Mindfulness: Spiriting Effective Strategic Leadership and Management

Introduction

In a hyper-globalized market, competition is cut-throat (Trisoglio, 2012). Leaders and managers are called upon to be vigilant to threats to their businesses and organizations while, at the same time, searching for opportunities to profit and expand. Leaders and managers are called upon to manage a plethora of stakeholder relationships, initiatives, projects and processes as well as the needs of their followers. This tug-of-war of competing priorities on multiple fronts can be challenging at best, debilitating at worst, as the need to excel on all fronts remains a constant. (Roche, Haar, & Luthans, 2014). In recent years, new markets in developing countries have risen to compete against established markets, catapulting the status quo and customary systems into disarray and, at times, chaos. Technological advances, rapid-fire innovations, and one-the-money cost reductions are viewed as key to being successful in fast-changing global markets. Improving leadership acumen among employees at all levels is no longer a strategy for success to consider; it is vital even in times of intense cost-cutting (Anderson & Ackerman Anderson, 2001). Empirical evidence has shown that embracing and promoting mindfulness as a business practice can fuel effective strategic leadership and management, build morale, create a positive workplace culture, and heighten productivity, creativity and innovation (Reb, Narayanan, & Chaturvedi, 2014). Empirical evidence has shown that mindfulness can recharge individuals and expand their capacity as productive members of the organizations in which they work (Gardiner, 2012).