Simple Meditation Can Make You a Better Leader

You can’t be a good leader without self-awareness. Knowing who you are lets you better understand what you need most from other people. One of the simplest and most effective ways to develop it is to meditate. Yes, meditate. Meditation improves your moment-by-moment awareness by having you focus strongly on inhaling and exhaling. But it doesn’t need to be formal or ritualistic. Greater clarity can also come from regular moments of pausing and reflecting. Try to gain greater awareness by finding a few seconds to focus on your breathing – maybe before sleep or when doing mundane tasks – and asking yourself:

• What am I trying to achieve?
  
• What am I doing that is working?.
  
• What am I doing that is slowing me down?
  
• What can I do to change?
  

-Maureen McGuire, PhD

mmcguire@mcguire-consulting.com

Adapted from “5 Ways to Become More Self-Aware” by Anthony K. Tjan.