Corporate Meditation

How might an organisation become mindful of its performance and just Be? Increasingly Western cultures are accepting that meditation can have profound health benefits through the reduction of stress. It’s still a long way from routine use by mainstream medicine but today’s practitioners do not attract the ridicule they might once have done. Indeed there may even be mild admiration for those who appear to live in a disciplined way. They are mostly well-adjusted, calm, inwardly serene and outwardly successful. What’s not to like about that? In Tatiana Bachkirova’s book ‘Developmental Coaching’ she describes how the personal debates that go on in our heads are a natural way for the disparate parts of our unconscious to bring their concerns for consideration and adjudication. She explores the concept of mini-selves as messengers from the subconscious or elephant and the conscious mind as the elephant’s rider, responsible for giving direction. There is a tacit understanding that the rider will always get the best performance from the elephant when the animal is properly looked after. Expanding this idea to the ‘organ-isation’, or corporate body, we can think of the continuing operations and the prevailing culture as the elephant and the senior management team (SMT) as the rider. The only sustainable way for the organisation to thrive is for the SMT to be well attuned to the situations within the organisation and to be responsive to its needs. This ‘listening’ to the body is what we do in a meditative body-scan. Rather than randomly reacting to every itch or discomfort as they present, we work our way through the body noting any sensations, resolving to attend to specifics when the meditation practice is complete. – It’s rather like a corporate audit. Just as a body scan sets us on a mindful course for our day, erasing the stresses of yesterday and allowing us to be with ourselves in the moment, so too mindful reflections in the boardroom potentially offer the organisation a way to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts throughout the business day by day and then to consciously forge ahead with a balanced and collectively supported programme of development. This should be distinguished from the purpose of the now commonplace ‘Management Away-days’ every quarter, where executives actively consider options for enhancing business performance and growth. Rather I’m suggesting that twenty minutes devoted to a daily appreciation of what’s already going right is a strong way of building a sense of connection with the workforce which is deeply satisfying and fuels goodwill. Think of it as creating corporate level Oxytocin! Shareholders with the motivation of ‘enlightened self-interest’ will not punish the boardroom team that works well together. How is appreciation shown and felt in your organisation? Does your organisation meditate?