I am pretty tired of the word mindfulness, I admit. People use it too often and it can mean so many things, or also nothing at the same time. Even in the corporate world, the term has become a synonym for employee wellbeing.

It’s usually used in a context of ‘you have to be more … ‘ and requires you to make change, so you can reach a better version of yourself in the future. And that’s a basic idea I don’t agree with in any circumstance.

And apparently it’s something you have to learn. There are courses, apps, meditations all geared towards you becoming more mindful. Again, it’s reaching a future state to become a better you.

But can you be a leader that deals with stress with ease, knows how to tackle pressure, without any mindfulness?

I’ve long wondered whether it’s simply about less doing and more being.

For sure it is not an elusive better future, that you need to reach.

It’s about recognising what’s in you, already now and here.

Your attention is already short

Let me admit this first: My attention span has certainly decreased in the past 10 to 20 years. And I’m pretty sure yours has, too. There are so many distractions nowadays, there is so much to do, how could you possibly add another exercise, another app or even a meditation on top of it all?

And there is nothing wrong with being more mindful in a leadership role. Really nothing. But the question is how to get to your desired state.

And that’s where I argue, that it might be another case of simply more being. Not hoping for a better version of yourself, that so far only exists in the future and that leaves you frustrated if you cannot reach it.

One way to go about being more mindful in leadership

A way to go about this is to recognise the presence that’s already here, right now. Think of it as A wholeness, so to say. Nothing that needs a change or an improvement.

And that’s really key.

The diminished attention span, combined with the myriads of demands put on you, can easily let you forget this one thing: That what you want to achieve is, in fact, already here.

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