Mindful Leadership - Who benefits and how?

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Mindfulness is more than a current buzz word. Practical studies, stats and research are flying around the internet daily, it seems.  But, why should law firms and legal professionals care?  What’s in it for you?

As Affinity’s Managing Partner, I’ve been sharing a personal journey to better understand mindfulness and become a Mindful Leader along with clients, colleagues and partners who are looking for a better way of, well…living. (Read my last Mindful Leadership blog.) Mindfulness is being present and controlling your attention without judgement in a very intentional way. Becoming a Mindful Leader applies the practice of mindfulness to the things you do every day – big things and small things.

In an industry driven by logical choices and inherent consequences, you can’t consider a paradigm shift like mindfulness without understanding and weighing the benefits of shifting.

Benefits of Mindfulness

  • Mental Focus – One thing at a time. We are not getting more done when we are multitasking. We are setting ourselves up to be distracted. Find the times you can do one thing at a time and do really focused work. I use the Pomodoro Technique, I own this hourglass set and for 25 minutes, I focus hard. I stay in the moment and control my attention for 25 minutes. And then I take a break for 5 minutes. Sometimes, that break is longer due to appointments and phone calls.  But, read about the science behind the 25/5 work rhythm - it makes a lot of sense.  One frequent objection I get from people about focusing on real work for 25 minutes is that they cannot ignore their email for 25 minutes.  And to that I say….YES. YOU. CAN.  
  • Self Insight – Know what you are like when you are stressed out. When I am inclined to act on something that happens, I realize where my weak spots are, take a moment and pause to be mindful, and then (most of the time) I choose to ACT and not REACT.
  • Stress Reduction – Realize there are things that don’t matter. Like the woman who cut you off.  Or the guy who has more than 10 items in the express lane at the grocery store. It is just not worth it.  If you are in the business (or habit) of finding a mountain where there is only a molehill, consider reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life.
  • Relationship Satisfaction – If we can stop and pause and really connect with ourselves in a mindful way, we will have better relationships. Or, we will realize the relationships we are in are not the right ones for us and we will move on.
  • Improved Stress Levels ‐ If you are less stressed out, you will be healthier. Take the opportunity to reduce stress in your life at every opportunity. Don’t let other peoples actions (or inaction) control your stress level. Not everybody thinks the way you do, or acts like you do, or makes decisions the same way you do. Remember, you are in charge of you.
  • Social Engagement – When we are more connected with ourselves, we feel more comfortable in connecting with others, we feel better about ourselves, and we are more confident in social situations.
  • Less Suffering – We all end up doing/working on things we don’t want to do. Get over it. Stop being bitter and angry about the things you don’t want to do. Take a minute to look around when you are doing things you don’t want to do, and appreciate your surroundings. A lot of the suffering that happens to me is self‐inflicted. I make things so much worse than they already are by getting angry with the situation, or worrying unnecessarily, or procrastinating. Let the suffering go.

 Being mindful can happen when you are driving down the road, sitting on your porch, at a 15‐minute break at a conference – anywhere, really. It doesn’t need to be an hour’s worth of time. It just needs to be about taking intentional time to find the benefits of being mindful.

What does a Mindful Leader look like? In my next blog, I’ll explore characteristics of Mindful Leaders.

Need help weaving mindfulness into the fabric of your legal organization? Email us at info@affinityconsulting.com or request a consultation

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Debbie Foster

Written by Debbie Foster

As Managing Partner, Debbie spends her time running Affinity Consulting Group, management consultants to law firms. Debbie's role includes working with clients, helping to launch new law firms, and speaking to legal professionals at law firm retreats and events all over the place. Her talks focus on fun topics like Law Firm Leadership, Effective Communication, Why Process Matters, Time Management and lots more. Debbie is passionate about all things law firm and legal department-related and she prides herself in sharing what she knows as much as possible. Debbie’s ultimate goal is to help people run firms that intentionally become more and more successful.

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