Kirk W. Dark and Richard M. Ryan of the University of Pennsylvania built up a 15-Item "Mindful Attention Awareness Scale" to measure dispositional mindfulness. You can score yourself according to what really reflects the experience of your normal daily activities from; Almost Always (score-1), Very Frequently (score-2), Somewhat Frequently (score-3), Somewhat Infrequently (score-4), Very Infrequently (score-5) and Almost Never (score-6) on the following items to measure your mindfulness. To score the scale, simply compute a mean (average) of the 15 items. Higher scores reflect higher levels of dispositional mindfulness.
From the 15 items above, we can see that mindfulness can help us to manage our lives for the better, by helping us to identify small problems before they have a chance to grow into larger problems. Naturally, when we encounter fewer difficulties in life, we are less likely to suffer. But it is not just in our daily lives that mindfulness is relevant. At many higher education institutions, and especially where the teaching of leadership skills is concerned, mindfulness is now an area of particular interest. In the UK, the Lancaster University Management School has created a "Mindful Manager" module as part of its MBA course. Harvard University, another leading institution, is also taking an interest in mindfulness. In October 2012, for example, Professor Bill George of Harvard Business School wrote an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled: “Mindfulness Helps You Become a Better Leader.” Below is a quote from Professor George's article: “The practice of mindful leadership gives you tools to measure and manage your life as you’re living it. It teaches you to pay attention to the present moment, recognizing your feelings and emotions and keeping them under control, especially when faced with highly stressful situations. When you are mindful, you’re aware of your presence and the ways you impact other people. You’re able to both observe and participate in each moment, while recognizing the implications of your actions for the longer term. And that prevents you from slipping into a life that pulls you away from your values.” I would like to thank Professor George for his excellent summary of the qualities of mindful individuals and of the benefits of being mindful in our daily lives, especially where it concerns the fulfillment of leadership duties.
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