Summary: Mindfulness at work; Good for humans, good for business.
The marketing team at Klein HR Solutions – fresh off finishing a stellar 2019 – did research, interviewed SME’s & experts in South Florida – and asked them how they implement mindfulness in their corporate roles.
Questions for our Collaborators:
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001: Marte Singerman
“The interpersonal benefits of mindfulness in the workplace may be even greater than the health benefits. Imagine how a workplace will be transformed if the workforce practices mindful speech and decision making. Businesses will enjoy greater clarity in setting, agreeing upon and achieving their goals which leads to more productivity with less stress.”
-Marte V. Singerman, Attorney and Meditation Teacher
002: Andy Crestodina
–Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder / Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media Studios, Inc.
003: Nyrka Riskin
“I follow these wellness tips in my everyday life.
Wellness Tip: #1 I have developed a consistent and fun exercise regimen.
Wellness Tip: #2 I find quiet time through meditation or mindfulness exercises.
When we feel good, we become better leaders! Moreover, when developing leadership training for my clients, I usually include stress and wellness, mindful leadership, or emotional intelligence curriculum due to the impact wellness has in highly effective leaders.”
–Nyrka Riskin, MBA, Image and Leadership Expert
004: Jeska Brodbeck
“Many of the business executives I work with do not fully understand the power of mindfulness until they experience it for themselves— and then they are hooked!
They observe that their performance naturally increases as a result of bringing mindfulness to their work, to their relationships, and to how they make decisions.
This is because practicing mindfulness develops a very particular skill— being able to see the full picture of what is happening in every situation— versus being lost in the details and minutiae. Consistently taking actions from a bigger picture vision is a crucial practice for leadership, as well as for anyone seeking to up level their game at work and in life.”
–Jeska Brodbek, Executive Leadership & Performance Coach | Keynote Speaker | Business Owner, Be Light Consulting
005: Adam Pacitti
“When mindfulness is practiced in businesses, there is space created to fully develop vision into being, into collaboration, into results.
The opposite of this is running around for the sake of running around or because we are “supposed to” without checking in with the True Self as to if the actions being taken align with the original idea, purpose and vision. Business that practice mindfulness, asking themselves “does this decision or action align with our mission” ensure that every action within a given task or project is a clear choice moving in the direction of purpose.”
–Adam Pacitti, Founder of Conscious Eagle Collective
006: Graciela Valdes
- “As a professional portrait
photographer specializing in branding portraits, mindfulness is paramount to a successful shoot and a happy client. I like to practice remaining completely in the present moment. Its easy to get overwhelmed with the long list of emails longing for attention or that To Do list that never seems to end, but if one remains mindful in the present moment, then the end result is nothing less than EXCELLENCE. Being present with your client allows you to truly hear and appreciate the nuances of communication.” - “I love Insight Timer! It provides so many options for mindfulness. Whether you choose to start or end the day with a 90 min guided mediation or just need a little 5 min brain break to re-calibrate, its the perfect app.”
–Graciela Valdes, Certified Professional Photographer
007: Minuca Elena
Due to social media is quite easy to compare our results to other people’s success. This can make people feel superior to some of our peers and inferior to others. Through mindfulness, I realized that it’s not good to compare with other people. Each person has his/her own skills, different opportunities, and challenges. We should focus on improving ourselves to be better than we used to be, not better than our colleagues, or relatives.
Headspace is an app that enables me to get a good night’s rest. Although I was initially skeptical about the app, I found it to be effective for me.
–Minuca Elena, Roundup Article Expert & Influencer Marketing Specialist
008: Ramon Abreu
“By practicing mindfulness and practicing presence in sales engagement – and eliminating multitasking – my last year over year (YOY) Sales Attainment against goal from 75% to 134%. ”
–Ramon Abreu, Collaboration Sales Specialist Public Sector, Cisco
009: Allen Weiss
To figure out the business reasons for incorporating mindfulness into your company, start by calculating the health care costs savings to your company if your employees had the mental and emotional skills to reduce their stress (less burnout and turnover) and increase their resilience and emotional intelligence.
-Allen Weiss, Director of Mindful USC, Founder of MarketingProfs, Senior Teacher at InsightLA
“Put away the sage and the lava lamps”
Mindfulness and meditation now have technique, science, and credibility behind it. The practices are condensed into a curriculum that makes sense for today’s corporate market.
“Burning incense gives me a headache, and I feel awkward chanting sanskrit phrases.” -said a C-level exec interviewed by researcher Sandy Abrams who wrote the book on deep breathing, “Breathe to Succeed.”
“Breathe to Succeed”
“Breath can help short-attention spanned fast-paced people (like me) learn how to slow down internally. I have a business sensibility, so my advice is practical, functional and efficient, not New-Age-y.” – Sandy Abrams
“We wanted something you can comfortably bring into a boardroom.”
Meditation for Beginners
Meditation stills the mind and allows it time to visualize the outcome; visualize the goal ahead; and move with focus towards that direction.
A popular way to do this is through Body Scan meditation. Athletes like basketball players use it, such as before throwing a free throw from the freethrow line. The “guided visualization” practice links the mind and the body. It’s been shown to reduce tension in the brain.
“Where people are paid to think, mindfulness training is good.” – said a McKinsey consultant.
Mindfulness Aids Workplace Productivity in Corporate United States
[Our writer will spare you the scientific details. Just use this Google Scholar boolean search which yields 2000-plus journals of scientific conclusions and you will find research numbers that support the following medical and psychological statements].
- Human beings have an ability to control and regulate their brain
- Through 3 deep breaths you can change your state of mind
- Through 16 deep breaths you can change your body chemistry
- Through deep diaphragmatic breathing new neurons are created in the brain
- Breathing with careful attention to breaths engages different parts of brain
- During times of stress and when heightened concentration is needed, focusing on one’s breathing can charge the brain.
- Through breathing humans can control their emotions
Overwork
Did you know that:
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Stop, Breathe, Think
Mindfulness is not requiring you to disconnect from the world, it is accessible on your phone and in your local neighborhood. Yoga studios, religious organizations, animal shelters, and self-improvement communities all practice mindfulness in some form or fashion.
Three companies that offer mindfulness. You can download their apps here:
- Headspace in Santa Monica, California.
- Unplug Meditation in Los Angeles, California.
- Smiling Mind in Sydney, Australia.
Case Study on AetnaDavid Gelles shares these conclusions about insurance giant Aetna in his book, Mindful Work:
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The Conclusion: Meditation Aids Productivity
Fung Cheng, PhD did a 2016 meta-analysis. This meta-analysis looked at 10 studies in North America, Europe, Asia. They found that across cultures meditation alleviates role conflicts. This is because people learn empathy, patience, and humility.
The ability to stop, look, listen and see the problem from the other person’s perspective aids performance, no matter the organization’s size or industry. Cheng concluded that “Meditation benefits personal and mental health and social relationships, and benefits organizational innovation and development.”
Parting Thoughts
Nielsen reports that American adults spend more than 11 hours per day using the screen. This includes watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with digital media. (One of the reasons we’re seeing an increase in remote workers). As corporate America moves into 2020, the continued demand for screen-time will increase workers’ cognitive loads. Incoming research continues to show the importance of mindfulness in the workplace. We believe these mindfulness techniques will enable individuals to experience serenity in the fragmentation.
We want to extend a big THANK YOU to the contributors who made this article possible!
8 Tips for Meditation
- Learn how to single task
- Put the phone out of eyesight
- Put the phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode
- Take a break!
- Embrace the art of listening
- Become comfortable in uncertainty
- Visualize the outcome as happening
- Practice
| If your organization is looking for ways to implement mindfulness techniques, contact Tammy Klein. You’ll receive a response within 48 hours. |
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