The term ‘Leader’ can be defined as ‘someone who leads a group of people’ but can also be defined as ‘someone who leads him/herself’!

Positive psychology is revolutionizing the way we engage people, transform strategy and implement open innovation with employees, customers, suppliers and other relevant stakeholders. Millions of managers worldwide have been introduced to strengths-based approaches, Appreciative Inquiry and the positive psychology of human strengths, and they are applying this in their organisations.

Mindfulness

An important factor in positive psychology and leadership development is mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a state in which a person is intentionally aware of momentary experiences. Practising mindfulness improves mental and physical health, creativity and contextual learning. Taking care of your mental and physical health means you will live a healthier life. Research shows for instance that people who look on the bright side are 50 percent less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Or, as Barbara Fredrickson provides the 1 to 3 rule of emotions: for every negative emotion you need three positive emotions to come back in balance again.

Mindlessness

The opposite of mindfulness is often described as being unaware what is actually going on with and around you, being focussed on the future or the past, but, not at the living today, like being on a kind of automatic pilot. Living mindlessness can result in stress, burn-out, tunnel vision, poor physical health, low creativity and in having difficulties in working with complex situations and systems.

Reflective questions

You can reflect on yourself by asking yourself regularly questions like for instance: ‘How much of what I have done today was intentional and purposeful?’ or ‘How much of what I did, contributed to my feeling good or to my personal happiness?’ or ‘How much did I contribute to the happiness of other important persons around me?’. And of course a useful question is always ‘How can I generate more of these good feelings?’

Very often, small and simple things can make a big difference….. if you want to see them.

A few tips for Leaders and Followers

Intentionally anchor your mind to the present moment

Being in a state of purposeful intention can be challenging when your environment constantly gives you cues to fall back in automatic working routines.

Be attentive to your breathing. Relaxed, full breathing in which the diaphragm expands during inhalation and contracts during exhalation results in a tremendous performance and health benefits associated with mindfulness.

Focussing on your five senses and taking a break from your inner conversations reset your mind. We tend to become over focussed on language and images which at times cause sub-optimal results. Worrying about a past or future event is very different than planning and problem solving. If the outcome of your mental process is anxiety or stress you are likely worrying. If the outcome is a list of actions and solutions you are likely planning or problem solving.

Notice what is happening without judging it

Non-judgement or acceptance means accepting the current state as part of a constant flow of changing experiences. Letting go of judgement strengthens the mind and challenges the belief that over-thinking something helps control it. Leaders are paid to solve problems and obstacles, but there is a big difference between mindlessly judging and mindfully thinking.

When we judge mindlessly we let what we are experiencing dictate our mental and emotional state, often without being aware of it, and always without being intentional about it.

Try practising acceptance of whatever you are experiencing in the moment by letting go evaluation and judgement. This will enable you to act intentionally.

Analyse your environment mindfully

Being mindful means paying extra attention to situational contexts, being mindless means thinking in black and white about something, hence reducing its complexity and making errors.

A mindful approach to analyse the environment requires seeking new sources of information and placing a value on doubt.

Many cultures reward expressions of certainty. This stimulates people to act more certain than they may be, in order to achieve goals. Be aware of the routines that dominate you and your organisation and find new ways to think and act in those times.

You can practice mindfulness everywhere

Just focus your mind by finding your unique way to intentionally anchor yourself in the moment. Practicing mindfulness is about leading your own mind so that you can purposefully lead yourself and others. It is about intentionally bringing your best to your work.

Levels of leadership

If you want to be or to become a successful leader you need to be able to function on four different levels at the same time, and flexible to switch from the one level to the other. These four levels are:

1. Self
2. Others
3. Organisation and
4. Society

1 – Self

As a leader you have to start recognising that all leadership starts from within. Leadership can be learned, you need to overcome the techniques and models and find your own strengths and authenticity.

Mindfulness is a first and important step to become aware of your Self, of your strengths and your capabilities. True self-awareness is an essential, probably the most important element for effective leadership. Leading a team or leading you yourself.

You have to be aware of and be true to your core values. Leaders who understand the importance of leading themselves, also recognise the need to show self-control. Their passion is tempered by patience, ethics and good judgement.

2 – Others

Leading is not to be understood as directing and ordering others and their specific behaviour. An effective leader has the capacity to ignite a fire within others, inspires them to do more, to give more and, to be(come) the best they can be.

This requires the ability to build genuine, authentic connections with others, showing you understand their needs and concerns and, that you care about the others.

People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care!

3 – Organisation

Leaders that are responsible for a department or an organisation encounter a new challenge. At this level the contacts with people around you are more distanced with other group dynamics. Leading effectively at this level requires involving, mobilising and energising others to a shared vision. It requires understanding and managing the organisation in a larger, external context. These leaders need to recognise that their organisation is not an isolated entity but a system within a (larger) system.

4 – Society

Leaders have an important role and a responsibility for the society. Real outstanding leaders make a difference on a bigger stage, they have a favourable impact on their community, their region, country and some even on the world.

Leading on multiple levels

‘The only constant factor is constant change’ and these dynamics influence our daily lives. As the mood in a family is influenced by the parents’ relationship and with their parents, so is the organisational mood influenced by the relations of teamsand their leaders in the organisation. Leading change requires paying attention (again, being intentional) at all the four levels simultaneously.

In this era this is the only way to be successful as a sustainable leader of yourself, as a leader of a department, as a leader of an organisation.

This column is partly based on several articles in the magazine of leadership development, March 2012. Balance Consultancy can support you in your company development based on their strengths-based working methods, specialised in Appreciative Inquiry.

www.balance-consultancy.com