We Can Change... but only right now
Mindfulness as transformational technology
Last week we debunked a few common misconceptions about mindfulness. That post was inspired by the session I led for Lars Schmidt’s HR Growth Sprints course, on mindfulness practice as a strategy for sustainable leadership. Here’s a glimpse into what we practiced together:
This week, I want to talk about why mindfulness at work is not really about wellness.
But Kristen, you may protest, with burnout still so rampant, why not deploy a tool that helps people feel better, to help them feel better?
It’s a good question about a practice that can indeed do a whole lot of good for individuals who are suffering. But why are they suffering? What does real help look like? This is an opportunity for us to take a step back and look to the system.
When we see people burning out, our natural impulse to try and fix how they’re feeling—to address the individual’s needs (even as a collective). We might encourage people to take time off. We might make sure they have access to mental health benefits. We might offer a meditation workshop. These are well-intentioned solutions for sure, but not quite enough.
We all know from experience how fleeting the glow of a restful, restorative break can be when we come back into the grind. This (combined with the sheer prevalence of burnout today) tells us it isn’t an individual issue at all, but a systemic one. So we’d be wise to go searching for root causes, which may look like undefined expectations, unsustainable workloads, toxic culture, unskillful leadership, misalignment of values, disconnection from purpose, etc.
Sure, practicing mindfulness can help you deal with the stress of these conditions. But more importantly, it can help you be more effective in changing these conditions.
If we stop at self-care, we’re using mindfulness as a balm. Which is ok, to a point. Many mindfulness practitioners, myself included, initially started practicing as a way to care for and heal ourselves. But it’s not only about caring for ourselves. If that’s our focus, that balm can become a numbing agent, a tool for bypassing real issues and root causes. (There are organizational risks too, especially given that wellness is only a funding priority until it isn’t.)
Mindfulness is about waking up, not numbing out. It’s about switching out of autopilot and showing up for our lives—and our work—with attention and intention. It changes us deeply, in our hearts, in our brains, in our actual DNA, so that we can go forward and make more change around us.
When we’re mindful—which is hard to do at first, wired as we are for mindlessness, but becomes easier with practice—we can more easily distinguish reality from the stories we tell ourselves about it. When we see more clearly, we make new choices.
It starts small. We decide not to send that frustrated email. Then, we choose to hire the person who brings new perspective to the team over yet another mini-me. Before long, we are identifying golden opportunities hiding within the murkiest of challenges.
And that’s just the beginning.
When you wake up a little, it starts to wake up the people around you too. Then you’re waking up together. Then you’re making new, more skillful choices together. Then you’re remaking the world together.
That also goes for the mini-worlds of corporations and organizations that are constantly navigating change while simultaneously seeking to lead it. Those organizations with the undefined expectations, unsustainable workloads, toxic culture, unskillful leadership, misaligned values, etc.
They too need to get unstuck.
They too need to be remade.
They too will rely on their people getting unstuck first.
This is what I want organizations to understand: Mindfulness is not just about wellness. It’s about increasing your organizational capacity to perform, to create, to evolve. It’s a strategic imperative. It’s a transformational technology.
Design accordingly.
THIS. Your work is so necessary. Loving all your insights!