In early December, former US Congressmen Steve Israel and Tim Ryan, along with mindfulness trainer Kelly Boys and leadership coach Kelly Burton, delivered a leadership resilience training to three cohorts of leadership staff in the Town of Babylon, Long Island.

The program was run through Cornell University and addressed the challenges of working in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment. Through lectures on the history of stoicism combined with the science of mindfulness and experiential practices, the participants came away with 6 mindfulness tools and 6 stoic tools to incorporate in their daily work life.

The event was part of a broader project designed to help people from all walks of life, including students, city officials, and blue collar workers, learn cutting-edge tools from ancient practices that will help them navigate challenges with resilient leadership, modeling a new way to work and to lead.

Rich Shaffer, Babylon Town Supervisor, shared his reflections on the event: “Whether you’re supervising a crew in town government or running an entire department in a corporation, leadership is more challenging than ever. That’s why I asked the Cornell University Leadership Resilience Project to hold sessions with my own team, at all levels. The result was a demonstrable increase in morale and productivity, with training in mindfulness and stoic resilience. Whether you’re serving constituents or customers, I recommend it highly.”

The project brings together experts in the fields of politics and mindfulness to address today’s most pressing problems with unique, adapted solutions that have been time-tested in various environments to support in helping leaders refocus on their purpose, gain tools for self-management and leadership, and learn new ways of thinking that can optimize their performance and well-being.