Is change all in the mind? A study of leader mindfulness, leader behaviors in implementing change

Abstract

Organizations are facing an ever-growing need to implement continuous transformational change. This has led to an increase in interest in change leadership. However, this has not been supported by empirical research and the need for it has been widely recognized. In parallel, and related to, these developments there have been a significant growth in interest in the concept of mindfulness and in particular in its relationship to leadership. However, whist there is a lot of evidence of its value in clinical contexts, there is limited organizationally based evidence and a paucity of studies that explore mindfulness and leadership. In spite of this, there is an increasing interest in mindful leadership amongst practitioners and a growth in related development programs on offer. This paper reports a study that explored the nature of leader mindfulness and change leadership behaviors in the context of implementing organizational change. It was based on interviews with 63 leaders from 56 organizations. Analyses of the data showed clear relationships between leaders’ facilitating and engaging behaviors and leader mindfulness in the context of change.