“A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened into place but a seed to be planted and to bear more seed toward the hope of greening the landscape of idea.”
—John Ciardi, Poet, Professor
In our VIM Executive Coaching sessions, especially to groups and teams, far and away, the most popular question these days is: “What exactly, is mindfulness?”
We give a good working answer, and invariably someone will correct that answer with a retort such as, “Well, my definition of mindfulness is much more specific or technical or encompassing or dynamic or ‘vibes better’ or –.”
In other words, what we hear “my mindfulness is better than yours.”
The World of Buzzwords
We live in a world of buzzwords, quick hacks, quick fixes and good old shortcuts. Unfortunately, the term “mindfulness” has fallen prey to that dynamic.
Mindfulness is not a quick-fix, a hack or a shortcut. There is no “better,” no “worse” mindfulness, only mindfulness.
If a committee of the most mindful of mindful people, with Ph.D.’s in Mindfulness were to take place in a mindfulness center at The National Mindfulness Competition in Mindfulness, Japan, their answer to a problem might not be as mindful as a group of second-graders at the local elementary school.
We can only view mindfulness as organic, unfolding and certainly not fixed or stodgy. Mindfulness is best viewed in that moment when “awareness” and not judgment is in place. Mindfulness is impossible to quantify, and it is why a full state of mindfulness relies on sensations, feelings and an emphasis on the present. The mission for any organization is to allow mindfulness to freely occur.
With every decision, there is an environment. It is a difficult concept for some to internalize, but it is the best way to think about it. The environment surrounding a decision is forever changing. The only way to negotiate that environment is to be aware of what is happening. Therefore, the opposite of a mindful response is a sharp reaction.
Executive leaders who lead by reaction are generally ineffective. It is executive leadership akin to throwing darts at a dartboard. Some reactions may work; others badly miss. There is no algorithm that always allows for effective decision by reaction, and even if such a strategy works 90-percent of the time, the 10-percent may cripple an entire organization. The “distribution of decisions” if such a concept were to exist, cannot differentiate between a minor decision and a major, gut-wrenching choice.
Far better to see, feel, assess, respond in the moment, than pronounce a week ahead of time because of past reactions. Many surgeries, for example, can be performed robotically yet, a surgeon is most always present and most commercial airliners are perfectly able to take off, fly a course and land without human intervention, yet a pilot (s) are present. Why? Obviously, there are times when human mindfulness must override automatic reaction. To the time of this writing, society is still apprehensive about allowing fully automated, driverless taxis plying cities or highways. There are mindful and very human responses above and reaction.
Let us be authentic
Mindfulness has become a buzzword, and that is both good and bad news. In the societal recognition of the need for greater mindfulness, we are happy; in trying to “define, cut and paste” mindfulness from one situation to another, we are uneasy.
Mindfulness “is,” however, when it isn’t, authenticity leaves.
We may come to a mindful group decision based on authenticity and response nevertheless, the group may be setting itself up for failure when the leader believes they are always more mindful than everyone else.