I find that mindfulness is still a "marmite" subject when discussing it with friends, family and my business network. So many think it is all very "woo woo" and still reserved for hippies!
Our team at Collingwood have a monthly mindfulness workshop hosted by the amazing Russell Treasure and we are enjoying significant benefits to our team performance, workplace culture and general 121 dynamics within the team.
Our sessions are much more than meditation and we use them to pause and reflect on both our personal and professional lives. The barriers are now down, everyone feels comfortable about discussing sensitive issues that are troubling them which has increased trust and understanding.This Harvard article reflects some of the positives we have enjoyed from mindfulness. I would love to hear from others who have also given it a try in the workplace.
How can leaders help teams before they get to this stage? One possibility might be mindfulness. Mindfulness, defined as “a receptive attention to and awareness of present events and experience,” has been shown to help individuals stay on task, approach problems with an open mind, and avoid taking disagreements personally. The trend is so strong, in fact, that many major corporations have begun instituting mindfulness programs: Google, Aetna, LinkedIn, and Ford have all employed it in hopes of boosting productivity and employee satisfaction. Team mindfulness, however, is distinct from individual mindfulness in that it applies to the group as a whole, and to the interaction between its members, as opposed to employees’ individual thought patterns.
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