For mindfulness practitioners, though, doing our jobs well, while important, is not our primary responsibility at work. Mindfulness reveals that for us to accomplish goals, conduct ourselves ethically, and contribute to our world we must first see clearly.

I’m often asked to work with executives to help them refine and improve their leadership abilities. At the beginning of each assignment, the executive is often eager to set goals, improve performance, and experiment with new techniques. But inevitably I have to slow them down and suggest a different approach.