BUS603: Managing People

In organizational research, scholars have mainly focused on intrapersonal effects of mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions, whereas the effects of mindfulness on interpersonal interactions and relationships have been largely neglected. However, it is the interpersonal relationship between the leader and the followers which is at the core of leadership and thus, especially interesting for research in this area. Yet, only a few theoretical papers have so far addressed the role of mindfulness in leader–follower relationships, examining the possibility that mindfulness generally helps leaders to better deal with the various demands of leadership. Yet, as mentioned at the outset of this article, empirical evidence in this area is at a rather early stage. In two studies, Reb et al. found that followers of leaders scoring high on dispositional mindfulness reported higher levels on different aspects of wellbeing and job performance. These studies identified psychological need satisfaction as a mediator in the relationship between self-reported dispositional mindfulness of the leader and follower outcomes. In a similar vein, in a very recent study, Reb et al. found a positive relationship between leader mindfulness and follower reports of LMX quality. This effect was mediated by reduced employee stress and perceptions of increased interpersonal justice. Importantly, psychological need satisfaction and reduced stress describe internal states of followers. Also, while interpersonal justice refers to perceived fair treatment, Reb et al. conceptualized and measured it as a rather subjective assessment and therefore, the question of what behaviors mindful leaders actually show remain largely unanswered in their studies.