Mindfulness seems to be one of those buzz business terms that have found their way into business publications, boardrooms and change management. We see our executive leaders espouse the need for mindful attention in our work and tasks, yet they pursue activities and stances that disengage them from being mindful of their own tasks. Authentic? As any person in a position of leadership will confirm that being in such places you on a magnified platform where your authenticity will be scrutinized and your commitment questioned. The challenge to so called conscious leaders is not the efforts that they have made or their perceived intent, but rather ‘the lack of internal awareness and guise of morality coupled with unconscious subversion of the goal’. Your leadership, your values, your strategies, and business mission are only the very tip of scrutiny, what mindful leaders need to focus on is their heartfelt commitment to being conscious, pursuing their employee growth and establishing a coaching environment in the workplace.
This heartfelt authenticity, when lacking is what fuels corridor talk and gossip and opens well-meaning leadership tactics to deeper scrutiny and mistrust. It is not sufficient to simply align with buzz language and present oneself publicly in a certain way, but rather to be truly aware of thought patterns, hidden intentions, and the tendency to place selfish needs ahead of truth and right action. When a leader acts with compassion and kindness, are they doing so because people are watching? For social media? To fulfil a notion of purpose or values? Food for thought. I will leave you with a historical quote (1400 years old) extracted from the UNDP (United Nation Development Program) Human Development Report 2002:
“He who has appointed himself a ruler of the people must begin by teaching himself before teaching others. His teaching of others must be first by setting an example rather than with his words, for he who begins by teaching and educating himself is more worthy of respect than he who teaches and educates others.”
Leyya Kalla
Director: Quintessence Development Solutions
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QDS is a management-consulting firm providing two main services. Business Advisory & Training and Coaching. We provide both inner and outer personal and collective solutions for lasting transformation. QDS facilitates and guides towards realistic breakthroughs and transformations, by objectively reading a company’s present state, advising its key leaders and actively assisting its clients, via execution and implementation, toward their envisioned state of operations. Please click here to view our services.
