Why managers need to meditate more
Burnout is front of everyone’s minds right now, but while leaders are doing a great job of helping their teams stay on top of stress, many of us are not taking such stellar care of our own mental wellbeing.
We caught up with Celynn Morin, Director of Resilient Energy Center UK, to talk about how a little meditation can make a huge difference.
I barely have enough time as it is, why should I meditate?
It’s an investment in yourself. Even spending 5 minutes a day tuned inward can help increase calmness, concentration, awareness and emotional balance.
Meditation is also a great way to help increase mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of paying attention and noticing and being present in whatever you’re doing. When you are being actively mindful, you are noticing the world around you, as well as your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, movements, and effects you have on others around you. Where meditation is usually practiced for a specific amount of time, mindfulness can be applied to any situation throughout the day.
How can it benefit my team?
Practicing meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety, calm the stress response in the brain and the body, lower blood pressure, reduce tension, increase memory, help you be creative and may enhance empathy and compassion.
Meditation can make it easier to put things into perspective, helping you to make better decisions and cope with difficult situations. When you’re calm and measured, it’s far easier to make your team feel accepted, heard and relaxed when they interact with you.
“You start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before.” - Steve jobs
That does sound pretty appealing… where should I start?
You’ve already started! Being curious is the first step, the next is to explore the different types of meditation. Examples include: Breath-awareness; Loving-kindness; mantra or visualisation based. Spend some time researching the different types and evaluate which is the best fit for you.
Find videos online or attend a masterclass, speak to a coach or get support through an app such as:
How can L&D promote meditation as a tool for managers?
Bring awareness of meditation and its benefits through relevant, engaging training. Bring it into culture through practices like starting meetings with a few minutes of meditation or having professional wellbeing speakers at meetings. Subsidize meditation programs or seminars.
Encourage your employees to try this out on their own and schedule gentle reminders to do it together as a team once a day as a chance for a mental break. Many leaders incorporate a 90-second meditation to begin or end a meeting, which can either set the tone for the discussion or help frame employee mindsets, and manage stress levels, at the conclusion of a meeting or long work day.
Additional resources
https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/
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