What does mindfulness have to do with performance in the workplace? Research shows that when individual employees train in mindfulness, they are more effective at work due to reduced stress and anxiety, greater capacity for creativity and problem-solving, and improved focus. Mindful individual employees are also generally more satisfied with their jobs and suffer less burnouts.

However, the real win for organizations is when entire teams engage in “team mindfulness” or “collective awareness”. Mindful teams, which have practices based on high levels of trust, empathy, and self-awareness, are also high performing. This is because these teams are able to build strong relationships, communicate more effectively, strive for continuous improvement, and prove highly resilient and adaptive in a changing business environment.

This talk “breaks boundaries” by creating the bridge between team health/well-being and team performance. These two concepts are not likely to be associated, however, this talk highlights the scientifically proven link between mindfulness and high-performing teams. In addition to the theory, participants will experience practical tools how agile practitioners & team leads can -integrate more mindful practices into their own teams.

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In this interactive talk, participants will learn about Team Mindfulness & how this contributes to team performance. In addition, participants will try out together three mindful practices/ tools (team exercises & retrospectives):

Practice #1: Awareness: Mindful teams are present and have a deeper understanding of their own needs/ tasks in the team but also other’s perspectives.

• Check-in (how to do check-ins to create rapport & psychological safety within a team with “safety check-in”)

Practice #2: Effective communication: Mindful teams communicate in a way that is direct but non-judgmental; the team addresses conflict as it arises instead of letting it fester.

• Active Listening

Practice #3: Resilience: Mindful teams are able to change and adapt.

• CIA – Control, Influence & Accept