ABSTRACT
Does mindfulness training and practice impact three capacities that are seen as critical for leading in the 21st century: resilience, the ability to collaborate, and the ability to lead in complex contexts? We discuss the outcomes and procedures of a study with 57 senior leaders who undertook an eight-week “Mindful Leader” program. This is the first such study to investigate how these three key capacities can be developed through mindfulness training. Findings from our mixed-methods trial with a waitlist control group suggest that the program was effective in developing leaders’ mindfulness, resilience, and key self-perceived leadership competencies such as collaboration and agility in complex situations.
The amount of structured mindfulness practice our participants undertook was associated with improvements in their mindfulness, resilience, and capacity for collaboration. They reported that the program benefitted them as leaders and that its format was feasible. Unusually, objective measures of cognitive functioning—such as working memory capacity—did not improve significantly within the mindfulness intervention group. We conclude that mindfulness practice may be an effective method for leadership development. Our results suggest that mindfulness can be learned and developed by executive leaders, as long as they practice for at least ten minutes per day.
