Using Mindful Leadership to Empower Resilient, Effective Teams

Editor's note: Posts published on From the Workplace are written by outside contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view or opinion of SHRM.

As leaders, we spend our lives navigating a landscape of expectations. At work, we strive to satisfy stakeholders. At home, we show up for our families. But at some point, we confront a hard truth: our capacity is finite. We can’t do everything, all the time, perfectly.

When that realization hits, we face three choices:

• Adjust expectations: While some family expectations may be flexible, stakeholder demands rarely are.
• Expand capacity: Hiring more people or developing new skills can help — but takes time and energy we may not have.
• Increase our energy: This is often the most immediate and least disruptive path — and the one least discussed in corporate circles.

What Do We Mean by “Energy”?

Energy comes in three interconnected forms:

• Physical energy powers our bodies, including the brain as an organ.
• Mental energy fuels our thoughts and emotional processes.
• Spiritual energy enables us to transcend mental noise and be fully present, alert, and balanced.

When these energy sources are aligned, they reinforce each other. A good tennis session boosts our mood, deepens self-reflection, enhances meditation, and improves our next game. That’s the feedback loop we want — what I call the Energy Flywheel.

How Do We Fuel Our Energy?

There are countless time-tested ways to augment energy, validated by both modern science and ancient traditions. Broadly speaking, practices fall into these three categories:

• Physical energy: Exercise, sleep, nutrition, mobility, yoga.
• Mental energy: Breathing exercises, reframing, journaling, gratitude, therapy.
• Spiritual energy: Meditation, nature connection, contemplation, prayer, service, and community sharing.

Incorporating elements of these three practices doesn’t have to require radical change. Start small. Audit your “in-between” time — moments not spent resting, producing, or being meaningfully engaged. Many of us have more slack time than we think.

Then, experiment with bite-sized practices. You might not manage two hours at the gym and an hour of meditation every day — but a 10-minute breathwork session and a 30-minute workout? That’s more accessible — and cumulative.

What matters most is consistency, not intensity. Over time, as your energy increases, you gain time and focus back. The flywheel turns.

How Do We Avoid Losing Energy?

Our nervous systems operate on a continuum between two states:

• Fight/Flight mode: Defensive, reactive, energy-draining.
• Calm/Connect mode: Collaborative, open, energy-renewing.

We lose energy when we live in fight or flight mode. The antidote lies in identifying and reducing internal and external stressors — regularly and intentionally. This might involve journaling, therapy, coaching, or spiritual practices. The goal is nervous system regulation, not perfection.

Applying Mindfulness into the Workplace

When I joined Audible as Chief Product and Marketing Officer, my leadership team was struggling. They were talented — but tense. Stress, fear, and reactivity were stifling trust and creativity.

Instead of applying another corporate framework, I introduced SKY Breath Meditation — a structured breath work technique grounded in neuroscience and ancient wisdom. We began with a three-day offsite that prioritized well-being and connection over OKRs and KPIs.

The shift was profound. In the months that followed, the team became more open, resilient, and cohesive. Higher performance occurred in the form of record growth, greater agility, and a stronger, more human-centered leadership culture.

Mindfulness Isn’t a Luxury — It’s a Leadership Tool

As HR leaders, we often speak about EQ, resilience, and psychological safety. But are we giving leaders the tools to embody those qualities? Practices like SKY Breath Meditation regulate the nervous system, moving leaders from contraction and reactivity to expansion and pro-activity.

At Total Brain, where I served as CEO, we institutionalized this idea. We created regular opportunities — quarterly retreats, monthly workshops, and weekly experiences — for employees to recharge through breath work, movement, and mindfulness. A simple 60-second moment of silence at the start of a meeting can lower reactivity, increase presence, and foster better decision-making.

These opportunities aren’t “nice-to-haves.” They’re performance levers. Teams that regulate together operate with more trust, more transparency, and more capacity for high-stakes execution. The results show up in the bottom line.

Rethinking Leadership Development

Ultimately, leadership is energetic. A dysregulated leader breeds anxiety. A calm, self-aware one creates a culture of safety — and safety drives performance.

Ask yourself:

•  Are we training leaders to manage others before they’ve learned to manage themselves?
• Are we creating space for nervous system regulation — not just calendar optimization?
• Are we building cultures of presence — or of pressure?

The future of leadership requires more than upskilling. It demands state-shifting — helping leaders access the calm, connection, and clarity that fuel sustainable success.

Mindful leadership isn’t soft. It’s strategic. And it starts with one breath.

Louis Gagnon is the founder of Regenerative.Group, which co-creates businesses that make a positive and sustainable contribution to the planet. Over the course of 30 years, he and his teams have helped generate billions of dollars in corporate revenues while positively impacting more than 60 million people on 6 continents.