Introduction to Mindfulness Course Held for Local Business
The UVA Mindfulness Center offers custom mindfulness programs to organizations and businesses, and recently held an Introduction to Mindfulness course for FM Expressions that met for one hour a week for eight weeks. FM Expressions (https://www.fmexpressions.com/resources/our-story/ ) has facilities in Gordonsville, Virginia and Secaucus, New Jersey, and produces screen-printed custom heat transfers. A total of 14 members of the leadership team attended. The course was held virtually and leaders from both facilities participated. The course focused on developing mindfulness skills that could be readily applied both personally and professionally.
Scott White, CEO of FM Expressions, commented about the program:
I was particularly interested in partnering with the UVA Mindfulness Center and Dr. John Schorling. It was comforting to know we would gain access to vast resources and the extensive knowledge of the facilitator. As CEO, I see myself as Chief Culture Officer at FM Expressions. I have taken a very aggressive approach to changing perceptions, building trust, and setting new expectations for ourselves and our team members. UVA Mindfulness Center provided an opportunity to reinforce many previous learnings and opened the eyes of our leaders on what is possible for the future.
It was my hope that, at minimum, each team member would fully absorb the concept of Awareness. We work in a business-to-business manufacturing environment serving tens of thousands of customers. Each day brings a completely different set of end products and customer expectations. Being a mindful leader within the chaos will serve the individual and all those in our company, well.
I was appreciative of John’s (Dr. Schorling) willingness to tailor a program around content, time of day, and class size that matched our exact needs. His enthusiasm and personal connection quickly built a trusting environment. It led to open sharing and better relationships among key people in our company. It was also interesting to hear the very diverse experiences on what individuals were taking with them from our eight-week experience.
We had 14 important team members commit to 1 hour during the work week over the course of a couple of months. We started the program in the midst of a challenging time in our business. An option could have been to postpone. The choice to stay the course proved invaluable. There is no better time to focus on Mindfulness than when you need it most. I am very confident we reduced the amount of anxiety and stress in the business by having leaders who were more aware.
Filed Under: News and Notes