In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Center for Excellence in Public Leadership at the George Washington University hosted the Future of Leadership Forum September 22 to discuss techniques for positive change in organizations and the world. The theme of mindfulness—the conscious, meditative awareness of one’s thoughts, one’s body and one’s surroundings—ran through the day, and speakers and panelists testified to its benefits when practiced by leaders in the public and private sectors.
The daylong forum, attended by GW community members, federal and municipal employees and even some international attendees, included two keynote speakers, a leadership panel discussion and breakout sessions. The event attracted thought leaders, educators, and coaches for a dialogue around latest leadership and management practices, to inform, empower, and motivate the leaders of the 21st century.
The event opened with a videotaped keynote conversation with Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who has written a book and spoken publicly about his own mindfulness practice. He said he has enjoyed sharing mind-body awareness practices with his constituents, including students, teachers, medical patients and veterans, and even with his colleagues in Congress.
“For most people who have experienced moments of mindfulness and present-moment awareness, you want to share it, because you realize how powerful it is and how helpful it can be,” he said.
Rep. Ryan has said that he uses mindfulness techniques to improve his communication with his family, his constituents and his peers.
In the leadership panel moderated by CEPL Executive Director James Robinson, three longtime public servants discussed their own reliance on mindfulness as leaders in their fields, with a focus on resilience and productivity: Traci Hughes, Esq., inaugural director of Washington, D.C.’s Office of Open Government; Lieutenant General David Huntoon, Jr., a 40-year army veteran who is now president of D2H Leadership Consulting; and Kari Moe, former chief of staff to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.)
Dr. Robert Thurman, professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, delivered an afternoon keynote on the history of Buddhist thought and the relevance of mindfulness in modern leadership.
A conscious practice of moment-to-moment awareness creates good leaders, Dr. Thurman said, because it allows the practitioner to alter harmful patterns of thought and behavior.
Without mindfulness, he said, a coworker or incident that “presses your buttons” creates a stressful, automatic reaction—like being “a Coke machine.”
“But mindfulness helps you to first see that you have certain reactive patterns, and then redirect them if they’re not helpful and choose a better pattern,” Dr. Thurman said.
Read more about the event in GW Today
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