Leadership & Mindfulness - Mobius Executive Leadership

LEADERSHIP & Mindfulnessmind set, by helping her observe – withoutattachment – the thoughts, feelings,and bodily sensations that typicallymake up and support these mindsets….Consequently, the lawyer can adopt anattitude of curiosity, consider other optionsand make a discerning decision….Second, mindfulness can help the lawyeruncover and gain distance from a preoccupationwith self….help the negotiatorbetter understand and deal with emotionsthat affect all participants…andwhen a negotiation situation threatensa lawyer’s sense of identity and competence;mindfulness can help the lawyersimply notice the manifestations of thefeelings of being threatened…..and decideto let them go and maybe learnfrom them.” *This lawyerly agility that ProfessorRiskin is observing here – an agilitythat comes from being free from fixedmindsets - is the very same agilenessthat thousands of business leadersare discovering through mindfulnessawareness meditation. Such agility, notsurprisingly, is all about a leader’s poiseand confidence in the face of novelproblems, dissonant voices and unforeseenopportunities - an “emotionalflexibility” that is ready to learn, reassessand adapt.Of course, there is more to beingan agile leader than simply “letting go”,and mindfulness awareness meditationexercises many other subtle yet highlyconcentrated “spiritual muscles” suchas “opening”, “loosening”, “connecting”,“recognizing” and much more.**A new generation of leadersfor the 21 st century enterpriseLeaders alone can’t do all the work,however. “Cirque du Soleil” and theNYC Ballet understand how to createthe stage for elegance – the atmosphere,the tradition and the brand. And businessenterprises – global, local, largeand small – must also embrace new,agile ways of doing business. Besidesoptimizing for efficiency and profits,enterprises must also cultivate selforganizingnetworks – as in “Google’sBazaar” where engineers self-selectprojects to work on; promote culturesthat revere retail excellence – as inING Direct on line banking where ITanalysts are the celebrated heroes; andenlist consumers in the joy of doingbusiness – as in “Apple Stores” wherecustomers linger and linger and linger.But core to the success of theseemerging adaptive enterprises areagile leaders who can build and inspirehigh impact coalitions amongemployees, with vendors, and alongsideconsumers. Such leaders areartists of a sort who can confidentlysip a glass of water or launch a globalbrand - flawless, spacious and firm.Arrange fresh flowers on a table ordesign a cutting edge technology –gracious, distinctive and uplifting.Such leaders are confident and poisedin this diverse and ever changing climateand there is no better way totrain for the challenge than with thepractice of mindfulness awarenessmeditation. ■*The Contemplative Lawyer: On thePotential Contributions of MindfulnessMeditation to Law Students,Lawyers and their Clients, by ProfessorLeonard Riskin JD, HarvardNegotiation Law Review, Volume 7:1** See The Mindful Leader: TenPrinciples for bringing out the best inourselves and others by Michael Carroll(Shambhala Publishing, 2007)Michael Carroll is the author of Awake at Work (Shambhala 2004), The Mindful Leader(Shambhala 2007) and Fearless at Work (Shambhala 2012) and over his 30 year businesscareer has held executive positions with such companies as Shearson Lehman/AmericanExpress, Simon & Schuster and The Walt Disney Company. Michael is presently the COOof Global Coaching Alliance www.globalcoachingalliance.com and has worked with clientfirms such as Procter & Gamble, Google, AstraZeneca, Viropharma, Starbucks, RED,National Geographic Expeditions, Merck, Gilbane, Inc. and others.Michael has been studying Tibetan Buddhism since 1976, graduated from Buddhist seminary in 1980 andis an authorized teacher in Kagyu-Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Michael received his bachelor’sdegree in theology and philosophy from the University of Dayton and his master’s degree in adult educationfrom Hunter College. He has lectured and taught at Wharton Business School, Columbia University,Swarthmore College, Carleton College, Yale University, VirginiaTech, Drexel University, University of Sydney, St. Mary’sUniversity, University of Toronto, Kripalu, Cape Cod Institute,Zen Mountain Monastery, Shambhala Mountain Center, KarmeCholing, Evam Institute, Omega Institute (assisting PemaChodron) and many other practice centers throughout the US,Canada, Europe and Australia.www.mobiusleadership.com | Mobius Executive Leadership 51