A Mindful Week 42: The "Meditation Retreat" Issue
Why the best leaders prioritize silence and reflection.
Why the best leaders prioritize silence and reflection.
The best seek places for growth:
If you are a successful leader, your work is hard.
You constantly have to
- role model your culture
- be decisive about your organization's direction
- fill your days with meetings and 1:1s
You spend 95% of your time „in the dance“.
But you have little "balcony space" reflecting on your dance.
Your ability for reflection suffers.
As a result you
→ execute without reflecting on your direction
→ role model without a deep understanding of yourself
→ pretend to be present with a cluttered, untrained mind.
The grind makes you shallow.
Worse even…
As pressure rises, you succumb to your reactivity, blind spots, and worst traits.
Playing the long game becomes more and more difficult.
Here is how you can get out of it.
The best leaders
- reflect on direction and adjust
- recharge and resource themselves to be attentive
- play the long game and deliver great work constantly
- discover and regulate blind spots and reactive traits.
They take ownership of their growth.
They seek a dedicated reflection space.
This is why I guide a silent retreat for reflected leaders every year. Every year I help to create a space to
train your mind in a calm setting
reflect on your direction and purpose
meet other reflected leaders and get inspired.
After these retreats, I have seen leaders I admire
get more attentive and sharp
take more risks and ownership over their organization
be kinder and more supportive of themselves.
The application process for my 2024 Wise Leadership Retreat is now open.
The retreat will take place in a Villa at a lake near Berlin from 28. May - 02. June.
You could be eligible if you
1. are an inspiring founder or leader (with over 5 years experience)
2. have an ongoing reflection practice (coaching, therapy)
3. have a meditation practice
Apply by following this link:
I wish you a week of focus and kindness,
ニコラス (Nikurasu)
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一 Mind Travel I:
Application for this year’s meditation retreat is open. As usual, it will be an intimate group of fewer than 12 participants, which is unusual and rare in meditation retreats.
I will host a silent meditation retreat for leaders from 28.05. - 02.06.2024 (near Berlin). The theme this year will be “wise, compassionate leadership.” The retreat will start with a full day of leadership workshops and then enter a 3-day silent meditation retreat experience.
I wish to create a space of care, nature, food, science, and deep training. If you want to join, write me a message about why you should be the one joining.
に Timetravel:
If you are the nostalgic type, or if you are new - here you find the last „Mindful Week“ inspiration letters. Let me know what you want to read next.
Quote, I’m reflecting on:
"War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace."
Thomas Mann
Want more…
Here are some portals into the Nikolas Konstantin Multiverse:
Training the Theory and Art of Meditation: A Beautiful Mind Course
You asked me if I could pack the meditations and lessons of my workshop into a portable format.
Here is my clumsy attempt at distilling the feeling, models, and mental training into something that could work for the online world.
If you want to train your mind but also want to understand the theory from science and meditation traditions, this one is for you: So far, I have included The Guide to the 3 Styles of Meditation E-Book, 4 hours of theory, 10 + Meditations & Retreat Mode (create your own silent retreat with my retreat recordings). Join and let me know what to record next.
The Best of Management and Leadership: Founder Playbooks
As a founder coach, I scan the best of leadership literature, Harvard Business Review, and mindfulness so you can focus on what matters most—building a thriving organization.
Some of that theory makes it into my library, featuring the best management and leadership theory. So far, I have made those "Founder Playbooks" only accessible to my coachees. But I decided to open it for you. Join the club and tell me what I should write about next.
About
A Mindful Week is an almost punctual newsletter about living a reflected life curated by executive coach & meditation teacher Nikolas. If you like what you read, share it with a friend.
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