Affiliations: Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Aboubacar Garba Konte, Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China. Tel.: +86 134 3683 0629; E-mail: konteaboubacar14@gmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Mindfulness is a multi-millenary concept that is fundamental to meditative traditions. Nowadays it is a well-documented psychological construct and a proven therapeutic technique, particularly in stress reduction and depressive relapse prevention. However, mindfulness and its effects on management practices are still relatively unexplored in the literature. OBJECTIVES:This paper aims to address this shortage and demonstrate the claims that mindfulness is a psychological construct that is doubly beneficial to business executives by supporting a more balanced relationship to work while promoting the adoption of more positive and effective leadership behaviors (transformational leadership and authentic). METHOD:A model using positive forms of leadership as mediators of mindfulness / performance relationship is proposed for this assessment. A quantitate analysis is performed on a sample of 319 African managers, 95% of which are South Africans. RESULTS:The data supports the idea that mindfulness is a resource that can be mobilized for inducing transformational and authentic leadership development and positive organizational behaviors. CONCLUSION:Mindfulness seems to be a very interesting predictor of transformational and authentic leadership styles, which prove to be the most powerful generators of performance
Keywords: Mindfulness, transformational leadership, authentic leadership, leadership development organizational performance
