If you are a meditator and seek an environment that’s a bit more supportive of such a practice, I recommend talking to your current employer about it. You may be surprised. If you are leaving for certain, make sure to ask other potential employers about their wellness and mindfulness programs. If your values and passion don’t align with the work you’re currently doing or your organization, spend some time looking into this question. Then you can base your job search on what your reflections (or counsel from trusted advisors) reveal. That way you won’t find yourself back in the same unsatisfying situation. The most important thing to remember, though, is that mindfulness is about learning to meet your life—just as it is—with clarity and equanimity. Moving around in search of a perfect work environment—one with no challenges—would be a very long search indeed. So applying mindfulness in your current workplace can be a great way to test both yourself and your environment. Ask yourself: Is there more growing I could do in this setting? Is what I’m doing aligned with my deep values? If so, how can I bring more mindfulness to work with me? And if not, where is it best for me to look next? Don’t forget, too, to enjoy all the steps on the journey! Janice Marturano of the Institute for Mindful Leadership is the author of Finding the Space to Lead.
Scenario: Dealing with colleagues who are not pulling their weight, which puts stress on other members of the team. Categorize under: Increasing engagement Advisor: Michael Carroll
One way to tackle this is to do a quick “environmental scan” of your workplace, honestly assessing the lay of the land. This is a way to place “careless colleagues” into a wider and healthier team context, making it more likely that you can skillfully and candidly request commitment from those who are not pulling their weight. Here’s how to begin:
Green: always reliable Yellow: sometimes reliable Red: persistently unreliable
