In the relentless race for profits, growth and innovation, it might seem odd that some of the top executives in the corporate world are embracing something as, well, ‘peaceful’ as mindfulness. We’re talking about the titans of the business world – leaders whose days are filled with back-to-back meetings, power suits and decisions that could make or break massive deals. Yet more and more of these high-powered individuals are finding solace in a practice that has its roots in ancient Buddhist meditation.
It’s almost as if we’re living in a world where business leaders are increasingly stepping away from their high-stakes environments to sit in silence and focus on their breath. They’ve traded their to-do lists for ‘to-be’ lists and are now spending time tuning in to their present thoughts and feelings instead of obsessing over what’s next.
At first glance, it may seem contradictory. How does sitting still, breathing deeply and clearing your mind help someone make billions? But dig a little deeper and it becomes clear that mindfulness is proving to be more than just a trendy, Instagram-worthy wellness trend for corporate types – it’s becoming an essential tool in the high-stakes world of corporate leadership.
For the modern executive, stress is a constant companion. According to a report by Headspace, a company that specialises in mental health, 66% of surveyed CEOs said the majority – or all – of their of their stress stems from their work, rather than from their personal lives. That figure is hardly surprising, considering expectations are high and that one wrong move can have massive consequences.
It also means that, for executives, stress management is not a luxury – it’s a survival tactic. High levels of chronic stress can impair decision-making, reduce creativity and even lead to burnout.
Mindfulness, however, may offer a remedy to this stress overload. By engaging in regular mindfulness practices, they can rewire their brains to respond to stress in healthier ways. It could help execs step back and observe their thoughts and reactions without judgement, in turn allowing them to pause before reacting impulsively, think more clearly and reduce feelings of anxiety.
‘Applied mindfulness can help us cultivate the skill to intentionally shape how we show up and participate in complex systems,’ according to Sonja Blignaut, co-founder and MD of SA business consultancy Complexity Fit. ‘Mindfulness can be described as the ability to observe what is happening while it is happening without an immediate need to change it. In other words, to observe our feelings and thoughts and to be present in a particular way,’ she says. Simply put, it’s about observing thoughts and emotions without getting swept away by them or reacting impulsively.
You may wonder, though, how this fits into the fast-paced world of business. Isn’t success in the corporate world more about speed, decisiveness and relentless hustle? Isn’t slowing down a luxury?
Apparently not. The increasing number of executives who are embracing mindfulness suggests it may actually be the opposite – slowing down can be the ultimate productivity hack.
It all started in Silicon Valley. As tech companies grew, so did the stress levels of their leaders. With constant competition, the need to innovate and the pressure to keep things moving forward, executives often found themselves stretched thin.
Enter mindfulness. For these leaders, including the late Steve Jobs, taking time for a daily meditation practice or simply carving out moments of quiet throughout their busy day was not just a way to unplug; it became a way to think more clearly, make better decisions and even foster greater creativity.
It didn’t take long for the mindfulness movement to spread beyond the tech world. Today, major players from almost every industry – from finance and healthcare to fashion and media – are exploring ways to incorporate mindfulness practices into their daily routines.
The business world may have once been all about pushing limits and squeezing productivity out of every waking hour, but now it seems the most successful leaders are realising that a calm mind is often a clearer one.
Take, for example, Marc Benioff, CEO of cloud computing company Salesforce, who is an outspoken advocate for mindfulness. As he explains in an interview with Forbes, ‘you’ve got a lot coming at you all the time. You got your text messages, your email messages, your one-on-ones, your operational reviews, your investors, your activist investors, you have the media – there’s a lot going on in the CEO’s life’.
Mindfulness, however, is a practice that he says has helped him respond to challenging situations with greater calm, making decisions based on clarity rather than stress.
In another interview, this time with GQ magazine, he highlights the importance of meditation. ‘Most days, I will start with 30 to 60 minutes of meditation. That’s been a huge part of my life for more than 30 years – since ’92. One, it helps you let go of things that just don’t matter. And two, it really does help you reprioritise what does matter; to focus on what’s really important. If everything is important, nothing is important. You have to choose, and meditation helps you get much clearer about what really is important.’
Benioff is also an advocate of another Buddhist concept – shoshin. Meaning ‘beginner’s mind’ in Japanese, shoshin refers to approaching life with openness, eagerness and a lack of preconceptions. For business executives, embracing shoshin allows them to approach challenges with curiosity and humility, fostering innovation, adaptability and continuous learning – key traits for effective leadership in dynamic environments.
And it’s not only the C-suite that can benefit from shoshin, says Benioff. ‘To encourage this mindset, we have “mindfulness zones” on every floor of our office buildings, where employees can put their phones into a basket and clear their minds.’ A growing number of corporate giants – among them Apple and Nike – have also introduced mindfulness spaces into their offices. Whether for meditation, relaxation, prayer – or perhaps even a sneaky power nap – these quiet spaces enable employees and execs alike to have a moment away from the chaos, take a deep breath and recentre themselves.
After all, mindfulness, as the Institute for Mindfulness South Africa puts it, ‘is not limited to formal meditation practices, although formal mindfulness practices are an important foundation. It can be viewed as a way of being, as a way of seeing and relating to each and every moment. As such the whole of life becomes a meditation practice’.
It’s no wonder that more and more companies are finding their way to mindfulness practices as a tool to combat the pressures of corporate life. In the UK, for instance, McKinsey & Co employees underwent a six-week mindfulness course through consultancy LiveWorkWell. The result? Employee engagement increased by 26%, performance by 23% and work/life balance by 23%.
Bear in mind, too, that stress is a major creativity killer. When we’re stressed, our brains are often stuck in fight-or-flight mode, which is all about reacting quickly to threats rather than thinking deeply and creatively. Yet the business world thrives on innovation. Every company is in a race to come up with the next big thing, whether it’s a breakthrough product, a new business model, or a game-changing marketing strategy. And as any creative professional will tell you, innovation doesn’t happen when you’re stressed out or overwhelmed.
Mindfulness can be a powerful tool to unleash creativity and break through mental barriers that often stifle innovation. And let’s face it, in a world where creative solutions can differentiate a company from its competitors, this is a huge advantage.
Consider the case of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who reportedly practised mindfulness techniques, even in the early days of their tech empire.
Page and Brin were undoubtedly driven by ambition, but they were also able to approach their work with a calm, clear perspective that gave them an edge over competitors. Little wonder, then, that Google was one of the pioneers in embracing mindfulness, prioritising it within the company by hiring wellness and mindfulness leaders globally.
Among the most notable of these leaders was Chade-Meng Tan, a former engineer turned motivator and mindfulness teacher. As the driving force behind integrating mindfulness and stress resilience training for Google’s engineering teams, Tan developed Search Inside Yourself (SIL) in 2007 – a ‘mindfulness-based emotional intelligence’ course that has since been completed by thousands of Google employees. The SIL programme laid the groundwork for the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), which focuses on educating leaders about emotional intelligence, meditation and mindfulness in the workplace.
And make no mistake, emotional intelligence (EQ) is a critical outcome of mindfulness. ‘Emotional intelligence is a hallmark of effective leadership,’ says Jeremiah O’Brian, CEO of business consultancy Emerge Global. ‘Mindfulness enhances EQ by improving self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal relationships.’ He adds that ‘leaders who practise mindfulness report higher emotional intelligence and better relationships with their teams’.
It’s not only the workplace where leaders are increasingly embracing the concept of mindfulness. In 2014, the WEF incorporated mindfulness sessions for world leaders and other delegates in its annual meeting in Davos for the first time, when French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard led early-morning meditation sessions attended by numerous delegates. The following year, mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn also led daily meditation sessions. In fact, mindfulness sessions have featured at every Davos annual meeting ever since.
Be it practised by world leaders or business leaders, it seems mindfulness is here to stay. In fact, it may well help redefine leadership in the 21st century. After all, it’s not about being perfect or having all the answers; it’s about being present, engaged and open to new ways of thinking.
And in the fast-paced, often unpredictable world of business, mindfulness might just be the most innovative solution of all.
