Leadership is dual in nature. On the one hand, leadership is considered an ability since not every person can lead others and on the other, leadership is a duty. Leadership is a task that shouldn’t be taken lightly simply because many are involved and processes that will manage are responsibilities required to be accomplished.
Leadership may seem burdensome to others. Well, every decision created by leaders directly affects organizational structures and processes and the people included. Regardless of whether the choices result in favorable outcomes, we tend to look back on those choices and justify how they reached such conclusions.
Focusing on decision-making, we have to acknowledge that even those famous world leaders most people know can also make unlikely choices. Choices that often reflect their first instincts without even pausing to make second thoughts about them. Other leaders also depend on the environment around them. Depending on the vibe they receive from their environment, it directly influences the decisions they make. Sometimes, they also rely on their mood and other unlikely sources.
But, leadership doesn’t have to be that way all of the time. What’s changed is that leaders can also transform such circumstances through the assistance of servant leadership or empathetic leadership.
You may be wondering what servant leadership is? What does it mean to be empathetic? Servant leadership operates with empathy. Empathy means having the ability to sense the emotions of others. Compassionate leaders genuinely understand what other people go through even without directly experiencing their lives. This is understanding with no judgments or other intentions that will only benefit themselves or the organization.
Empathetic leaders are genuine and place great value on the essence of human beings since they consider them essential players in keeping the organization’s progress. They do their best to motivate employees, all while developing smart decisions that also take into account the team’s welfare. However, these are not only executed during working hours but all the time.
It seems like empathetic leadership could be quickly gained, right? That’s where you’re wrong. This type of leadership cannot be mastered by solely relying on one’s self. It has to be influenced by various experiences, interactions, and lessons learned with every encounter with people from all walks of life. It simply cannot be acquired within a day, week, or month and would highly need insights coming from different perspectives. However, some ways can help us in developing empathy and incorporating it into leadership. These are meditation and mindfulness.
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Getting a Closer Grasp of Empathetic Leadership and Mindfulness
Let’s say you’re currently attending a meeting and you’ve been sensing negativity in the room’s atmosphere. Naturally, you’ll be affected to the point that it makes you feel irritated. When you think that energy becomes extreme, you can believe that the negative energy is infecting you and will begin to affect how you interact with people during the rest of your day.
However, another thing emerges. Instead of being consumed with the energy, you choose to stop for a while to assess the situation you’re in. You’ve come up with a response that you think is logical and do something to transform the room’s vibe. Although what you did before lifting the spirits of those in the room took a short period, it certainly did something for them.
That simple scenario can immediately bring a newer brand to your leadership. Through practicing mindfulness, you are equipped to observe and distinguish moments occurring between stimulus and response. This is the part where you stop to think for a while, but it doesn’t take too much time, and then, you just decide the right thing to do in a snap.
You’ll be genuinely amazed once you witness the bonds formed within your team become stronger through changing their mindset and motivating them to do well. Even researchers have proven that both meditation and mindfulness support relationships between people and are said to lower stress levels, enhance empathy, and encourage self-reflection.
Some methods for leaders in practicing mindfulness
It is important to note that mindfulness does not manifest changes immediately after the session. That’s not how it works. You have to maintain the sessions and in each session you encounter, you learn new things, similar to leadership.
While you’re undergoing the practice, we become aware of our thoughts and utilize your breath as the guide to realizing that you’re facing your thoughts directly then returning to the current environment or the now.
In order to get on with the practice, look for a comfortable space, then begin to close your eyes and move your focus to your breath while breathing. Bring awareness to your thoughts and if you sense that your direction is slowly weakening, return your attention to your breath. Learn this within any given time you prefer.
In most cases, leaders have a lot on their plate, so they’re perceived as people who are always busy. It’s difficult to insert tasks into their schedule and to keep leaders in check, mindful leadership retreats are there to help maintain regular sessions of meditation.
You probably know by now what retreats are. But for those who are unaware, these are activities conducted to build focus on learning and improve mindfulness practices. Moreover, it also helps relax the participants’ minds, especially since they’ve allotted most of their time to accomplish organizational goals.
Likewise, retreats give lessons that assist leaders in pausing for a while and avoiding being rash about making decisions. Participants of retreats usually acquire beneficial experiences in learning the sources of mindfulness and apply them in the real world. Within a given time and discipline, the participants will be able to utilize these helpful life tips and know when to integrate them.
Conclusion
Regardless of how your path shaped by mindfulness and meditation appears, life will be able to showcase some fantastic, beneficial, and impressive things ahead of you in ways you don’t expect it to be. There are numerous meditation-related applications online or just visit https://mdmindfulness.com/ to access most of the resources.
