Decades ago, management legend Peter Drucker observed a gross imbalance in the development of leaders. Namely, leaders are trained to think but rarely to see. What’s most often missing from our field of vision is ourselves, how our minds work, and how that impacts our decisions, our actions, and our results. Drucker suggested this educational imbalance translates into an imbalance in our lives and the systems we manage. Although many things have changed in life and leadership since Drucker’s observation, imbalanced leaders remain.

Initially, this might not seem like a big deal. The world continues to spin, and business goes on. But recent studies in management, psychology, and neuroscience make a compelling case for why leaders need to turn our attention inward.

• Harvard Business Press has published studies that show a strong correlation between the emotional intelligence of leaders and employee retention, employee satisfaction, and business performance. As leaders, which one of those indicators would we be willing to ignore? 
  
• Consider the study that found subordinates’ blood pressure went up dramatically when dealing with a supervisor whose style was not respectful or perceived as unfair or insensitive to others. Is that a legacy we’d want to leave behind as leaders?

Seeing requires us to cultivate mindfulness—being conscious or aware—of ourselves. Only after we can see ourselves with greater precision and clarity can we begin to develop ourselves into the leaders we desire. Mindfulness isn’t an add-on for leaders. Rather, it’s an essential skill that gives us space to think, breathe, and lead intentionally.

Interested in growing mindfulness? Let’s start with a series of discovery questions that help to reveal ourselves and connect us on an emotional level. Scan the questions below and pick 1-2 questions that you would like to answer. Take 5-10 minutes thinking about your responses.

• What would I like to be remembered for?
• What has been my greatest accomplishment?
• If I could go back and tell my younger self something about (success, relationships, being a parent, career, etc.), what would I share?
• What would I like to spend more time doing? Less time?
• Who has been an influential role model or mentor to me? Why?
• If I had to write my obituary today, what would it say?

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More Mindfulness: What did you learn about yourself during your reflection? Anything surprise you? Make you laugh? Move you to tears? Give you hope? Encourage you to do something? What else did you observe about yourself during this exercise?