Lead with self-awareness and mindfulness to keep your leadership presence in difficult times.
As a psychologist, much of my time is spent teaching people how to regulate their emotions. You could call this skill learning how to manage stress, distress tolerance, or create breathing space under pressure.
Leaders need three skills to stay calm and maintain leadership presence in difficult situations.
I use these skills to calm my out-of-control emotional response when my preschooler is obnoxious, with a challenging patient, and when I give or receive difficult feedback. These are also foundational skills for effective leadership.
Transformational leaders are connected to their own emotional experiences and have the emotional capacity to connect with and acknowledge their team members’ emotions too.
Miracle Laurie May and I discussed how leaders could use mindful emotional awareness to stay present and lead people by example during challenging moments.
Listen to find out:
Bio: Miracle Laurie May is a mindfulness coach who works with leaders motivated to prioritize joy, integrity, and equanimity in their daily lives. You can learn more about her work and find her at Have Zen Will Travel.