{"id":49025,"date":"2024-05-27T17:04:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T21:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&p=49025"},"modified":"2025-05-08T06:56:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T10:56:45","slug":"mindfulness-a-simple-way-to-lead-better","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/mindfulness-a-simple-way-to-lead-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Mindful Leadership: A Simple Way to Lead Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to Be a Mindful Leader<\/h2>\n

Janice Marturano lived a high-energy, high-pressure life as a vice president and deputy general counsel at General Mills. Looking to restore her personal equilibrium during a rocky time, she discovered mindfulness meditation.<\/p>\n

To her surprise, mindfulness and leadership quickly became intertwined.<\/p>\n

Within weeks of beginning a morning meditation practice, Marturano became more aware of how she acted and reacted at work. She used mindfulness practices to become more focused in her conversations and decisions. Her days became more productive and priorities were met. Mindful leadership was making a positive difference in the quality of her work.<\/p>\n

The Importance of Mindful Leadership<\/h2>\n

Now more than ever, being engaged in mindful leadership matters \u2014 not in some weird new-age way, but in a \u201cthis could make you more effective\u201d way.<\/p>\n

So often, we believe we can get more done if we switch to autopilot and get through the day in a distracted, but somewhat scripted, routine. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that such scripts are bad, but an unchallenged overreliance on them can be. Why? Because opportunities are missed and mistakes happen when we\u2019re disengaged from our lives. It can be dangerous to get too comfortable and stop paying attention, letting your mind drift from the present moment to worry about the present or future. As we note in our research paper<\/a>, waking up to the present moment is critical stopping rumination, stress and burnout<\/a> and building resilience.<\/p>\n

It feels counterintuitive, but slowing down can help you speed up because it can help you see what\u2019s really happening, rather than working from assumptions that may or may not be true. Mindful leadership helps you live with intention, both at work and at home<\/a>, strengthening your ability to connect to yourself and others, as well as your ability to lead change effectively.<\/p>\n

More Effective Leadership Through Mindfulness<\/h2>\n

When Marturano first started to meditate, it wasn\u2019t a part of her work life. \u201cIt was separate,\u201d she says. \u201cI meditated, and I worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, however, she realized that if she incorporated mindful leadership into her day, it would affect the way she was working with her team. \u201cI looked more clearly at how I was spending my day \u2014 much of it was spent on the loudest voice, not on what was most important. I was able to let go of things, which allowed my team to have greater responsibility. I had a new ability to hold ambiguity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore this, I would have many days when I looked at my watch at 6:30 and thought, \u2018I don\u2019t know where the day went. I\u2019ve been busy all day, but I\u2019m not sure I could tell you what I got done today.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One day, Marturano looked at her watch and realized she hadn\u2019t had one of those days in a very long time. \u201cI became even more curious about this connection between training the mind and cultivating leadership excellence and thought, if more people knew about this, it would help them, the business, and maybe the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marturano shared her experience with colleagues at General Mills and eventually helped create the company\u2019s Mindful Leadership training. Today, mindful leadership is a way of life at the company. We also teach mindful leadership and other resilience practices at CCL in our leadership programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4 Fundamental Skills of Mindful Leadership<\/h2>\n

According to Marturano, mindful leadership requires the following 4 fundamental skills:<\/p>\n