Abstract:

Mindfulness is a term that becomes more and more popular and associated with leadership. One of the general definitions describes Mindfulness as the psychological process of purposely bringing an individual´s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment or effort to avoid them [9]. A mindful leader is an individual who can harness the characteristics of mindful awareness in ways that inspire others to achieve their best, optimize problem-solving processes, and find innovative approaches to an organization's challenges and goals [6].The emphasis on alertness, and mindfulness, present moment, and experiencing, developing the ability to listen and sympathize with others represents an essential shift from more traditional approaches that emphasized the analytical and technical aspects of the leadership [4]. If a leader can consciously experience his life, he can significantly improve the quality of his life, as well as the entire organizational structure [5].  Different approaches to mindfulness emphasize different basic principles - some schools, directions focus on cultivating attention and awareness. Others emphasize improving communication skills, empathy, and sympathy. Other approaches focus on improving physical awareness. Many of these directions successfully use and integrate the recent neuroscientific findings of the functioning of our brain and the nervous system. The part of this trend also represents the revival of interest in psychoactive substances, frequently in the form of “microdoses” – i.e., tiny doses that improve attention, sensitivity, and empathy. This shift in the leadership paradigm is vital at many levels, e.g., mental and physical health, improvement of the corporate culture, personal and professional relationships, ethics, morale, and sustainability of the business [21]. This article contributes to the topic of mindfulness and leadership by emphasizing the role of the nervous system. It also draws attention to the drawbacks associated with its dysfunction, which are often overlooked or misunderstood [13]. The nervous system and its functioning base on principles and patterns. Although every individual is unique, and so are his / her manifestations, a deeper understanding of the nervous system functioning can help us identify and understand the causes of an individual's problems or failures [10].