Most people think that it’s hard to lead others. This is because leadership entails a lot of responsibility. When you’re a leader, the group is following you. So if you make a mistake, you’re responsible for the failure of the group as a whole. It’s this type of thinking that prevents people from leading others.
However, when you lead with mindful purpose, you’re not only aware of your own thoughts and desires but also those of the entire group. You’re considering everyone’s goals before leading them in the way you think fit. So your chances of failure are low. And even if you do fail, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you were doing the right thing. If you’re wondering how to lead with mindful purpose, here are a few tips:
Communication
One of the most important tools in leadership (in fact, one of the most important tools in life) is the ability to communicate well with others. Whether you’re leading a group at work, school or some other aspect of life, you still need to listen actively to what your group members are saying, take their thoughts into consideration and come up with a plan of action that will suit everyone.
To a large extent, leadership is about keeping everyone happy without sacrificing the integrity of their common purpose. So learn to ask questions, listen to the responses of your team and come up with a plan that elicits enthusiasm from your team members.
Balancing Rationality with Emotion
One of the main advantages of mindfulness is that it helps calm your raging emotions and enables you to think clearly so that you can move towards your goal. Just as this can be done on an individual level, it can also be done on a group level. When you’re leading a team, you have to manage everyone’s emotions.
There might be times when some members feel like they are being attacked by other members and they might react emotionally. It helps to take a moment so that everyone can calm down and discuss the issue rationally. The same techniques that will help you on an individual level will also help you at a group level. Deep breathing, meditation and creative visualization can help to keep your team on track.
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