Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2015 - (Page 9)

LEADERSHIP: THE ARTICHOKE EFFECT The average American is working longer hours. Gallup research indicates it has increased from 40 to 47 hours per week - effectively a six-day work-week. The ramifications of not having enough time in the day chips away at our performance both in and out of the workplace. When career demands dominate, we are likely to see changes in what we eat, our stress levels, judgment, waistbands and the quality of our relationships. Conversations become cut and paste and the constant reallocation of energy grinds us down. Efforts to temper the effects of this "new normal" are led by progressive left-coast companies, where Zen rooms, organic lunches and yoga sessions are all the rage. Across the spectrum, we even see these concepts appealing to CEOs and Hollywood stars. Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox and executive chairman of News Corp, has reportedly extolled the virtues of transcendental meditation. OUR HUMANITY IS OUR CENTERPIECE. Are we on the cusp of historic change or are we witnessing the esprit de corps destined to be dismissed as diluted eastern religious enlightenment? Leaders have responded by re-examining and redefining the role of a successful leader, focusing on the whole individual, not merely excelling in one's career. When we are nourished and whole at our core and less psychological jugglers of roles (parent, spouse, child, employee), clarity permeates in all areas of our life, including the way we lead. Leadership becomes symptomatic (the artichoke leaf ) of the root cause: our mind, body and spirit (the artichoke heart). Could altering the course of the relationship with ourselves build a better leader? The Buddhists say, "The only way out is through." By fully embracing all dimensions of ourselves - emotional, spiritual, cognitive, mental and physical - we are able to see our interconnectedness and tap into our common humanity. More concretely, what if we are able to tailor and reshape outdated perceptions of what leadership development programs embody, weaving the components of well-being into their fabric and not treating wellness as a disparate benefit function? Learning paths could create renewable sources of well-being, beginning with stress reduction workshops. One could schedule a dose of Pilates or Vinyasa and couple it with emotional intelligence training. Challenge the caffeinated performance enhancer, coffee, with uplifting matcha tea tastings, where one would learn how the tea leaf, replete with theanine, inhibits stress levels and modulates serotonin and dopamine T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - SPRING20 1 5 I WWW.TRAIN INGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE - MEREDITH LUBITZ GUEST EDITOR levels to make us feel good. Meditation and mindfulness workshops could sharpen our focus and agility. Devoted members of this mindset will sing resounding "amens," while the gun-shy but curious may find themselves agreeing with Proust's assertion that "the real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." Our humanity is our centerpiece. Our "realness" makes us accessible. If we could simply rewire our habits, thoughts and automatic ways of working into healthy alternatives, weaving the dimensions of us into the fabric of leadership development, it may leave us feeling inspired to not only make changes in our life, but changes as a leader. THIS ISSUE'S GUEST EDITOR Meredith Lubitz is a talent junkie leading company-wide talent acquisition, talent development and executive coaching efforts. She is the vice president of talent management at Dow Jones, where her efforts are focused on building and managing a broad spectrum of global initiatives including attracting talent, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, succession planning, change management, executive coaching, leadership development and digital transformation programs. Email Meredith. 9 http://www.trainingindustry.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2015

Soft Skills Make Up Vital Part of Corporate Training
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Leadership: The Artichoke Effect
Focusing on Mindsets and Attitudes
The Importance of Soft Skills For Trainers
Social Simulators Bring Training to Life
The Power of Storytelling in Organizational Development
Leading Change with Resilience
Why Perspective Selling Makes Sense
Harnessing the Power of Teamwork
Collaborate to Innovate: Building an Innovation-Friendly Business Culture
Are You Using the Best Metrics to Evaluate Your Skills Training?
Influencing into the Future
Culture: The Enemy at the Gate of Innovation
Casebook: T-Mobile: Answering the Call for Leadership Development
Leadership is an Inside Job
Vendor Selection Tips for Corporate Sales Training
Checking Your Motivation to Lead
The Real ROI of Leadership Training: Soft Skills Lead to Hard Results
Closing Deals
Company News
What's Online
Training Talk

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2015