Janice Marturano's Blog

Discounts, cyber sales, one day specials, season's hottest gifts... all words that can draw us into a frenzied holiday season at the end of the year. And while offering someone a gift can be joyous and heart-warming, it can also be stressful and leave us feeling empty inside. So, what makes it feel one way rather than the other? It often depends on what you are wrapping up. Is it an expression of love and caring? Does it come from the heart? Or are you wrapping up something that was the product of virtually no thought, and simply something you could just check off your 'to do' list?



What would it look like if we each created a 'wrap up' of the year? And perhaps offered it to the people we love and care about as a gratitude practice? If we stop for a moment, don't we owe our gratitude to the people in our lives? What if we took the time to say or write a brief expression of that gratitude for each person? If we tuck it away in our gift, or better yet, say it to them when we are in their presence, what might we notice about that moment?



In the spirit of 'wrapping up the year', here is my message to all of you, our supporters, clients and friends of the Institute for Mindful Leadership:



"This has once again been an amazing year for my colleagues and I at the Institute. We have had the privilege of working with organizations around the world as we bring our curricula of mindful leadership to wonderful professionals at all levels of the organizations. And I am so very grateful for each of you. When you reach out to us to tell us about some need you have, in your own mindful leadership journey or in your desire to bring mindful leadership to your organization, you tell us how we can be of service. You have always been the rudder for the Institute as we take our unique curricula and use it to create the workshops, retreats and online courses to fit with your needs. We simply would not have the growth and presence that we have without you. My deepest heartfelt gratitude for your courage and strength to bring leadership excellence to your life-at work and at home. The ripple effect is palpable and we all benefit from your efforts. Thank you. Your life makes a difference!"



I wish everyone a joyous and peaceful holiday season and I look forward to staying connected to you in the coming year. Next year will mark the 5th anniversary of the Institute and we are looking forward to celebrating it together!



Be well,

Janice Marturano

Discounts, cyber sales, one day specials, season's hottest gifts... all words that can draw us into a frenzied holiday season at the end of the year. And while offering someone a gift can be joyous and heart-warming, it can also be stressful and leave us feeling empty inside.

At its most fundamental level, a leader is someone who influences. He may influence another person's behavior or choice. She may influence a group's dynamics or effectiveness. In fact, every person, for better or worse, has an influence every day.

Mindfulness is a way of doing that work. It is the practice of being present with whatever is going on in our lives, using tools that help focus the mind so that we can see how our thoughts shape who we are and how we react. From that space, elections are opportunities to practice excellence in leadership.

Purposeful Pauses don't add time to your schedule, so why not make them a habit? What you notice may astound you.

On a cold evening in November, 70 people sat silently in a classroom, eyes closed, focusing on their breath. This was not a self-help retreat, and the participants were not the incense-burning type. They were MBA students at NYU's Stern School of Business, and the event was part of the School's new Mindfulness in Business Initiative, launched by NYU Stern and NYU Global Spiritual Life and created in partnership with the Institute for Mindful Leadership.



As my co-author Janice Marturano, founder and executive director of the Institute, says, "Mindful leadership involves cultivating focus, clarity, creativity and compassion. It strengthens the ability to embody leadership presence. Leadership presence is a tangible quality. Those around a mindful leader see and feel that presence." As many successful leaders attest, mindful leadership can yield major improvements in performance and fulfillment on the job. And it can often lead to choices that result in the 'win-win-win'... choices that are good for the leader, good for the employees, and good for the community.



Although several top CEOs have come out as mindfulness practitioners and attributed much of their success to mindful leadership, business education has not yet fully caught up. NYU Stern, with the help of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, is changing this. Today's business leaders face a range of new leadership challenges, such as navigating the increasing speed of change, leveraging the power of technology and motivating employees across multiple generations, to name a few. While these challenges are not insurmountable, meeting them requires a new kind of leadership that goes beyond financial models and strategic frameworks."



The goal of the Mindfulness in Business Initiative is to transform business leadership in the 21st century on a national and global level by integrating mindfulness into the core of how business schools train their students. Dan Devece, a second-year MBA student at NYU Stern, already sees the benefits of the mindful leadership training he received. He told me:

As aspiring leaders, I think my fellow business school students and I are often critically looking at our past to constructively build our futures. Yet, very rarely do we take time to be in the present. The mindful leadership techniques I'm learning force me to be in the moment and really feel what's going on. I know this will help me with handling tough leadership decisions gracefully in the future.

As NYU Stern students move into leadership positions, they have the power to significantly impact companies and industries as they bring with them a new paradigm for leadership that helps create a new "bottom line," exemplifying compassion, self-awareness, courage, and resilience personally, interpersonally, and organizationally. The Institute for Mindful Leadership, which develops and delivers mindful leadership training to leaders in a range of organizations around the world -- corporate, nonprofit, academic, government and military -- is a natural partner in this. Many of the organizations with which the Institute works are the same Fortune 500 and leading nonprofit organizations that hire NYU Stern MBA students after graduation. In other words, NYU Stern contributes heavily to their talent pipelines. By joining forces to give students the tools to develop as mindful leaders during their MBA experience, we are helping pave the way for their successful transitions into leadership roles, and their positive impact on organizations.

Although several top CEOs have come out as mindfulness practitioners and attributed much of their success to mindful leadership, business education has not yet fully caught up.

There were strong common threads among the best leaders -- they had bright minds, warm hearts and were drawn to leadership roles because they wanted to make a difference.

If you are still on the fence about cultivating your mind's innate abilities to lead and live with excellence, here are three critical reasons not to wait.

What is the role of compassion in the workplace? Very simply, it is one of the four fundamentals of leadership excellence, of mindful leadership, and of living mindfully. And it can be a new year's resolution that you can implement starting today!



Compassion at Work



Compassion can be brought into each work day through simple acts of kindness. When we choose to take a purposeful pause and offer a colleague a compliment, or a word of encouragement, or inquire into their well-being, we bring kindness into the workplace. And the ripple effect of kindness is limitless. A compassionate leader can transform the most challenging workplace. When a leader embodies compassion and is seen as a kind person, even his or her toughest messages are more likely to be received well. After all, when we work with someone who honestly respects, includes, and values us, it goes a long way to making us trust his or her decisions.



Being kind is not the same, however, as being polite, or politically correct. Kindness comes from compassion, an authentic connection to others and the pains and joys they feel. If it does not come from the heart, it can have a disastrous effect. When someone we have a significant relationship with, like a boss or a colleague, is just going through the motions, asking "How are you?" but not really caring to stay around for an answer longer than "fine," we notice the insincerity. When we encounter that person, aloof and disconnected, we don't feel respected, included, or valued. We feel invisible."



Excerpt from Finding the Space to Lead: A Practical Guide to Mindful Leadership



So, as we begin a new year, perhaps we can each form an intention to take a purposeful pause, to begin to understand those around us just a little bit better, and to bring small acts of kindness to our colleagues. What might the experience of work be like if we each began to bring a small act of kindness to those we work with each day? It may only take a few moments, and need not cost anything, so why not give it a try? The ripple effect might surprise you.



Happy New Year!



-- Janice