Lead Differently Through the
Principles of Contemplative Leadership


Contemplative leadership invites one to engage the tensions created by living contemplatively in the midst of active daily life and leadership, and requires a willingness to develop a level of inner growth and awareness capable of meeting the complexity of today’s world.

 

  • Contemplative leadership begins with “self-leadership,” a focus on who the leader is as a foundation for what the leader does.
  • Contemplative leadership provides a critical and often missing dimension to leadership development that is foundational for implementing other leadership methods and practices.
  • Contemplative leadership seeks to further awaken the Being aspects of leadership as a means to evolve and transform the Knowing and Doing aspects of leadership.
  • Contemplative leadership is grounded in relationships, including one’s relationship with Self, Others, the Earth, and Source or Ultimate Reality.
  • Contemplative leadership provides the deeper meaning and purpose for achieving a group or organization’s mission or purpose.
  • Contemplative leadership seeks to realize human potential and improve the human condition.
  • Contemplative leadership will emerge over time through insight, experience, contemplative practice, communal support, and commitment to growth and development.

A contemplative leader is a person whose actions point beyond him/herself to an underlying reality, a hidden wholeness.

© Consortium for Contemplative Leadership, 2010; 2023