Mindful Leadership

UNDERSTANDING MINDFUL LEADERSHIP

In times of exponential, disruptive change, we need Mindful Leaders.

Regardless of who you are or what you do, you are living in and affected by unprecedented circumstances of exponential change and uncertainty. Not to mention new opportunities. This affects your everyday life: from disruptive technology that changes the way you shop or travel, to being confronted by how artificial intelligence rapidly replaces the need for jobs that have been around for generations. It is uncertain what our lives will look like a couple of years from now.

In the midst of such consistent disorder and disarray, the normal human reaction is to feel anxious, insecure and feeling out of control. The human instinct is to fight “it” to overcome the disturbance or flee “it” to hide from what disturbs. This instinct is propelled by powerful physiological processes where adrenaline and cortisol drive fighting, fleeing or freezing, whether we are consciously aware of this or not. But what we are trying to fight or flee is the New Normal. We cannot fight it. We cannot flee it. Being in auto-pilot of instinctual reactions, you cannot experience quality being or thinking, and yet, that is what every person is asked to do in their personal and professional lives.

We need new skills, attitudes and ways of relating to change and uncertainty if you want to do well in the New Normal. As a leader or professional, you are not only called to cope in these circumstances but to thrive in it while helping others to thrive.