Mindful Leadership

By Georgina Miranda, guest contributor

Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world. As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.”

We can consider these impactful words when it comes to leadership today. Developing the art of leading ourselves, our personal leadership, becomes a critical step before we can lead others on the path to greatness and success. Human…

By Jay Forte, guest contributor

It might seem hard to believe now, but just a few short months ago, one of the biggest challenges organizations faced was keeping its employees engaged. In fact, the Gallup Organization reported in its The State of the American Workplace report that the percentage of engaged employees hovered around only 30% of the workforce for most of the past 20 years. 

Let’s put that into perspective: only 30% of employees were engaged in their work. They brought their A-gam…

By Meggan Davis, José Ramos, and Jeremy Scharf, guest contributors

We started Mindfulness and Leadership (“M&L”) in 2019 as a student-led initiative at MIT’s Sloan School of Management with a firm belief that to lead others well we must first know ourselves. Despite research recognizing some inner knowledge is key to effective leadership, many MBA students graduate without a toolkit for understanding themselves or how they relate to others.

Jeremy Scharf, one of our co-founders and a second-ye…

By John J. Murphy, guest contributor

The year 2020 has clearly introduced some major challenges to our personal lives and our business practices. Travel has been severely restricted, and in many cases, canceled all together. Obviously, this means we need to pivot and adapt to succeed, especially if we travel for a living. In my case, I had a major contract with a new client in San Diego come to a temporary halt and several speaking engagements around the country canceled. What is a speaker, coa…

By Mark Morey, guest contributor

Remote worker burn-out is a tsunami slowly rolling towards every manager who thinks they dodged a pandemic bullet. 

As New York Times columnist Jennifer Senior put the matter bluntly in her recent op-ed: “We are not, as a nation, all right.” (1)

The ground is shifting beneath our feet. Life is confusing and yet our responsibilities are still requiring our participation and leadership. If you are in a company and have direct reports you have already seen the si…

By John J. Murphy, guest contributor

Meditation is an immensely helpful practice to bring harmony, balance, and inner peace into one’s life. It’s also a great way to boost creativity and improve performance. That’s why I do it every day to center myself, open my heart, clear my mind, and let go of anything weighing me down. Having said this, I am often asked about alternative practices or “tools” one can use to boost consciousness and elevate awareness. It’s not a bad idea to have more than one…

By Chris L. Johnson, PsyD., guest contributor

COVID’s tragic impact—on health and the economy, working remotely or job seeking, juggling kids and school, racial strife, and a divisive US election soon—is like nothing we’ve ever had to address (1). Yet, if these past few months of enforced pause have shown us nothing else, it’s that we’re able to learn on the fly.

Conventional, rationalistic tradition—involving lectures, books, data points, and debate—has led us to believe that learning is some…

By Mo Edjlali, Chief Community Organizer, Mindful Leader

It's been exciting and sometimes concerning for me to watch mindfulness go mainstream. Though mindfulness has been overhyped in some ways - marketed as a panacea to fix everything - I believe that we are at the early stages of the potential for the application of mindfulness in the workplace. Here are some of the critical pain points that all organizations across industry and size face, which I believe workplace mindfulness programs will …

By Joy Reichart, New Ventures West, guest contributor

As a school dedicated to everyone uncovering their authentic contributions to life, we at New Ventures West have always worked to cultivate optimal conditions for growth and connection. We are constantly honing and refining the ‘containers’ for our Integral Coach training programs—particularly now that we have moved to a virtual classroom.

What is a well-held container?

A container for growth is just that: a physical and energetic field ar…

By Michelle Palladini, guest contributor

Today’s society offers countless ways to improve yourself, and the wave of mindfulness has come in like a tsunami in recent years. Many look towards mindful practice as a way to step back, regroup, and manage the thoughts/feelings/emotions that surface during the day. While mindfulness is an important tool, it’s just the vessel that keeps you afloat so you can communicate, connect, and lead effectively (it’s not actually about you).

The organizational i…