On New Year’s Day, a client sent VIM Executive Coaching a New York Times article that was quite interesting. The piece, entitled: “Happy New Year. Set yourself up for a more meaningful connected life in 2023,” was based on a Harvard study of Adult Development. The study has been ongoing since the 1930s and maps out generation-to-generation factors for happiness and other successful or unsuccessful outcomes.
More than management theory
One of the strongest predictors for a fruitful life is “connection.” Connection is the ability we have to reach out to others and to cultivate friendships and professional relationships. When connections are absent in someone’s life, chances are they lose the very fabric of contentment and “presence.” VIM Coaching believes that the same benefits that come from connection in personal lives, also positively affect work lives.
It should be no surprise that this connectivity extends well beyond homes and into the office, no matter how workplaces currently define the workplace in this period of time. In fact, 2023 will be a year of a re-examination of hybrid as so many studies and commentaries have been written on the negative psychological effects of one-hundred percent virtual work.
Connectivity is also an outcome of mindfulness. An executive leader who strives for connectivity in the workplace, whether with superiors, peers or subordinates is undoubtedly a mindful executive leader. Mindfulness demands authenticity. The clear path to connections in the workplace is a path that leads through self-awareness and active listening; to be aware in the moment and to strive to create relationships that have impact and sustainability.
We would emphasize that if an executive leader truly reflects on their most effective connections, they would find relationships built on true interaction and not posturing or even simulating the popular term “gaslighting.”
Gaslighting, by the way, is hardly a new term – just an old term that has become popular. In essence, gaslighting is a manipulation of another’s emotions. It has direct applicability to mindfulness; it is the opposite of authenticity. Again, it is why many employees in virtual work experiences feel isolated and often, paranoid.
Everyone needs connection. It is up to executive leaders to set the example and the tone for the connected workplace. By extension, it is up to executive leaders to be mindful and to meditate and think at length as to how they can become more connected in their interactions.
Happiness
Having coached many executive leaders through the worst of the pandemic, VIM Executive Coaching has been privy to the thoughts, actions and reactions of those who influence corporations. Without a doubt, the more leaders and workers in organizations tried to authentically connect with one another, the happier they were, and the more effective they were.
When the pandemic began to lift and life became more normalized, happier leaders were able to motivate and inspire their people all to the better.
When workers walked off jobs in droves, overwhelmingly, the workers who exited the doors (real and virtual) were generally unhappy with the inauthentic and manipulative leadership of their companies. Happy workplaces, by and large, remained more intact.
Connectivity does not happen by accident, but by a self-awareness that reaps huge benefits. Our wish in 2023, is that your workplace is more self-aware, more mindful and happier than ever.