‘People don’t always remember what you’ve said, but they will always remember how you made them feel’, a beautiful sentence that I once heard Gabor Maté say and that has never left me since. This sentence has had a huge impact on how I want to live my life as a mother, partner, coach, manager, colleague, friend,…
The more we can make ourselves aware of what our body wants to tell us, the more consciously we can direct our sincere attentive attention to others.
And if you want to build a (corporate) culture where security, resilience and vulnerability are present at every layer, you do not have to wait for the system or culture to change. We are the system, each individual contributes to that system. By giving every employee the opportunity to connect with themselves, you will build a culture of safety step by step.
Only, how do you do that? What many of us consider ‘fluffy’ or ‘very uncomfortable’ or ‘difficult’ is the most natural process as humans. It took me years to understand step by step what ‘feeling’ means and how you can teach yourself to practice this. Today I share this with numerous companies through practical workshops and coaching about embodied leadership, collaboration, stress relief.
I often receive the feedback ‘super interesting, well-founded, practical and directly applicable’. Yet I notice that there are still obstacles on the way for many to get themselves out of the comfortzone to make contact with their own body and inspire others at work.
Obstacle 1: is it truly the responsability of the employer?
It’s a shared responsibility. I prefer the word ‘collaboration’
It is fundamental that every individual employee gets to know himself, dares to hold up a mirror, can set boundaries and take action to keep himself in balance. Only, does everyone just dare to do this? And is this always genuinely accepted in the workplace?
As a leader(s) and employer, it is important that you create a context where people have the opportunity to recharge regularly so that the bow is not always tense. Just count how many hours of the day you are at work or busy with work. If there is no room for short breaks, breathing pauses, standing still, slowing down, reflection and recharging in this time period, this has immediate consequences for: your well-being, your night’s sleep, your motivation and commitment, the quality, creativity and productivity of your work.
This can be explained neurologically and physiologically. Some examples:
Example 1: regular exercise during the day ensures that when glucose is converted into energy, ATP hormone (adenosine triphosphate) is also released. ATP helps, among other things, to promote sleep pressure. This has a positive impact on your sleep quality.
Example 2: when you (un)consciously work under high pressure, and do not take a break or recoverymoments, your brain will receive the signal that your body is living in the survival mode. As a result, your body deprives glucose and oxygen from your human brain to allow these nutrients to go to the heart and muscles to be able to fight/flight.. As a result, your human brain, which you need to set priorities, plan, work accurately, find creative solutions and find the right words to truly connect and communicate with impact, is largely disabled. This results in a huge impact on your behavior.
These are just a few examples. We explain this more in detail in workshops and during individual guidance, learn selfregulation-techniques and tools tailored to the functions and needs within the organization.
In short, supporting employees and leaders to understand how the body&mind connection works and building TOGETHER on an embodied culture, a culture where psychological safety is a priority, has a positive impact on your employees, your absenteeism, your commitment and the productivity to make your organization future proof.
let’s practice
after reading this text, take a moment to:
- take e comfortable seat
- close your eyes
- breath 3 times conscious in and out
- go inwards and take this moment to feel what is happening inside your body
- welcome everything that comes without judgement
