Leadershiplife fit.mindfulness nov 2013

MindfulnessA stress-reducing strategy

School leaders live in a world of doing.

I need to leave- my son is sick. Is there a sub in the

building?

Mrs. Jones is holding for you.

You were going to get the agenda out for the

meeting this morning.

I’m sorry. I can’t serve on the

leadership team any more. I’m just too

busy.

You are scheduled for classroom observations

beginning in 10 minutes.

Do you have the board reports

ready for dissemination?

What if leaders focused on being…

…in the moment

by…

expressing empathylistening actively

SENSING OTHERS’ FEELINGS

being self-aware

Why a focus on being?

A focus on being (mindfulness) increases the ability to… 0attend to the present moment,0 recognize and accurately label emotions,0be less reactive and more compassionate, and0become more self-aware (Kabat-Zinn (2003).

All of which facilitate more flexible, adaptive responses to stress, which leads to greater health and well-being (Greeson, 2009)!

The challenge…

…all the demands of doing.

So amidst the doing, how does an administrator practice mindfulness?

Consider starting with…

0Focusing only on what’s in front of you.0 This means forgetting the 90 unanswered emails, the

parent who is waiting, or any other pressing concern.0Noticing when your attention is moving away from

your focus and bringing it back.0Taking 5 minutes of stillness in the middle of the day.0Beginning your next meeting with 2 minutes of quiet

—invite everyone to leave the fragmentation behind.

Resource

0Wells, C.M. (2013). Educational leaders describe a job too big for one: Stress reduction in the midst of leading. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice 10(3), 32-45. http://www.aasa.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/JPS-Fall2013.FINALv2.pdf