Alec Melling

Now retired, Alec was a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at Sheffield Hallam University. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development, Founder Member of the Institute Of Leadership and Management, and a Member of the British Association of Management. A career soldier with 25 years of service in The British Army. He was a Course Leader for a Fast-track Masters in Human Resource Leadership, and his academic and teaching interests lie in Decision Making, Leadership, Business Ethics, and of course Mindfulness.

His research interests are centred on the nexus of trust and control when looking at subordinate commanders, who have to make command decisions and lead at the edge of chaos. Some people have to make decisions and act wisely when order is collapsing around them. Operating in chaos means that such leaders have to be trusted to do the right thing at the right and opportune moment.

The question is, will the practice of mindfulness meditation enhance their resilience to shock, their cognitive reliability and inform a moral balance in their decision making and actions. Allowing ordinary men and women act wisely in extraordinary circumstances.