The Power of Listening
Listening has to be one of the most important skills for good leaders. Done well, it enhances both relationships and productivity! Although we may not always appreciate it, there is a difference between hearing and listening: one is a function, the other is a skill. This is much like the relationship between living on autopilot and …
Equanimity: leading in the middle of a storm
What is equanimity? Equanimity is a powerful and particularly useful concept within Mindfulness as we grapple with our global pandemic. This word can commonly be misinterpreted as a form of chilling out or achieving a detached state. It’s actually a long way from this and is vital in chaotic times. To define equanimity, it’s best …
A leader who listens creates optimal thinking environments
As a young person, I was pretty much the opposite of a good listener. I had a sharp reminder of this last week when someone shared the yearbook from when we were 18 on Facebook. Besides the usual nice fluff, there was something about me always wanting to change people’s minds (whether they wanted me …
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Emotional Intelligence: The difference-maker for leaders
Emotional Intelligence – that’s the fluffy stuff, isn’t it? It turns out to be quite the opposite. The most prominent researcher in this space, Daniel Goleman (well-known for his business psychology insights) paved the way for us to see the personal traits and behaviours that really make leaders successful. But first, what is Emotional Intelligence? …
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The biggest myth about Mindfulness – tuning in, not zoning out
There are many widely propagated myths about Mindfulness and I can often be found busting them when I blog or in my speaking and training work. Now, the biggest myth in my opinion is the idea that Mindfulness is about achieving a state of calm or zoning out from life. In fact, Mindfulness is quite …
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‘Will I lose my edge?’ and other myths about Mindfulness training
This subject has started coming up in conversations between myself and coaching clients, or usually as a side conversation at the end of a training session. ‘But what if I lose my edge?’ says one man to me at the end of a group training in a slightly hushed voice. Let’s call him James. I …
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What is it to be a mindful leader?
This week, I spoke at a Mindful Leadership Breakfast on this very subject. It’s pretty challenging being a leader in business at the moment. You’re supposed to be visionary, yet down to earth, impressive but not egotistical, participatory and yet not mowed down by others. This is an artform if ever I saw one, a …
Book review: ‘The things you notice when you slow down’
A book by Haemin Sunim The things you can only see when you slow down is about the importance of slowing down in our increasingly fast-paced existence. An easy read and a great book to pick up and put down frequently, it is filled with bite sized chunks of wisdom and poignant insights. These are …
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Inner balance: a stance not a state to be achieved
You know one thing that gets me sometimes? It’s the number of blogs out there with a 1, 2, 3 step list to [insert achievement]. It could be how to achieve happiness, success, money, etc… As soon as someone promises me that I’ll discover the secret in 3 simple steps, I gently close the browser …
The power of giving: How to give mindful service this festive season
Service – sounds like a chore already, doesn’t it? And when we think of upcoming festive season, we may feel some excitement at the festivities coupled with a weight of how much we’re physically and mentally going to need to do for others. How much giving can we do? But can we approach things differently? …
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Pressing Pause
What would it be like to press pause, to breathe, to make space? In our ever-demanding world, there is a danger that we simply squeeze more in and do things faster. By doing one thing after another after another, we can find that the energy from one task continues onto the next task, gathering steam as …
Mindfulness for Creativity: Q&A with Danny Penman
We were fortunate enough to interview award-winning Mindfulness author and Journalist, Danny Penman about the world of Mindfulness for creativity. Check it out below and feel free to share any thoughts. So Danny, why did you choose to focus on creativity? Well, I wanted to shorten and simplify the existing Mindfulness format to make …
