Has Your Team Lost It's Mind(fulness)?

Has Your Team Lost It's Mind(fulness)?
I recently came back from my annual seven-day silent,
mindfulness retreat (I typically go on a mindfulness
retreat once a year, sometimes more). For those of you
know what this is, you're likely saying "ah, that sounds
really, really great - wish I were there right now"! For
those of you who might not know what a mindfulness retreat
is, you're likely saying "huh - a WHAT retreat?"

Allow me to elaborate a bit, and then we'll talk about
mindfulness for your team! A mindfulness retreat is
designed to help you slow down our usual fast daily pace to
a snail's pace...no phones, no e-mail, nothing to do but BE
PRESENT, in each moment. Oh yes, and did I also mention no
talking? So, here I was, at this beautiful retreat center,
in silence, doing only one thing at a time....for seven
glorious days! The benefit, in case you're still
wondering, is that when there is complete silence, you can
learn to train your mind to turn off the "chatter" and
eliminate (well, at least reduce!) daily distractions, so
that you can be present to what is happening right now -
fully present - to the one activity in which you are
engaged.

Now, you may be asking "so what's the benefit to reducing
the distractions"? The benefit is that you become much
more mindful, or aware of everything that you do. You get
to fully appreciate what you're doing because you are fully
present to the experience! You also see things for what
they really are - you see the truth about things - no
denial - without all of the illusions we typically create
in our lives. No assumptions, no distractions, no
illusions.....just the truth about our current experience,
feelings, thoughts, etc - right there in front of us.

Sometimes, it's really painful to be with our thoughts,
feelings, etc., which is why many of us distract ourselves
with other things, so that we don't have to experience
those difficult feelings and thoughts. As we all know,
though, by denying that something exists doesn't mean that
it goes away - whether it's something in our work
situations or our personal lives. By having the courage to
fully experience all of our experiences, we can more fully
experience everything in life.

Ok, what does this have to do with your team? Teams are
impacted greatly by the level of mindfulness, or presence,
of its team members. Teams that are fully present with and
for each other are typically more successful.

Think about the team that you spend the most time with -
your work team, your volunteer team, a parent committee,
etc. Keep that team in mind as you ask these questions:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most mindful), how
mindful is my team on any given day?

In what way(s) does my team act mindfully - i.e., in what
ways is my team present to each experience with each other?
This often happens when team members are fully present by
fully listening to each other when each person speaks, and
being open to hearing each person's opinion. Honoring and
appreciating diverse opinions on a team is a critical
success factor for a team, by the way!

In what way(s) does my team NOT act mindfully - i.e., in
what ways is my team NOT present to each experience and
each team member? A team is not acting mindfully if the
team members are talking over each other, arguing loudly,
etc. Or, when team members physically attend a meeting by
showing up, but allow themselves to be distracted by their
e-mails or answering cell phone calls while the meeting is
occurring. By definition, you can't be mindful and
multi-tasking at the same time!

What is one thing my team can do to become more mindful?
Help your team by asking them "how can we be more mindful
and present with each other?" By being more mindful, your
team members will respect each other more, which will
increase the trust and camaraderie on your team. For those
of you who have been through our team development
workshops, you know the three most critical factors
contributing to a team's success: trust, respect and
camaraderie.

As you can see, mindful teams are likely more productive
and sustainable for the long term. If your team is already
fairly mindful, congratulations - please celebrate that
with them! If your team has lost its mindfulness they can
get it back - you can help them get it back through
implementing some of the suggestions above.

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Are you a business leader struggling to get the results you
need from your team? Despite the many challenges facing
organizations today, it IS possible to take your team to
the next level and get the results that you and your
organization desire! Want to learn how? Visit us:
http://www.goalsinsight.com