LEADERSHIP & <strong>Mindfulness</strong>• Work better in teams and communicate moreeffectively• Tolerate ambiguity, not knowing, paradox• Recover more quickly from negative informationand difficult situations• Encourage responsibility to those who work forand depend on the company—fare wage, healthcare, maternity/paternity leave, etc.• Exercise humility• Be compassionate and loving• Create products that support life.Committing to right livelihood leads some of us tolook for new work that we identify as meaningful andothers of us to look for more meaning in the workwe are already doing. A mindful workplace supportsand nourishes the workers who are already saneand mature and encourages kindness, sincerity, andbasic decency for all employees.Elisha: You mention some important facts thatcome out of the International Listening Associationthat 45% of our time is spent listening and 75% ofthe time we’re apparently listening we’re actuallydistracted. That the average attention span is 20seconds and from what we hear we only recallabout half of it and a few hours later maybe wehave 20% retention. How do you explain MindfulListening and what are its benefits? One of the mostimportant activities in workplace is listening.Mirabai: Deep or mindful listening is a way ofhearing in which we are fully present with what ishappening in the moment without trying to controlit or judge it. We let go of our inner clamoring andour usual assumptions and listen with respect forprecisely what is being said. Very few of us have fullydeveloped this capacity for listening. The practiceof listening has many dimensions. We listen to ourown minds and hearts and, as the Quakers say, tothe “still, small voice within.” We listen to sounds, tomusic, to lectures, to conversations, and, in a sense,we listen to the written word, the text. There is awell-known image of the Tibetan poet and mysticMilarepa, sitting in his familiar listening posture,with his right hand cupped over his right ear. He islistening for the Dharma, or the truth.Deep or mindful listening requires that we witnessour thoughts and emotions while maintainingfocused attention on what we are hearing. It trainsus to pay full attention to the sound of the words,while abandoning such habits as planning our nextstatement or interrupting the speaker. It is attentiverather than reactive listening. Such listening not onlyincreases retention of information, but encouragesinsight and the making of meaning. It can reveal therole of not knowing and not judging and help us tomaintain an open receptivity to new ideas, importantfor growth in any workplace.Elisha: I consider Thich Nhat Hanh to be a greatteacher, someone who has influenced my life. Younote a wonderful walking practice of his in yourprogram where you instruct us to combine phraseswith steps. “Stepping with your right foot, I havearrived, Stepping with your left foot, I am home.”Can you tell us how this applies to the workplace?Mirabai: Walking meditation is the practice of payingclose attention to the ordinary action of walking, ahelpful practice for people at work, who usually walkat least sometimes during the day. It is a way ofusing a natural part of life to increase mindfulness aswe become aware of the movement of each step;the exercise engages the person in life directly. Itis not thinking or contemplating life while walking(which is also delightful), but being mindful of theverse (as in Thich Nhat Hanh’s verse) or of themuscles of the body, the movement and placementof the feet, balance, and motion. Once you learnthe practice, you can do it almost anywhere. It freesthe mind and helps you feel fully present on theground. So when a person walks in the workplaceto another office or a meeting or a lunch date, he orshe is more open and mindful when arriving at thedestination, ready to be present for the next agenda.Elisha: Relationships are fundamental to our livesand can be trying in the workplace. Can you give usa practice that we can use immediately to enhancerelationships in the workplace and act morepositively to others?Mirabai: One powerful practice that we call “JustLike Me” is usually learned in pairs, so that eachperson is looking in the eyes of their partner andsilently repeating phrases spoken by a meditation74 <strong>Mobius</strong> <strong>Executive</strong> <strong>Leadership</strong> | www.mobiusleadership.com
LEADERSHIP & <strong>Mindfulness</strong>leader about the person across from them: “Just likeme, this person has known physical pain. Just likeme, this person has done things she regrets. Justlike me, this person wants to be happy….” and soon. This compassion practice is designed to shiftperspectives and deepen the understanding thatwe human beings are similar in important ways, nomatter how vast our differences. We all need food,and shelter, and love.We crave attention, recognition, affection, and,above all, happiness. Resentments, disagreements,and estrangements hurt all parties because theyreinforce feelings of separation. And that separationis true only at one level–this activity helps usremember how we are connected by our humanity.And one person can do it alone by bringing to minda difficult person and repeating the same phrasessilently. It softens the negative feelings we have foranother, and working together often becomes mucheasier.Elisha: Do you have any final thoughts about whatreally matters in bringing mindfulness into theworkplace?Mirabai: What matters in the workplace is whatmatters in our lives—using every moment to learnfrom experience so that we grow in insight, wisdom,and compassion. ■To hear a clip of a practice that Mirabai to helppeople with change at work you can find it here:www.morethansound.net/blog/2012/07/workingwith-mindfulness-coping-with-change/www.mobiusleadership.com | <strong>Mobius</strong> <strong>Executive</strong> <strong>Leadership</strong> 75
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