​​​​Gregor Fisher

One day in Berkeley, California in 1975 (I was 13 years old) my father told me he had scheduled an appointment for me at the local ashram to learn how to meditate. No, we were not of Indian descent. And no, I did not particularly want to go, although I was a little curious about Indian stuff and meditation in particular. Dad was a sociology professor and a forward thinker for his day. He simply wanted my brothers and I to learn how to meditate because he thought it would be helpful to us. So, off I went to the temple where I was taught how to meditate.

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Fast-forward to today. Since joining the workforce in the early 1990s I have had two major themes or ideas run through my career. One is my quest to navigate my way to career success through learning the latest technology trends, something I continue to do. The other significant current in my working life is my belief that one of the biggest difficulties in any job is the “people” side of things. How many of us have had bad bosses or colleagues that have affected our job satisfaction, or even made us so unhappy or distressed that we quit a job? The time spent worrying about people and situations at work is one of the most life draining and, from a work standpoint, counterproductive things you can do.

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I can recall my own and have heard stories from friends and colleagues recounting numerous episodes of “corporate” behavior, or colleagues being controlling, manipulative, backstabbing, or just plain mean at work. In fact, these kinds of behaviors, including water cooler gossip and office politics can often be real impediments to the success of an organization. They affect worker happiness, retention, and often the effectiveness and quality of the actual work being done by the organization.

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Other than the annual HR pitch about harassment, what can we do to eliminate or at least lessen destructive or counterproductive behavior at work? We can’t legislate or regulate positive and helpful behavior, or a happy workplace, but we can help create the conditions where it can occur. Although these ideas are not new with me, this is what the Mindful Manager and Mindful Teams speaks to. Akin to Wellness Plans at work that try to get employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise, I am suggesting that we learn to “center down,” to settle our minds both individually and collectively at the workplace. In addition to a step class offered at lunch time, employees should be encouraged to learn and practice meditation, or any technique they choose to de-stress, perhaps just sitting quietly. Transcendental meditation just happens to be the best approach, in my opinion.

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Ideally, in addition to an hour lunch break, employees should get an hour of personal time to be used for a nap or relaxation, but preferably meditation because of the unique psychological and medical health benefits it offers. Far from diminishing productivity, this extra hour given to workers will make them more focused, more productive, more loyal and yes, more happy.

There is no productivity gap in the US, technology is making us incredibly productive. It is the people that need to be given a break, their renewed energy and enthusiasm will only feed back into the company with happier employees.

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Although I think giving employees time each day to relax and refocus is good for all employees no matter their job function (not to mention humane), it is particularly helpful in high stress and complex jobs. Agile software development, one of the biggest trends in software development over the last 10 years or so, seems to recognize this. Agile is a people centered approach to managing and doing work. It does not dwell on the traditional metric of hours spent to complete a unit of work. Instead, it allows the team to assess, assign, and perform the work, using iterations or sprints (a period of two to four weeks) to complete units of work. It is a much more creative and flexible way of working that values people and puts them at the heart of the process, rather than at the end of the lash.

 

My Prescription for a Mindful Manager, Mindful Team

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• As a manager institute one hour of personal time each day for employees, in addition to a one hour lunch break.

• This personal time is to be divided into two 1/2 hour sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

• The sessions are to be used for instructor lead meditation sessions by a certified transcendental meditation instructor.

• Alternative sessions should be made available so that employees can use their session time to nap or sit quietly or engage in a preferred activity (swimming, gardening, jogging, etc), if they do not want to meditate.

• Employees should be sincerely encouraged to participate in company sponsored psychological counselling services with a psychologist of their choice. There is no suggestion or stigma of illness in this. Life is complex and we need someone impartial to talk about our lives with.

• Have quarterly company events (picnic, bowling, movie, pub) for employees that include significant others, spouses, and families.

• Make it absolutely okay to not participate in any of the Mindful suggestions, if the employee so chooses.

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The main thing I learned on that initial exploration of meditation at the Berkeley ashram, is the idea of quieting the mind. It has taught me to step outside of my personal or job related fear and loathing and develop a more considered and thoughtful response to stress, a response that helps bring about the ultimate result I am seeking in a given situation. 

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Our biologically driven, albeit ill-considered responses to stress (or simply having a noisy, distracted mind) works against us and causes us to work at subpar levels or, at worst, to be dysfunctional.  It is my hope that you or your organization will continue the trend of putting people ahead of processes and consider a Mindful Manager and Mindful Team approach.

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Sources

The Mindful Manager, LinkedIn, Andy Hammond, 2015https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mindful-manager-andy-hammond

The Mindful Manager, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, David Gelles, 2015http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00336?gko=9663c

The Mindful Manager, The Creative Dimension, 2015http://www.thecreativedimension.com/the-mindful-manager/