Ever since ‘Mindfulness at Work’ emerged as a topic of conversation around five years ago there have been a deluge articles. Some, published by credible sources provided real insight, but sadly most were just superficial regurgitations of that same message – mindfulness is good, we should all be doing it. Alongside this message came various suggestions of the benefits of mindfulness, however, few really looked at the practicalities of integrating mindfulness into the workplace. So I thought I would try to fill the void and share my learnings after nearly a decade of study on neuroscience, and emotional intelligence for leaders. At the same time, I hope to dispel a few myths.
Firstly, let’s dispel the biggest myth of all – that mindfulness is the same as meditation. Although mindfulness could be classified as a simplistic form of meditation, it is not meditation as we know it. Meditation requires a complete absence of thought, takes 30-40 minutes a day, and years to master. Mindfulness is more a stilling of the mind, for a few seconds to minutes, and merely being aware of one’s thoughts and feelings, and one’s surroundings, but not interacting with them. Its power is in its ability to create a gap between emotional reaction and logical response.
The primary benefits of mindfulness at work are pretty much as previously shared by other authors – stress relief, more clarity in decision making, and becoming more attuned to one’s own behavioural reactions to various trigger events. In total, these make us better leaders and managers.
The secondary benefits are in the improvement of our own performance, and through the development of better, more positive relationships with those we work alongside, whether peers or those we manage. In turn, this improves the culture of an organisation, and performance improves as a result.
A big benefit of mindfulness is that it can be practised anywhere. There are no strict rules. You can be at your desk, in a meeting, sitting, walking or lying down – just please, don’t practice this when operating machinery or driving a car, even if you are stopped at the traffic lights. It doesn’t require you to lock yourself away in your office or a meeting room for 30 minutes. Just a few minutes, a few times a day can make an amazing difference.
Mindfulness is the foundation of self-awareness, which in turn is the underpinning of most other higher-level emotional intelligence competencies. Until one is aware of ones own emotions and reactions, one cannot master them. Once we have more self-awareness of our own values, beliefs and behaviours, we can work on being more empathetic to others; to understand the values and beliefs behind their behaviours. This insight is what enables us to communicate better, negotiate more effectively and build better relationships.
The biggest thing that stops people from practising mindfulness is that they don’t recognise any immediate benefits. They don’t see ‘the green light’ experienced in deep meditation, or feel as if they have just had 8 hours sleep. Knowledge of such experiences associated with mastery in meditation set unrealistic and false expectations for mindfulness. The only outcome you need to recognise is that you have actually created the gap – whether it be for 10 seconds or 10 minutes. The practice is the purpose in itself. Nothing more. It is your ability to be aware that you are stressed, or about to react in a negative way, and to stop for a moment, to allow whatever time is needed to become aware of your emotions, and to recognise why you are feeling the way you are. You can then quickly engage the tools you learn in emotional intelligence training, and ensure a much more positive outcome.
That’s mindfulness in practice!
