Mindfulness and job performance: a study of Australian leaders

Mindfulness relates to being aware of the present reality and living in the moment, and, while linked to well-being, it has only recently been tested on specific leader samples. Despite attention, the links between mindfulness and job performance are scarce, with the performance of leaders especially so. The present study tests self-reported mindfulness from 84 Australian leaders towards two forms of leadership performance as rated by their immediate manager. Using structural equation modelling, we find mindfulness is positively related to leadership self-mastery and leadership organizational-transformation. The best fit for the data was a full mediation model: mindfulness predicting leadership self-mastery, predicting leadership organizational-transformation. Furthermore, we tested for the moderating effects of tenure duration and found that mindfulness was especially beneficial for leadership self-mastery at low tenure duration. Findings suggest that leadership performance may ultimately be enhanced by having leaders who are more mindful and present at work.