Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Is the Workplace a Place for Mindfulness?

Some might ask, "What does mindfulness have to do with productivity and business success?"  People that already practice mindfulness might respond, "Everything."

Mindfulness is a moment by moment awareness of how your actions, words, and behaviors impact yourself, others, and the environment around you.  Contrary to some beliefs, you do not have to be dressed in an orange robe chanting in the mountains to be mindful.  Nor does it simply mean meditation.  It is your way of being in life, at work, around others, when you're alone.  And it greatly impacts your health, relationships, and success.

Do you believe your work is part of your life?  It usually takes up almost 1/3 of our life.  Yet, so many people dread Mondays and watch the calendar for Fridays.  Five out of seven days of the week - gone.  Life is too short to not love your Mondays.  Would you LIKE to be happy and healthy - always?  Would you like for your team and the people around you to LIKE coming to work?

One of the key roles of a manager is to create an environment for his or her team to be productive, innovative, and self-sufficient.  Companies spend big bucks on training for reducing waste and improving productivity.  But without the right environment, it's all a waste!

Mindful management can help create the environment for a team to be driven, passionate, productive, and creative.  A mindful environment will cultivate the transfer of new skills and improve adaptability when the internal or external environment changes.  Mindfulness reduces stress, which is a huge contributor to health issues - which impact the workplace.  Mindfulness can help an organization get rid of gossip, align a team's thinking with the company's vision, and reduce complaining and other negative behaviors in the workplace.

So, yes, the workplace is the place for mindfulness.

My  mission is to contribute to creating a mindful world where acceptance is the norm, individual strengths are nurtured, and happiness is attained through action and contribution.  Our workplaces need to be mindful in order to have this world and life.  Our managers and leaders need to lead the way.

How can you be more mindful today and lead others to be the same?

Namaste

Tina Pomroy is launching the Mindful Management Program starting this Fall and offering a 50% discount.  To be the change you want to see, contact Tina at tina@pomroy.ca. 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

A Solution is Not a Fix

Have you ever worked in an organization that held a social event to improve employee morale?  Or maybe a rewards and recognition program was implemented to try to boost productivity?  Have you ever thought that the new HR initiative was laughable because it certainly didn't address your problems?

Often, the signs are evident for low morale or productivity.  The numbers can clearly demonstrate low sales or profits or high accident rates.  When an organization has low morale, the symptoms may include negativity, unwillingness, lack of cooperation, gossip, mistakes, absenteeism (or worse, presenteeism!), missing deadlines, tardiness, high stress, and on and on.  Low morale has high costs for an organization.  Turnover of excellent people and low productivity are two common costs.  Most organizations know this and try to solve the issue with a fix.

I once worked with an organization that had happy hour on Friday afternoons.  We would all have a beer in the office or go to a bar for a drink to socialize and relax.  It was the organization's leader's way of attempting to have high employee morale.  However, this leader didn't trust his employees to do good work.  He was a micro manager.  He yelled at employees in public.  He made grown men cry... I kid you not.  So do you think a Friday afternoon happy hour worked?  Of course not!  It was a fix... maybe temporary... but it was far from a solution.

A fix works only temporarily.  In my case above, it may have worked for one week or two. But the positive impact quickly shifted to one of resentment.  That's what happens when a fix is used to solve a problem instead of finding the real solution.

In order to find the real solution to a problem, you have to dig.  You have to be ready to hear the hard stuff.  You need to be ready and committed to real change.  It takes time.  It takes commitment.

Take a rewards program, for example.  If you already have relationship issues in the workplace, and you implement a rewards and recognition program, jealousy and resentment is likely not far behind.  When someone gets recognized in an uncooperative work environment, darts can not be thrown from the eyes faster.

"HE got rewarded, and I did all the work."

"I can't believe she is getting recognition for that and it's just part of her job anyway."

"He is getting a bonus but he doesn't do a thing all day!"

Sound familiar?  A cooperative, and yes, loving and supportive, culture is required for a truly successful rewards and recognition program.  The solution for inspiring employees to do great work may include a rewards and recognition program, but not until the root problems, such as creating a supportive culture, are identified and real solutions are put in place.

Take a look at your organization or team (no matter how big or small).  What are some of the challenges you have?  Ask yourself and others.... what are the root causes of those challenges?  THAT's where you will find your solution.  And maybe you can avoid wasting your time and money on a fix.

Tina Pomroy's Mindful Leadership Fitness System uses Truth as the first phase of identifying root causes to the problems clients present to her.  See Pomroy Consulting Inc's Facebook page or contact Tina at tinapomroy@hotmail.com  for a free consultation for enhancing the leadership, management, and culture in your organization.


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Do You Need a Coach?

Do you have a coach?  Do you know what a coach can do for you?  Do you know what a coach does?  What the heck is a coach anyway?

Everyone's heard of a baseball coach, a hockey coach, or a tennis coach.  And now a new coach is on the block - an executive coach or leadership coach.  The role of all coaches are similar, really.

Like a sport coach, a business-related coach's role is to build a leader's self-reliance and help him or her handle his or her own problems and challenges.  A coach provides the tools and skills for managing the mind, managing time and priorities, and building leadership skills so that the leader does not depend on the coach.

A sport coach will create team spirit, individual leadership ability, and self confidence and commitment to be a better player.  Imagine a national sports team without a coach.  How do you think the team would perform?  Now, imagine a little league team without a coach.  What would it look like?  Chaotic?  Full of conflict?  Lack vision and team cohesion?  A business coach brings these things too - regardless of the size and nature of the business or organization.

A business or leadership coach helps a leader when he or she:

  • has difficulty managing his or her own time or projects
  • has difficulty managing others
  • is having a challenge working cohesively with someone else
  • has been promoted to a new position and now needs to lead former peers
  • has a disengaged team and needs greater influence and a more empowered team
  • feels stuck
A business and leadership coach will give you the tools to be yourself, get aligned, and lead with power and passion.  One must lead him or herself first and then create other leaders for high performance.  In order to continue to grow and develop as a person and as a leader, we face challenges.  That's how we grow.  The best leaders have coaches to help them move through the challenges.  

If you feel like you need more time in the day to get everything done or feel that your team is not as engaged as they need to be for success, try using a coach!  The benefits far outweigh the costs when you get the right coach for you and your organization.

Tina Pomroy is a Mastermind Executive Coach with a Master of Business Administration and Canadian Human Resources Professionals certification.  Using a values-based system and mindfulness approach,.she provides leaders, business owners, and managers coaching and mentoring to create high performance environments.