In this episode of our Strategy & Leadership Podcast, we're joined by Catherine Sherlock, the founder of Higher Mindfulness. Catherine developed Higher Mindfulness to help people take their awareness deeper in order to expand their self-expression, leadership skills and potential. This is important for business leaders because emotional awareness is a positive skill that helps leaders with clarity and decision making, which can help with conflict management, team engagement and other situations.
During our conversation, Catherine explained why awareness and mindfulness are crucial aspects of leadership development and becoming a better leader. She shared best practices and knowledge, including:
- How mindfulness can help busy leaders develop an awareness and new attitude around working and living, which can reduce stress and burnout: Mindfulness includes a variety of techniques including developing emotional awareness, practicing meditation, developing health life habits, and becoming aware of sleeping, eating and breathing patterns.
- That all people are emotional beings, and having awareness of this allows leaders to grow: They can learn to question their motivations and develop the capacity to think clearly. With this type of emotional intelligence, skills like conflict management and team engagement can be honed.
- When we learn to recognize stressful habits, we can adapt: Many of us spend too much time using our devices and looking at screens. When we are constantly experiencing stimulation, our brain does not go into rest or recovery mode, which can be detrimental to our health and well-being. Developing an awareness of this can help us break our bad habits and allow our brain time to rest.
- Mindfulness can help you be productive: Reducing screen time, taking rests, and being aware of stress levels can help you be more creative and productive (you’ll also feel better!)
If you're interested - take Catherine's survey to help contribute to ongoing research around inner challenges faced by leaders.
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