Why Every Leader Needs Meditation Even If You Think You Don't Have Time
Photo by @charanjeet_dhiman on Unsplash
I used to think meditation was for people who enjoyed being alone.
As a leader juggling clients, deadlines, and the constant pressure to perform, sitting still seemed like the opposite of productive. I needed to DO things, not sit around watching my thoughts.
Then I burned out.
And in that burnout, something clicked: the very thing I thought I didn't have time for was exactly what I needed.
The leadership trap
Here's what nobody tells you about leadership: the higher you climb, the noisier it gets. More decisions. More pressure. More people needing you to have the answer.
We navigate between our head and our heart, between thinking and feeling, between relationships and results. And we do it all on autopilot, running from one fire to the next, until we can't tell the difference between a rational decision and an emotional reaction anymore.
I've watched leaders (including myself) make terrible decisions not because they weren't smart enough, but because they were too overwhelmed to think clearly.
That's where meditation comes in.
What meditation actually is (and isn't)
Sam Harris, scientist and creator of the Waking Up app, says meditation is "a technique for breaking the spell of negative states of mind."
Here's what that means in practice: until you have some capacity to be mindful, you have no choice but to be lost in every next thought that arises. You're hostage to whatever emotions those thoughts trigger.
Meditation doesn't stop the thoughts. It creates space between you and them to observe them. And in the space in between you become free to make a different choice if you want to prevent a default reaction which won’t serve you.
As Arianna Huffington says: "Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, but recognising that we are more than our thoughts and our feelings."
That space? That's where conscious leadership actually happens.
Start with a Guided Breathing Practice
I'm not going to give you a 12-step system. Here's what actually works to get started:
Start with your breath. Resonance Breathing is a quick way to reset your nervous system most of the time: breathe in for 4, out for 4. Do this for 5 minutes a day to get started. Could be when you wake up, before going to sleep, in the car with eyes open, before a meeting, or in a meeting! That's it. This activates your relaxation response and calms your nervous system.
Guided breathing is a great way to start your journey to meditation.
Be present. Your mind will wander. That's normal. When it does, notice it without judgment and come back to your breath. You're not trying to empty your mind, you are learning to observe it.
Become the observer. You are not your thoughts. You are not your feelings. You're the one noticing them. That detachment is freedom.
Why this matters for you
Leaders who can access calm and clarity on demand make better decisions. They handle emotional challenges without becoming reactive. They support their teams without getting pulled into the drama.
This isn't about becoming zen. It's about having a choice in how you respond instead of being controlled by your automatic reactions.
And that choice? That's the difference between surviving and leading.
When you develop the capacity to pause between stimulus and response, you reclaim your power. You stop reacting and start responding. You move from being controlled by your emotions to being in conscious command of them.
This is what separates good leaders from great ones.
Your practice starts here
The best time to start was years ago. The second best time is today.
Small steps, taken consistently, create transformative change.
Your reflection:
What would change in your leadership if you could access calm and clarity on demand?
Where in your life are you reacting instead of responding?
What's stopping you from taking 5 minutes today to just breathe?
The noise will always be there. The pressure won't disappear. But your relationship to it can completely transform.
That transformation starts with a single breath.
Ready to begin?
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Lauren Cartigny, Leadership Trainer, Executive Coach and Mindfulness Practitioner
Following a successful international corporate career in Sales for leading Tech firms, Lauren faced an unexpected burnout, life and health crisis. After re-building her life, transforming her career, and healing her body, heart and mind, Lauren has created transformative coaching and training programs to teach High-Performance from a place of Well-Being to prevent burnout, and employee churn in organisations.