A lot. Let me explain.

I’ve held communications leadership roles at health care organizations for more than 25 years. And I’ve been teaching yoga part-time for 16 years. 

As a yoga teacher, I see students as individuals with different abilities and skill level. I encourage them to enjoy using their strengths and celebrate their accomplishments. I mentor them to tune out the noise around them (through long, slow breathing), so they can focus on what is important in the present moment. I show empathy for those just starting out and offer guidance and modifications to improve their ability to achieve different poses. And I talk about the ultimate goals of yoga – to improve their flexibility and balance according to their individual capabilities since everyone’s body is different. 

Being a good team leader is very important to me, and as I was thinking about how I work with yoga students, it occurred to me that those same attributes are key to being an effective leader: 

• Seeing team members as individuals with their own unique strengths, skills, approaches and motivations. 
• Inspiring them and celebrating individual and group accomplishments. 
• Helping them focus on what is most important and tuning out distractions. 
• Being a good listener.  
• Demonstrating empathy, showing you really care. 
• Being patient since individuals grow at different speeds. 
• Guiding them on how to achieve their goals. 
• And talking about the big picture, the ultimate goal, and the reason why we are working to accomplish it. 

Do these similarities resonate with you?