Cultivating the Stillpoint
Living from the Inside Out
Cultivating the Stillpoint
The Power of Reflective Leadership
Last week I heard some news that is music to my ears. Ellen Wingard, an executive coach for Fortune 500 companies and member of the Women’s Leadership Board at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University gave a talk last weekend at Harvard on “The Power of Reflective Leadership.” She says that for 25 years she has been asking women leaders to be quiet.
In this quiet, this “non-doing,” these women have discovered that “the unifying fusion of action and reflection, (is) producing exceptional results.” Yes, CEOs, executive teams, university presidents and leading physicians are taking time out, sitting quietly and breathing deeply.
The value of this practice is no surprise. Many of my clients are business people who love to come into my office, plop down in the chair and begin our time together in stillness and quiet breathing. They walk in, harried, stressed and a jumble of words and ideas. The stillness never fails to focus their attention so we can have a productive, meaningful hour together.
Ellen Wingard’s presentation at Harvard gives legitimacy to a simple practice that has been life altering for me and my clients. The “soft skill” that I have taught to business teams, small groups and individuals, is becoming a leadership necessity. It is backed by solid research that validates the practice of mindfulness (the practice of living in the present moment allowing us to cultivate an “inner rudder”):
• reduces workplace stress
• reduces anxiety
• enhances immune function
• enhances prefrontal brain activity associated with positive emotions
• alleviates pain
• improves sleep
Wingard writes that
“Workers report higher-order thinking in problem solving and positive shifts in handling workplace stress and negative emotions such as hostility and resentment. They also identified an increased capacity to express empathy, compassion and gratitude.”
The New York Times recently revealed that workplace stress costs $300 billion in healthcare annually. Our bodies are giving us a wake up call. Reflective leaders and workers create more humane workplaces of collaboration, inclusion and purposeful productivity.
I have coached business owners in the Cincinnati area who have modeled this notion of taking some time to cultivate a stillpoint to increase mindfulness. Mindfulness short circuits the human tendency towards self deception. They practice non-attached self observation. They notice the workplace is an ideal environment to observe their blind spots—and how our blind spots are viewed in living color by our co-workers. They observe their habitual thinking and allow fresh new perspectives.
I also facilitate many groups that build on the awareness of the power of inner reflection. Depending on the group, the focus changes. Yet, I notice that while many women express a desire to join these groups, they simply do not have the time. They are doing all they can to balance their many demands and I hear the frustration in their voices and e-mails.
While I love having meetings in the comfort of people’s homes, I have become increasingly aware of the need to bring these still point communities into the workplace. It’s a version of “meet people where they are.”
Some workers express concern that mindfulness is a cult or religion—while Eastern and Western spiritual traditions have a version of these practices, one need not be religious to cultivate mindfulness. If you want to carry it into your spiritual tradition, you will notice a profound deepening, but it is not necessary.
Workers also worry they will become passive or lose their competitive edge. Actually, Olympic athletes and the L.A. Lakers use this practice to increase capacity and concentration. Business people notice an increase in creative thinking because they break out of the box of habitual solutions. They listen to different perspectives more openly which creates an environment for innovation. Once executive who came to mindfulness practice after a heart attack acknowledges her practice reveals the following insights:
“I recognize how indispensable I think I am and the fact is my staff and kids actually have done pretty well on their own. I’ve also lost 15 pounds through exercise and by catching my habit of eating under stress. I demand a half hour alone time every day at home and am carving that out now. I am less resentful of everyone and more able to connect.” This, from a woman, who at the beginning of the program said, “Why do I want to focus time on sitting here breathing? My staff can’t function without me. My kids are saying I am killing myself with overwork and I get chest pains yelling at them.”
As we observe our polarized, compartmentalized society, the unethical abuse of corporate power, the reactive finger pointing when something goes wrong, and the high rate of workplace burnout, we know we must create an environment in which we replenish our souls regardless of our belief systems.
Cultivating a still point takes us beyond stereotypes and builds communities and connections. Countless members of the women’s groups I facilitate say, “This simple practice has changed how I look at everything.” They still face home and workplace stress—they simply respond differently. Last week, one member said, “I thought this morning, I have no business coming to this group with this today’s schedule. And then I remembered, my days are always better when I come.”
The outgrowth of reflective leadership—at work, at home or recreation—is beyond self-renewal and enhanced workplace productivity. It is an imperative that mends fragmentation and creates atmospheres of fuller engagement, ethical clarity of purpose, and cooperation and collaboration.
While these insights are revealed and legitimized at Harvard Business School, this is nothing new. Wise sages have known this for centuries. Lao Tzu wrote,
Empty your mind of thoughts
Let your heart be at peace.
The Master does her job
And then stops.
She understands that the universe
Is forever out of control,
And that trying to dominate the events
Goes against the current
Because she believes in herself
She doesn’t try to convince others,
Because she is content with herself,
She doesn’t need others’ approval
Because she accepts herself,
The world accepts her.
She doesn’t talk, she acts.
When the work is done,
The people say, “Amazing:
We did it, all by ourselves!”
We spend more time at work than with our families, in our places of worship, or in the natural world. Our souls long for connection and belonging in order to make sense of the world. We long for moments of stillness, openness and empathy. Leaders, organizations and people who meet this fundamental human need, restore our communities, rejuvenate weary workers, and renew a sense of purpose and meaning in a wounded world.
Leslie Hershberger, personal and executive coach, uses a background in education, theology and personality systems to facilitate mindfulness, self-awareness and reflective action for individual and groups.
She is the founder of the Women’s In Between groups of Greater Cincinnati which meet the personal and spiritual needs of women in transition.
She speaks on this topic and others throughout the Greater Cincinnati area.