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HOW MINDFULNESS CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR EFFECTIVENESS AS A LEADER by Hemda Mizrahi & Josh Ehrlich

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HOW MINDFULNESS CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR EFFECTIVENESS AS A LEADER by Hemda Mizrahi & Josh Ehrlich

[#Beginning of Shooting Data Section] Nikon D200 Focal Length: 56mm Optimize Image: Custom Color Mode: Mode I (sRGB) Long Exposure NR: Off High ISO NR: On (High) 2007/03/04 17:03:10.9 Exposure Mode: Manual White Balance: Direct sunlight Tone Comp.: Normal RAW (12-bit) Metering Mode: Center-Weighted AF Mode: AF-C Hue Adjustment: 0° Image Size: Large (3872 x 2592) 1/40 sec - F/5.6 Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached Saturation: Normal Color Exposure Comp.: 0 EV Sharpening: Medium high Lens: 24-85mm F/2.8-4 D Sensitivity: ISO 400 Image Comment:                                      [#End of Shooting Data Section]

Mindful Leadership expert Josh Ehrlich, Ph.D., author of MindShifting: Focus for Performance, joined me on “Turn the Page” to discuss how you can practice mindfulness, and integrate it as a team sport in your organization.

Dr. Ehrlich highlights that “mindfulness does not just mean meditation.” It is reflected in the way we breathe, walk, eat, smile, and work. Examples include managing our access to electronic devices and communications such that we can be focused and present while on conference calls, during learning and development activities, etc.

Dr. Ehrlich provides additional guidance to support you and your organization in your practice of mindfulness, and in reaping it’s many research-based benefits:

MINDFULNESS AND PRODUCTIVITY
“Fortune 500 organizations are teaching mindfulness to employees not because it makes them feel better (which it does), but because it makes them more productive. We get more productive when we focus on our process (how we get results), not just on outcomes (the scorecard of results themselves). Mindfulness helps us focus on our own process and thus to learn and perform more effectively.”

MINDFULNESS AND NATURE
“It’s as if many of us have ADD—Attention Deficit Disorder. Our environment and constant stimulation from technology creates it. So we feel restless, and this impulse correctly asks us to move. But instead of racing around we can practice moving mindfully while walking from one meeting to the next, or while stretching (which is the essence of yoga). Moving mindfully outdoors is especially beneficial. We evolved outdoors, so it makes sense that nature would bring us back to our senses (Kabat-Zinn, 2006). Spending time in natural settings seems to reduce symptoms of attention deficit, as well as make us more creative problem-solvers (Park, Tsunetsugu, Kasetani, Morikawa, Kagawa, & Miyazaki, 2009). Thus, we can speculate whether our societal challenge is attention deficit or really nature deficit. When we design buildings where we have access to nature, we get higher productivity, lower stress, and the restoration of attention (Ryan, Browning, Clancy, Andrews, & Kallianpurkar, 2014). So, go take a hike. It will restore you and make you more productive.”

MINDFULNESS AND DECISION MAKING
“Excessive urgency is the enemy of clear and creative thinking. We are running frantic, trying to keep up with our own and others’ expectations. So slowing down is helpful. At the same time, mindfulness does not mean going slow. We can practice mindfulness in the beginning by stopping the action and curtailing some of the input and noise to make it easier. So we may close our eyes and shut the door and breathe quietly for a minute. Ultimately through this practice we can do our job mindfully and run meetings mindfully, making decisions quickly when needed. We can make decisions more effectively because our mind is clear. Speed up when you need to, but don’t loose your awareness of yourself or your breath.”

MINDFULNESS AND SELF-ACCEPTANCE
“Leaders facing increasing pressure and uncertainty attempt to do more with less, multitasking and transacting instead of connecting. These overloaded leaders show up as fragile, less effective and less able to learn and adapt. Great leaders are mature. They have a stable sense of self that is not vulnerable to short-term setbacks. They learn from failure and are eager for constructive feedback. The foundation for this is positive self-regard. However, many leaders do not feel good about themselves. They are regularly told the bar is being raised and that they need to achieve more to get the same rewards.

We try to solve this problem backwards. We try to create a sense of self from the outside in (building self-esteem), instead of from the inside out (cultivating self-acceptance). However, we cannot control extrinsic sources of self-esteem: material rewards, approval and accomplishment. The result is leaders and employees who show us their immaturity and dark side (Hogan, 2015). They demonstrate fear, judgment and hostility. In contrast, self-acceptance is based on a solid intrinsic foundation: alignment (being in sync with our values and purpose), self-regulation (riding emotional ups and downs), and self-support (treating yourself with kindness vs. self-criticism).

Mindfulness doesn’t mean being passive or letting others bully you—it means trusting your gut, listening to your feelings and speaking your truth—your experience. So while self-acceptance is based on compassion and being kind to yourself, it is not about being a ‘softy.’ You still have to stick up for yourself when your boundaries are being violated. This is practicing kindness towards yourself too.”

MINDFULNESS AND INCLUSIVITY
“Mindful self-acceptance enables us to create inclusive organizations. Self-acceptance helps us be less biased and interested in difference, thus helping us build environments where everyone feels welcome. Inclusive environments engender psychological safety, which results in a sense of belonging, better ideas and better teamwork (Google, 2016).

The application of mindfulness to diversity is about opening and appreciating rather than rejecting difference. Instead of focusing on biases and stereotypes, we can talk about how to cultivate curiosity and openness. Rather than emphasize diversity quotas and statistics, which is especially prevalent in the US, we can focus on the business case for inclusive environments. This means welcoming all kinds of people, ideas and styles. The outcome is better decisions and greater innovation for teams and global organizations. Next time you are on a bus or train or plane, look at the faces of those around you. Notice any inner withdrawal or mild revulsion. See if you can look at difference with curiosity. Who are these fascinating strangers?

Here is my prayer for inclusivity:

If I can accept myself, I can be open to you
If I can be open to you, I can be curious
If I can be curious, I can avoid judging

Most interactions at work are focused on problem solving. So it seems strange to focus instead on empathy and connection. But that is precisely what a mindful approach to work suggests. This helps us build relationships that are the foundation of effective business. Work gets done through relationships, not transactions. When we tune in and understand each other at a deeper level, we are able to connect with our employees and influence key constituents with more impact.”

THERE’S MORE
Dr. Ehrlich invites you to integrate mindfulness practices to improve quality of life and performance in your organization by exploring these resources:

Two segments of his video series:

• Practicing Mindful Leadership introduces Dr. Ehrlich’s model and how to apply it to leadership (5:18 min)

• Creating Mindful Organizations outlines ways you can create more mindful teams and cultures (5:29 min).

Read his article about mindful leadership, and his book, “MindShifting: Focus for Performance.” Learn more about his services at www.globalleadershipcouncil.com.

Listen to my conversation with Dr. Ehrlich to learn more about the ways that you can practice mindfulness to build leadership skills, foster engagement, increase your work-life satisfaction, and more.

Minding Your Business: The Value of Mindfulness by Maureen Metcalf

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Minding Your Business: The Value of Mindfulness by Maureen Metcalf

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Stress, regardless of how we try to avoid it, is a given. It is part of everyday living, but how we choose to acknowledge and approach it makes all the difference. Stress can be either productive or destructive depending on how much of it you have and how you process it. Think of a time when you performed better, prepared more, and worked harder because you were able to harness it and use it to your advantage. Now think of a time when you performed worse because of stress, perhaps spiraling out of control? What made these situations different for you?

This post is based on the work of Maryanna Klatt, PhD, professor of Clinical Family Medicine at The Ohio State University. An expert in integrative medicine, she has spent more than a decade studying perceived stress, sleep, cortisol, and salivary alpha amylase levels in saliva—an indicator of the fight-or-flight response we experience in stressful situations. Her research is helping people of all ages and professions reduce their stress and improve their overall wellness. “We all have the same stresses—lack of control is a big one people struggle with, lack of time, continuous partial attention is a huge problem,” says Klatt. This post is a companion to the Voice America radio interview focusing on mindfulness and leadership.

Klatt uses mindfulness as the foundation for her research. “Mindfulness is characterized by nonjudgmental, sustained moment-to-moment awareness of physical sensations, perceptions, affective states, thoughts and imagery.”

Using the analogy of a hurricane, Klatt explains that mindfulness training can help you navigate to the eye of the storm—the calmest part—and figure out a way to deal with the chaotic circumstances swirling around you in a positive manner. To do this, she developed Mindfulness in Motion, an eight-week program that combines weekly group meetings on awareness and relaxation techniques with a 20-minute individual practice done daily. The daily practice is available using audio downloads. The weekly group meetings can be facilitated by Mindfulness in Motion trained facilitators.

To better understand how mindfulness works physiologically, and to underscore that it is much more than just a trend, we want to share a brief summary of what happens in the body when one engages in a mindfulness practice. According to an article published in the July 2015 Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE):

“Mindfulness has been found useful as an intervention that increases attention and has been associated with changes in brain structure and function. For example, the changes in gray matter brain density impacts cognition, while changes in the amygdala impact emotional reactivity. This may explain some of the positive benefits associated with stress reduction worksite interventions that teach non-reactivity for personnel who work in a chronic high stress work environment.”

In a study with intensive care unit nurses at Ohio State, Klatt found the program contributed to a 40 percent drop in the fight-or-flight indicator. Nearly 100 faculty and staff participated in a recent pilot program; participants reported significant declines in perceived stress and improvement in resilience and sleep quality. “I don’t think people have to leave work to learn some strategies to reduce their stress,” Klatt says. “Translational research is the sweetness that comes with scientific research for me.” In other words, being able to translate research in the laboratory into meaningful health outcomes in one of Klatt’s goals and pleasures.

That translation extends beyond the university setting to inner city school children and city refuse workers in Columbus, Ohio. Klatt has trained OSU Extension staff who, in turn, have led the program in communities across Ohio, and the University of Minnesota sublicensed the program and offers it as a fully covered benefit to employees through their health plan. She has also worked extensively with organizational leaders in the business community.

So, why do leaders care about mindfulness?

During a VoiceAmerica interview, Klatt pointed out that one of the primary causes of stress is dealing with people. This stressor is common in most work environments, whether it be a clinical setting or board room, and whether people are medical professionals or those engaged in business.

One of the factors we discussed in the interview is the fallacy of multi-tasking. In reality, humans aren’t wired to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, rather we engage in continuous partial attention and task switching. One of the important takeaways from this conversation is that by being mindful of how we invest our time—giving full attention to the tasks at hand—we are able to reduce our stress level, perform our tasks more effectively and efficiently, and improve our interactions with others.

As leaders, this has a direct correlation to improved productivity and focus. Like a domino effect, a better ability to focus improves interactions with others that can improve employee engagement, customer retention, and loyalty. It can also reduce stress and absenteeism.

So, the question to leaders is: If you could improve your performance and the quality of your work life with an investment of 20 minutes per day, wouldn’t you do it? The cost to benefit ratio is invaluable. You’ll likely never find a 20-minute investment to yield such great and lasting results that permeate every aspect of your personal and professional life. I highly recommend Klatt’s Mindfulness in Motion program!

SO….what can you do about becoming more effective? To become a more innovative leader, please consider our online leader development program. For additional tools, we recommend taking leadership assessments, using the Innovative Leadership Fieldbook and Innovative Leaders Guide to Transforming Organizations, and adding coaching to our online innovative leadership program. We also offer several workshops to help you build these skills.

The Way of Leadership

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Mindful leadership…You hear the phrase everywhere today. Mindful leadership is not an intellectual exercise. It is a way of being. John P. Milton has been teaching leaders for more than 50 years, how to be this and create a deep connection to universal source using Nature as the catalyst. Join Cheryl Esposito & John P. Milton on Leading Conversations radio as John reveals how deep inner communion with the Earth and Universal Source provide the way for grounded, centered, and (yes) mindful leadership.

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