Many people have heard of the Buddhist concepts of mindfulness and the benefits of simply being aware without judgment or trying to fix something. Cultivating awareness of body sensations, thoughts, and emotions provides greater self-regulation and the ability to choose responses to situations instead of simply reacting. Beyond mindfulness, leaders can benefit themselves and their teams from other, less familiar Buddhist principles.
Nonattachment
Although caring about outcomes and metrics is arguably a leader’s primary responsibility, nonattachment doesn’t mean that one doesn’t care. Rather, it means that one has the emotional distance to consider all variables and make wise decisions.
When leaders show up, pay attention, tell the truth, and aren’t attached to an outcome, they are liberated to make wise and brave choices.
Compassion and loving kindness
A basic tenet of Buddhism, compassion and loving kindness are considered both the path and the fruition of practice. Most leaders are typically high achievers with strong inner critics and high internal and external expectations. Practicing compassion with themselves will naturally extend to others.
Without self-compassion, leaders may act out with aggression. True compassion isn’t about being overly accommodating or lowering standards. Rather, it allows leaders to be less reactive and judgmental and more able to think clearly and act decisively with confidence.
Beginner’s Mind
A beginner’s mind is open and not fixated on “right” or “wrong.” Leaders, like all of us, concretize their worldviews and beliefs about situations and people, so they can adopt the right strategy or determine whether or not someone should be fired, for example.
Beginner’s mind is more inquiry-based. It’s open to other data, interpretations, and conclusions. It’s being aware of conditioning and preexisting biases or influences from one’s own psychology, culture, or upbringing. It does not mean being indecisive or overly permissive. Beginner’s mind is open, precise, incisive, and insightful.
Eight worldly dharmas
Buddhism’s eight worldly dharmas, defined as concerns, are loss and gain, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, disgrace and fame. The teaching is to avoid preoccupation with them, which is usually the antithesis of what leaders index on.
We all seek to avoid loss, pain, blame, and disgrace; and to enjoy gain, pleasure, praise, and fame. However, preoccupation with these can lead to anxiety, neurosis, manipulation, and short-term thinking. Paradoxically, letting go of these preoccupations liberates leaders to think clearly and act from more meaningful values.
Posture
People think about executive presence as having a certain gravitas and confidence. There are also numerous studies on the effects of power posing. Buddhist teachings have emphasized posture for over two millennia. Zen Master Suzuki Roshi has said that taking the right (meditation) posture is to have the right state of mind. It is not something one does in order to have the right state of mind.
When we hold our bodies upright and relaxed, both open and strong, we experience a mind that is open, clear, intelligent, and wise. These are all important qualities in a leader.
Unconditional confidence
Ziji, a Tibetan term that translates roughly to light, brilliance, confidence, and dignity, describes unconditioned confidence, independent of outer conditions or situations. Sometimes referred to as primordial self-esteem, unconditional confidence stems from deeply knowing one’s value and values. It is not ego-based pride, which ultimately stems from anxiety and needing to prove oneself.
It doesn’t matter if the stock price is up or down, products are shipped or delayed, people are happy or unhappy. When a leader acts from a deep sense of who they are and their core values, they can lead with pride and dignity.
How you can incorporate this wisdom
Buddhist tradition focuses on hearing, contemplating, and meditating. This can be translated into listening to teachings, thinking about them and whether or not they are useful, and practicing the principles. Read books, listen to talks, or attend a retreat. Think about the teachings and how they could be applied to your life and leadership.
Practice compassion towards yourself and others. Listen, and ask questions from a genuine place of interest and curiosity. Bring awareness to your breath, and allow it to naturally relax your body and mind. Identifying your core values helps release attachments and questionable preoccupations and enables you to act with unconditional confidence.
It’s always helpful to find an experienced teacher, mentor, or coach who understands the territory and can help apply these concepts to the real-life challenges leaders face: an uncertain market, finding product/market fit, raising capital, scaling an organization, pivoting a strategy, or building a strong culture. A community of other leaders actively on the path of wise, conscious, evolutionary leadership can provide additional insights and support.
Lessons learned
I worked with a very seasoned, politically conservative executive who had joined a left-leaning, mission-driven startup. When something he said upset many in the organization, he became so anxious about being blamed, losing his job, and being disgraced that he was experiencing insomnia, heart palpitations, stomach problems, and other somatic symptoms.
We started with his posture, standing upright and balanced on his feet, which allowed him to regain a sense of dignity. We then worked a lot with beginner’s mind and having compassion towards himself and others whose life experiences he was learning. He learned to let go of attachment to any particular outcome and to reground in his core values of respect for others, building strong teams, and focusing on business results. When he did leave the organization, his team reported that he was one of the best leaders they had ever worked for.
Janet Logothetti is an executive coach and principal managing partner at Evolution, a coaching, consulting, and investment firm.
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