The mindful shield: The effects of mindfulness training on resilience and leadership in military leaders

The purpose of this study was to address military leader perceptions of their resilience, transformational leadership behaviors, and leadership effectiveness before and after experiencing Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT).

Participants were formal and informal leaders in the Kansas Air National Guard. The study used a mixed-methods sequential exploratory design. Phase I involved analyzing pretest and posttest results obtained from a Jha Lab study for three self-report assessments in an intervention group (n = 36) vs a control group (n = 37). The qualitative data in phase II was obtained from individual interviews of participants (n = 12) following the Jha Lab study.

The phase I quantitative results confirmed the null hypotheses-no significant differences found-for all research questions. Phase II resulted in eight thematic codes, six of which were central to the experiences described by participants (Halting, Sensing, Being, Shielding, Considering, and Engaging) and two that were not (Obstructing, and Escaping).

The key finding was that the descriptions of mindful thoughts and behaviors were consistent across participants indicating that MBAT accurately presents mindfulness during the course and the training had positive effects on participant mindfulness, primarily in the areas of being present to self, shielding the self through reperceiving, and then consciously altering behavior based on the new perspective. Results should direct future resiliency course development, leadership course curricula, and aid understanding of how leaders mentally conceptualize stress, incorporate resilient behaviors and then apply that knowledge to their own leadership behaviors.