Mindful Leadership

by Dr. Tracy Brower, guest contributor

Great leadership has never been easy, especially if you’re doing it well. But it’s arguably harder now than it’s been in the recent past, and it requires a great amount of emotional labor. There are reasons for this—from the climate outside of organizations to mental health issues and the competition for talent. The impact is significant: Leadership requires more skills, capability, finesse, nuance, judgement and art today.

Emotional labor is the work peo…

By Jay Forte, guest contributor

You have likely heard, “people quit people before they quit companies.” Employees want to work for managers and leaders who respect, value, and support them, not for those who bully and bark at them. So, if this is true, why are so many of today’s leaders and managers bullying and barking?

One word: stress. 

Our bodies and minds were built to handle short-term bouts of stress. In those moments, our reactive, or limbic, brain rushes in, helping us to identify an…

By John J. Murphy, guest contributor

In 2013 I wrote a book titled, Zentrepreneur: Get Out of the Way and Lead; Create A Culture of Innovation and Fearlessness. Originally, the book was intended to help aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs “do good” for the world. In other words, turn “healthy, positive thinking” (Zen) into constructive actions and results (Entrepreneurship).

You can probably tell by the title that this is not one of your more typical leadership books. Who writes about Zen in th…

by Brian Lowell French, guest contributor

Leaders are consistently challenged by all of the distractions faced through the day, taking focus away from leading the team and managing the important work. These distractions cause leaders to become scattered, making it difficult to be mindful and intentional as they lead their teams. 

When I wrote my recently published book, Harmonic Leadership – Leading with Inclusive, Mindful Caring, the intent was to provide leaders with practical and pragmatic …

By John J. Murphy

We all know the eternal optimist says “the glass is half-full,” while the pessimist says “the glass is half-empty.” But as the author Simon Sinek says, “People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” That’s the real optimist. 

Research shows that positive energizers, those who are not only optimistic, but who uplift, motivate, and renew others usually wind up uplifting themselves and their organizations. Their contagio…

By Georgina Miranda, guest contributor

As the future of work continues to evolve at a rapidly changing place, our centeredness and heightened awareness as leaders become ever more so critical. The playbook we once used as leaders needs to be revisited with new eyes and heart so that we can be our own anchors and that for our people. We are called to consider a broader perspective of what world-class places of work look, feel, and act like. 

Conscious leadership asks us to be mindful, compassio…

By John J. Murphy, guest contributor

For the past 33 years I have worked as a transformational business consultant, helping organizations worldwide build high-performance work environments. The keyword here is environment. Albert Einstein once said, “The field is the sole governing agency of the particle.” In my experience, the field is the culture. It is the environment we live and work in. It is a form of energy that impacts the way we think, feel, look at things, and behave. Like gravity, we…

By Georgina Miranda, guest contributor

After a year or more away from your office and peers, the thought of returning back to your desk, commute, and schedule can bring on new concerns or anxiety. Leaders today are challenged to create a new normal for their places of work and teams. While you might still hear many people say, “I can’t wait to go back to normal,” it’s important to acknowledge that our world has shifted, we as individuals have shifted, and the normal we knew is in the past. We c…

By Georgina Miranda, guest contributor

2021 continues to ask leaders to build practices that develop the ability to remain present and grow in resilience. In the middle of life's storms, presence can help us make better decisions in stressful environments and help us stay centered and responsive versus reactive. Operating from this place helps us to grow our resilience and not deplete our energy. 

The future of work requires a commitment to the mental wellbeing of people. Regardless of the ama…

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By Dori Kelner, guest contributor

Sourcing talent and hiring new employees are some of the most challenging — and important — tasks that managers face. We all know the feeling of being overwhelmed by the process, despite our best-laid plans and intentions. How often do we hire the candidate who looks to be the right person, only to find ourselves recruiting for the same position just a few short months later when the new hire doesn’t work out?

The truth…