GET YOUR MIND RIGHT

MEDITATION FOR LEADSHIP & CREATIVITY

- DAMIEN MARTIN

You often hear athletes talking about the game slowing down for them. They can process information faster, respond ' more decisively to events unfolding around them, and be more confident in the correctness of their decisions.

It's often an important milestone in the development of quarterbacks, the leaders of the offense on the football field. They've achieved a flow state where they can focus completely on the task at hand and be fully present in the moment.

It's a state business leaders are keen to achieve as well. They don't rely as much on physical performance as athletes, but making clear and timely decisions is still a major part of the job. Often, it's meditation that helps them do it.

DEFEAT THE EGO

Ego is not all bad. In fact, ego and a profound self-belief often propels people to positions of leadership. But unrestrained ego can do more harm than good. It can make leaders think they're infallible and above the team. As a result, they deflect blame and alienate those they aim to lead. It's impossible to learn from your mistakes if you can't admit you make them.

As legendary business management author Jim Collins observed in Level 5 Leadership, "boards of directors frequently operate under the false belief that a larger-than-life, egocentric leader is required to make a company great" but "in more than two-thirds of the comparison companies, we noted the presence of a gargantuan ego that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company."