Mindful Leadership – Q&A with Dr James Donald
We're thrilled with the turnout for the Q&A on Mindful Leadership with Dr. James Donald. James is a terrific presenter and we're very happy so many could join us. We've also had several requests for the recording from people who couldn't join us, you find a link for this at the end.
We discussed anything what it means to be mindful, how it's regarded and of course it's place in leadership. Mindfulness is often regarded as a nice-to-have but all the outcomes of mindfulness are essential for great leadership, and leadership is not a nice-to-have. So how come we struggle so much to adopt mindfulness as a core leadership skill?
We'd like to return in a couple of week's time with a webinar in which we discuss how to practically implement mindfulness into an organisation and into teams. Stay tuned.
We also talked about how easy it is to end up in a cycle of manic activity. It's enjoyable, very addictive, but not sustainable. We must contest it, and mindfulness has been proven to enhance our ability to be more strategic and less reactive. It helps you prioritise better, be more aware of your intention and staying in line with your own values which can lead to more ethical decisions.
The other highlight for me was the questions and discussions on the dichotomy between mindfulness (being calm and content) and leadership (being ambitious). It's easy to think that we can only be the one or the other – like two opposing ideas cannot interact – but as it's not about what we're doing but rather about what we're seeking. To be excellent in our work is different from striving for excellence in our work. Both are ambitious but the latter seeks an outcome which is holistic.
From the Q&A
Watch the Q&A here – you come in right after our meditation. James lead us through S.T.O.P. which you'll find below.
How to practice S.T.O.P.
More on Mindfulness
How to practice S.T.O.P.
Read What is Mindfulness
Read our Mindful Awareness Exercise
Read and Listen to Quick Coherence Technique