Mindfulness and leadership final 5.12.2016 aa

Mindfulness and
Leadership
Creating the
Mindful Leader
Clinical Apps and Support
Division of Information Services

Agenda
The workshop will cover:
◦ The concepts of Mindfulness and Mindful Leadership
◦ Mindful communication
◦ Learning to take a Purposeful Pause
◦ Cultivating leadership excellence by training the mind

Mindfulness
A psychological quality that involves bringing one's complete attention to the present
experience on a moment-to-moment basis
Components:
◦ Deliberate attention and a focus on immediate experience
◦ An orientation of curiosity, openness, and acceptance

What Does it Mean to be Mindful?

Mindfulness - Google Images
(artist unknown)

So what is your level of awareness of
what is occurring in the present,
simply, what is taking place?

Mindfulness Scale
Dispositional mindfulness is an innate characteristic reflecting an individuals' natural occurring ability
to inhabit this intentional stance of awareness (Brown and Ryan, 2003). Mindfulness offers a
perceptual, rather than cognitive or affective presentation of the current moment as it is.
Study participants who scored high on the self-report Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
were healthier on four of the American Heart Association’s seven cardiovascular indicators (smoking
avoidance, physical activity, body mass index—and belly fat, and fasting glucose) and on the overall
cardiovascular health composite score.
MAAS norms to date: Normative information on the trait MAAS is available for both community
adults and college students, as follows:
◦ Community adults (4 independent samples): N = 436; MAAS M = 4.20, SD = .69.
◦ College students (14 independent samples): N = 2277; MAAS M = 3.83, SD = .70

Preparing for Mindfulness: COAL
Curiosity
Open mindedness
Acceptance
Love

Patience
A beginner's mind
Non-judgmental
Non-striving
Trusting
Accepting
Letting go
Attitudes for Mindfulness

Buddhist tradition
Western influence
Mindfulness as a secular
practice
History

Understanding Mindfulness:
Streams of Consciousness
Primary sensing self - immediate, experience dependent
Secondary narrative self - adds prior learning
Observational, witnessing self - an awareness of both
sensation and narration

The origins of modern mindfulness research
MBSR program developed in 1979 for patients with chronic pain
Program components (30 hrs)
8 weekly sessions + homework
Meditation practices, yoga
body awareness
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
(Jon Kabat-Zinn)

Reductions in pain
Reduced "rumination"
Reduced anxiety and fatigue
Improved sense of well-being
Enhanced sense of coherence
MBSR: Results

Enhancing Neural Networks
• The regular lattice network – task efficiency
• The real, or “small world” network – the brain as an example
• The effect of meditation on network architecture and efficiency
• Brain architecture becomes more chaotic in neurologic disease

The Physiology of Mindfulness
• Changes in brain structure seen after only 8 weeks
In beginners . . .
◦ Increase in medial prefrontal cortex activity, mild increase in areas processing
emotion and mind-body connections
◦ In experienced practitioners: Decrease in medial prefrontal cortex activity +
enhancement of areas connected with emotion and mind-body awareness
◦ Medial prefrontal regions = executive functions

Other Brain Changes - Neuroplasticity
Mindfulness switches attention back from mental description to
direct awareness
The awareness of the switch enhances your "observant witness"
The reorientation process makes new neural pathways
◦ Improvements in short term memory
◦ Improved ability to resist distraction

Mindfulness, Aging and your DNA
Role of telomeres
◦ Promote chromosomal stability
◦ Shortening of telomeres occurs with aging and stress
◦ A marker of disease risk, progression, premature mortality – and may predict
cancer
Telomerase = repairs and maintains telomeres
◦ Measuring telomerase is a quick way to look at telomeres
The combination of MBSR, meditation, and a plant-based diet increase
telomerase

Stress and Aging
Perception of stress related to threat analysis and rumination
High threat activity linked to adverse health outcomes
Mindfulness is an antidote
◦ Encourages accurate appraisals
◦ Decreases rumination
◦ Increases sense of control

Mindfulness for Clinicians
Physician studies show:
◦ Dramatic reductions in burnout
◦ Higher rates of patient-centered communication
◦ Improved patient satisfaction scores
◦ Renewal of "joy of medicine"
Effective for work groups
Lasting change?
Example: the exam door exercise

S Stop what you are doing
T Take a deep breath
O Observe your surroundings closely
P Proceed to do the next important thing
Acronym Exercises

R – recognize what is actually occurring
A – accept this reality
I – investigate your feelings
N – non-identification! You are not your feelings
The R A I N Acronym
Image: netanimations.net

Mindfulness
101:
Solutions to
Daily Life
River inlet – Oak Harbor,
Ohio

“The 1-MC garage is driving me nuts”
• Too crowded – Parking office unresponsive
• Parkers are over the lines
• Unsafe speeds
• Not paying attention to pedestrians
• Distracted driving
• Poor design
• Oversized vehicles illegally parked
• Lurkers and stalkers
• Too much visitor parking
• My EZ-Tag only works intermittently
• (etc….)

Mindfulness and
the 1-MC Garage
• Deep breaths on
approaching the garage
• Hands on the steering wheel
• Feel the curves
• Maintain visual
concentration
• Park on a floor with ample
spaces
Colorado
trail

What is a Mindful Leader?
“WHAT YOU RESIST, PERSISTS.” – CARL GUSTAV JUNG

Mindfulness
Mindfulness is BEING in the
here and now, being present,
being mindful.
It is NOT being lost in thought
distracted, or overwhelmed
by difficult emotions.
Andy Puddicombe

If you can remain perfectly calm in traffic…
If you see others succeed without a tinge of
jealousy,
If you can love everyone around you
unconditionally,
If you can always be cheerful just where you
are
You are probably …

So why become a Mindful Leader?
•To see things the way they really are
•To pay attention non-judgmentally in the present moment

So how can Mindfulness help leaders?
To date, there is little research evidence around the application of mindfulness to
leadership (Bryant & Wildi, 2008).
But drawing on what is known of its effectiveness in other fields and for human life in
general, we confidently surmise that applying mindfulness in leadership contexts will be
considerably beneficial.
Because mindfulness training focuses on how leaders use their attention, it is not just
another construct to stand alongside the many other arms of leadership research and
practice, but both a perspective and a systematic method that helps leaders better
understand and transform their own minds.
Such an internal shift changes both how a leader sees the world, how she potentially
acts and the results those actions bring about.
“You cannot manage other people unless you manage yourself first.” – Peter F. Drucker

Why Does Mindful Leadership Matter?
Leaders trained in Mindful Leadership know how to combine their traditional business and leadership skills and hard-won experience with their
training of the mind. Mindful leadership practices and exercises have taught them to notice the strong pull to react, the mind’s propensity to narrow
the focus when under stress, the dynamics of difficult conversations that can sometimes be resolved by reaching the lowest common denominator to
gain agreement, rather than the most skillful choice, and the negative effects of information overload. When people talk about how their choices
change when they take a purposeful pause, or how their ability to see their own filters and ‘story-telling’ helps them to find clarity and focus in the
midst of the chaos, other people become intrigued. Speaking about their experience to a friend or colleague is an act of generosity. Leaders share the
wealth by helping spread the word.
Mindful Leadership can be used to:
1. Improve strategic thinking
2. Stay attentive to the present, not the past or future
3. Minimize auto-pilot
4. Respond with clarity under pressure
5. Listen to ourselves and others
6. Hold ambiguity until a better time to make a decision
7. Prioritize work
8. Learn to stay focused on a project from beginning to end
9. Engage/Reengage employees
10. Have difficult conversations
11. Eliminate unneeded tasks
12. Hold effective meetings
13. Reduce errors
14. Create the space for innovation

Research-Supported Benefits of Mindful Leadership Training
Improved ability to stay focused
Greater clarity on what’s most important
Enhanced performance and productivity
Greater ability to lead authentically
Improved judgment and decision-making
Enhanced team performance
Greater innovation and inspiration
Increased ability to effectively deal with stress
Greater resilience and ability to sustain high
performance
Improved health and well-being

Technical & Adaptive Leadership
Two classes of challenge that leaders are likely to face: technical problems and adaptive ones
(Heifetz, 1994)
 Adaptive challenges are especially difficult. They call into question existing roles, orders and
hierarchies. As a result, they are often stressful. Stress reactions are instinctive, automatic
survival mechanisms that mobilize energy to adapt to a potential threat (Greenberg, Carr, &
Summers, 2002)
Mindfulness teaches leaders to rely not just on analytical resources and strengths, but to
intentionally cultivate and strengthen the mind’s capacity to be fully present.
In doing so, leaders begin to see, hear and think with greater clarity, and improve their decision-
making abilities

Mindful Leadership
 Mindfulness is a state of being fully
present, aware of oneself, and
sensitive to one’s reactions to
stressful situations.
 Leaders who are mindful tend to be
more effective in understanding and
relating to others and motivating
them toward shared goals.

Mindfulness Underpins People Management
Active listening
Positive Feedback
Corrective feedback
Coaching
Influencing
Meeting Processes
Career counselling
Creating a performance culture

Awareness of Staff
Mindfulness helps you to become aware of the
capability, capacity and competence of your staff

Our Lack of Awareness
We see what is not there
We don’t see what is
there
We hear what we choose
to listen to
We don’t hear what we
don’t attend to

Mindlessness
Have you experienced the mindless
hug or mindless “service”?
Have you spoken to someone who is
not there (physically present, but
mentally elsewhere)?
How often have you “gone through
the motions” – when “listening” to
someone?

WE are ALWAYS THINKING
Analyse
Synthesize
Criticise
Generalise
Catastrophize
Rationalize
Summarise

We need to be AWARE
Aware of ourselves – check in
on our 6 senses
Aware of self-perception – self
compassion
Aware of others – compassion
Aware of nature –
appreciation and gratitude

Insight and Action
To look is one thing
To see what you look at is another
To understand what you see is a third
To learn from what you understand is something else
But to act on what you learn is all that matters.

The Lizard Brain
“The lizard is a physical part of your brain,
the pre-historic lump near the brain stem
that is responsible for fear and rage
and reproductive drive…
The amygdala isn't going away.
Your lizard brain is here to stay, and your
job is to figure out how to quiet it and
ignore it.” Seth Godin

How to Develop
Mindfulness as
a Leader
MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

So, what can you do right now?
•Throughout your day take a minute to stop whatever you are doing, sit back and center your
attention on your breath. This means really feeling your breath. For each in-breath feel your
body coming alive and with each out-breath let go of everything.
•Practice being fully present whether you are listening to a team member, working on a strategic
plan, thinking (this may sound paradoxical but there is a vast difference between mindful
thinking versus compulsive and unconscious thinking), or preparing for a presentation. Simply
give whatever you are doing your full attention

Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness practice is
coming to our senses
both literally and metaphorically.
Jon Kabat-Zinn

Managing Reactive Emotions
Leadership is a social enterprise where
relationships are key for getting things
done.
Quality of relationships matter.
Perceiving Reality Beyond One’s
Blinders

Mindfulness Tip
If you are getting frustrated, unfocused
or your mind is becoming “racy”, try to take
a moment to tap into your favourite
mindfulness technique.
This can be a video, music, relaxation
exercise, attention to your breathing
or listening awareness – whatever works
for you in the moment.
https://youtu.be/nj2ofrX7jAk

Stories
 How often do we miss the stories of people
– their past, present and future.
 We see ourselves as the center of the
Universe – we are the central reference
point.
 One aspect of mindfulness is being present,
and interested enough, to hear the stories.

Mindful Culture
To be mindful is to become susceptible to learning anxiety.
And anxious people need what Edgar Schein calls
“psychological safety.”
Mindfulness requires continuous, ongoing activity. We are
not talking about a “safety war” that ends in victory. We are
talking instead about an endless guerilla conflict.

Louie Schwartzberg
Award-winning photographer, cinematographer, and film director
Time-lapse photography (1 month to do 4 mins of film)
Lived in the woods
Had little money or resources but had time and a sense of wonder
Developing “The Happiness Project”
https://youtu.be/MQiszdkOwuU

Louie Schwartzberg on Mindfulness
Being present and observant is also the
first step toward being mindful.
When you are mindful it opens your heart
to beauty and compassion for humanity as
you recognize that in nature it is all connected
and since we are a part of nature we are
connected to each other as well.
Nothing in nature survives without
a relationship to another living thing.

“Watchyour thoughts; theybecomewords. Watch yourwords; they becomeactions. Watch youractions; they become habit.
Watchyourhabits;they becomecharacter.Watchyourcharacter;it becomes your destiny.”-LaoTzu

Mindfulness and leadership final 5.12.2016 aa

Mindfulness and leadership final 5.12.2016 aa

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Mindfulness and leadership final 5.12.2016 aa