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I believe it’s time for a new type of leader, and a new type of organizational culture; one that focuses on people, understanding, and collaboration; instead of money, results, and competition. … This is the first in a series of blog posts on balanced and mindful leadership.

In my coaching with business and professional women from around the world, greater and greater numbers, and younger and younger women are coming to me exhausted, “juggling so many balls”, feeling that there is no longer any fun in their lives; they are all about work with little or no time for themselves, or to spend with people they love. Some of them have health concerns. They are looking for tools and support to help them find peace amongst the chaos of daily life and work.

Well-educated professional women are leaving their senior positions or turning down career advancements when they have children, as there is not enough time to do it all. Those who try to do it all, often become ill[1] or end up in separation and divorce.

The old paradigm of working harder to get ahead is no longer working. In fact, productivity starts to decline after a certain number of hours of consistent work. It’s time for a new paradigm and new type of leader: a balanced and mindful one.

What are the attributes of a balanced and mindful leader?

  • Lives life in alignment with their core values
  • Runs an organization or operates within an organization in alignment with the organizational values
  • Knows their BIG WHY (life purpose)
  • Understands the importance of Work/Life Balance and models that for others
  • Rewards teams rather than individuals for their performance
  • Models and rewards inter and intra-organizational collaboration
  • Recognizes the need for space to encourage creativity and innovation
  • Uses their body as well as their minds to make decisions; e.g. Leadership is an art as well as a science.
  • Inspires and supports others to be the best they can be
  • Is emotionally intelligent and aware of their strengths and weaknesses
  • Surrounds self with folks with complementary skill-sets to shore up their weaknesses and complement their strengths, rather than people like themselves.
  • Encourages brainstorming and questioning of the status quo.
  • Allows their managers and staff to make mistakes, share and learn from them; encourages a culture of innovation – e.g. Engineers without Borders Annual Failure report – http://reports.ewb.ca/

Do you agree with the need for a new type of leader? What are your thoughts? I welcome your comments below. Feel free to share the post with others who you think might like to join in the discussion.

[1] http://creativelivingcommunity.com/how-to-know-if-youre-burning-out-what-to-do-about-it/

 

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