The mindful leader: a review of leadership qualities derived from mindfulness meditation
June Borge Doornich, Helen Miller Lynch
Frontiers in Psychology March 5, 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1322507 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Semi-systematic literature review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindful leader Leadership Neuropsychology |
| Key findings | The three pillars of mindful leaders are attention, awareness, and authenticity, and mindfulness meditation must be integrated into daily leadership practice to develop these qualities. |
Abstract
Mindfulness has been practiced by global leaders and companies as an efficient way to build effective leadership. Because of its popularity, plus the lack of a comprehensive theoretical framework that explains it in a leadership context, the research literature has called for a coherent account of the qualities that is derived by those leaders that practice mindfulness. Here, we aim to answer that call, by clarifying what leadership qualities can develop from practicing mindfulness. We report on a semi-systematic literature review of extant research, covering 19 research articles published between 2000 and 2021, plus other relevant supporting literature from the disciplines of leadership and neuropsychology. Our proposed framework consists of three main qualities of the mindful leader: attention, awareness, and authenticity. We call them the “three pillars of mindful leaders.” We also propose that mindfulness meditation must be integrated into our proposed framework, as we are convinced that leaders who hope to benefit from these qualities must integrate a regular mindfulness meditation practice into their daily leadership life.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations | 2003 | Review | |
| Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects | 2007 | Review | |
| Mindfulness Interventions | 2016 | Review | |
| Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation | 2017 | Review | |
| Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 6
- Cultivating Resilient Doctor of Nursing Practice Leaders: Student Experiences With an Embedded Mindfulness Curriculum Nurse Educator September 22, 2026
- Conceptualizing and Measuring Mindfulness in School Settings: A Mixed Methods Study and Development of Mindfulness in School Scale Journal of Intelligence September 1, 2026
- Buddhist Principles of Self-Management: Integrating Morality, Mindfulness, and Wisdom into Modern Leadership and Organizational Practice Millah: Journal of Religious Studies February 22, 2026
- Transformative Educational Leadership for Inner Well-Being: integrating transpersonal awareness and systemic coherence Frontiers in Education April 29, 2026
- Mindful leadership training for public administration executive staff: a non-randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology April 11, 2026
and 1 more in the library
Cites 25
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
and 20 more in the library