How do we equip individuals and organizations to meet the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly complex and unpredictable world?
Mindfulness – a purposeful, clear and available quality of awareness that allows us to relate in more skillful, agile and innovative ways to whatever arises moment-to-moment. Mindfulness training strengthens the ability to be more fully aware of the nuances of the moment, rather than being driven by how things used to be or should be or you want them to be. The increased ability to manage attention allows for “real choice,” not the kind of automatic decision-making that comes from deeply ingrained and automatic habits. Add to this the stability and calm that flow from a regular mindfulness practice, and individuals and organizations are well-positioned for peak performance, optimal outcomes and sustainable well-being.
The Harvard Business Review article Mindfulness Can Literally Change Your Brain, concludes that: “Mindfulness should no longer be considered a “nice-to-have” for executives. It’s a “must-have”: a way to keep our brains healthy, to support self-regulation and effective decision-making capabilities, and to protect ourselves from toxic stress.”
Similarly, a National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being issued a report recommending mindfulness training as it can enhance a host of competencies related to effectiveness, including increased focus and concentration, working memory, critical cognitive skills, reduced burnout, and ethical and rational decision-making.
According to the World Health Organization, the average person spends 90,000 hours, 1/3 of their life, at work. Employers are thus uniquely positioned to both benefit from and provide the tools and strategies necessary for individual and organizational effectiveness and well-being.