“The Mind of the Leader captures the essence of truly human leadership in the digital age—people deeply engaging people on what matters most in the moment. Imagine how transformative you will be when you deliberately give your full focus, attention, and energy to your passions.”
— NATHAN BOAZ, Senior Managing Director, Talent Strategy and Leadership Development, Accenture
“The Mind of the Leader provides simple yet powerful strategies to help us be more focused, calm, and clear-minded in the face of today’s business realities. It is an essential read for any leader who wants to enhance engagement and performance at the same time.”
— HELENA GOTTSCHLING, Chief Human Resources Officer, Royal Bank of Canada
“If you aspire to be a more effective leader, you really should read this book. Do the book’s exercises too. You’ll learn how to be more mindful, selfless, and compassionate. Not only will you improve as a leader, you’ll be become happier, kinder, and more fulfilled.”
— MARK R. TERCEK, President and CEO, the Nature Conservancy, and author of Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature
“The Mind of the Leader provides clear guidance on becoming a mindful leader, but also takes it a step further and introduces the practices of self lessness and compassion for leaders. In this way, the book describes the leadership of the future and how leaders enable true engagement, following, and passion.”
— SCOTT SHUTE, VP of Global Customer Operations and Head of Mindfulness Programs, LinkedIn
“The Mind of the Leader provides a great roadmap for any leader to create real engagement and a sense of purpose for the people they lead. It goes to the heart of what it means to be a people-centric leader who shows up present, selfless, and with care for self and others. In a very disrupting world, it also lays out how to create great organizational cultures with strong trust and social cohesion.”
— TONY STUART, CEO, UNICEF Australia
“In this beautifully constructed and deeply relatable book, Hougaard and Carter remind us of a deep and profound truth to unlock performance in organizations: the power of a leader’s ability to bring presence and fulfill our most basic human needs for connection, meaning, and purpose in an increasingly busy and disconnected world.”
— PATRICIA WALLACE, Director, Leadership, Talent & Organization Development, Disney University
“I was first exposed to methods of training the mind in a community setting and immediately saw benefits for me personally. Hougaard and Carter helped me and my organization see how these ancient mind-training tools were equally relevant in day-to-day work. In The Mind of the Leader, they have gone one step further and provide strategic guidance on how we as leaders can better lead ourselves, our people, and our organizations.”
— ASHWANI DAHIYA, Regional Vice President, Wells Fargo
“The Mind of the Leader is a deep well of knowledge and insights about the essence of modern leadership. Leaders need to understand that employees do not want to be viewed as head count but want to be seen and treated as whole people. In this context, the qualities of mindfulness, self lessness, and compassion are essential traits in leadership.”
— PÄR STENMARK, Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, IKEA Range & Supply
“In this groundbreaking book, Hougaard and Carter turn traditional assumptions about leadership on their head and offer a fresh, inspiring, and deeply human vision for leadership— a vision that this world dearly needs.”
— ANDY LEE, Chief Mindfulness Officer, Aetna
“The Mind of the Leader challenges us to redefine our view of what makes a good leader. Drawing on their extensive experience in bringing mindfulness to organizations, Hougaard and Carter have skillfully laid out a well-structured leadership journey that starts with understanding our mind and training it to be more focused, service-oriented, and compassionate so we can help ourselves and our organizations realize more of their potential. If you want to apply mindfulness to yourself and/or your organization this is a must (and fun) read.”
— PETER BOSTELMANN, Director, SAP Global Mindfulness Practice
“In The Mind of the Leader, Hougaard and Carter draw from their extensive personal and professional experience to offer practical guidance to bring about positive transformation in the lives of leaders, their professional colleagues, and the workplace. Proper leadership can play an enormous role in alleviating suffering, enriching humanity, and preserving the environment for generations to come.”
— B. ALAN WALLACE, President, Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies
“Bringing greater mindfulness and empathetic understanding should really be at the heart of leadership at all levels. This book offers tested methods for how to do this. Anyone who is keen to develop a new way of leading, rooted in greater self-awareness, focus, and compassion, will benefit greatly from this remarkable book.”
— THUPTEN JINPA, PhD, founder of Compassion Institute, and author of A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to be Compassionate Can Transform Our Lives
“The Mind of the Leader navigates the reader through much of what science has taught us about how our minds work, the dangers of being overly ego and threat-focused, and how to cultivate minds for creating happiness, meaning, and courage and to live by our principles. Anyone who follows the insights and practices of this outstanding book will give themselves, their colleagues, employees, organizations, and even the world around them ways to live and lead intelligently, effectively, ethically, creatively, and compassionately.”
— PAUL GILBERT, PhD, author of The Compassionate Mind and Overcoming Depression
“The art of managing people starts with managing oneself. In The Mind of the Leader, Hougaard and Carter provides a clear roadmap for both. When leaders are good human beings, doing good for their people, their organizations will thrive.”
— ALBERTO RIBERA, Senior Lecturer of Managing People in Organizations, IESE Business School
“We all know that leaders must continue to learn throughout their career. To do so, they must understand the way they currently function and the impact they have on others. The Mind of the Leader compellingly shows how improving organizations starts with improving self, which starts with understanding self.”
— JEAN-FRANÇOIS MANZONI, President and Nestlé Professor, IMD Business School
“The Mind of the Leader teaches us how to be a human before being a leader, and to show up authentically, with an intention of benefiting the people we lead and our clients. I have seen, time and again, that these principles are foundational for great leadership.”
— JACQUELINE GILLESPIE, Managing Director Leadership & Talent Consulting, Korn Ferry International
“The Mind of the Leader is a roadmap for leaders to navigate the complex disciplines of leading self, people, and organizations. Hougaard and Carter clearly show how being a human before being a leader is foundational for creating people-centered organizations with strong engagement and productivity.”
— ÉDOUARD-MALO HENRY, CHCO, Société Générale Bank
“The Mind of the Leader serves as a blueprint for how leaders can better foster employees’ professional growth, inspiring them to do the best work of their lives.”
— ERIC MOSLEY, founder and CEO, Globoforce
“The Mind of the Leader provides tools for leaders to put people first. It provides a logical journey, starting with understanding the mind and then cultivating qualities to enhance presence, engagement, collaboration, and performance.”
— GISELA A. PAULSEN, Global Head, Product Development and Global Product Strategy Finance, Genentech
“The Mind of the Leader lays out the management paradigm for the coming years. In the same way that our customers’ behavior is changing, our employees’ values and expectations are also changing. Traditional hierarchical, top-down leadership will not work anymore. To engage top performers, employees, and teams, we need to provide them with an environment that allows more self-management, generates more personal fulfillment, and shares a meaningful purpose. This book helps you develop into the leader whom successful organizations are already requiring.
— DAVID CAMPOS, CHRO Volkswagen Group Retail Spain
“At BMS France, we have successfully introduced the personnel practice of mindfulness. This has already deeply benefited our organization. The Mind of the Leader will take us further by equipping us with the tools and the compass to become the mindful leaders we aspire to be.”
— JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BARLAND, Managing Director, BMS France, and President, UPSA Worldwide
“As individuals and as leaders, we are challenged to maintain our own well-being and clarity of mind so that we can also enable others to flourish. In this book, we find theories and practical advice that are enormously insightful in enabling us to look inside to support and lead ourselves effectively, so that we can then be most of service to our colleagues and the organizations we lead.”
— MARIA FARROW, HRO, LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics
“In this wonderful book, Hougaard and Carter describe how they have created a system, tested and refined on thousands of leaders, that teaches self-management. They show how this improves leadership effectiveness and organizations’ performance. It is a must for anyone who wants to be a better leader.”
— PAUL J. ZAK, PhD, author of Trust Factor: The Science of High-Performance Companies
“The Mind of the Leader humanizes the workplace again, reminding us of the all-important intrinsic motivation of people and charting a clear road for leaders to step up and do better, be better.”
— PHIL COX, Head of EMEA and President of UK, Silicon Valley Bank
“In The Mind of the Leader, Hougaard and Carter outline the type of leadership and culture that creates a great employee experience and thereby greater productivity. I recommend it to anyone with the great privilege of leading others.”
— BRECKON JONES, speaker, adviser, former Director, Total Reward, Australia and New Zealand, American Express, and Director, Employee Engagement, Unilever
“The Mind of the Leader is for all leaders—past, present, and future—who now need to have the courage to adopt MSC leadership. An inspirational read that reinforces the great traits I have long believed deliver world-class teams and sustainable business success. This superbly researched book will inspire our next generation of MSC leaders.”
— TRACEY L. REDDINGS, Head of UK & Ireland, Julius Baer International Ltd.
“In The Mind of a Leader, Hougaard and Carter describe the kind of leadership that helps companies, societies, and civilization advance and describes how organizations can train and develop effective leaders. The book is thoroughly researched and theoretically grounded, but never dry or daunting. The result is a compelling, accessible, and practical roadmap for developing a leadership style that motivates people and enhances organizational performance.”
— FRANCESC XAVIER COLL ESCURSEL, Chief Human Resources and Organisation Officer, CaixaBank
“Hougaard and Carter have completed a diagnosis of the ‘dis-ease’ that faces leaders today and have created a comprehensive, easy to follow, treatment plan. As a physician, I value the fact that the book is heavily data driven, backed by science, and yet written in a way that is accessible and immediately applicable. The Mind of the Leader provides invaluable tools and resources that enable leaders to bring more of their best selves to work and work to create a more mindful and compassionate organizational culture.”
— RACHEL ROBERTS, MD, Medical Director, UHA Stanford Health Care
“The Mind of the Leader brings leadership back to being about humans. We all want to be happy, lead a meaningful life, grow in our thought processes, and remain connected with other people. This book is a blueprint for creating truly human leadership that enables engagement, flourishing, and productivity.”
— RITU ANAND, Senior Vice President, HR, Tata Consultancy Services