One of the many reasons as to why VIM Executive Coaching guides its clients through exercises such as mindfulness meditation is to help executive leaders navigate through what we call the “daily clutter.”
The clutter is similar to obstacles on an obstacle course or if you prefer, sand traps on a golf course. In any case, the clutter’s effects are the same: lost time, wasted emotions and lost opportunities. Please note that the three elements of which we just mentioned are listed in order of severity.
Whatever it Represents
“Clutter,” of course, means different things to different people. Clutter may include gossip, pre-occupation with social media, pointless political discussions, personality conflicts, wasted or excessive meetings, or any number of time-wasting people who traipse, unannounced into an office. Whether the clutter involves the buzz of an employee who incessantly posts dance videos on TikTok, or having to intercede in a political argument between two managers, clutter can – and often does – make office life miserable.
As briefly mentioned above, at least three deleterious outcomes of clutter is that huge quantities of time are wasted. These are (sadly) often contentious times. Political rants and arguments may literally waste hours each day. Employees obsessed with social media or office politics may waste even more.
Wasted emotions and emotional upheavals are another negative outcome of clutter and obviously, clutter can come from a remote location, contract workers or even vendors. These forces strain souls and emotional resources even from afar. You may not personally know anyone, for example, in the Singapore office but personality conflicts with those in the Berlin or Paris office help nothing.
Finally, excessive clutter can sidetrack of hijack an executive’s potential to seize on an important opportunity. It is difficult to formulate strategy or build on a platform, when you are being interrupted and pulled in unnecessary directions.
The Outcome
The outcome of clutter may not be obvious at first. Unchecked clutter leads to a change of focus and creates stress, but much more, it causes those who are not mindful of the effects of clutter to lose authenticity. If we are not careful, undue clutter forces us to become strangers to ourselves. We may react in the moment, rather than respond. We may make decisions we regret, we set snap policies that make no sense.
However, if we can learn to be more mindful, we can navigate through the sand-traps of our work life and more calmly and deliberately clear away the clutter.
When we first start talking about mindfulness and mindfulness meditation, new clients are “terrified” that somehow, they’ll be led down a road of hypnotic thinking, prayer beads and flowing tunics or having to master a modified Gregorian chant! Meditation is, in fact, the opposite of hypnosis; it is full awareness; can be done in three-piece suits or sweats and requires no singing, chanting, thick prayer books or daily visits to an Ashram.
In fact, mindfulness meditation requires just one ingredient: you. Mindfulness practice couple with the techniques we teach at VIM Executive Coaching create an island of authenticity in the midst of an executive leader’s daily storm. And that’s key.
All of the factors that can clutter our work lives cannot stand up to an authentic leader, Sometimes understanding how to say, “Not now,” or “Not relevant to this important project,” or even “This is a problem that must be successfully solved with your people,” can all me done in the moment of authenticity and mindfulness.
We can learn mindfulness techniques that reduce clutter, or we can fall victim to it. There is no heroism in victimhood.