The Mindful Leader: Awakening Your Natural Management Skills Through Mindfulness Meditation (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: toxic emotions, mindful leaders, thirty reminders, New York, Wall Street, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While most business books focus on how readers can do more, better and faster, this welcome addition to the category is about taking a moment to pause and reflect. Anticipating some resistance from harried executives, Carroll, a Buddhist-trained HR executive with many years of experience in both the corporate and Zen worlds, emphasizes the renewal and perspective that can result from taking time out; he only discusses meditation directly at the end. His discussion about Inspiring the Best in Ourselves and Others includes anecdotes and parables addressing issues like developing openness and breaking out of routine. A series of short descriptions of The Ten Talents of a Mindful Leader includes poise, courage, enthusiasm and awareness. After suggesting some practical ways to test these leadership skills, he reviews the basics of meditation. Although Carroll practices what he writes, the book is more informative than preachy. By the end, stressed-out executives may be willing to read about how to give meditation a try as a way to reconnect with themselves and become more open to their colleagues. (Oct. 9)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

“While most business books focus on how readers can do more, better and faster, this welcome addition to the category is about taking a moment to pause and reflect. Carroll, a Buddhist-trained HR executive, emphasizes the renewal and perspective that can result from taking some time out. By the end, stressed-out executives may be willing to read about how to give meditation a try as a way to reconnect with themselves and become more open to their colleagues.”—Publishers Weekly

“Read this book—it could save your organization, your career, and your life!”—Prof. Richard Boyatzis, coauthor of Primal Leadership and Resonant Leadership

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Trumpeter (December 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590306201
• ISBN-13: 978-1590306208
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #514,385 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will save your life... or at least make you a great leader!, March 30, 2008

By	Robert Birkenes (Jamaica) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Mindful Leader: Ten Principles for Bringing Out the Best in Ourselves and Others (Hardcover)

Reading Michael Carroll's book and attending his weekend retreat earlier this year turned around my attitude at the office, prepared me well for several looming crises at work, and nearly saved my life. His book Mindful Leadership is essential for anyone trying to lead successfully in today's world of information overload, anti-rationalism, and blind decision-making. It is equally helpful for a business leader, public servant, diplomat or aid worker, NGO or community organizer. Rather than give advice on what to do when, he teaches us that mindful leadership means being open and synchronized--which allows us to tap into our own natural goodness and wisdom that is already in our environment and telling us how to lead.

In many respects, Michael's teachings struck familiar chords for me, since I have been meditating and leading mindfully for years. I already knew that dropping our own addiction to rehearsing our emotions as mental dramas and being open to a situation can yield unexpected wisdom, and I also knew that being open to the world can leave us feeling unprepared and deeply exposed (p. 187). It was reassuring to read examples that show awareness and patience to be among the skills of a mindful leader, and to learn to trust in the basic wisdom of our environment and self.

No doubt you (as a leader) are already strong in some areas too, and this book will help you to see how to improve in those areas that may be underdeveloped. Some of his ideas were uncomfortable for me at first--for instance, the idea that it's a waste of energy to fight arrogance and hypocrisy as if they were a static enemy, and that mindful leaders instead paddle with the fluid momentum of organizations by using a synchronized sense of timing, awareness, and realism (p. 174). Once I read that chapter, I realized that Michael presented a more mature approach, and testing it out I found that his teachings were right on the mark. I immediately stopped flailing my arms as a tired boxer, and started working with the world as it is rather than as I thought it should be; this was a change that has helped save my sanity and make me more effective in the midst of serious crises.

Michael's writing style successfully combines unparalleled business experience with the thousand-year-old wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism, without being too strong (or weak) on either. This book reads very much like Chögyam Trungpa's Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior--very down to earth and practical, yet based on deep wisdom from one of humankind's oldest spiritual paths.

If only I could encourage my colleagues to read this book and internalize its teachings, U.S. foreign policy and government leaders would be more effective. Michael and a few other colleagues have already been applying mindful leadership to the field of law with wonderful results, and there is room for application to other fields. Perhaps if I write a longer review for our diplomatic service publications...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy Listening, July 18, 2008

By	TRACY O'NEILL "Business & Leadership Coach" (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mindful Leader: Ten Principles for Bringing Out the Best in Ourselves and Others (Audio CD)

I listened to this audio in my car over the course of several days. I found Michael's voice to be very soothing, which fit well with the message. While the concepts may not be new, the way they were presented are. It helped me to think out of the box and consider other possibilities.