Mindfulness – our chance to foster empathy and mutual understanding at work

Neuroscience proves that mindfulness practice activates the regions in the brain that are responsible for empathy and kindness. In other words, when we are more present with ourselves, we are also more present with others.

In times when collaboration and co-creation become increasingly important, this is great news. Mindfulness can actually become a pathway for a better understanding of our colleagues and help us grow together.

While we do not want to go to deep into the research at this point, we are happy to share some tipps of how to foster mindful moments at work. The practices we recommend help teams to increase focus and productivity and foster increased mutual understanding as well as self-esteem.

And for all the critics out there who are now thinking: Well, sitting down in a circle to meditate or doing yoga with my colleagues is not for me, please stay with us a little while longer and let yourself be surprised.

Mindful practices for happy teams

MINDFUL CHECK IN’s

Before your meeting starts, try to put aside 5 minutes to check in with your colleagues. You can do so by an open question which everyone in the circle finishes.

One example: “It makes me happy, when I….”

Allow all participants to answer and try to notice how the energy in the room changes.

MOMENTS OF SILENCE

Another way to start a meeting can be to allow for a minute of silence. This minute gives everyone the chance to arrive in your meeting and to let go of any thoughts that will not serve the purpose of the meeting ahead.

To do so, it is important to have a time keeper who briefly explains why you are having a minute of silence and what everyone can use it for.

How did these mindful practices work for you? Feel free to share your thoughts and more inspiration in the comments below.

Thanks so much.

Your mynd:way Team

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INVITATION TO OUR HAPPINESS AT WORK – TEST

If you are curious to learn how you currently feel at work, we would love to invite you to do our short “Happiness at Work-Test” in this link. Feel free to share it with your team. (If you have done this test already, great job!)

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THE MYND:WAYS

We hope that you enjoyed these mindful practices and we are happy to share more of those exercises with you. Our mynd:ful TEAM journeys are designed to foster mindfulness, agility and collaboration among teams. During those journeys, we apply tools for self-reflection and mindful communication and jointly reflect what shared purpose and shared values actually mean to us as a team. The goals of these journeys are to foster important skill sets for the digital age in an easily applicable way.

Find out more about our mynd:way method in our book “Achtsamkeit und Innovation in integrierten Organisationen.“

Find out more or schedule a free call with us. We are happy to talk to you.