In episode 76 of the Metta Hour Podcast, Sharon speaks in depth with colleague, Janice Marturano.
Janice Marturano is the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, a non-profit organization dedicated to training and supporting leaders in the exploration of mindfulness and its impact on the cultivation of leadership excellence. While a corporate officer at General Mills, she co-developed and taught the very first mindful leadership curricula which then began to spread throughout the company and, since 2008, to thousands of leaders at organizations around the world. Learn more at: https://instituteformindfulleadership.org
Sharon and Janice are offering a weekend retreat on Mindful Leadership in October of 2018 in Lenox, MA. For details, visit: http://bit.ly/JaniceMarturano
Show Notes
The Mindful Executive (Opening) – Janice talks about the heavy workload, grief of loss and full-plate of responsibilities that she suffered from before happening upon the healing gifts of mindfulness and meditation practice. She describes the impact these practices had on herself, which she was inspired to share with her colleagues and create a mindful leadership curriculum at General Mills.
“This was a horrible period of time professionally, but more than that in that same 18 months I would lose both my parents. In that span, it was this concentration of horrible things happening but I did what most executives and what most professionals do: we play hurt. We keep going because that is what we have to do.” – Janice Marturano
Cultivating Mindful Leadership (13:05) – Sharon and Janice discuss the qualities of a mindful leader. Janice explores the four fundamentals of mindful leadership that she teaches professionals to cultivate. They examine the leadership roles we take on outside of the workplace and the opportunities we have to inspire better in others.
“A mindful leader embodies leadership presence by cultivating four fundamentals of focus, clarity, creativity and compassion in service of others.” – Janice Marturano
Listen to more insight on cultivating authentic and mindful leadership on Ep. 236 of the Mindrolling Podcast
Finding the Space to Lead (19:35) – We hear about the specific ways that mindfulness practice can create the space that over-stressed professionals need. Janice and Sharon talk about the values and skills that can be cultivated with mindfulness practice.
Opening to a Deeper Understanding (29:00) – How does cultivating compassion for the self and others change professionals who feel unusual amounts of pressure? Sharon and Janice look at some of the misconceptions around the role of mindfulness and compassion in the workplace.
“What we are really inviting here is a deep understanding. Often times when we have opened ourselves to the possibility to understand someone or ourselves better, what we notice is a pull toward an act of kindness – an invitation to do something that is outside of what we normally do.” – Janice Marturano
The Magic of Metta (39:45) – Janice looks at ways in which we can change the thought patterns that divide us from one another and she shares practices that she has found effective in changing her relationship to those who she feels negativity towards.
Image via Huffington Post
