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In a complex world where leaders need to be self-aware, agile, and responsive, mindfulness is a key leadership skill. Mindfulness—the art of being present and fully engaged with the moment—strengthens leadership and the capacity to collaborate both individuals and teams, enhancing focus, emotional awareness, and overall productivity. Being present in each present moment equips us to navigate change and manage conflict.

Mindfulness for Individual Practice

Starting your day mindfully can support your performance and well-being. Here are some practical tips to incorporate mindfulness into your daily work routine:

• Begin with a moment of gratitude: As soon as you wake up, instead of reaching for technology, start your day by taking a deep breath, expressing gratitude, engaging in a brief meditation, listening to soothing music, or stepping outside to connect with nature.
• Single-tasking Over Multitasking: Focus on doing one thing at a time. This not only improves the quality of your work but also reduces stress levels. Our brains are not really designed to “multitask” and even though it feels like we’re being productive, we’re really just misusing energy and focus, which is fatiguing and keeps us from succeeding where we’re needed.
• Manage Media Consumption: Be selective about the information you consume. Thousands of possible news items, video clips, and notifications are available at our fingertips, but letting media keep our brains distracted and “alert” creates unnecessary stress. Choose when you want to get your news and alerts, and curate accordingly. Pause Before Responding: Take six seconds before responding to emails or queries. This brief pause can lead to more thoughtful and less reactive responses. In a stressful situation, you are just a few deep breaths away from feeling more calm and better able to engage successfully. Give yourself that moment.
• Cultivate Kindness Towards Yourself: Encourage a compassionate inner voice; be as kind to yourself as you would be to a dear friend. The way we speak to ourselves is powerful and can either help equip us for success or erode our sense of purpose and work with others.
• Be Prepared for Stress: Regularly check in with yourself by asking, “How am I feeling?” and “What do I need?” These simple questions have the power to connect you to your experience and prepare you with what you need in every situation. This can help you manage stress more effectively.
• Embrace New Experiences: When you’re working, leading, and communicating day in and day out, your brain can feel tired or overwhelmed. Seeing, hearing, eating, or doing new things gives us resources to see things in new ways and tap into inspiration. Give yourself “recess” or a “field trip” when you begin to see the signs of burn-out.
• Mindful Meetings: Implement an invitation to meet without any screens during meetings to ensure full attention and presence. If this is especially difficult for you or a team, start small: make one meeting a week or the first 20 minutes screen-free to practice single-focus and being present for one another.
• Create a Self-Care Toolkit: Have a personal toolkit for self-care ready for times when you need to boost your well-being. Practice healthier routines (movement, good sleep, journaling, gardening, mindful practices) when you’re experiencing less stress so you’re equipped to use them successfully in times of high stress.
• Avoid Eating at Your Desk: Separate your meal times from your work tasks to help you relax and enjoy your food. Shifting where you sit and how you encounter food, work, rest, and your personal life also signals to your brain that it’s time to rest, nourish, or get ready to work again.

Mindfulness helps us build awareness and better focus, enabling them to manage our emotions and reactions more effectively. It fosters a productive and emotionally intelligent workplace environment, which is crucial for high performance and job satisfaction.

Mindfulness for Teams and Leaders

Leaders and teams can also benefit from mindfulness practices. Here are some tips for integrating mindfulness at a group level:

• Discourage the ‘Busy’ Badge of Honor: Avoid glorifying being busy as a status symbol. Instead, promote a culture where quality of work and well-being are valued.
• Encourage Regular Breaks: Short breaks, particularly outdoors, can rejuvenate the mind and body. In years past, workplaces allowed “smoke breaks”–consider “fresh air” breaks or take short meetings outside.
• Promote Healthy Practices: Discuss and model healthy practices such as adequate sleep, proper boundaries, and effective use of personal time off (PTO).
• Incorporate Pauses in Meetings: Use moments of pause, especially during changes or challenges, to allow team members to reflect and respond thoughtfully. Remember that most adults need a few moments of processing time before answering questions, generating new ideas, or making connections. Adding time for pause or reflection helps people share high quality ideas and build collaboration and synthesis.
• Start Meetings Mindfully: Begin with a minute of silence or deep breathing to help everyone center and focus. Getting our brains and bodies ready to work makes the most of the time we have together.

For teams, mindfulness enhances cooperation, communication, and empathy among members. It is a key ingredient for workplaces that respect personal boundaries and encourage productive interactions. By adopting these mindfulness techniques, individuals and teams can achieve greater focus, better stress management, and a more harmonious workplace. When we understand ourselves, and can manage stress and conflict, we bring our brightest ideas and best energy to work and collaboration.

Mindfulness is at the heart of the Claremont Core® at Claremont Lincoln University. Developed as a unique educational framework, the Claremont Core® is a sequence of four domains dedicated to Mindfulness, Dialogue, Collaboration, and Change. These transferable, transformative leadership skills benefit leaders in any setting. The Claremont Core® courses and concepts lead students through a process of self-awareness and steadily evolves towards engagement with others and society at large. Change is inevitable, but with the Claremont Core ® leaders can be responsive and leverage their strengths to respond to the world’s intractable challenges.

You can learn more about Claremont Lincoln University’s affordable, accessible online degree programs and certificates to advance your leadership skills and become a compassionate leader. Download our comprehensive PDF one-sheet, which summarizes the best tips and tools for individual and team mindfulness in the workplace.

Read/download CLU’s “Mindfulness in the Workplace for Teams and Leaders” (PDF)>

Read/download CLU’s “Mindfulness in the Workplace for Individuals” (PDF)>

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Claremont Lincoln University is a non-profit university offering affordable online degrees, graduate certificates, and professional development programs. Through a socially conscious education framework, CLU’s mission is to create a new leadership ecosystem through its proprietary Claremont Core®, a distinctive model that encompasses the knowledge needed to become an effective leader of positive change in the workplace or community. CLU is regionally accredited by the highly regarded WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), which ensures institutions meet strict standards and fulfill their missions to serve their students and the public good. Degree programs at CLU focus on healthcare administration, human resources, organizational leadership, management, professional studies, public administration, social impact, and sustainability leadership.

Claremont Lincoln University is the university of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a non-profit global thought leader solving social, environmental, and economic challenges. Together, we are mobilizing leaders worldwide to tackle the most pressing climate, land, water, finance, housing, infrastructure, and other issues.