What's New? Mindfulness and the YES! Leader

Since it’s the New Year, this seems like a good time to write about novelty.

In my previous article, I described Ellen Langer’s research into the concept of mindfulness, which can be defined as finding the novelty in every situation.

Mindfulness can best be understood by contrasting it with its opposite, mindlessness, a form of autopilot in which people think and act reflexively rather than reflectively. When people act mindlessly, they make quick assessments and assumptions based on a few immediate data points that remind them of a similar situation in the past.

As an example of mindlessness, you might be attending a meeting when another participant starts to talk, prompting the following thoughts to circulate in your head: I hear what this person is saying, and I know exactly what he’s going to say next, and it reminds me of a fool I dealt with two years ago who even was wearing a similar tie. When people act mindlessly, it’s as if they’re locked in a continual state of déjà vu.

As Langer’s research shows, mindfulness can serve as the antidote to mindlessness by alerting us to the factors in the current situation that are new and novel – i.e., different from a similar past situation. Being mindful can break those knee-jerk patterns of thinking that trap us in our unwarranted assumptions, harmful stereotypes, and rigid beliefs and behaviors. We approach each situation anew.

Mindfulness is directly in synch with the YES! Leader’s ExploreFlexSupport Model that I’ve described elsewhere:

EXPLORE: The YES! Leader keeps her radar tuned to changing conditions that might require new approaches to conducting work, designing products, or setting strategy. But her exploration of new ways isn’t just reactive; she also anticipates the need for change and seeks out novel ideas and approaches in advance of necessity. And not only does she respond to or anticipate change; she also seeks out change, since she recognizes that the very act of looking for fresh, creative avenues (and encouraging others to do the same) is energizing and engaging in itself.

FLEX: The YES! Leader’s mindfulness also prompts him to size up people and situations accurately. In interacting with others, he uses such behavioral models as DiSC to interpret behavioral signals – tone of voice, word use, pace of speech – in order to adapt his behavior in a way that will connect with each particular person. He doesn’t use a single behavioral style – a “my way or the highway” approach – nor does he base his responses on first impressions (“she’s talking loud and fast, so she must be an extravert”), either of which would represent an unthinking, mindless style of leadership.

SUPPORT: Many leaders tend to take a “one size fits all” approach to managing and developing their people. For example, when starting someone on a new task, such a leader might give specific, detailed directions and carefully monitor the person’s progress at the start, yet continue to take a constant watching-and-telling approach even as the person demonstrates greater proficiency. By failing to take note of the person’s new level of skill and loosening the reins accordingly, the leader rightly earns the “micromanager” label that can keep people from becoming fully self-sufficient. By contrast, the YES! Leader watches for signs that the person is moving to the next level of skill and performance and keeps pace by shifting her development approach from a telling role to a coaching role.

In my next article, I’ll describe two more foundational YES! Leader behaviors that closely track with Ellen Langer’s concept of mindfulness.