{"id":2051,"date":"2013-12-10T15:13:47","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T21:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kbicblog.com\/blog\/construction-recruiter\/?p=2051"},"modified":"2013-12-10T15:13:47","modified_gmt":"2013-12-10T21:13:47","slug":"meditation-to-improve-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kbicblog.com\/construction-recruiter\/blog\/meditation-to-improve-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Meditation to Improve Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"meditate\"<\/a>Deep breathing, savouring food and walking alone are some of\u00a0 the methods that can teach awareness and better one’s well-being.<\/p>\n

For centuries, meditation helped Asians lead more meaningful lives.\u00a0 Meditation is now going global because research is proving its effectiveness for\u00a0 improving human performance and well-being.<\/p>\n

Two INSEAD colleagues, Assistant Professor of Organisational\u00a0 Behaviour, Zoe\u00a0 Kinias<\/a>,<\/strong> and PhD student Andrew\u00a0 Hafenbrack <\/strong>and\u00a0 have even demonstrated<\/a> how 15 minutes of meditation improved resistance\u00a0 to the sunk cost fallacy in business decision-making.<\/p>\n

A study at Northeastern University showed how people trained in meditation\u00a0 for just eight weeks behaved with attention to others 50 per cent of the time,\u00a0 compared with 16 per cent for an untrained group. Research like this is why\u00a0 large US corporations like General Mills and Target now use meditation as a tool\u00a0 to improve their performance.<\/p>\n

In the C-suite, meditation has significant advantages for developing\u00a0 executives into more capable leaders.<\/p>\n

Business schools are effective at teaching the technical tasks of managing,\u00a0 but teaching leadership has proven more problematic.<\/p>\n

Leadership is much more an art than a science, demanding a curriculum based\u00a0 on personal exploration of self and social awareness.<\/p>\n

Leaders must learn to see themselves accurately and be aware of how they see\u00a0 other people.<\/p>\n

Looking at powerful leaders like Churchill, Reagan, Gandhi, Clinton, Jobs or\u00a0 Mandela, we often find limited technical management skills, while values and\u00a0 personalities drive the agenda. No one would ever argue Steve Jobs was a good\u00a0 manager technically, but how he used his personality to lead Apple changed the\u00a0 world.<\/p>\n

Nelson Mandela used meditation to prepare himself for leading South Africa as\u00a0 a united nation. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he revealed how reflection\u00a0 became the basis for future success.<\/p>\n

Oprah: <\/em><\/strong>You said if you hadn\u2019t been in prison, you\u00a0 wouldn\u2019t have achieved the most difficult task in life \u2013 changing yourself. How\u00a0 did 27 years of reflection make you a different man?<\/p>\n

Mandela: <\/em><\/strong>Before I went to jail, I was active in\u00a0 politics \u2013 and was generally busy from 7am until midnight. I never had time to\u00a0 sit and think. But in prison, I had time to think. I had a clear view of my past\u00a0 and present, and I found that my past left much to be desired, both in regard to\u00a0 my relations with other humans and in developing personal worth. In my younger\u00a0 days, I was arrogant \u2013 jail helped me to get rid of it. I did nothing but make\u00a0 enemies because of my arrogance.<\/p>\n

What Mandela is describing is the self-awareness that mediation teaches: who\u00a0 you are and how you relate to others.<\/p>\n

So how does meditation fit into our busy lives? I use a simple technique\u00a0 whenever I struggle to translate an idea into words. I shut my eyes and breathe\u00a0 deeply, allowing oxygen to refresh my brain and help me focus on an idea rather\u00a0 than the entire article. When I open my eyes, the words are there.<\/p>\n

I would suggest, initially, the use of a few everyday meditation techniques\u00a0 to start living more consciously by focusing on the here and now.<\/p>\n