The Mindful Leader Program Slidedeck

THE MINDFUL
LEADER
ONE DAY PROGRAM
Game changing for business. Life changing for people. © Genos International 1
The ‘capacity to witness’
- a meta capability unique to homo sapiens
In pairs…
My work is most fulfilling when…

…but I could live without….
Stack # 1: Six breaths
• Inhale smoothly for a count of two
• Exhale gently & smoothly for a count
of four
• If 2-4 feels too short, try 4 in & 6
out…
• …or 6 in & 8 out
6 Breaths
• Repeat for six breaths
• Don’t push yourself!
• Target breathing rate is about 5 per
minute
• …but don’t become goal obsessed
(!): the key is that the exhale is longer
than the inhale (ideally 2:1)
Stack # 2: ‘Seat & feet’
• ‘Drop your attention’ to your feet
• Simply notice any sensations in the toes
or feet – hot , cold, tingling – just notice
• Feel the feet in contact with the ground
• Now bring your attention to your ‘seat’
• Notice where your behind is in contact
‘Seat & Feet’ with the chair
• Be aware of your clothing in contact with
your thighs and legs
• Notice how gravity is holding you to the
chair
• Let go!
• Don’t visualise – notice!
Stack # 3: Basic attention training
• Follow your breath in & out

• Find where you notice it most
(tip of nose, abdomen etc.)
• When you lose attention,
Attention to Breath simply note it and return to
the breath
• Be kind & non-judgmental –
EVERYONE loses focus
• Noticing you’ve lost focus IS
the practice!
Practice:
“Basic Attention Training”
In pairs
• Decide who is ‘Person A’ and who is ‘Person B’
• Person A will share answers to the questions
for 2 minutes
• Person B will listen SILENTLY, without
speaking
• Then we’ll switch, and PERSON B will talk for
2 minutes
• And PERSON A will listen SILENTLY, without
speaking
Pairs: Listening
• What was the practice like for you?

• I came here today because...
Introductions
• Your name and role

• Six words to describe what you
want to get from this program
Ground rules
• Mobile phones
• Time keeping
• Confidentiality
Program objectives
In this program we will:
• explore the science of emotions and emotional
intelligence,
• examine the Genos model of emotional intelligence,
• review feedback about our emotionally intelligent
leadership behaviour, and
• explore and practise a set of mindfulness techniques as
the gateway to enhancing your emotional intelligence
and leadership effectiveness.
Sho
‘In the beginner’s mind there are
many possibilities, in the
expert’s mind there are few’.
Shin
Emotional intelligence and
leadership
What is an An emotion is a
emotion? complex
psychological state
that involves three
distinct components:
• a subjective experience
• a physiological response,
and;
• a behavioural or
expressive response
(Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2007) Game changing for business. Life changing for people. © Genos International 15
Emotional intelligence – A practical definition
“Emotional Intelligence is about making

intelligent responses to negative emotions and
using the competencies of the Genos model to
generate positive emotions in self and others
through being, present, empathetic, genuine,
resilient and empowering in our behaviour as
often as possible.”
- Ben Palmer (CEO, Genos International)

Break
Emotionally intelligent leadership competencies
Your assessment results
• Results reflect how well

you demonstrate EI
workplace behaviour
• Results do not reflect your

actual EQ or innate level of
emotional intelligence
Insights from your results
• How often you demonstrate emotionally intelligent
workplace behaviour is influenced by:
– Your personal context
– Culture
– Nature
– Nurture
– Motivation
– Relationships
• Consider these factors to help you interpret your

results.
The validity of your results
The assessment
• Measures how important it is to your direct
reports/colleagues, that you demonstrate
emotionally intelligent leadership competencies
• Measures how well you demonstrate the

competencies of the model in comparison to
others
Benchmarking
• The rectangles represent the
scores achieved by the middle 50%
of the Genos benchmark group
The report
Your Development Tips workbook
• General tips on how to

develop each competency
of EI
• Specific tips for each

emotionally intelligent
behaviour in the
assessment
Feedback
1 2
EXPECTED: SURPRISED:
Things that are clear and Things you didn’t expect but
don’t surprise you. are clear.
3 QUESTIONS
UNCLEAR: &
ACTIONS
Things that surprise you and
aren’t clear.
Individual activity – insight from
your results
• Insights
• Actions
• Questions
Assessment review
• You are about to receive your personal
assessment results
• Find a quiet spot and read through your report
• Capture key insights
• Highlight both strengths and opportunities for
development
• I will be available to answer any questions that you
have about your results and how to read your
report
Small group activity
• Organise yourselves into groups of 2-3 people
• Share key insights (if comfortable doing so)
• Do not share your actual report
• Ask each other questions about these insights
and any actions you are thinking of taking –
adopt a peer/coach approach
• 3 x rounds of 5 minutes
“People leave people”
“An employee may join an organisation
because of its prestige and reputation but
it’s the relationship with their immediate
manager that determines how long they
stay and how productive they are.
Honesty, trust, respect, and the ability to

influence and inspire the people on your
team ae the hallmarks of great
leadership.”
- Marcus Buckingham
Developing your emotionally
intelligent leadership behaviour
Self awareness is the gateway to
emotional intelligence…
…and mindfulness is the gateway

to self awareness…
What is mindfulness?
Add these numbers out loud
1,000
40
1,000
30 ≠ 5,000
1,000
20
1,000
10 …exercise originated by Prof. Ellen Langer
Add these numbers out loud
1,000
40 1040
1,000 2040
30 2070
1,000 3070
20 3090
1,000 4090
10 4100
…exercise originated by Prof. Ellen Langer
40
Everyday mindlessness
• Mizuho Securities Co., December 2005
– Typo: Single share price of 610,000 yen emailed as
610,000 shares for 1 yen– a loss of $340M in a day
• Barron’s (financial magazine)
– Editor accidently emailed the entire company about yet-to-
be-announced layoffs
• NHS, UK
– Roslyn Learmond, ‘test’ email sent to 1.2m NHS
employees
– 150 recipients hit 'reply all' to complain!
– 186 million 'needless' emails were sent within a few hours
– Paralysed NHS systems
47% Average time spent
mind-wandering
Leaders report
70% regularly unable to be
attentive in meetings
Regularly make time

2% to enhance personal
productivity
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/wandering-mind-not-a-happy-mind/
Mindfulness definition
• Systematic cultivation of awareness

including self-awareness, that is…
… intentional…
… non judgemental…
… in the present moment…
Mindfulness: Another definition
Mindfulness is BEING in the here and now,

being present, being mindful.
It is NOT being lost in thought, distracted, or

overwhelmed by difficult emotions.
- Andy Puddicombe
Critical Point #1:
No matter what you’re doing, you’re doing it

either mindfully or mindlessly
Critical Point #2:
Studies into the benefits of mindfulness show

great improvements in: competence, creativity,
psychological wellbeing, health and engagement
Focus and attention: Its critical
role in business
Mindfulness is all about attention…and where we
CHOOSE to FOCUS it at any moment in time
In a busy business environment it’s about

choosing our distractions
“At any moment, the only true certainty is our ability to
pay attention to one thing or another – something in
our body, in our mind, or in our surroundings.
What are you giving your attention to in this moment?
Whatever you’re paying attention to is by definition

your highest priority right now – do you want to assign
that thing the highest priority in your life (even for a
little while)?”
- Dr. Jack Bennett
"Understanding and managing
attention is now the single
most important determinant of
business success"
Thomas H. Davenport, Director & John C. Beck, Senior Research Fellow - Accenture Institute for Strategic Change
Lunch break
Afternoon agenda
• Explore five more mindfulness practices
designed to help us develop greater levels of
self awareness and self management
• Explore best practice approaches to
responding to feedback
• Examine ways of integrating the mindfulness
practices covered on this program to your
leadership
So how does one develop
mindfulness?
Lots of ways to achieve it
• It’s uncomplicated (but not easy)
• It’s just stopping and paying attention
– Listen
– Feel
– Observe
– Non-Judgmentally
• While you walk, drive, talk, listen, eat…
• It’s like building a muscle
Brain training
Paths to mindfulness
• The mind
• The body
• The mind and the body
Mindful meditation process
Intention:
• Reduce stress
• Improve focus Follow
Attention is:
• Increase attention • Focused
Breath
• Open
• Calm
Regain
Attentional Distraction
Focus
Attention is:
Attitude: • Ruminating
• From self-critical • Worrying
• to kind / curious • Fantasising
• The mind
• The body (‘Seat & feet’)
• The mind
• The body
What did you notice?
Stack # 4: Attention training
- Using mind & body
• Core focus / attention
practice
Attention to Breath
• Promote calm & settles
Set an Intention thoughts
• Can be done sitting,
“Seat & Feet” standing, walking
6 Breaths • Can be done with open or
closed eyes
With an intention, there is no required
result—we are simply connecting to our • Intention prevents goal
chosen course. orientation from derailing the
“I’m just going to practice, and see what
happens.” practice
And the
science?
Mindful meditation process
Intention:
• Reduce stress
• Improve focus Follow
Attention is:
• Increase attention • Focused
Breath
• Open
• Calm
Regain
Attentional Distraction
Focus
Attention is:
Attitude: • Ruminating
• From self-critical • Worrying
• to kind / curious • Fantasising
Following
the breath
Hasenkamp et al. Neuroimage (2012) 59:750-760

Ricard et al. Scientific American (2014) 311:38-45
Distracted
from breath

Mind wandering
‘Mind-wandering is an excellent predictor of people's
happiness,’ Killingsworth says.
‘In fact, how often our minds leave the present and where
they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than
the activities in which we are engaged.’
…analysis conducted by the researchers suggested that

their subjects' mind-wandering was generally the cause,
not the consequence, of their unhappiness.”
Killingsworth and Gilbert, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6006/932
Distraction
awareness

Regaining
attentional
focus

Following
the breath
again

Distracted Distraction
from breath awareness
Following the Regaining

breath attentional
focus
Neuroplasticity:
Cortical growth
Lazar et al. Neuroreport (2005) 16:1893-1897

The science of emotions
In the space below, write down as many Using the feelings words list prompt, write
feelings you can recall experiencing during down as many feelings you can recall
the last 24 hours. experiencing during the last 24 hours.
Total number recalled: Total number recalled:
Total number of productive:
Total number of unproductive:
The 24-hour emotions activity
• The number in the first column of the table
represents your level of emotional
awareness over the last 24 hours
• You should now have a ‘negative-positive
ratio’ for the last 24 hours
• This ratio gives you a window into your
decisions, behaviour and performance
over this period
Emotions influence…
Decisions Behaviour Performance
Application discussion
• Capture answers to the reflective
questions in your workbook
• Share with colleagues in your group
• Be prepared to discuss with the group
Stack # 5: The ‘purposeful pause’
• To re-establish presence &
focus
• To calm before / after a key
6 Breaths event
– Presentation
‘Seat & Feet’ – Critical call
– Tough meeting
• Use it every time you think
‘what next?’
“…co-opt those in-between moments to just focus on what’s happening or focus on your breath
… a great way to boost the muscle of focus” - Dan Harris, author ‘10% Happier’
Practice: ‘The purposeful pause’
• Ring the bell at a random time in

the next hour
• Pass the bell to next person to
repeat
• When to ring?
– NOT during exercise!
– When things seem ‘sleepy’
– If anyone seems tense
– If you need a ‘time out’
– Any time ‘the fancy grabs you’!
Body
Scan
Stack # 6: Relaxing the body to observe emotions
• Great for relaxation, but that’s a side

Body Scan benefit…
• Develops emotional awareness
Attention to Breath • Get in touch with emotions physically
• Let go of feelings having to ‘get stuff done’
Set an Intention • Releases pent-up emotions
• Trains attention…
‘Seat & Feet’
• …from narrow (big toe) to wide (whole body)
6 Mindful Breaths
Break
Self management
Fear Stimulus
Thalamus
Amygdala
Fear Response
The ‘revving’ amygdala
What is self management?
Self-Management is about managing one’s own mood

and emotions, time and behaviour, and continuously
improving oneself.
This skill helps people be resilient and manage high

work demands and stress rather than being
temperamental at work.
The Center for Creative Leadership
Resilience
‘Resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to adapt to stress and
adversity. Your level of resilience is defined as your capacity to bounce
back from a negative experience to your normal state of functioning.
Resilience is not a trait or ability you either have or don’t have. Although
levels of resilience differ from person to person, everyone is resilient and
can improve their level of resilience. Resilience is typically enhanced by
systematically engaging in activities or techniques that help facilitate
good physical and mental health. Highly resilient people do experience
negative emotions and thoughts and aren’t always optimistic. They are
however, able to effectively balance negative emotions with positive
ones, and make effective responses to emotions’.
Stack # 7: Dealing with triggers
• Re-purpose ‘purposeful pause’

Respond Under
Control • Key objective: slow everything down
• Create Frankl’s gap
6 Mindful Breaths
• Allow time for the frontal cortex to
‘Seat & Feet’ catch-up
• Respond vs. react
STOP!
6 breaths:
The science
Game changing for business. Life changing for people. 94© Genos International 94
Stack # 8: ‘Stop & drop’ to manage emotions
‘Sit with’ Difficult

Emotions • Powerful intervention in difficult times
Short Body Scan • Identifying physiological markers of
particular emotions
Set an Intention • Learning to label and ‘be with’ difficult
emotions
Attention to Breath • Normalising not feeling good all the
time
‘Seat & Feet’
• Reduce anxiety
6 Breaths
Responding to
your feedback
Results summary
• A summary of your assessment results can be
found at the back of your workbook
Practice ‘response session’ conversation
Attention to Colleague
Set an Intention
‘Seat & Feet’
6 Mindful Breaths
Individual activity – insight from
your results
• Insights
• Actions
• Questions
Questions

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THE MINDFUL

ONE DAY PROGRAM

My work is most fulfilling when…

• Follow your breath in & out

• What was the practice like for you?

• Your name and role

“Emotional Intelligence is about making

- Ben Palmer (CEO, Genos International)

• Results reflect how well

• Results do not reflect your

• Consider these factors to help you interpret your

• Measures how well you demonstrate the

• General tips on how to

• Specific tips for each

Honesty, trust, respect, and the ability to

…and mindfulness is the gateway

Regularly make time

• Systematic cultivation of awareness

… in the present moment…

Mindfulness is BEING in the here and now,

It is NOT being lost in thought, distracted, or

No matter what you’re doing, you’re doing it

Studies into the benefits of mindfulness show

In a busy business environment it’s about

What are you giving your attention to in this moment?

Whatever you’re paying attention to is by definition

- Dr. Jack Bennett

Hasenkamp et al. Neuroimage (2012) 59:750-760

Hasenkamp et al. Neuroimage (2012) 59:750-760

…analysis conducted by the researchers suggested that

Killingsworth and Gilbert, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/330/6006/932

Hasenkamp et al. Neuroimage (2012) 59:750-760

Hasenkamp et al. Neuroimage (2012) 59:750-760

Hasenkamp et al. Neuroimage (2012) 59:750-760

Following the Regaining

Lazar et al. Neuroreport (2005) 16:1893-1897

Total number recalled: Total number recalled:

Total number of productive:

Total number of unproductive:

Decisions Behaviour Performance

• Share with colleagues in your group

• Be prepared to discuss with the group

• Ring the bell at a random time in

• Great for relaxation, but that’s a side

Self-Management is about managing one’s own mood

This skill helps people be resilient and manage high

The Center for Creative Leadership

• Re-purpose ‘purposeful pause’

‘Sit with’ Difficult

‘Seat & Feet’

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