Over the past couple of years, myriad companies around the world have been instituting new leadership philosophies in an effort to transform their workforce. With a new year upon us, and progressive companies looking for innovative ways to improve their bottom lines and retain valued employees, corporate mindfulness continues to make great headway throughout executive boardrooms across corporate America and abroad.
Corporate mindfulness involves company executives leading the way to help their employees overcome the pressures that come with the daily grind of work and other personal responsibilities, and to guide them to prosperity on this work-life journey. Most of us know about the benefits of physical exercise to improve our health and reduce stress, but what do we really know about mental exercise?
More and more studies are showing that having a healthy mental state is imperative for better health, helping us reduce stress levels inherent in our lives and leading to greater happiness. The problem is that most people don’t know much about how and why to practice mental fitness, and if they do, they can’t find the time to devote to it. But in my view, people can't really afford not to invest the time to better their mental state.
Related to this is the notion that the success of a company relies on the organizational productive energy and individual self-worth. In order to have a strong, industrious workforce, leaders must choose to invest in healthy, energetic employees who support each other, and who focus on a greater purpose in life than merely working toward financial gain. And it’s for this reason that a growing number of progressive companies are installing leadership that lifts their business to a higher level of consciousness to achieve a sustainable and thriving organization.
To this end, companies are assigning corporate officers as ambassadors of this growing leadership philosophy to educate, nurture and inspire their employees with better mental fitness programs and self-leadership skills to provide each individual with the choice to fulfill their potential. Specifically, they’re finding success in achieving this through corporate mindfulness techniques in the workplace during work hours.
For some, it initially sounds like a waste of time. Think again. Aetna rolled out a mindfulness program and found that employees who practiced mindfulness actually gained 62 minutes of productivity each week, to go along with less stress, less pain and better sleep.
The titles of these corporate executives overseeing this leadership philosophy vary (chief culture officer, chief people officer, chief happiness officer, to name a few) but the role is the same: helping valued employees thrive and grow in the work-life journey by improving their mental fitness and emotional intelligence through mindfulness at work. Many now ask if work-life balance really is just about life.
This is where leadership philosophy comes in. Leadership philosophy is a combination of motivating others to achieve their potential, and a philosophy that can be put into a set of guiding principles that the company believes in. To put it simply, the senior executive is the leader and facilitator of putting leadership philosophy into action by incorporating corporate mindfulness into the work culture as a natural part of everyday life at the office.
Leadership Philosophy Blueprint For Corporate Mindfulness
For companies looking to achieve a workforce that is more mindful, aware and focused, the following blueprint can help them get started.
1. Determine Program Goals And Objectives
The overarching goal is typically a corporate program that provides mental fitness for all employees, led and supported by management with a designated point person, with the objective of strengthening the mental well-being of employees. While companies engaged in this new leadership philosophy are willing to make the investment in time during the workday, they are committed to empowering each individual with the know-how and techniques for leading a better and more successful work-life on their own, giving the individual the freedom to choose their personal path.
2. Identify Central Values
It begins with an understanding of the value of being mindful. In some research, mindfulness has been shown to offer benefits such as stronger mental fitness, better health, increased energy, enhanced emotional intelligence, improved mental processes and much more. The mindfulness leader at the company can establish and communicate the chief goals and framework for the mindfulness practice, and what the company hopes will be achieved for employees participating in the corporate mindfulness program. Goals could be to lower stress levels and build resilience.
3. Implement Corporate Mindfulness Practice
The key is to make mindfulness part of your corporate culture. As an example, we’ve embraced the Seven Habits philosophy created by Stephen Covey as the centerpiece for our corporate mindfulness program, and as a common understanding for cooperation and relationship building. It’s a shared language among our employees on a global scale. We’ve also instituted a “minute of silence” to commence meetings. This strategy helps meeting participants clear their heads from their last engagement and focus for the session just ahead.
4. Create Communication Platforms
It’s essential to build a culture that illuminates, mirrors and “communicates” calmness, focus and the free flow of energy and creativeness. Social media, in-house emails and the company website and blog are all easy and inexpensive ways to lead employees by providing insights, tips and wisdom about mindfulness.
5. Design Improvement System
While the mindfulness program will be led by a senior executive or in some cases a certified mindfulness instructor sponsored by the company, it’s important to build in feedback from participants to reevaluate and improve your practice as you go along. You might also find it beneficial to add new twists as adjuncts to your program, such as holding an off-site mindful leadership retreat.
Time is one of our most precious assets. Adding mindfulness to a packed to-do list can lead to avoidance and even more stress, but with companies embracing the new leadership philosophy of offering mindfulness techniques and practice during the workday, individuals are becoming healthier, happier people while working. And since self-improvement can lead to greater work productivity and a more innovative and sustainable organization, participating companies are more than happy to make the investment.
