Written with school leaders in mind, this inspirational yet practical handbook teaches you how to add mindfulness into your day, bit by bit, whether you are sitting in your office or walking down the hall. With mindfulness, you will get better at managing meetings, responding creatively to complex situations, and achieving resilience—you will become a more effective leader and a more positive force for your staff and students. Features include:
• Real-life profiles of mindful school leaders • Practice exercises to try right away • Guidance so you know if you are “doing it right” • Hard-to-find resources, including mindfulness apps
Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC, transformed her high-pressure, twenty-year career as a lawyer lobbyist, representing educational institutions and nonprofits, to human-scale work with leaders and teams to foster trustworthy, compassionate, and authentic connections. She is an accredited leadership coach, international retreat leader, writer, and Chief Mindfulness Officer of Lead Smart Coaching, LLC (www.leadsmartcoaching.com), specializing in application and integration of mindfulness and leadership, and is a Co-Director of Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership.
She holds the following degrees: Juris Doctorate, Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Arts.
Her books include The Road that Teaches: Lessons in Transformation through Travel (Quaker Bridge Media, 2012) and the highly acclaimed, The Mindful School Leader: Practices to Transform Your Leadership and School (Corwin, 2014).
Valerie’s received extensive training from the Center for Courage & Renewal and Parker J. Palmer; the Institute for Transformational Leadership at Georgetown University; the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, & Society; the Center for Compassion Focused Therapy; the Ojai Foundation; the C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology (NYC); Chestnut Hill College (PA) Certificate in Holistic Spirituality; The Leadership Circle Profile™; and Transformational Educational Leadership. Valerie is an ordained Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village tradition founded by Thich Nhat Hanh and a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). As a certified kundalini yoga teacher, she helps leaders discover the wisdom of the body. She leads an annual transformational pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago, Spain, to celebrate the power of sacred places.
Kirsten Olson is Chief Listening Officer at Old Sow Coaching and Consulting, where she works with education and learning-sector leaders nationally and internationally. She received a masters and doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is also the author Wounded by School: Recapturing the Joy in Learning and Standing Up To Old School Culture (Teachers College Press, 2009) and Schools as Colonizers (Verlag, 2008). Kirsten is a founding board member of the Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA), a national not-for-profit organized to create greater educational equity, social justice, and to foster passionate learning.
Foreword by Richard Brady, President, Mindfulness in Education NetworkIntroductionChapter 1. Why Mindfulness? The School Leader's LifeA School Leader Practicing MindfulnessBenefits of PracticeWhat Is Mindfulness?Why Do Leaders Need a Mindfulness Practice?Leadership Challenges to Our SectorKnowing When to Disengage and RechargeHow Stress Shapes Our BrainsMindfulness for Educational LeadersYour Leadership Practice MattersA Leader With a Growing Mindfulness PracticeFirst Steps: You've Got to PracticePortraits of PracticeChapter 2. The Science of MindfulnessPractice Snapshot: A School Leader Practicing MindfulnessThe Science of MindfulnessStress: A Public Health Risk for EducatorsMindfulness Alleviates Stress in the Body and MindMindfulness Practice AidsPortraits of PracticeChapter 3. The Well-Focused School LeaderA Sleepless Night for JasonMindfulness and Attention TrainingTwo Ways to Practice: Formal and InformalMindfulness Practice AidsMindful AttitudesHow Much Practice Time?Practices That Complement MindfulnessDistraction: The New Normal and the School Leader’s DilemmaNegativity Bias: Part of the School Leader’s DilemmaThe Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy MindThe Myth of MultitaskingPortraits of PracticeChapter 4. Communication and Connection: Powerful Skills of the Mindful School LeaderDonna S.T.O.P.sMindful Communication: Mindful Speaking, Mindful ListeningHaving Difficult ConversationsMindfulness Practice AidsPortraits of PracticeChapter 5. Reclaiming Our Wholeness: Four Educational Leaders Explore MindfulnessPortraits of Practice: Schools Leaders Practicing MindfulnessMindfulness Practice AidsChapter 6. Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence: Principles and Practices to Transform Your Leadership LifeA Leader Fails to NoticeA Leader Grows EQ Through Mindfulness PracticeMindfulness Practice AidsPortraits of PracticeChapter 7. Mindful Leadership in Action: Putting It All TogetherFundamental Principles: The Evolution of the Leader Evolves the TeamStepping-Stones in Your Leadership Journey: Know YourselfWhat Mindfulness Practice SupportsA Mindful Leader in Action: A Last Case StudyWell-Being and Compassion at the Center of a New Educational VisionMindfulness Practice AidsPortraits of PracticeAppendix A: Books for the Mindful School Leader (Online Only)Appendix B: The (General) Mindful Library (Online Only)Appendix C: Mindfulness Apps—Our Top Picks (Online Only)Appendix D: Our Top Picks for Websites and Places to Practice Mindfulness (Online Only)Appendix E: Relevant, Recent Mindfulness Research in Education (Online Only)Appendix F: Comprehensive List of All Mindfulness Practice Aids in This Book (Online Only)Appendix G: Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Online Only)