How mindfulness is changing the tech industry and why you need to participate

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Tuesday, November 4th, 2014
8:00 AM to 9:30 AM

From the Globe and Mail to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and even the cover of TIME Magazine this year, mindfulness is everywhere and being embraced by the corporate world and tech giants including Apple, eBay and Google, whose online ‘Search Inside Yourself’ mindfulness classes sell out in 30 seconds.

This evidenced based training of the attention has become a crucial skill for those hoping to succeed in an increasingly frenetic, multitasking and connected environment because it allows them to slow down and focus on the task at hand. This improved quality of attention, according to MBA Professor Jeremy Hunter, is the “key to productivity.” Harvard Business School adds that this focus leads to “calmer minds, greater clarity and improved health.”

Mindfulness is also practiced by leaders of every stripe (healthcare, government, US Armed Forces, sports teams including Seattle Seahawks and LA Lakers). As Bill George, Professor at Harvard Business School says, “leaders who are mindful tend to be more effective in understanding and relating to others, and motivating them toward shared goals. It also enables them to be less reactive to stress, more compassionate, and better equipped to approach challenging issues.”

Mindfulness has scientifically proven impacts in the workplace:

1. Health and wellbeing of employees (reduces stress, anxiety and depression, improves sleep, enhances employee well-being and self-care) 

2. Improved teamwork and collaboration (improves collaboration and relationships with others, decreases reactivity enabling creative responses to change and conflict)

3. Stronger leadership (optimizes decision making and increases empathy, authenticity and discernment which helps leaders form alliances, build relationships, motivate others and negotiate better)

4. Enhanced performance (enhances focus and attentiveness, improves creativity and ‘out of the box’ thinking, improves working memory and leads to better decision making).

The focus of this hands-on workshop by MindWell Canada is to introduce the Victoria technology community to mindfulness and the neuroscience behind it, how it has been embraced by Google, and what it takes to bring it into your organizational culture and personal life. 

SPEAKER:

Kara Smith has taught mindfulness and peak performance to corporate leaders, athletes, and schools for more than 10 years.  Kara has a background in management consulting and program development and has trained with leading mindfulness experts including the Dalai Lama, Dr. Rolf Sovik, and the late Peter Glover.