A New Mantra For Management
When we practice yoga, we aim to balance mind, body, and spirit. When we practice business, we aim to balance sales, products, and people. In yoga, when you are out of balance, your body doesn’t function at its highest potential. This is also mirrored in corporate culture. If your leadership principles are unbalanced, your business may not be functioning at its highest potential either.
So I offer you a new mantra to consider for management: Balance culture and well-being in light of—not in spite of—sales metrics.
What would your work environment be like if leaders were just as accountable for people metrics as they are for operational metrics? People metrics include variables like employee happiness, professional development, health, and a sense of purpose. Operational metrics focus on sales, costs, stock value, and profits. Are people metrics and sales metrics equally important to leaders? Statistics show that 52% of workers in the U.S. are disengaged at work. Disengaged employees—half the workforce—are less emotionally connected to their work and less likely to go the extra mile. They take more sick days, are less efficient, and can negatively affect the company culture.
This statistic means 1 out of 2 people reading this knows the feeling of being disengaged. And the other half probably knows someone they work with or manage who is disengaged and affects the team’s happiness. So, how do you think you would perform if you were encouraged to develop both personal and professional accountability? Imagine going to work every day, spending time developing yourself professionally, staying healthy, and having fun—all while remaining accountable for delivering results, driving sales, and helping the company succeed. Would you invest more in the company if the company invested in you? In my humble opinion, the answer is yes!
Practice Yoga, Change Culture
Yoga can be an essential part of cultural transformation in business. Bring yoga to your company to foster a non-competitive, safe space that encourages self-development, empowerment, and positive energy. Weekly yoga classes can shift employees’ internal perspectives and how they interact with others—or in yogi terms, help them develop a sense of oneness with the world around them. Shifting people from the inside will result in long-term culture change.
Yoga also helps employees develop healthy control of emotion and stress during challenging work situations. It can break cycles of reactivity so employees can respond more positively to agile business needs. Offering yoga is a great way to give back to your employees, enabling them to invest in themselves and, in turn, reinvest in the company!
Invite Studio 9-to-5 into your workplace for daily on-site yoga, fitness, and wellness classes to reprogram, reengage, and revitalize your culture!
Source: State of the American Workplace, Gallup 2013.
