It is a simple enough question we have occasionally asked at VIM Executive Coaching: “Whom do you remember from various stages of your career – and why?” Sometimes (actually, often), the responses are less than positive.
Today, let’s turn the question around a bit: “Of the positive experiences you have had in your career, whom do you remember – and why?”
A few things come to mind
In variably, we have found at least three elements that surface from the question:
- Of the positive workplace experiences, people generally remember co-workers other than the CEO or most “C-Level” executives who often claim they have no time to be aware of the needs of subordinates.
- What is valued is how others made people feel rather than what was remembered verbatim.
- Employees tended to remember those who took them more seriously and respected them.
The three elements above were not the only positive remembrances, as clearly “being listened to” and “feeling a part of the team,” or “being seen,” were also deemed quite important.
Without naming the actual terminology, employees remembered executives who were mindful and authentic.
Those they remembered took the time to listen, to include others, to take them seriously and with respect. The mindful executive responds to what is being said; they do not merely react. They “saw” others and appreciated them.
Unfortunately, mindfulness is rarely taught, and traditionally, mindfulness rarely made the list of important corporate values.
Whistling in the wind?
Being mindful, authentic and responding, rather than reacting to problems have often been seen as irrelevant or extraneous values. This type of mindset has not been the domain of the modern-day hard-charging, take-no-prisoner mentality.
As a result of ignoring the important attributes of mindfulness, corporate America, indeed North America, have been treated to an unprecedented number of accusations, followed by major judgments and penalties of fraud, pollution, bribery, stock manipulation, gender discrimination, bullying, racism, substandard corner-cutting and much more.
There is a direct connection between a lack of corporate mindfulness and the numerous judgments we have detailed above. Obviously, the list is incomplete.
In virtually every recent case where unmindful leaders have “looked-away,” we’ve seen staff terminations up to the CEO level, stock-price hits, billions of dollars in penalties and in some cases, imprisonment. Even in situations where key executives have presumably gotten-away with such behaviors, the employees around them have walked-off jobs and run to the competition (or started their own ventures).
When we hear that mindfulness training is like “whistling in the wind,” we often answer with the observation that it is just a matter of time before consequences catch up with unmindful choices.
Whom do you remember?
Let us return to the original question and our observations. On the positive side of the equation, those who are remembered, treated others with a sense of respect, mindfulness and authenticity.
Ultimately, companies where mindfulness cultivates authenticity and respect are infinitely more successful. The days of the officious CEO are over. Executives who are disobedient to the need to change, get swept away to new visions of leadership.
In these times, even CEOs who decide to impose their biases and unmindful behavior on the corporation generally wind up fired, and almost always, there are also large financial judgments against the leadership.
In all things, it is far better to choose mindfulness and to value those at all levels of the corporation who strive for authenticity and compassion.