Mindful Leadership

By Wendy Saunders, guest contributor

Nonprofit leaders want to make a difference in the world, and, in many cases, are willing to make less money and get fewer perks than they would receive in the private sector. They often work long hours, carry excessive workloads, and endeavor to meet community needs with limited staffing and other resources.  (For a deeper examination, check out “The Plight of the Overworked Nonprofit Employee” in The Atlantic).  

Nonprofit leaders also often work closely …

By Jerry Colonna, guest contributor

As often happens, I hit upon the insight I needed when I wasn’t searching for it. A few years back I was pacing the room, thinking about the talk I was about to give. There were thirty people in stiff, uncomfortable chairs. As usual, my T-shirt was mildly sweaty. As usual, I was shoeless—discalced. I was struggling to explain coaching, struggling to explain why it was that, to help people lead well, I was pushing to help themselves know themselves better. 

T…

By David Belden, guest contributor

Nearly three decades ago, long before anyone in the business world had heard of mindfulness, I was introduced to the concept in an unusual manner. While running a company in Asia, I had a wonderful guide in all things Buddhist. He helped me deepen my meditation practice, instructed me in Chi Kung, and spent many hours sharpening my beginner’s mind. One day I asked him how I could improve my work/life balance. I remember starting the conversation with somethin…

By Michelle Maldonado, guest contributor

With the groundbreaking work of researchers such as Brené Brown and others, we have learned much about the power of empathy at work, at home, and in life as fuel for us to heal, connect, set healthy boundaries, and create psychological safety.

While empathy is a critical element needed to transform leaders and organizations, it (along with sympathy) form the foundation for us to take wise action. Empathy is the building block to develop compassion, thro…

By Kristin Neff, guest contributor

What keeps us from being kinder to ourselves?

Most people don’t have any problem with seeing compassion as a thoroughly commendable quality. It seems to refer to an amalgam of unquestionably good qualities: kindness, mercy, tenderness, benevolence, understanding, empathy, sympathy, and fellow-feeling, along with an impulse to help other living creatures, human or animal, in distress. But we seem less sure about self-compassion. For many, it carries the whif…

By Michael Bunting, guest contributor

What character trait is most valued in leaders?

To find the answer to this question, leadership experts Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner surveyed well over 100,000 people to ask which personal traits, characteristics, and attributes they looked for and admired in leaders. Their findings have relevance to every leader today.

At the top of the list by a long shot (89 per cent) is honesty. More than anything else, people want honesty from their leaders. But de…

By Elisha Goldstein, guest contributor

Imagine being able to show up at work feeling more self-confidence and less worry. What impact would that have on your energy level and what you can achieve that day? As humans, we will always struggle with worry and fear. But when we allow them to take control of our thoughts, actions and consequences follow. We might find ourselves procrastinating more often, being less creative, taking fewer risks—all of which affects our level of growth and success.

W…

By Mo Edjlali, Mindful Leader President and Chief Community Organizer

The billionaire Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge-fund, in 1975. His net worth is $18.4 billion.  In 2017 tweeted:  “Transcendental Meditation has probably been the single most important reason for whatever success I’ve had...”. 

On May 7th, Dalio hosted a candid Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), during which people on Reddit could ask him any questions they’d like. He began the Q&A by posting: “I’m Ray…

By Richard Miller, PhD, guest contributor

We experience ourselves and the world around us through our body, as every inner and outer perception that we experience is registered within as sensation. It is our ability to be aware of and respond to our internal somatic sensations, as messengers, that enables us to successfully navigate the ins and outs of everyday life and relationships, and embody our fullest potential to be an integrated, self-regulated, individuated, and fully awake human being.

I…

By Cara Bradley, Host of Embodiment @ Work Summit 2019, guest contributor

“The holy grail of today’s workplace is high employee engagement.” - Harvard Business Review, February 16, 2017

Top leaders know that high engagement leads to high performance. Engaged employees are happier and work harder on the job. Low engagement, on the other hand, cost US companies a cool $550 billion in lost revenue per year.

So how do you make your people more engaged? Well we all know telling them to be more en…