Mindful Leadership

Time to Talk Day is coming up on 1 February. A joint initiative between the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, Time to Talk day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation, designed to bring people, workplaces and communities together to talk, listen and change lives.

Some awareness and celebration days might be more difficult to implement in the workplace, this one couldn’t be easier. It’s about facilitating conversations and encouraging colleagues to listen to one another. Conversations really do have the power to change lives.

In this post we’re going to discuss the principle of mindful leadership, which helps create an environment in which leaders and employees are comfortable discussing mental health issues. We’ll focus on three critical elements: self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and creating a positive, inclusive work culture.

What does being a mindful leader mean?

Images of meditation, breathing and yoga practice associated with the traditional idea of mindfulness maybe aren’t so practical to fit into working hours. So what do we mean by mindful leadership?

According to the organisation, Mindful, the definition of mindfulness is:

The basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Mindful goes on to say,

A mindful leader embodies leadership presence by cultivating focus, clarity, creativity, and compassion in the services of others.

So, what key qualities and skills does a mindful leader need to have to achieve focus, clarity, creativity and compassion?

1. Self-awareness

Self-awareness is being able to understand yourself and how others see you, as well as noticing the workplace vibe. Developing self-awareness can help you to become a more effective leader. The ability to recognise your own feelings and manage them, especially when tackling difficult or emotive subjects, is an important people management skill.

Self-awareness is also about being in tune with your own body and understanding its signals. Being able to identify sensations and emotions linked to stress, tiredness and anxiety means you can acknowledge and deal with them, not bring them to work or take them out on someone else.

Developing self-awareness will help you to see the whole picture and become a more intuitive leader. You will be more aware of your surroundings. So, if you walk into work or log on to a call and the atmosphere doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Faced with this situation, a mindful leader will intuitively ask questions and listen to opinions to understand the problem and find a solution before it has chance to develop.

1. Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is being able to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as recognise and influence the emotions of colleagues around you.

Emotionally intelligent leaders have strong active listening skills. They take time to listen and with the intention to learn and understand. They demonstrate care, empathy, understanding and compassion for others, which makes them more open and approachable when employees need to raise problems and issues.

The ability to switch on to how colleagues feel allows the mindful leader to adapt the way they behave and communicate to the situation and environment they are in, which in turn creates a positive work culture.

1. A positive and inclusive work culture

When people from all cultures, backgrounds, gender, identity and religion feel respected and encouraged to work together, everyone can thrive and achieve their goals. Mindful leaders understand the importance of inclusivity, equal opportunities and engagement in creating a healthy, diverse culture where employees are free to bring their whole self to work.

A positive, inclusive culture starts with shared values and common behaviours. Self-awareness and emotional intelligence enable a mindful leader to lead by example, demonstrating your ways of working for others to follow. This open, respectful culture leads to diversity of thought, increased ideas and improved creativity.

A positive workplace culture is also a healthy workplace culture. Mindful leaders recognise the importance of personal wellbeing and prioritise it within the teams they manage. Focusing on physical and mental health and wellbeing makes for happier, healthier colleagues who are better equipped to perform and deliver for the business.

The workplace impacts of mindful leadership

The benefits of mindful leadership are abundant and clear:

• An open culture builds resilience and understanding

• Trust and respect - colleagues know leaders are truly listening to them

• Creativity and innovation - freedom to express yourself and contribute ideas

• Productivity - feeling comfortable at work leads to increased focus and outputs

• Wellbeing benefits include improved sleep quality, lower stress levels, and a feeling of being cared for and valued

• Clarity around expectations, goals and communication

• Improved connection and relationships between colleagues, teams and leaders

• Increased employee satisfaction, talent retention and attraction.

The Time to Talk Challenge

Using the principles of mindful leadership, consider how you can encourage more open conversations to take place in your workplace - not only on 1 February, but as a continuous practice. Discussions can take place online or in person, inside or outside, in groups or one to one, an open or themed conversation. How will you set up yours?

As you actively listen and engage in those conversations, think about the mindful leadership skills you will use so that you, your organisation and the employees involved gain most benefit from the discussion. What mechanisms will you use to record and document those conversations and, perhaps most importantly, how will you take any actions forward?

Visit timetotalkday.co.uk to learn more and access free resources and activities.

Is it time for us to talk?

If you or your organisation would like to develop the skills and characteristics of mindful leadership, the good news is all the skills touched on in this blog can be developed. Our Learning and Development team has capacity to create and deliver a range of training and development linked to the themes in this post. Please get in touch with us today on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.

Further reading

To discover more on this subject you may also enjoy reading our blogs on Cultivating a Positive Work Culture, Emotional Intelligence, and our free ebook Physical and Mental Health in the Workplace.