“You will have bad times, but they will always wake you up to the stuff you weren’t
paying attention to.”
– Robin Williams
Welcome back, community!
After a brief summer hiatus, Adrienne and Tom are excited to return with a special episode focusing on mindfulness and leadership. This episode builds on our recent sprint of panel discussions covering a wide array of leadership topics, including two panels on wellbeing at the individual, team, enterprise, and global levels.
Introduction: A Conversation with Our Co-founders
At the beginning of this episode, Adrienne Guerrero and Tom Rosenak set the stage for our guest interview:
– They discuss the constant pressure on leaders to “keep going” without adequate time for strategic thinking and reflection.
– They emphasize the interconnectedness of individual well-being, team performance, and business outcomes like retention and engagement.
– The co-founders liken self-care to maintenance in a mechanical system – neglecting the “human machines” inevitably leads to decreased productivity.
– They stress the importance of open conversations about stress and well-being, even when additional resources aren’t available.
– Adrienne and Tom highlight the need for personalized approaches to stress management, acknowledging that everyone experiences stress and VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) differently.
Featured Guest: Dot Proux
We’re thrilled to welcome back Dot Proux, who previously joined us on a panel about self-leadership. Dot is an executive coach and leadership development advisor who teaches an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course.
Highlights from our conversation with Dot:
1. Dot’s background: Before becoming a coach, she was a partner at a Big 4 accounting firm, experiencing high stress and burnout firsthand.
2. Personal experience: Dot shares her journey with “cliffing” – pushing herself too hard until her body forced her to stop and recover.
3. Empathy in coaching: She now uses her personal experiences to connect with and support her high-performing, high-stress leadership clients.
4. MBSR benefits: Research shows that MBSR can improve focus, present moment awareness, and overall well-being.
5. Course structure: Dot’s 8-week MBSR program includes:
– Formal and informal mindfulness exercises
– Accountability and support from a cohort
– Gradual building of the “mindfulness muscle”
Opportunity to join Dot’s Fall MBSR Cohort
To enroll in the upcoming fall program or learn more about mindfulness, visit:
https://aleadershipbeyond.com/mindfulness-based-stress-reduction/
Join us as we continue to explore leadership practices that keep the human front and center in the face of the sometimes-dehumanizing modern leadership challenges.
As always, we want to hear from YOU.
Tom & Adrienne
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