Leadership behaviors are critical indicators of success or failure of an organization. To thrive in today’s world, companies should invest in developing their leaders. 

The field of leadership is continuing to grow and expand into new areas that might not have been previously seen as related to leadership. Dr. John Franey and Dr. Leila Naderi introduced such potential new area for leadership development in their book (The Yogi Leader: Discovering the Seven Element of Leading with Mind, Body, & Heart).

The Yogi Leader is really about discovering who we are as people… and more importantly who we are as leaders. It is built out of well-known, research-based leadership theories and approaches. It is built from yoga practice that stretches back thousands of years. It is built out of the reflective nature of yoga and the opportunity to improve ourselves through reflection, meditation, and mindfulness.

The Yogi Leader follows the stories of seven different leaders, each with their own set of problems and issues to deal with in their leadership practice. You will recognize the stories because they are stories about you. You will recognize the struggles they face as struggles you have faced. You will recognize their emotions as emotions you have. You will recognize their ups and downs as ups and downs you have. 

The Seven Elements of Leadership are seven skills, characteristics, talents, behaviors, and abilities that a leader needs to energize in order to be an incredible leader: 

• The Momentum Element: Leader’s ability to set forth a path towards a shared vision of success with smaller, manageable goals along the way.
• The Connection Element: Leader’s ability to build relationships with others.
• The Action Element: Leader’s ability to recognize the situations and know exactly what skill or talent or ability to use to get after it
• The Compassion Element: Leader’s ability to concentrate on love, compassion, empathy, acceptance, and understanding for others.
• The Charisma Element: Leader’s ability of to motivate and inspire their followers to make change. 
• The Authentic Element: Leader’s ability to be self-aware, original, and confident. 
• The Impact Element: Leader’s ability to impact the world not only through huge change and big missions, but also making a ton of small changes.

John J. Franey, PhD 

Dr. Franey is the CEO & Founder of The Leader Mill, LLC, a leadership development company focused on transforming leadership potential into power for people of all ages. He is a former collegiate athlete at and graduate of Harvard University. He holds a PhD in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego and has worked as a leadership development consultant, university researcher, leadership coach, workshop presenter, adjunct professor, and K-12 educator. For everything leadership and development, visit him at www.leadermill.com.  

Leila Naderi, PhD 

Dr. Naderi is an award-winning leadership consultant, entrepreneur, educator, speaker, and advanced yoga instructor. She holds a PhD in Leadership, MBA, and B.S. in Electrical & Electronics Engineering. Dr. Naderi has over a decade of leadership and management experience in different sectors. She currently serves as the Director of Partnership Development at Alliant International University. Her international and multi-cultural background, as well as her profound understanding of leadership challenges within organizations have empowered her to conduct comprehensive research and implement leadership training workshops / seminars by interweaving yoga/mindfulness as a way to maximize human potential and improve leadership capacity. Visit her at https://www.leilanaderi.com/

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