Mindful leadership coaching is paying attention in the moment and seeing things the way they are. It’s about coaching with a quiet mind and helping your clients improve their ability to make decisions with a quiet mind.

Leadership and Paying Attention

Good leadership is mostly about paying attention – to the environment, the people, the places, and the present. Mindful leaders will pay attention and take in as much information and data as possible before making a decision. To do this, they must start with an open mind.

Leadership and an Open Mind

Jon Kabat-Zinn, a famous teacher of mindfulness meditation, believes mindfulness “means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” To become aware on purpose, in the present, and in a non-judgmental manner requires an open mind. You have to dispense with any pre-conceived ideas, any biases, and any beliefs you have about your client or their circumstances. Mindful leadership coaching requires an open mind.

An Open Mind is a Quiet Mind

You’ll also hear the term “quiet mind.” Mindful leadership coaches begin with a quiet mind. I’ve heard the term “empty mind” before, but quiet mind more closely describes how your mind should be. It shouldn’t be empty and free of knowledge, but activity should be limited with thoughts, ideas, and beliefs quieted. The noise in your head should be suppressed as you listen to your client and comprehend what is being said.

Executives and leaders have become accustomed to activity – with constant deadlines, problems, and organizational needs. We often praise those individuals who can multi-task. However, the ability to quiet the mind and think in the present can actually help solve problems in the future. Yo9ur mindful leadership coaching practice should be all about helping your clients learn how to quiet down their minds and pay attention, on purpose, in the present.

Hope you took some great value out of this post today! I’d love to hear your feedback, so make sure you leave a comment with your thoughts or questions. And also, you can click on the Twitter button below to retweet this article… Thank you!

Fred Philips
Business Coach
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