VIM Executive Coaching has long been a proponent of mindfulness meditation to enable executive leaders to better center themselves and to unclutter the daily stressors of corporate life. Over the years, we have found without question, that mindfulness leads to greater authenticity and compassion.
The Calm Pause
The essence of mindfulness, being aware in the moment, is simply explained by understanding the difference between responding and reacting. Interestingly, it is not necessarily related to an exterior demeanor.
We have all heard stories of seemingly calm executives who sometimes went “over the top” in inappropriate reactions, and conversely, of outwardly boisterous and loud executives who could become, in the moment, exceptionally kind and compassionate.
It is easy to react. Indeed, around a boardroom table (in-person or virtual), others may behave in a way to force or induce a reaction in an executive. Reaction is often instinctual; for example, the perfectly civil Persian cat chasing a Blue Jay or reaching out for a foul ball at a baseball game. To that end, some executives may instinctively make a decision based on gut-feel or bias or incomplete facts.
Reaction is a rather dangerous tendency. Reaction is akin to throwing darts at an emotional or organizational dartboard. Sometimes the reaction is strangely (and dangerously) appropriate. If right, the executive leader is then hailed as a genius of epic proportion! However, there is a reason we point out “dangerously” above. The next time the executive reacts in the second or moment, the same idea may make a belly-flop that is heard around the world.
Response requires a more measured approach. Response is a calm pause that strangely, does not take hours to deliver even at the height of a negotiation or personnel conflict, but it does require a backdrop of mindfulness.
Do You Chant and Such?
Mindfulness meditation is perhaps the most misunderstood tool in the entire executive toolbox. In fact, if we were to use the toolbox analogy to describe response, it is akin to saying, “Measure twice, Cut Once.”
Mindfulness meditation has nothing to do with any religion, chanting, bead counting, magic carpets or incense. It is simply a centering of one’s self, being aware of the moment and more importantly, in the moment. The in the moment thinking is indeed like measuring the board twice before cutting it with the saw. It is a natural response that says, “I’d better be sure if it was 10-1/2” or 10-7/8” The whole act of re-measuring might take two seconds.
If the board is incorrectly cut because of a hasty decision, it cannot be uncut. In well-known corporations around the world, we have all recently borne witness to hasty, ill-advised and even highly unethical decisions made by incredibly bright people. Their hasty reactions cost their companies millions, if not billions of dollars in reputation, penalties, scandal and lost business.
Being responsive does demand we “measure twice,” but it doesn’t mean executive leaders must halt the meeting while they light incense and chant gibberish. It is, instead, a quiet, inner calming that gently forces us to be aware and awake.
As to the title of this post, we have often asked executives what imagery they embrace when calming their minds while in the middle of mindfulness meditation or even when opinions and contention fly around the room.
One executive can calm herself by imagining the planting a beautiful garden in spring; another, thinks of rowing a boat on a calm lake and still another “listens” to a few segments of a beautiful symphony. In taking but a second or two they more easily calm and then respond.
Being mindful does not mean “being weak” or “strong-willed,” but aware that every choice has a consequence and once cut, the board will always reflect the decision of the decision maker. Being mindful is the gift every executive leader should give to themselves.