The complexity, ambiguity and relentless pace of today’s pandemic driven world places gigantic demands on business leaders in every industry. Leaders are working incredibly hard and yet feel that they are not meeting their own expectations of excellence. They are left overburdened and disconnected from their own values. Amid these overwhelming circumstances, leaders are expected to make fast, rational decisions with a focused, clear, compassionate and creative mind.
Mindfulness training is often associated with meditation practice – but it has become much, much more than that. Mindfulness is defined as ‘paying attention in the present moment, non-judgmentally’. Mindfulness harnesses our capacity to be aware of what is going on in our bodies, our minds, and our hearts … as we maneuver in an unavoidable sea of constantly changing events which demands that we change and adapt, often at lightning speed. This demand by the environment for us to continually change and adapt can, and most often does, create stress.
Stress is a relational transaction between our self and our environment during which we perceive and appraise events as threatening — in that they are over-taxing to us in some way. Changing the way we see ourselves in relationship to these stress-triggering events can actually alter the events themselves.
We have an innate desire for stability, although life itself requires that we must be in continuous change-mode. Mindfulness is a way to train the mind, but also includes paying attention to the body and the world around us, and helps us recognize that we are not a slave to our thoughts, but rather, we can choose how we respond.
There is plenty of evidence, including from the mental health arena and the field of neuroscience, showing how mindfulness can help reduce stress. The practice of mindfulness provides a way to cope with the challenges, complexities and ambiguity of our times. Studies indicate benefits such as heightened emotional intelligence, improved decision-making and strategic-thinking abilities, a heightened ability to focus, enhanced creativity, increased engagement in work, more energized and less anxious, and fewer symptoms of stress.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.