By Marty KATZ, MINDFUL CLARITY / Partner of Extens Consulting Alliance
“Lester is the CEO of a business operations consultancy. His business was successful but he felt that he had to make all the decisions himself. His team members and suppliers responded to his direction and requests but often did so in a lackluster way, resulting in his spending significant time on every aspect of his business.
The firm was looking to expand its services into a new market. Lester was anxiously churned-up about how he could effectively lead his team in this venture.
He consulted with his business coach, marketing consultant, executive team, and business advisory group, all of whom gave him great advice. But something was nagging him — something was missing. He could not concentrate. His mind was on overdrive, filled with disorganized thoughts.
He came to me because he was overwhelmed and unsure about how to proceed. I suggested that he try meditation to seek clarity about taking his next steps.
I urged him to take a step to get out of his comfort zone and explore how he could tap into the answers and solutions which were veiled inside him.
By using mindfulness techniques, he was able to slow down the constant onslaught of thoughts, quiet his mind, and get centered. He began to reflect on his interactions with his team and suppliers.
It dawned on him that he was not listening to them. He was not present. When they told him they were left out of decision-making, what he heard was them complaining about their workloads. When they told him they were unable to deliver on time and budget because of lack of resources, what he heard was that they lacked competence.
He realized that instead of listening to them, he was actually listening to himself. He was tuned into his own reactions and not theirs. His lack of empathy and his self-focus prevented him from being present and actively listening. If he had been truly present, he would have heard what they were saying and would not have imposed his own interpretations.
This was a revelation. He knew he had to be present, listen, identify completely with their problems, and take the issues on as his own.
With this insight, he was able to assemble his teams and suppliers and have an open dialogue with them, during which he just listened without judgement. He was criticized by some team members but did not react. He took it all in and thanked them for their contributions.
On the spot, he fashioned production approaches that worked for the teams. Satisfied and happily surprised, they left the meeting in smiles.
The new initiative was launched on time, on budget and on specification, leading to a lucrative outcome. Plus productive and happy internal and external teams.”
If you’d like to explore mindfulness and meditation as tools for improved decision-making, contact us, the first session is offered on MyExtens, the digital consultancy platform
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY TRAINING OFFER
The first step in the practice of mindfulness is meditation, which forms the basis for clarity and insights.
To get an experience of the Mindful Clarity program, the meditation training is offered for no charge.
The session is one hour in length. During this time, you will learn the principles of meditation and the techniques to bring you into a meditative state. You can use these techniques after our session on your own.
