The Mindful Leader

Please enjoy the thoughts and musings of our friend, supporter, and long-time contributor Art van Bodegraven Jr., who passed away on June 18, 2017. Art was a prolific writer and had amassed a collection of unpublished blog posts he had planned to run well into the future. To honor his memory, we will continue to post these remaining blogs as he had intended. If you’ve been a fan of The Art of Art blog, check out our tribute.

 

Amex OPEN published a few tips from the CEO of The Non-Obvious Company that make all the sense in the world. Leadership is tough enough, but now we are being asked to be mindful as part of the package.

Mindfulness is the basic idea of adopting behaviors and habits that allow you to improve performance by gaining energy. And it is gathering momentum as it moves into the mainstream.

Some think mindfulness is something to somehow get worked into the schedule, already filled with demands. Others think that mindfulness, among your other demands, is an indulgence. Maybe, but it does not require all that much time.

Don't misunderstand; this not yoga or teatime meditation.

Take re-setting breaks to focus on meeting content, and to discover your leadership style(s). Be more present, in all facets of enterprise efforts,

Make art, find a creative outlet, including doodling, that unleashes tapping into the other side of the brain. This is where unconventional thinking breaks free of the conventional wisdom.

Get more and better sleep. Put aside your technology and focus on life balance. In a universe full of distractions, there is litle better than mindfulness.