Mindful business leaders make better decisions for themselves, their teams and their businesses, explains Executive and Leadership Coach, Noel Brady

Humans have a powerful sub-conscious mind that takes care of most of our actions and responses to events that unfold during the day.  By definition, we are generally unaware of the thinking and feeling processes controlled by our sub-conscious.

At times it may come to our conscious attention what’s happening in the moment within our mind and our body, but typically we are in a state of unawareness.  This highly efficient process evolved over millennium to keep us safe and help us thrive as a species; but in modern complex societies and business structures it can hold us back.   Inappropriately reacting with a fight, flight or freeze response can get us in trouble.

How our sub-conscious makes sense of, and reacts to the world around us is largely based on our major life experiences and influences (e.g. culture, parenting, schooling, role models).  Brain cells connect to each other through pathways call synapses to create thoughts, feelings and memories.  For most people, most of the time, how we lead, makes decisions, socialize and react to external stimuli is determined by the way our brain is wired – our habits of thinking, so to speak.  This has a direct impact on our outcomes and situation in life.

However, we know from recent advances in neuroscience that the brain has a plastic-like capability and can rewire and create new pathways in the brain.  Therefore we can change our outcomes and situation by creating new habits of thinking.

Mindfulness is emerging in the business environment as a way to help individuals become more effective by helping them to bring attention to their process of thinking and understanding how this affects their emotions, behavior and outcomes.  To become mindful it is important to become a present observer of what is going on in your mind and body.

If you are aware of this you can make conscious decisions of how you would like to think, feel and behave – you have a choice.  This is an empowering concept.  In my experience, mindful business leaders make better decisions for themselves, their teams and their businesses.  The same applies for political leaders.

Unfortunately, we can’t just wake up one day and suddenly become mindful.  It takes practice and focus to create a habit of mindfulness.  I think of it like building a muscle – the more you work at it over time, the stronger it becomes.  Start with allocating 10 minutes a day to being mindful.  Bring yourself into the present by focusing solely on your breathing.  Notice, but do not try to rationalize your thoughts and feelings. 

Gradually work towards 30 minutes of daily mindfulness.  As you become more experienced with mindfulness, take opportunities throughout the day to become a conscious observer of your thinking and feeling.  If you feel negative emotions, such as fear or anger, stand back from them and ask yourself – “What is the process of my thinking that has caused me to feel like this?  How do I consciously choose to feel?  What’s really important in this situation?”

Mindfulness is a way of using the brain’s natural plasticity to accelerate our personal development by creating more empowering habits of thinking, feeling and behaving.