We are blessed to have children who love to read. They each devour a pile of books in a week, which means frequent trips to the local library. My wife often grabs something she thinks I might enjoy, or something she thinks I might find ‘interesting’. Her latest offering was ‘The Leader’s Way’ by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Laurens Van Den Muyzenberg. I loved it! It is a positive, practical guide to leadership based on the fundamentals of Buddhism.

What are the fundamentals of Buddhism? Put very, very simply – Taking the Right View and Doing the Right Thing. Think positively. Act in a way that has the most positive impact – not just for you, but your team, clients, customers, community. Be mindful of the impact your decisions will have. Companies demonstrate these qualities when they discuss ‘triple bottom line’ accounting – that is looking beyond raw profit to consider the ‘greater good’. It has been proven that businesses who have vision and mission statements that go beyond profit to embrace positive values are more likely to succeed – they attract better management and staff and their reputation as good ‘corporate citizens’ make them attactive to government agencies and customers alike.

Leaders who embrace this management philosophy report the following benefits:

• Increased ability to deal with a crisis. The Buddhist way of dealing with a crisis is to remain calm and meditate.
• Better decision making. Working with a clear set of values makes decision making less subjective and more consistent.
• Better relations with their staff/team. Seeing an issue from all angles allows a leader to relate better.
• Fewer meetings and better execution of decisions. Giving total focus to the matter at hand makes for clearer communication.
• More creativity. Focussing on the solution that best serves the customer, rather than the ego of the leader, leads to more creative results.
• High levels of enthusiasm for their job. An awareness of serving the greater good and positive achievement gererates enthusiasm.

Whilst the team at Small Fish don’t claim to have extensive Buddhist training, we do share similar values and a positive outlook on life. If you would like a fresh perspective on leadership, give us a call.

Richard Everson
Small Fish Business Coaching Murrumbateman
www.smallfish.com.au