‘People don’t always remember what you’ve said, but they will always remember how you made them feel’ is a beautiful sentence I once heard Gabor Maté say, and it has stayed with me ever since. This sentiment has had a profound impact on how I choose to live my life as a mother, partner, coach, manager, colleague, and friend.
The more we become aware of what our bodies are telling us, the more consciously we can direct our sincere, focused attention toward others.
If you wish to build a corporate culture where safety, resilience, and vulnerability are present at every level, you do not have to wait for the system or culture to change. We are the system; every individual contributes to it. By providing every employee with the opportunity to connect with themselves, you build a culture of safety, step by step.
But how do you achieve that? What many of us consider ‘fluffy,’ uncomfortable, or difficult is actually the most natural human process. It took me years to understand, step by step, what ‘feeling’ truly means and how to practice it. Today, I share these insights with numerous companies through practical workshops and coaching on embodied leadership, collaboration, and stress management.
I often receive feedback that my approach is ‘highly interesting, well-founded, practical, and directly applicable.’ Yet, I notice that many still face obstacles when stepping out of their comfort zones to connect with their bodies and inspire others at work.
Obstacle 1: Is it truly the employer’s responsibility?
It is a shared responsibility. I prefer the term ‘collaboration.’
It is fundamental that every employee gets to know themselves, dares to hold up a mirror, sets boundaries, and takes action to maintain balance. However, does everyone feel empowered to do this? And is it always genuinely accepted in the workplace?
As leaders and employers, it is important to create a context where people can recharge regularly, ensuring the ‘bow’ is not always under tension. Consider how many hours a day you spend working or thinking about work. If there is no room for short breaks, breathing pauses, moments of stillness, reflection, and recharging, there are immediate consequences for your well-being, sleep quality, motivation, commitment, and the overall quality, creativity, and productivity of your work.
This can be explained neurologically and physiologically. For example:
Example 1: Regular movement during the day ensures that when glucose is converted into energy, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is also released. Among other things, ATP helps build sleep pressure, which has a positive impact on your sleep quality.
Example 2: When you (un)consciously work under high pressure without taking breaks or recovery moments, your brain receives a signal that your body is in survival mode. Consequently, your body diverts glucose and oxygen away from the ‘human brain’ to the heart and muscles for a fight-or-flight response. As a result, the parts of the brain needed for setting priorities, planning, working accurately, finding creative solutions, and communicating with impact are largely disabled. This has a significant impact on your behavior.
These are just a few examples. We explore this in more detail during workshops and individual guidance, where we teach self-regulation techniques and tools tailored to the specific roles and needs within the organization.
In short, supporting employees and leaders in understanding the mind-body connection and working TOGETHER to build an embodied culture—where psychological safety is a priority—has a positive impact on employee well-being, absenteeism, commitment, and productivity, making your organization future-proof.
Let’s practice
After reading this text, take a moment to:
- Take a comfortable seat
- Close your eyes
- Take three conscious breaths, in and out
- Go inward and take a moment to feel what is happening inside your body
- Welcome everything that arises without judgment
