In what way can firms accomplish tangible progress in the commonly opposing arenas of team well-being and performance? We spoke to Melbourne Business Coach and Leadership Guru Stuart Hayes about some of the latest research into heart dynamics and how an awareness of this phenomenon can enable leaders to consciously lead in ways that produce improved productivity and wellness in the mission critical teams whose performance has the greatest impact on the success of your enterprise.
To begin an inquiry into how performance and wellbeing are linked, Hayes asks leaders to consider the consequences of anxiety in the workplace and compare how better outcomes are more likely if and when wellbeing is taken care of.
1- TEAM MEMBERS EFFICIENCY
Stress and bad feelings leads to a reduction in mental clarity and a distracted workforce. Compare this with generally more satisfied workers, they have more clarity, are more switched on, focused and resourceful than their distracted counterparts.
2- WELL-BEING IN THE BUSINESS
Medical research has established a connection between stress, strain, adverse feelings and dis-ease. Bottom line, stressed staff get sick and are more likely to be off work with medical complaints, whereas happier people tend enjoy the work they do and are healthier for it.
3- MORALE AND LONGEVITY
Tension and negative emotions cause retention difficulties … contrast this with employees who are more satisfied, they have a tendency to feel more ‘attached’ to both your firm, their colleagues, and their job and as a consequence often stay put longer;
4- PUBLIC RELATIONS
Tension and bad emotions lead to resentful staff as well as a reduced degree of dedication in customer support positions … in contrast generally more pleased personnel interface much better with customers and are much better supporters of their brand
5- GETTING STAFF ON BOARD WITH STRATEGIC CHANGE
Strained or pessimistic employees are both less likely to line up to the businesses grand design and at the same time more inclined to reject the transformation that is needed. Whereas forward-looking and satisfied staff are innovative, interested, instigate advancements and also are often a lot more welcoming of both the existing course of action and also any necessary transformation.
Given the list of ailments in productivity and employee wellbeing, and the obvious connection between them, what can we do as leaders to improve the situation?
To encourage staff members to tackle pressure and also to attain advancements of the kind noted above, organizations are turning to workplace wellness initiatives, but not all of these work or translate into production increases. “Long term advances in both efficiency and well-being needs a good deal more thought than simply allowing a little job versatility, using a fitness center subscription or enlisting a motivational lecturer. These are pretty much just ‘box ticking’ approaches and are never going to deliver says Hayes. In fact its this box-ticking mentality that is the most basic cause of failure in well-being initiatives. When you pause and consider it, attaining lasting advancement in any individual domain of life calls for an evaluation of exactly what is happening right now, making a deliberate long-term decision to shift this, and then commencing a highly focused well planned transformational program.”
Hayes impresses that aiding groups to lift their enjoyment and experience of their job and the outcomes they attain from their job is the same thing. He continues: “The goal must never be the development of a well-being program in and of itself. Instead, it should be the constitution of a distinct culture where accountability along with health and wellbeing are foundation stones.”
“What this suggests is that as leaders we take responsibility for changing the way our organization react to pressure and negative feelings, altering the way our group relates and communicates, as well as ensuring everyone is naturally in alignment with the group’s larger intentions, all at the exact same time. This is the heart and soul of a great culture, and moreover why leaders should think of themselves as guardians of culture over any other thing.”
MINDFULNESS IS JUST THE BEGINNING:
As is widely known, mindfulness is being popularised and used effectively to assist employees more effectively cope with stress and negative emotions. What is not so well known, though, is that our mind and heart constantly connect with each other, that the heart can be used to help shift someone’s sentiments from unfavorable to positive, or that our heart’s field of influence has a quantifiable effect on the others around us.
This phenomenon and the way it relates to leadership is at the forefront of H.R. development along with leadership. According to Hayes “We all have a heart, we all have a mind, and all of us grasp these notions instinctively, but increasingly research reveals our mind and heart collaborate.
Take into consideration these four points:
1- When interacting with an excellent leader, a person’s brainwaves will get in sync with the leader, an effect that does not take place when the exact same person has a conversation with other people of their staff. The impact of this when combined with conscious leadership is that it enhances group involvement.
2- Both the mind and heart give out electromagnetic signals that can be assessed, although interestingly, the heart’s electromagnetic field is substantially more powerful.
3- The dimension of the heart’s range differs, in association with the individual’s disposition.
4- It’s possible to engage the heart in ways that measurably shift the effect of undesirable emotions both within a person and within those people who are near them, triggering shifts in both people. This is called Bridging the Heart and Mind.
Anyone involved in leading a group that is under stress and anxiety, or anyone needing to implement change in a business enterprise, or seeking to attain high-performance results in simpler ways, will certainly benefit from a 1 day in-depth leadership training that Hayes is currently running from his business coaching facility in Melbourne “Leading to Improve Performance & Well-being.” The workshop teaches practical ways for leaders who are operating in competitive and stressful settings, to accomplish measurable progress in the typically polarized spheres of team well-being and team efficiency, by using current, leading edge insights into human resource development as they apply to management and leadership. To learn even more browse through this link listed here.
