Mindful leadership: mindfulness as a new antecedent of destructive and transformational leadership behavior

Lange S, Bormann K, Rowold J. Mindful leadership: mindfulness as a new antecedent of destructive and transformational leadership behavior. Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie. 2018;49(2):139-147.Purpose: While previous research has well-examined the stress reducing effects of mindfulness, much less is known, evidentially, about the impact that it might have on working behavior, particularly in the context of leadership. Against this background, the goal of our study was to examine whether mindfulness influences leadership behavior. Design: To answer this question, we used a two-source survey study consisting of 60 teams, examining trait mindfulness of leaders via self-evaluation and their leadership behavior through the eyes of their subordinates. To analyze the given data, we conducted regression analyses. Results: Our findings confirmed the hypothesized relationships. We found a negative relationship between leaders' mindfulness and destructive leadership, as well as a positive one between leaders' mindfulness and transformational leadership. Implications: The results of our study underline the importance of mindfulness as a potential tool to optimize leadership quality. In order to prevent destructive and promote transformational leadership, organizations should help to develop leaders' mindfulness capacities