Mindful Leadership: Cultivating Awareness, Wisdom, and Connection

Abstract

Mindful leadership offers a powerful antidote to the stress and burnout facing many school leaders today. This chapter integrates three key streams of mindfulness research and practice – contemplative, cognitive, and organizational mindfulness – to present a more caring and compassionate model of educational leadership.

Drawing on the experiences of focal school leaders, the chapter explores how mindful leadership practices can transform schools by cultivating awareness of self and others. In addition, this chapter explores how leaders can situate themselves within and the larger school-community environment, developing equanimity and resilience in the face of challenges, adopting a stance of curiosity and openness to multiple perspectives, nurturing authentic relationships and emotional attunement, and navigating paradoxes of purpose and identity with wisdom.

Rather than a fixed technique, mindful leadership is presented as an ongoing practice and way of being – purposeful, present, and openhearted. By starting where they are and committing to continual growth, educational leaders can become leaders in fostering cultures of well-being and transformative learning. The chapter concludes with suggested mindfulness practices for individuals and organizations to support this lifelong journey. Mindful leadership is ultimately a courageous and pragmatic path to more clearly see reality, embrace vulnerability, and wholeheartedly engage in positive change.

Citation

Kruse, S.D. and DeMatthews, D.E. (2024), "Mindful Leadership: Cultivating Awareness, Wisdom, and Connection", DeMatthews, D.E. and Kruse, S.D. (Ed.) Reimagining School Leadership (Transforming Education Through Critical Leadership, Policy and Practice), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 133-150. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-410-820241008