Pankaj Singh: Mindful Leadership: Turning Stress into Strength

About Pankaj Singh:

Pankaj Singh—"Sing"—is a visionary leader who’s spent over 20 years revolutionizing businesses and building high-performance teams. As a former C-suite executive, he's driven double-digit growth, streamlined operations, and transformed organizations worldwide. But his real power comes from something unexpected: Mindfulness. Raised in an affluent family in India, Sing mastered classical music by age 13 but was restless, and at 14, he was sent to train under a lama, where he first discovered the profound impact of mindfulness. His passion for mindful leadership was ignited during a high-pressure ransomware crisis in 2020, revealing the transformative power of presence, empathy, and emotional intelligence in leadership and inspiring his life’s mission to share these tools with others.

 

In this episode, Dean Newlund and Pankaj Singh discuss:

• The power of mindfulness in leadership and crisis management
• Spiritual and meditative practices as tools for personal transformation
• The use of micro-practices and breathing techniques for emotional regulation
• Cultivating intentional presence and focus in digital and professional environments
• Building effective relational ecosystems through mindful leadership frameworks

 

Key Takeaways:

• In high-stress situations like cyberattacks or crisis events, practice intentional breathing and presence to regulate emotional response and make calm, strategic decisions.
• Use micro-practices such as pausing before meetings to ask, “What do I want from this moment?” and “What else could I be doing?” to bring focus and eliminate unnecessary distractions.
• Implement the “Mindful Leadership Compass” by cultivating presence, emotional agility, cognitive clarity, and compassionate action in daily leadership interactions.
• Establish a daily habit of micro-journaling using the CLEAR framework—Center, Locate, Expand, Align, Respond—to gain insight into emotional patterns and improve self-regulation.

 

"I went from a person who would start the fight to a person who would now get involved and calm everyone without even holding their hands.” — Pankaj Singh

 

Connect with Pankaj Singh:  

Website: https://singhleadership.com/

Show: https://singhleadership.com/podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pankaj-singh-singhpowerupcoach/

 

 

See Dean’s TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I

 

Connect with Dean:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkw

Website: https://www.mfileadership.com/

The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlund

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/

Email: [e-mail]

Phone: [phone]

 

Show notes by Podcastologist: Hanz Jimuel Alvarez

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions.