The Mind of the Leader

Mind of the Leader challenges us to redefine our view of what makes a good leader.

Compassion is not about giving in to other people. Compassion requires courage and strength to sometimes have difficult conversations or make tough decisions

Compassion allows us to be rational, see the bigger picture, and make better decisions for other people—all for the greater good, as opposed to empathy, which narrows our field of vision to single individuals or causes.

mindfulness practice, we train both our focus and our awareness. When we’re mindful, we’re able to overcome our minds natural tendency to wander. We can maintain focus on an object of our choice, notice when we get distracted, and then make decisions about where to place our attention. When we’re mindful, we also have a greater awareness of what we’re experiencing internally and externally. We can observe our thoughts as they arise and make best judgments what to focus on and what to let go.

when you’re focused but on autopilot, your state of mind can be described as being in “flow.” It can be useful for routine tasks or when exercising. But the problem with this state is that we are not very aware and therefore are at risk of missing out on valuable information.

Good ideas only become innovative solutions when you have the focus to retain and execute them by bringing them into the upper right quadrant.

The more focused we become, the more we will also be aware—and the other way around.

Focus enables more stable awareness, and awareness enables focus to return to what we’re

Focus is the ability to concentrate on a task at hand for an extended period of time with ease. Awareness is the ability to make wise choices about where to focus your attention. Optimal effectiveness is achieved when you’re simultaneously focused and aware.

mindfulness simple and close to its ancient roots: paying attention, in the present moment, with a calm, focused, and clear mind.