Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mindfulness in Leadership: Does Being Mindful Enhance Leaders’ Business Success?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Culture and Neural Frames of Cognition and Communication

Part of the book series: On Thinking ((ONTHINKING))

Abstract

Is mindfulness – being open, present, and receptive to what is happening from one moment to the next without cognitively evaluating a given state or situation – an omnipresent capacity that can significantly contribute to enhancing leadership performance – or is it a context dependent potential? In this treatise, leadership as a general ability is understood as an anthropological constant as opposed to the prevalence of specific differences in leadership styles found in different cultures or contexts. This chapter advocates that mindfulness can be particularly helpful for leaders and executives as it may enhance leadership as a general ability. We outline a rationale for how and why mindfulness may increase the capacity to lead as well as act as a role model, discuss intercultural aspects related to mindfulness and leadership, and address potential restrictions. The proposition that mindfulness, if properly understood and brought into application, may be a useful tool for enhancing the personal and business success of leaders is developed in four subsections: (1) An epitome of what leadership is and what leaders are supposed to do in their professional role as an implicit criterion for assessing the potential benefits of mindfulness. (2) A definition of what is frequently understood by mindfulness and the changes in psychophysiological parameters that go along with regular mindfulness training, as reported by some empirical findings. This includes an analysis of what can be regarded as fact rather than fiction in the context of mindfulness. (3) A discussion of the potential benefits of mindfulness for leaders based on a general model of what leadership constitutes, as worked-out in the first section. (4) A caveat that takes into account some conceptual and practical pitfalls, to which one may easily fall prey, so as to prevent misunderstandings and misbehavior related to mindfulness. The final section summarizes the above mentioned sections with the conclusion that mindfulness can indeed be helpful but that both research and practical work remain to be done.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    As most executives are also leaders (the opposite not always being true), in this treatise we use the term “executive” synonymously for “leader”.

References

  • Aharoni Y (1994) Alliance networks. Harvard Business School Publication Corp, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Allman JM, Hakeem A, Erwin JM, Nimchinsky E, Hof P (2001) The anterior cingulate cortex. Ann NY Acad Sci 935:107–117

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baer RA (2003) Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: a conceptual and empirical review. Clin Psychol Sci Pract 10(2):125–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baer RA, Smith GT, Allen KB (2004) Assessment of mindfulness by self-report: The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills. Assessment 11(3):191

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bar-On R, Tranel D, Denburg NL, Bechara A (2003) Exploring the neurological substrate of emotional and social intelligence. Brain 126(8):1790

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benson H, Rauch S, Moore C, Fischl B, Lazar S, Kerr CE et al (2005) Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. NeuroReport 16(17):1893–1897

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair CA, Hoffman BJ, Helland KR (2008) Narcissism in organizations: a multisource appraisal reflects different perspectives. Hum Perf 21(3):254–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block-Lerner J, Adair C, Plumb JC, Rhatigan DL, Orsillo SM (2007) The case for mindfulness-based approaches in the cultivation of empathy: does nonjudgmental, present-moment awareness increase capacity for perspective-taking and empathic concern? J Marital Fam Ther 33(4):501–516. doi:10.1111/j.1752-0606.2007.00034.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bögels S, Hoogstad B, van Dun L, de Schutter S, Restifo K (2008) Mindfulness training for adolescents with externalizing disorders and their parents. Behav Cogn Psychother 36(02):193–209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Lutz A, Schaefer HS, Levinson DB, Davidson RJ (2007) Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(27):11483

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown KW, Ryan RM (2003) The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol 84(4):822–848. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Buber M (2004) I and Thou. Continuum International Publishing Group, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush G, Luu P, Posner MI (2000) Cognitive and emotional influences in anterior cingulate cortex. Trends Cogn Sci 4(6):215–222

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Byham WC (2009) Start Networking Right Away (Even If You Hate It). Harv Bus Rev 87(1):22

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver CS (2006) Approach, avoidance, and the self-regulation of affect and action. Motiv Emot 30(2):105–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver CS, Scheier MF (1990) Origins and functions of positive and negative affect: a control-process view. Psychol Rev 97(1):19–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carver CS, White TL (1994) Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: the BIS/BAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol 67:319–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chawla N, Ostafin B (2007) Experiential avoidance as a functional dimensional approach to psychopathology: an empirical review. J Clin Psychol 63(9):871–890

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chiesa A, Serretti A (2009) Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. J Altern Complement Med 15(5):593–600

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Covey SR (2004) The 7 habits of highly effective people: powerful lessons in personal change, 15th edn. Free Press, Detroit

    Google Scholar 

  • Daft RL, Marcic D (2008) Understanding management. Cengage Learning, Florence, KY

    Google Scholar 

  • de Vries MFRK, Miller D (1985) Narcissism and leadership: an object relations perspective. Hum Relat 38(6):583–601. doi:10.1177/001872678503800606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deyo M, Wilson K, Ong J, Koopman C (2009) Mindfulness and rumination: does mindfulness training lead to reductions in the ruminative thinking associated with depression? Explore (NY) 5(5):265–271. doi:doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2009.06.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drucker PF (1984) The new meaning of corporate social responsibility. Calif Manage Rev 26(2):53–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Drucker PF (2007) The effective executive. Elsevier, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Duranti A (1992) Language and bodies in social space: Samoan ceremonial greetings. Am Anthropol New Ser 94(3):657–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan M, Posner M, Tang YY, Ma Y, Wang J, Fan Y et al (2007) Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104(43):17152–17156. doi:10.1073/pnas.0707678104

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farb NA, Segal ZV, Mayberg H, Bean J, McKeon D, Fatima Z et al (2007) Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2(4):313–322

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fowles D (1987) Application of a behavioral theory of motivation to the concepts of anxiety and impulsivity. J Res Pers 21(4):417–435. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(87)90030-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garratt B (2003) The fish rots from the head: The crisis in our boardrooms: developing the crucial skills of the competent director, 2nd edn. Profile Business, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Giluk TL (2009) Mindfulness, big five personality, and affect: a meta-analysis. Pers Individ Differ 47(8):805–811. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.06.026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman D, Boyatzis RE, McKee A (2002) Primal leadership. Harvard Business Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomes-Casseres B (1994) Group versus group: how alliance networks compete. Harv Bus Rev 72(4):62. doi:Article

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman P, Niemann L, Schmidt S, Walach H (2004) Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits. a meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res 57(1):35–43. doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00573-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gulick L (1937) Notes on the theory of organization. In: Gulick L, Urwick L (eds) Papers on the science of administration. Institute of Public Administration, New York, pp 191–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Han S, Northoff G (2008) Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach. Nat Rev Neurosci 9(8):646–654. doi:10.1038/nrn2456

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Han S, Gu X, Mao L, Ge J, Wang G, Ma Y (2009) Neural substrates of self-referential processing in Chinese Buddhists. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. doi:10.1093/scan/nsp027

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes S, Strosahl K, Wilson K (1999) Acceptance and commitment therapy. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hennessy J, West MA (1999) Intergroup behavior in organizations: a field test of social identity theory. Small Group Res 30(3):361–382. doi:10.1177/104649649903000305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofstede GH (2003) Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  • Hölzel BK, Ott U, Gard T, Hempel H, Weygandt M, Morgen K et al (2008) Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 3(1):55–61. doi:10.1093/scan/nsm038

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hölzel BK, Carmody J, Evans KC, Hoge EA, Dusek JA, Morgan L et al (2010) Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 5(1):11–17. doi:10.1093/scan/nsp034

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ibarra H, Hunter M (2007) How leaders create and use networks. Harv Bus Rev 85(1):40–47. doi:Article

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jha AP, Stanley EA, Kiyonaga A, Wong L, Gelfand L (2010) Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion 10(1):54–64. doi:10.1037/a0018438

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Judge TA, Ilies R, Bono JE, Gerhardt MW (2002) Personality and leadership: a qualitative and quantitative review. J Appl Psychol 87(4):765–780. doi:Article

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn J (1982) An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation: theoretical considerations and preliminary results. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 4(1):33–47

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn J (1991) Full catastrophe living. Delta Trade Paperbacks, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn J, Massion AO, Kristeller J, Peterson LG, Fletcher KE, Pbert L et al (1992) Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Am J Psychiatry 149(7):936–943

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kabat-Zinn J, Wheeler E, Light T, Skillings A, Scharf MJ, Cropley TG et al (1998) Influence of a mindfulness meditation-based stress reduction intervention on rates of skin clearing in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis undergoing phototherapy (UVB) and photochemotherapy (PUVA). Psychosom Med 60(5):625–632

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kashdan TB, Barrios V, Forsyth JP, Steger MF (2006) Experiential avoidance as a generalized psychological vulnerability: comparisons with coping and emotion regulation strategies. Behav Res Ther 44(9):1301–1320

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • King G (2007) Narcissism and effective crisis management: a review of potential problems and pitfalls. J Contingencies Crisis Manage 15(4):183–193. doi:Article

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kockelmans JJ, Husserl E (1994) Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology. Purdue University Press, West Lafayette

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohls N, Sauer S, Walach H (2009) Facets of mindfulness – results of an online study investigating the Freiburg mindfulness inventory. Pers Individ Differ 46(2):224–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotter PJ (1998) Harvard business review on leadership, 1st edn. Harvard Business Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Langer EJ (1989) Mindfulness. Addison-Wesley Reading, Mass, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazar S, Kerr CE, Wasserman RH, Gray JR, Greve DN, Treadway MT et al (2005) Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness. NeuroReport 16(17):1893–1897

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ledesma D, Kumano H (2009) Mindfulness-based stress reduction and cancer: a meta-analysis. Psychooncology 18(6):571–579. doi:10.1002/pon.1400

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lutz A, Slagter HA, Dunne JD, Davidson RJ (2008) Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends Cogn Sci 12(4):163–169

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maciariello JA (2006) Mastering Peter Drucker’s the effective executive. Leader to Leader 2006(41):50–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H (1971) Managerial work: analysis from observation. Manage Sci 18(2):B97–B110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H (1990) The manager’s job: folklore and fact. Harv Bus Rev 68(2):163–176. doi:Article

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintzberg H (2009) We’re overled and undermanaged. Bus Week (4143):68

    Google Scholar 

  • Mischel W (1974) Processes in delay of gratification. Adv Exp Soc Psychol 7:249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mondy R, Sharplin A, Holmes R, Flippo E (1986) Management. Concepts and practices. Allyn and Bacon, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore MH (1995) Creating public value: strategic management in government. Harvard University Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullins LJ (2007) Management and organisational behaviour. Pearson Education, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Orzech KM, Shapiro S, Brown KW, McKay M (2009) Intensive mindfulness training-related changes in cognitive and emotional experience. J Posit Psychol 4(3):212. doi:10.1080/17439760902819394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagnoni G, Cekic M (2007) Age effects on gray matter volume and attentional performance in Zen meditation. Neurobiol Aging 28(10):1623–1627. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2007.06.008

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perls FS, Hefferline RF, Goodman P (1980) Gestalt therapy. Bantam Books, Oak Park, IL

    Google Scholar 

  • Pöppel E (1986) Lust und Schmerz. Grundlagen menschlichen Erlebens und Verhaltens. Siedler Verlag, München

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper KR (1965) The logic of scientific discovery, 2nd edn. Harper, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper KR (2002) Conjectures and refutations: the growth of scientific knowledge, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Posner MI, Rothbart MK (2007) Educating the human brain. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelson M, Carmody J, Kabat-Zinn J, Bratt MA (2007) Mindfulness-based stress reduction in Massachusetts correctional facilities. Prison J 87(2):254–268. doi:10.1177/0032885507303753

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satpute AB, Lieberman MD (2006) Integrating automatic and controlled processes into neurocognitive models of social cognition. Brain Res 1079(1):86–97. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2006.01.005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sephton SE, Salmon P, Weissbecker I, Ulmer C, Floyd A, Hoover K et al (2007) Mindfulness meditation alleviates depressive symptoms in women with fibromyalgia: results of a randomized clinical trial. Arthritis Care Res 57(1):77–85. doi:10.1002/art.22478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro SL, Carlson LE, Astin JA, Freedman B (2006) Mechanisms of mindfulness. J Clin Psychol 62(3):373–386

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro S, Oman D, Thoresen CE, Plante TG, Flinders T (2008) Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well-being. J Clin Psychol 64(7):840–862. doi:10.1002/jclp. 20491

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheridan JF, Davidson RJ, Kabat-Zinn J, Schumacher J, Rosenkranz M, Muller D et al (2003) Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosom Med 65(4):564–570

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Slagter HA, Lutz A, Greischar LL, Francis AD, Nieuwenhuis S, Davis JM et al (2007) Mental training affects distribution of limited brain resources. PLoS Biol 5(6):e138

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stratton KJ (2009) Mindfulness-based approaches to impulsive behaviors. The New School Psychology Bulletin 4(2)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun T, Kuo C, Chiu N (2002) Mindfulness meditation in the control of severe headache. Chang Gung Med J 25(8):538–541

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taleb NN (2001) Fooled by randomness: the hidden role of chance in the markets and in life. Texere, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Taleb NN (2007) The Black Swan: the impact of the highly improbable, 1st edn. Random House, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Taleb NN (2009) Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world. Financial Times, April, 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang YY, Posner MI (2009) Attention training and attention state training. Trends Cogn Sci 13(5):222–227

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor JB, Williams JC (2009) A black swan in the money market. Am Econ J Macroecon 1(1):58–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teasdale JD, Moore RG, Hayhurst H, Pope M, Williams S, Segal ZV (2002) Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. J Consult Clin Psychol 70(2):275–287

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas DC (2008) Cross-cultural management: essential concepts, 2nd edn. Sage Publications Ltd., Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  • van den Hurk PAM, Giommi F, Gielen SC, Speckens AEM, Barendregt HP (2009) Greater efficiency in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation. Q J Exp Psychol. doi:10.1080/17470210903249365

    Google Scholar 

  • Velting D, Bishop SR, Lau M, Shapiro S, Carlson L (2004) Mindfulness: a proposed operational definition. Clin Psychol Sci Pract 11(3):230–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wachs K, Cordova JV, Scripture B (2007) Mindful relating: exploring mindfulness and emotion repertoires in intimate relationships. J Marital Fam Ther 33(4):464

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner DM (1994) Ironic processes of mental control. Psychol Rev 101(1):34–52

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner DM, Schneider DJ, Carter SR, White TL (1987) Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. J Pers Soc Psychol 53(1):5–13

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner DM, Broome A, Blumberg SJ (1997) Ironic effects of trying to relax under stress. Behav Res Ther 35(1):11–21

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzlaff RM, Wegner DM (2000) Thought suppression. Annu Rev Psychol 51(1):59–91

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woldt AL, Toman SM (2005) Gestalt therapy. SAGE, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GRP – Generation Research Program, Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Prof.-Max-Lange-Platz 11, 83646, Bad Tölz, Munich, Germany

    Sebastian Sauer & Niko Kohls

  2. Brain, Mind and Healing Program, Samueli Institute, Alexandria, VA, USA

    Niko Kohls

Authors
  1. Sebastian Sauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Niko Kohls
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sebastian Sauer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Psychology, Peking University, Yiheyuan Road 5, Beijing, 100871, China, People's Republic

    Shihui Han

  2. Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Goethestr. 31, Munich, 80336, Germany

    Ernst Pöppel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sauer, S., Kohls, N. (2011). Mindfulness in Leadership: Does Being Mindful Enhance Leaders’ Business Success?. In: Han, S., Pöppel, E. (eds) Culture and Neural Frames of Cognition and Communication. On Thinking. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15423-2_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation