Early this summer, I sat down with Wendy Woods to find out what Mindful Leadership is all about.
What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness is often defined as ‘non-judgmental, moment to moment awareness’. As leaders, it can also be thought of as the cultivation of leadership presence. Being present is quite a complex assignment in a world and global economy that measures time in internet seconds, conceives of the past as the most reliable tool for analyzing and assessing how to proceed into the future, is increasingly interdependent and relational, and dedicates little or no time toward the development of presence in its leaders. But presence can be cultivated and is necessary for a leader to bring all of his/her mind’s capabilities to leadership.
What is a Mindful Leader? A mindful leader embodies leadership presence by cultivating focus, clarity, creativity, and compassion in the service of others. Leadership presence is a tangible quality. It requires full and complete nonjudgmental attention in the present moment. Those around a mindful leader see and feel that presence.
Wendy Woods is a Senior Trainer for The Potential Project, an international organization that provides Corporate Based Mindfulness Training. Wendy’s many years in financial services taught her about the challenges of working in high paced, high stressed, complex environments. That is why she is dedicated to bringing greater focus, resilience & mindfulness into the workplace. Wendy has over a decade of corporate training, coaching and consulting experience throughout North America. Her clients include top organizations like Ernst & Young, Johnson & Johnson, and TD Bank Financial Group. She has taught in the University of Toronto’s Certificate in Applied Mindfulness Meditation. Wendy serves her clients by drawing on her diverse education and expertise which includes: an Honours B.A. in Psychology, an M.B.A., a Certificate in Adult Education, a Certificate in Applied Mindfulness Meditation, a license in Emotional Intelligence, Certificate in Transformative Mindfulness (in progress) and a Certificate as a Psych-K facilitator. She is also currently pursuing her coaching certification through The Coaches Training Institute. Wendy has been featured on popular media such as CTV News, CBC Radio, Canadian Business Online, USA Today, The Huffington Post and has authored several articles in the Rotman School of Management magazine.
