Mindful Leadership: A Brain-Based Framework

"Carefully researched and updated, yet filled with practical and immediately usable strategies, this is a must-read book for anyone seeking to understand and influence human behavior." —Pat Wolfe, Educational Consultant "The most important book I have ever had the pleasure of learning from and using. It gives leaders what they need to effectively meet the learning needs of individuals and positively affect organizational adaptability and capacity." —Delise Neely, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Cardinal Stritch University Unleash the power of the leadership-brain connection! This updated edition of the groundbreaking book Connecting Leadership to the Brain provides school leaders with a visionary framework for understanding how mindful leadership significantly impacts growth and achievement in educational communities. Offering an approach compatible with the ways individuals naturally process information and learn, this resource links knowledge about the physiological, social, emotional, constructive, reflective, and dispositional nature of the brain to compatible leadership practice. Leaders will find specific examples and reflection exercises focused on how to: Support the mind-body connection Promote social relationships Harness the power of emotion Expedite the construction of knowledge Build a culture of reflection Cultivate productive dispositions Mindful Leadership is an essential companion for helping readers become mindful leaders who consciously attend to the nature of intelligence in the process of influencing the achievement of goals.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Second Edition: A Refined Framework Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction: Tightening the Connection Perception of Connection How the Book Unfolds Your Role Part 1. Breaking Through 1. A Louis Moment Louis′s Moment Breakthrough Happens Shift Follows A Mindful Moment Summary Observations Reader Reflection 2. A New Sense of Nature What′s a Brain For? An Intriguing Matter A Definition in Progress A Revealing Moment Summary Observations Reader Reflection 3. A New Sense of Leadership Of Assumed Value Familiar But Elusive Basic in Nature Influenced by Context Theorized in Context Primed to Evolve Summary Observations Reader Reflection 4. A Mindful Framework The Mindful Connection The Meaning of Mindful The Means to be Mindful Attention to Information Articulation of Perception Application to Practice Adjustment From Experience Summary Observations Reader Reflection Part 2. Minding Revelation 5. Physiological Nature The Physiological Base The Gist of It Essence Implications Reader Reflection 6. Social Nature Getting to Know You and Me and We The Gist of It Essence Implications Reader Reflection 7. Emotional Nature This Emotional Life The Gist of It Essence Implications Reader Reflection 8. Constructive Nature Genius The Gist of It Essence Implications Reader Reflection 9. Reflective Nature Imagine The Gist of It Essence Implications Reader Reflection 10. Dispositional Nature Disposition Fair and Foul The Gist of It Essence Implications Reader Reflection Part 3. Following Through 11. Mindful Leadership The Mindful Leader Mindful Purpose Mindful Attention Mindful Articulation Mindful Application Mindful Adjustment Mindful Conclusions Summary Observations Reader Reflection 12. Mindful Shift Confronting the Box Pushing Perception Stepping Out Summary Observations Reader Reflection Glossary References Index

About the Author :
Michael Dickmann is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and the Leadership Center at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also serves as a leadership, learning, and development consultant to education, corporate, and service organizations. He is coauthor (with Nancy Stanford-Blair) of Leading With the Brain in Mind: 101 Brain-Compatible Practices for Leaders (Corwin Press 2003) and the second edition of Mindful Leadership (Corwin Press 2008). Nancy Stanford-Blair is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and the Leadership Center at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She also serves as a leadership, learning, and development consultant to education, corporate, and service organizations.

Review :
"This is simply the most important book I have ever had the pleasure of learning from and using in my practice. It informs leaders about what they need to know to effectively attend to the learning needs of individuals, thereby allowing them to positively affect organizational adaptability and capacity.” “The framework helps the ′leader-reader′ understand the connections between leadership and the workings of the brain.” "While there is necessary technical information, the authors make it as understandable as possible and provide clear examples at just the right time. They also provide just the right amount of humor to keep the book very readable.” “Carefully researched and updated, yet filled with practical and immediately usable strategies, this is a must-read book for anyone seeking to understand and influence human behavior.”