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Mindful Leadership

Hindrances You Are Blind to Will Impede Your Success

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Hindrances are mental states that impede success both personally and professionally. They get in the way of you realizing your full potential as a leader and experiencing personal fulfillment, and they cause great suffering. There are numerous hindrances, but the five most applicable to our topic of mindful leadership are:

  1. Attachment
  2. Aversion
  3. Ignorance, confusion, and delusion
  4. Envy and jealousy
  5. Pride

In the blogs to follow I will describe each of the hindrances.  For now it suffices to say that they inhibit making good decisions, exhibiting good judgment, managing for performance, and winning in the marketplace, not to mention experiencing fulfillment in your life.

It’s important not to judge yourself negatively if you recognize that you’re experiencing, or have experienced, any (or all) of these hindrances. They’re simply part of being human. Everyone experiences them in some form or other during their life. Sometimes all the hindrances may be evident at the same time, and at other times you’ll be aware of only one or two. They ebb and flow and can be very intense or barely perceptible. Additionally, these hindrances can be interrelated.  And if one manifests strongly enough, it may cause others to be activated.

Keep in mind that the hindrances are only problematic when they manifest in a dysfunctional way in your professional or personal life. If they begin to drive your behaviour and cloud your focus, clarity, and equanimity (or acceptance of what’s arising in your sensory experience – Feel/Image/Talk), then you may need to address them and re-examine your priorities. Working with hindrances will be an ongoing process. If you recognize any of these in yourself, you can actively work with them moment by moment.

It is also important to note a hindrance is most problematic when it goes unnoticed, that is, when you don’t realize that a hindrance is at play and impacting your behaviour.

Be aware that the same hindrances apply to both your personal and professional lives. Therefore, individuals, companies, and organizational cultures are all affected by these hindrances. This should be no surprise. After all, companies exhibit the patterns of their leaders and leadership teams.  It is only from a place of equanimity that one can make the right decisions for oneself and for the organization.

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