The effect of mindful leadership on workplace cohesion and productivity

The more our teams grow over time, the harder we have to work, as leaders, at building workplace cohesion. Smaller groups tend to enjoy more face-to-face interactions, which keep them united; it’s a quality that dissipates as teams become larger.  

Even though my knowledge of mindful leadership is still expanding and I’m constantly discovering new avenues in the field, I strive to centre my leadership style around the guiding principles of mindful leadership.

That’s why I’ve tried becoming more creative about the ways I encourage cohesion and boost productivity among my teams.

One idea that resonated with the team (and was particularly fun to be a part of) was what I called ‘Ridiculous Debates’.

We split the office into two teams, picked from a pre-written topic that the entire office contributed to out of a bowl, flipped a coin for pro and con, and had a spirited debate over truly ridiculous topics ranging from philosophical questions to does pineapple belong on pizza or whether secret menus at popular fast-food restaurants are actually good or only good because they seem mysterious :P

We’d switch up teams every time, giving everyone an equal opportunity to interact with people from all over the office.

After our last debate (which happened to be about pineapple on pizza), one employee called out, “Pure, unadulterated cheese” to another who responded with, “Pizza purists!” as they crossed each other’s paths 😂 I don’t understand the full context of this interaction but I got the general gist.

I love seeing employees who work in different departments and barely get an opportunity to interact, greeting each other like old friends when they happen to come across each other. It has really improved the culture at Awakened Mind.

One thing I’ve become conscious of is maintaining the balance between workplace cohesion and ensuring that my employees are still motivated to come up with new ideas and challenge each other to do better every day.

Workplace cohesion can transform productivity for the better and lead to a variety of advantages like lower levels of stress, a lower absenteeism rate, decreased employee turnover, greater job satisfaction, and more consistent individual productivity outcomes within the group.

According to a new study, however, too much workplace cohesion can cause the opposite effect on productivity and lead to a drop in efficiency.

Leveraging what I’ve learned about mindful leadership, my job is to strike the perfect balance between workplace cohesion and productivity. I am particularly proud of ‘Ridiculous Debates’ because it brings people together, while encouraging healthy, light disagreements and valuing individual opinion (however lighthearted that opinion may be).

The impact of mindful leadership on productivity

When I talk about mindful leadership, people often leap straight to corporate wellness. This is a correct association to make, but corporate wellness doesn’t just mean happy employees - just like mindful leadership doesn’t just mean a thoughtful leader :)

Mindful leadership has a huge impact on defining workplace culture and boosting productivity. It helps build a culture of employee support, growth, efficiency, and effectiveness; a breeding ground of workplace cohesion.

Cohesion in the workplace demonstrates the strength and extent of interpersonal dynamics that exist among team members. These bonds encourage employees to participate more actively and remain motivated towards achieving set goals. An attitude that puts the team first is fostered.

This united front not only creates an office rife with inside jokes and code phrases being tossed around (see pizza purists above), it also creates a team dynamic that helps employees work towards shared goals more harmoniously and with fewer disruptions to the process 💪

How can Awakened Mind boost workplace cohesion

Mindfulness can completely transform your workplace. While mindful leadership does have a noticeable impact on workplace dynamics, the full benefits of mindfulness can only be embraced if your organisation brings the principles of mindfulness into the core of your corporate culture.

Awakened Mind is a mindfulness platform that is geared towards making mindfulness a part of your corporate culture through a range of resources, from the extensive Learning Center to the selection of guided meditation tracks and Neurosync™ technology.

Create sustainable workplace cohesion today by downloading Awakened Mind.