March 8 is International Women’s Day.  The purpose of this day is to celebrate the contributions of women to society and to their communities. A 2007 study by Catalyst found that companies with higher proportions of women leaders performed better financially than those without, yet in Australia only 2% of CEO’s are women. Research shows that women leaders bring specific strengths to their role and strengths that are quite different to those of male leaders.  To celebrate International Women’s Day and to inspire us to value our female leaders let’s look at some of the unique things women bring to leadership.

A 2008 study of women leaders found that women leaders are more likely to act on creative ideas, be strategic and challenge the status quo than male leaders who were more likely to drive success through proven, standard methods.  Women leaders who were confident were recognised for having ‘presence’, being bold and decisive and engaging people effectively. Studies have found that women leaders are generally more effective at collaborative approaches that fully engage people.  Men and women bring diverse skills and approaches to leadership and research shows that this diversity strengthens the performance of organisations.

The message for this International Women’s Day is to value the strengths women have and use those strengths for greater success and more engagement. Women in leadership roles will help to create different types of organisations that approach the challenges of the future in fresh and innovative ways. We hope you have an inspiring International Women’s Day and that you are inspired by the female leaders in your life.

Leadership is a pretty hot topic in Australia at the moment, especially with the media frenzy over the prime ministership. All the talk we hear on this topic indicates people are pretty disenchanted with all the leadership options at a national level. It got us wondering about the importance of leadership and the leadership attributes that make a difference. One study has found that senior leadership in an organisation can account for up to 45% of the organisations performance. But what kind of leadership makes a difference?

There is a huge body of research covering the attributes that makes a great leader, but in our experience here are the essential ones:

1. Good leaders provide clarity and direction during change. They lead from a clear sense of purpose and thus are able to provide people with a compelling reason to change.
2. Good leaders communicate effectively and understand the importance of effective relationships in building success. Good leaders spend a significant portion of their time talking with and listening to others.
3. Good leaders see and describe reality clearly. They “tell it like it is” even when it is difficult or unpleasant BUT they remain open and optimistic in difficult times.
4. Good leaders adapt their approach to suit people, situations or organisations they are working with.  They move seamlessly between leadership and management and use a range of styles.
5. Good leaders are more focused on realising the purpose of their team, group or organisation than they are on their personal ambitions or successes.  Their commitment and actions are to a higher purpose than themselves.

Australian political leaders take stock; leadership matters – do you display ANY of these attributes?

Humans have very sophisticated social brains. The social features of our brains allow us to recognise other’s emotions and to adapt in social settings. Our brains are so socially tuned that they react to social pain such as isolation and exclusion in the same way they react to physical pain. Exactly the same pain centres are activated. Now a group of Australian researchers at Charles Sturt University has discovered evidence of the social brain in babies as young as six months old.

The study focused on babies 6 -18 months in child care settings such as day care centres and family day care. They found that babies use non verbal means to make each other laugh and to play games. Babies even try to comfort each other if one is distressed. Researchers used tiny cameras on the babies’ heads to observe them at play. They say that they were surprised by how sophisticated their social interactions were and by the level of empathy babies showed.

The desire for social connection is present even in young babies. People who are disconnected or disengaged will be experiencing real pain. Maybe we can take a lesson from the babies and empathise with someone who we notice is excluded or isolated. When we do this, our brain and that other person’s brain are both engaged in a healthy and positive way.

Well, I am back to work today after a great break – plenty of Christmas fun with the kids, time to swim, get to the beach and catch up with friends.  Now it is time for me to really put focus and attention into my resolution of being more patient with my family and taking the time ot really connect with them.  This seems pretty easy to do in holiday mode but I know from experience it gets harder when the pressures of work, kindy, swimming lessons and other activities start to ramp up. 

So how does mindfulness help with this?  It helps by bringing my attention back to the present, allowing me to notice what is going on and to make a choice about how I act.  I usually do this by focussing more on listening – to others and to myself.  Listening mindfully to others tells me where they are at and listening to myself helps me hear where I am at!  Maybe your New Year’s resolution is similar to mine or maybe you are focussed on diet, exercise, hobbies or self improvement.  Whatever your resolution is, using the senses that are associated with it will help you keep choosing to stick with it moment to moment.  For example:

Hopefully these ideas will help you to stick with your resolutions.  Remember that by being in the present and focussing on what is going on we get to recommit to our resolutions each moment.  Have a great year.

We would like to wish all of our Mind Gardener followers a Christmas full of peace, clarity and joy. We sincerely hope that the seeds you have planted in 2011 flourish in 2012.

We are grateful for your support and inspiration over the past 12 months. 2011 has been kind to us and we are particularly grateful for:

• The 4 new corporate clients who, together, we have achieved great things and who we’ll continue to work with in 2012 and beyond;
• Our partners and the alliances we have made who are equally committed to furthering the Mind Gardener message;
• All of the inspirational people we meet at speaking engagements;
• And of course the amazing opportunity we have been given by Hay House to publish our book internationally next year!

We have had some great achievements over the year but the thing that continues to fill us with pride is the email, card or contact from a person who has changed their life as a result of what they have learnt from Mind Gardener.  I am always inspired by these people and so happy to be making a difference.

Over the holiday period, Martina and her partner Phil are in Europe exploring France, Spain and whatever takes their fancy on the day (and writing a book!)  Louise is spending the break around Brisbane catching up with friends and family and enjoying festivities with her husband Brett and children Eva (4) and Sam (1).  And I (Susan) am taking some time off with my husband Jason and my kids, Holly (4) and Jack (3) and spending a lot of it at the beach (which will include sitting under a tree and writing a book!)

We wish everyone a mindful break and we hope that you come back refreshed for a big year with Mind Gardener.  2012 is the year to get wired for success !

On Friday we celebrated the end of the year in true Mind Gardener style. No champagne and over-eating for us – we took to the country for a mindfulness practice with horses. Every year we try to do something different that is in line with our purpose which is to cultivate consciousness. What better way to cultivate consciousness than to interact with a highly intuitive animal who reflects back your thoughts and provides insights into your behaviour!

Imagine our surprise upon arriving when our instructor pointed at a field of unbridled horses and asked us to pick one, catch it and bring it back. Today was all about interacting with horses but not in a way you’d expect. We had to move horses and get them to do things all through using our energy.

The first thing we learnt is that horses have great instincts. They can sense things from 100s of metres away.  They can sense your emotions, and without ulterior motive, will reflect them back to you.  I don’t know what the first horse I went to was sensing when I approached him and he quickly turned his head and ran away. Ok best I move onto another one who liked my energy!  And I found one.  His name was Jesse and he was a beautiful dark brown horse.  He was happy to stay with me and for the next hour reflected back the uncertainty and indecisiveness I brought to tasks I knew nothing about.

This confidence increased and it wasn’t too long before we were doing circle work with the horses and directing them to walk, trot and cantor purely through our energy.

The day was a relaxing way to end a busy year but also so much more. It taught us so much about ourselves, about leadership and about how we work as a team. My particular lessons were:

1. That I need to nurture my strengths more including building relationships. I soon had Jesse eating out of the palm of my hand but often forgot this skill when trying to get a task done.

2. That sometimes influencing others mean you need to go where they are going before you can turn them around. Never stop the momentum – work with it. (I knew this in theory but practiced something different in a new situation with a horse!)

3. That one of the most underestimated abilities of leaders is to give clarity and avoid mixed messages - again I have known and taught this in theory for some time but the challenge comes when you are leading in very unfamiliar environments. I think this is something I will work on in providing leadership to our team – more certainty and clarity in direction.

We would highly recommend the power of horses in further developing your self awareness. If you are looking for an experience for your team be sure to check out www.leadershiphorsepower.com

At Mind Gardener we have experienced and witnessed the benefits of mindfulness practice over the last ten years. It is always exciting to see emerging research confirming our experience and that of our clients. A recent study has revealed more reasons to be mindful.  This study shows that the brains of regular meditators are structurally different from the brains of non-meditators in ways that protect them from illnesses such as ADHD, autism and schizophrenia.

The study, conducted at Yale University, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to look at the differences between meditators’ and non-meditators’ brains. Meditators had decreased activity in the “default mode network”, an area of the brain that is associated with attentional problems, anxiety, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia and even Alzheimers disease.  The impact of these differences is that meditators seem to have fewer “me” centred thoughts and more present focussed attention. A predomination of circling ‘me’ centred thoughts is characteristic of many mental illnesses so the ability to switch attention to the present can be protective against these illnesses.

From Mind Gardener’s perspective one of the most exciting findings in this research is that the positive impacts of meditation are found regardless of the type of meditation practiced.  This means you do not need to subscribe to any belief system, you only need to practice regularly.  The key aspects of meditation to practice are:

1. Awareness of arising thoughts.

2. Returning attention to a single point of focus.

This can be done anywhere and during any activity – washing up, showering, cleaning teeth, walking along the street or going to a meeting.  By looking for opportunities to be aware of what your thoughts are doing and then choosing what they are focussed on, you can experience the benefits of regular meditation.  It is healthy for your brain and your emotions!