Mindful Business Leaders
The concept of Mindfulness is quite complex and seems to lack a definite meaning. Even though Mindful business leadership may have its strategic role, the truth that Mindfulness and the methods seeking to foster it have their roots in the Eastern traditions, notably Buddhism, can never be denied. A Mindful business leader must always be careful to preserve the venerable and complicated philosophies of Mindfulness to avoid fueling suspicion that it embraces the perspectives of current corporate theory. When the idea of Mindfulness is limited to narrow operational theories like ‘giving the bare attention’ or ‘present-moment awareness,’ it is separated from its ethical intentions. As a result, its core role is obscured and is more instrumentalized to serve the corporate objectives.
The would-be Mindful leaders are sure to confront many existential questions like “How should I live as a leader?” or “What is the purpose of our business?”. When we probe into Mindfulness’s more profound ethical point, many more questions arise. These can be answered by the self-transformation ideologies frequently built on spiritual and moral understandings of Mindfulness. They advance a particular interpretation of the human character and turn to a bigger cosmological or metaphysical view of this world. At the same time, some other transformation philosophies teach that the normal default state for humans is problematic in a peculiar way. On the other hand, Buddhism asserts that via practices such as meditation, virtue development, philosophical contemplation, practical knowledge, and other forms of intellectual, physical, or therapeutic self-discipline, one can achieve or approach an ideal state transcending the challenging aspects of the default human conditions like suffering, impermanence, and discontentment.
Buddhism preaches that ‘Right Mindfulness’ is the seventh of the eight path factors in the Noble Eightfold Path and belongs to the concentration division of the path. In the ‘Samma Sati,’ it is said, “And what is Right Mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress concerning the world. He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves… the mind in & of itself… mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress concerning the world. This is called “Right Mindfulness.” This definition poses a far cry from the famous new-age mindfulness evangelists’ cherry-picking of nonjudgmental awareness and present-moment focus, packaging these components into a set of corporate, competition-enhancing performance attributes: focus control, capacity, speed, agility, clarity, durability, enhanced awareness, and stress reduction.
On the other hand, “Right Mindfulness” refers to the mind’s discernment in recalling, knowing, and differentiating skillful and unskillful activities. Thus, a mindful business leader demonstrates how Mindfulness plays a role in ethical reasoning and applying practical wisdom, especially when dealing with moral challenges. This statement is sure to make a person wonder how far a trait like compassion contributes to the overall growth of a conscious leader as a socially accountable, moral agent. But what we fail to see is that honesty, loyalty, and prudence are among the other character attributes that are tested. Despite the positive effects of enhanced focus, broadened awareness, and reduced obsessiveness with egocentric concerns, practical wisdom, sustained rationale about the moral law, and virtues other than compassion and selflessness often do the majority of the work when conscientiously resolving a thorny ethical dilemma.
Author : Nia Rose
About Author : Student (MBA /07)
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