“I can’t believe the daffodils bloomed so early this year,” she said, smiling. I stopped dead in my tracks. How could she even see the flowers?
Call it a blessing or a curse, I’ve got a brain that loves to be “on.” When I’m walking, I’m writing. When I’m in the shower, I’m practicing important conversations. I’ve even been caught mumbling Excel formulas in my sleep (this should probably bother me a lot more than it does). So, when I entered the world of hospital administration at a relatively young age, my mind dove headfirst into all the little complexities of driving performance improvement, designing business strategies, and facilitating teams. I was so determined to develop these competencies that I completely lost sight of arguably one of the most important leadership qualities of all: presence.
As I walked from one building to another with our chief nursing officer, I was so engrossed in our conversation about patient safety that I had absolutely no awareness of my surroundings. When she paused to point out the daffodils, I was completely taken aback. How could she even see them?
I was sitting at a cafe in Montenegro yesterday taking in the flavor of the espresso and the coolness from the sea. It occurred to me how integrated mindfulness has become in my life over the last decade or so.
Although I’m sure it looks like nothing, intentional “somatic breaks” have become some of my most crucial maintenance work. Being present wasn't something I inherently knew how to do. I developed mindfulness through somatic therapy, circus arts, and even wearing a ring for a year that reads "welcome home" (a visual reminder that I was back in my body, and I was staying that way).
It’s extremely important to me that I show up for the people I work with, and not just in an “I’ll turn on my web cam” sort of way. I firmly believe that the quality of my professional relationships has been driven by my ability to fully see the people in front of me and connect with them on a human level. And while I aim to give the gift of presence to others, I also reap the benefits of giving it to myself.
Over the course of my career, I’ve seen mindfulness pick up in popularity, typically in the context of self-care and burn out prevention. I haven’t seen it discussed quite as often as a leadership competency. In truth, I don’t think it’s important just for leaders; it’s valuable to literally everyone. From catching more errors to better demonstrating respect, our ability to be present elevates our professional abilities in infinite ways. As my French tutor once boldly put it: “Presence is God.”
While it sounds cliché to suggest that employees stop to smell the roses (or, in my case, daffodils), I do think it's critically important that leaders model what my chief nursing officer did that day.
Slow down. Soak it up. Sip that espresso.
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