACC and impaired connections between this and other regions of the brain are related to impulsive behaviour, unchecked aggression and ineffective problem solving.

How meditation could change it

On the other hand, the area is more active in long term meditators indicating they are better at self-regulation, handling distractions and have more optimal decision making skills based on learnings from past experience. Scientists point out that the ACC may be particularly important in the face of uncertain and fast-changing conditions.

• Hippocampus

What it is

Small in size but huge in importance. It is crucial for memory, learning and emotional processing. Studies have shown that it can be damaged by chronic stress, contributing to a harmful spiral in the body.

How Mindfulness could change it

Mindfulness practitioners have increased grey matter concentration in this region which relate to higher resilience and better stress management – key skills needed in the high demand business world.

How can it make me a better leader ?

I hear you…how does the heavy jargon and fancy spiel make my life easy on day to day basis? So that’s coming next

1. Flexibility to adapt : Once you hit mid management and higher echelons, managing uncertainty claims a significant portion of your time, energy and resources. Anyone who’s been in charge of a team knows that things will never go as planned, even with the tightest controls and measures. With mindfulness one grows a higher acceptance of the present and the ability to maintain the composure and focus required to address the problem most effectively.
2. Empathy : Moreover, having empathy in adverse circumstances can strengthen your capabilities as a leader as well as build your team’s trust in you. As the old saying goes, try to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before you judge them. Mindfulness helps you to recognize emotional states in yourself and in others, facilitating your understanding of human emotion. It allows us to become more kind to ourselves and subsequently towards people around us. Your team is human and bound to make mistakes at some point. As an empathetic leader you have the choice to create a safe environment where your team can own up to their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions. As you learn to notice your thoughts and feelings without adding past context, it will become easier to view others without the lens of judgement.
3. Creative thinking : Mindfulness means quieting the mind. When we reduce all the chatter in our minds it leads to more focus and concentration allowing more innovative thinking. We want to lead our teams through out of the box and divergent thinking, coming up with creative ideas – that kind of thinking requires quieting the mind. Also we want non-judgemental thinking wherein your team members are not hesitant about sharing their ideas.
4. Effectiveness and better time management

   : As you increase the mindful moments in your work day your ability to handle distraction improve. A distracted thinker finds it difficult to do any task well. Also, taking mindful breaks makes you more productive. When you return from a break you can accomplish more in less time. Studies show taking short or regular breaks improve your overall productivity even on mundane stuff like project schedules, budgets and answering emails. When you can handle distraction you can do the hard tasks well.

5. Communication : Conversation (formal or informal) that’s not laced in bias, judgement, sarcasm and past context tends to land better and get the job done faster. As you become more mindful of your surroundings, develop compassion and are able to disengage from the situation, you’ll find yourself communicating more assertively yet with a higher level of emotional intelligence.

In the present day business world there is no shortage of scenarios and circumstances that will test your as well as your team’s resilience. How you choose to act in those moments will define you as a leader. A strong sense of awareness creates a wider space between the stimulus and your reaction to it. This space empowers you with the much needed pause – within which you can choose to