Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing and not overly reactive to what’s going on around us. Perhaps a simple definition would be, “The quality of being conscious or aware of something.”
So when I am working around this concept of mindful leadership, the keyword is awareness.
It lets me effectively and appropriately interact with others when I am:
1) Me Aware
2) People Aware
3) Situation Aware
We have had that awkward meeting at a coffee shop with someone that we just couldn’t believe wasn’t more aware. They talked so loud that everyone in the place could hear what was being said. And, oh, they probably talked almost the whole time too, oblivious to how they come across and sound. This person is not considering who they are with and what they could learn if they didn’t dominate the conversation. And how about some situational awareness that understands where we are and who
can hear the conversation?
Maybe a reminder that leadership is actually about people can serve to heighten our awareness so that we can have the best impact for God’s kingdom.
So let’s look at this idea of mindful leadership a little more closely.
ME AWARE
This means I understand what I bring to the table.
Who am I?
What am I like?
What do I bring?
The Scripture in tells us in Eph. 4:7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Ontologically we bring our essence, or to put it into one word, we bring our personality. Our fingerprint or retina scan is a sure way of identification because it is absolutely unique to only one person. In the same way no one will ever experience things exactly the same. Each person experiences life through their unique combination of existence. A different mix of history, emotions, experiences and physicality is brought by each person to the moment and situation. That should give us a lot of reason to be less judgmental and also remind us of God’s amazing grace that reaches each person’s unique place.
So when I ask the question, What do I bring, it should be an awareness of my God given gifts, my personality style and an over all sense of my being.
PEOPLE AWARE
I understand who I am working with.
Who am I with?
What are they like?
What do they bring?
Even though no one is really the same in essence, there are patterns that help us understand ourselves and others. As a human behavior consultant, I use a personality profile to help people understand themselves and others.
Just as important as self awareness is the importance of understanding who I am with. It informs how I can most effectively communicate and
work with that person. If a person is a visionary and I bore them with too many details or forget that detailed people need lots of information I run
the risk of not really connecting. As good training for public speaking will teach us that we have to know our audience, so also good people skills
will require us to know who we are working with.
Also the value of understanding what the other person brings cannot be overestimated. How easily a person can miss a wealth of value from someone by missing the awareness of who they are with. For example a young inexperienced minister might be with a wise experienced and seasoned minister and instead of gleaning wisdom that young person spends the majority of the time doing all the talking.
People awareness gives me wisdom about how I should relate to the people I am around and also lets me glean from the tremendous value of others.
SITUATION AWARE
I understand where I am and what is going on.
Where am I?
Who is in charge?
What is the purpose?
What is proper?
This is an important part of being mindful in leadership. Wherever I am, whatever the meeting, I can ask some key questions. Who is in charge here? People who are aware realize that the person in charge is leading in their domain. I should endeavor to leave every person in their domain feeling like they are empowered in that place. The person that helps me check out at the grocery store is the king of that domain and should be treated as such. I might be the most popular preacher in the world, but when I am at a prayer meeting led by a sweet praying grandmother in the church, I should leave her with a confidence that she is the one empowered by God’s grace in that domain.
Of course recognizing the purpose of a meeting or situation makes such an impact on what I should do or not do. All of this lets me ask, what is proper in this situation for me? I think that is a question that should be asked a lot more in this world we find ourselves in.
May this brief article about mindful leadership increase our awareness as we work with people in the most important work on the planet. It is the kingdom of Christ the Lord.
As Christians we are called to make an impact. We are commissioned to make disciples. That is leadership!
And working with people in the most effective ways, with the most impact and done appropriately is mindful leadership
