3 years ago I was about to step into the role of headteacher. Having completed my NPQH I had done the studying but 3 years on I have to reflect on the fact that the best training I had done was a Mindfulness Diploma.
Emotional resilience is a necessity on a minute by minute basis in a school leadership position. Everyone looks to you for a calm, rational and consistent response - that means being able to calmly rationalise your emotional response to any situation.
Mindfulness provides an opportunity to step back from the rollercoaster of emotions leaders face on a typical school day. Albert Camus sums it up nicely.
The letter C is part of being a mindful leader.
Be curious about the reasons why you have an emotional response to the scenario you are dealing with. Your emotions are often a deeply rooted response and it’s trying to tell you something. As a leader being rational is important but it’s equally important to authentically engage with your emotional intelligence too.
Have compassion towards your emotions and take time to work through them. Self-compassion may mean taking time out to deal with the emotions instead of pushing them aside. Your emotional response is valid and will help you to work through a similar scenario in the future. Compassion is giving yourself the same kindness that you would give to others. In a typical day leaders are compassionate to so many people that mindfully and compassionately connecting with our own emotions helps us become better leaders.
Have courage to be honest with your emotions. Leaders often ask colleagues how they are and make time to support. We, on the other hand, when asked how we are will often smile and diminish our emotional state to portray an outwardly strong leader. Mindful awareness of our emotions means honesty to ourselves. We cannot run away from our emotions and need to have a ready made toolkit at hand for whatever leadership task lands on our to do list. Micro-mindfulness actions to ground ourselves during a challenging task acknowledges our emotion and helps in that temporary moment.
We are expected to be consistent in all leadership moments. By being able to be emotionally rational we can be consistent leaders. Often leaders prepare resources, presentations and knowledge prior to meetings and events but mindful preparation supports with emotional consistency. Logically and mindfully considering the rollercoaster of emotions in those big moments can support us to be consistent in our responses to colleagues. Failing to consider emotional preparation can lead to big emotions hijacking our thinking at the precise moment when clarity is required.
In the midst of chaos the mindful leader will be able to be calm. It isn’t a magical innate ability for many leaders but one that they have practised. We all know those leaders who rarely appear flustered - I’m often mistaken as one but I work hard on mindful skills to appear calm externally. Calm can be seen as having no strong emotions or not showing them. A mindful leader will be in control of those emotions and should not be seen as not having them. True calm happens after that challenging moment when the mindful leader acknowledges their authentic response with compassion to learn from it for the next time.
Mindfulness to many can seem like a “nice” thing to try but regularity means you can be mindful in any situation. I recognise that mindful leadership may not be for everyone but for me it enables me to be a better leader.
Mindful leadership with the letter C.
- be curious
- have compassion
- have courage
- be consistent
- be calm
“In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.”
If ever there was a reason to trial some mindful leadership it is to be able to find calm amongst chaos.
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