44 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 3Introduce Your Team to Mindfulness Apps
The idea of “mindfulness” might sound
strange or intimidating to some. Not every-
one will want to attend a company yoga
class or meditate side-by-side with their co-
workers. That’s why the new generation
of meditation and mindfulness apps can be
so helpful. You can share these apps with
your team as a way to introduce mindfulness
on a small scale. Let people experiment indi-
vidually with them to see what they like the
most. Many people may benefit from using
apps for a guided meditation during the
work day which may help them learn how to
calm themselves, focus their minds, and re-
duce stress at work.
Be a Mindfulness Role Model
Ideally, mindfulness practices will help cre-
ate a more peaceful, calm, and people-
centered work environment. But for a mind-
ful workplace to become a reality, organiza-
tion leaders need to become more mindful
managers. Mindfulness can help managers
work on their self-awareness, patience, and
empathy. Is your management style still
based on traditional hierarchies and com-
mand-and-control, or are you truly embrac-
ing the potential of a flat and Agile organiza-
tion where everyone can freely contribute
their creative thinking? Are you leading with
fear, or inspiring your people with authentic
emotional connection? Are you exhibiting
impatient, angry, exasperated behavior, or
are you creating a calm, collaborative, reflec-
tive work environment where people can
relax and feel empowered enough to share
their best ideas?
In this economy companies need to work
harder than ever to compete for talent, re-
tain talent, and be known as an employer of
choice. Managers need to use supportive
soft skills to maximize the talents of every-
one on their team and connect with employ-
ees from diverse cultural and generational
backgrounds. Mindfulness is an ideal tool
that can really help today’s managers. Re-
searchers are still learning more about the
impacts of mindfulness at work. But I believe
that in the future, as demands continue to
increase while the number of hours in the
day remains constant, more managers are
going to need to embrace creative strategies
to help their teams be healthier, calmer,
more productive, and more fully present in
every moment.Arvin Patel is the EVP and Chief Intellectual
Property Officer at TiVo.LinkedIN: @ArvinPatel