Overworked? Stressed? or Grateful for some “Me Time”?
Building on Astrid Davies’ article last week about coaching leaders to pay attention to their own resilience and wellbeing, Stephen Newman and Jill Whittington share some examples and insights on coaching requiring a vital new slant in response to the reality of working life right now.
Meet Preeta
Preeta is a business consultant. She is brilliant at her job. Throughout Covid and the lockdowns she has given her company everything. We started working with her and her colleagues some months back. Her bosses who are keen to keep business buoyant, asked us to come in and work with their team on business development strategies to equip them to be ready to spring into life winning new contracts in a new Covid-manageable world.
Meet Bob
Bob is a dependable, hard-working sales manager and his story is different. His team was doing really well before March 2020 selling high tech solutions into a niche market helping organisations keep a strong grip on escalating costs. Excitingly his business was growing because he could get out and visit prospective customers, arrange demonstrations and sign them up once they had seen how well his products performed. Now he works from home trying to achieve the same outcomes.
The Reality for Preeta and Bob
Both Preeta and Bob have a lot to look forward to. Foresight and help from their respective employers means they are adapting to the “new different” of doing business from home, but it’s not easy. Their continuing employment has come at a price.
Customers are worried about so many uncertainties. Decision making is slow because people are afraid to make decisions in an ever changing business world. Work hours seem to have no boundaries. Evening telephone calls and writing proposals late at night and before breakfast is becoming all too familiar.
In addition, meetings seem to crop up at short notice at any time of day, because no one wants to miss an opportunity. Moreover, Bob and Preeta are both parents. Throw some home schooling and some disrupted sleep patterns into the mix , and the picture becomes both complicated and stressful.
Sound familiar?
Coaching – The Gift of Time and Space
As professional coaches we are dealing with many “Bobs” and “Preetas” Thankfully, they might still be working but are physically and mentally exhausted. Such stress can lead to fewer breaks and irregular sleep patterns which can quickly lead to derailment at a time when clear thinking and abundant energy is needed to exit this period in a purposeful way.
Even when our brief has originally been to help clients prepare for business, we have found the first thing we need to do is to give people the gift of time and space.
UK businesses focus on well-being
HR News reported that Mental health-related workplace absenteeism costs soared to £14bn in 2020, the cost of absenteeism from work due to mental health reasons increasing in 2020 by £1.3bn from 2019. Consequently, a survey revealed a step change in the UK with 81% of businesses having a renewed focus on mental and physical health of employees because of the pandemic.
See our upcoming webinar on 18th March which addresses this topic
Check your BEAT
Using our Mind Chi Wellbeing Suite, we split our coaching sessions into two parts using the first 8-10 minutes relaxing and using our BEAT technique:
· Body
· Emotions
· Actions
· Thoughts
BEAT is mindfulness with purpose. It enables our clients to relax in a safe space. Moreover it enables them to ‘re-set’ themselves ‘in the moment’ to be their optimum best.
Having adopted their ‘best BEAT,’ time is then spent working with our clients’ agenda. This often involves a further investment of time looking at work-life balance and activity patterns. Only then does the conversation take on a more business focus.
Did we misinterpret the brief?
Have we gone all “touchy feely”? The answer is a definite “No”. The results have been fantastic.
Our clients report that they are feeling less stressed, are approaching their work with clear thinking and renewed vigour which in turn is enabling their teams to work more effectively. We know that any organisation is only as effective as the individuals within it.
Vitally, having acknowledged their reality, they are choosing to make time to do things differently thus creating time and space, enabling themselves to be the best they can be.
Mind Chi – Mindfulness with Purpose
The Change Maker Group with Mind Chi is helping people create time and space where executives who are “running on vapour” are able to refuel their tanks and work more effectively. Mind Chi is 8 minutes of investment which pays back tenfold with more focus, clarity of thinking, optimism and motivation. Individuals are taking back control of themselves as opposed to being at the mercy of runaway thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It is powerful stuff!
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To find out more, contact:
Check out our webinar on 18 March 2021 on Leading Resilient Organisations where Vanda North – the creator of Mind Chi – will be amongst the contributors.
Please get in touch or book a free discovery call. We’d love to chat.
