Five Ways General Mills Hires with Mindfulness in Mind
London’s Financial Times recently explored the increasing use of Mindfulness training in Global Fortune 200 Companies as diverse as Google, Target and First Direct. Among those profiled: General Mills, the company behind brands such as Cheerios cereal and Haagen-Dazs ice cream, with a corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota that houses 3000 employees in charge of every element of their multi-national corporate vision - from litigation to product development.
Juggling the complex requirements of the range of brands and products housed within the General Mills campus is intense work. It could be a hotbed of pressure and employee dissatisfaction. It is not. Instead, General Mills is at the center of a global movement that sets the benefits of mindfulness to work every day with extraordinary results. Their leadership mindfulness training initiative ensures that, from the top of the organization through the employee base, the benefits of mindfulness are core to their central business philosophy. The question is, why?
Reason #1: Mindfulness enables a focus and clarity that deadlines, pressure and daily interactions often preclude
Leadership across the board have recognized, through their own use, how mindfulness benefits their own work. So much so that in every building of the General Mills campus there are meditation rooms, equipped cushions and yoga mats that employees are invited to use throughout the day. Human resources has embraced this initiative and the core values associated with it.
Reason #2: Mindfulness is now an inherent part of corporate culture
With mindfulness exercises practiced in meditation rooms and conference rooms alike, potential employees who exhibit the values and benefits of mindfulness will most easily fit in to the culture, and implicitly have the greatest success.
Reason #3: It’s no passing fancy
For over 7 years, General Mills has been building its own internal program as central to the efficiency, effectiveness and overall employee satisfaction. Mindfulness training continues to have a strong place in employee development.
Reason #4: Mindful leaders recognize those whose ability to be focused, sustain their attention and be actively in the moment as those who make the clear decisions essential to their every day
Multi-tasking has been revealed as an ineffective skill in a leader; the fragmentation of workload results in less efficiency and creativity. Throughout the organization, the mental discipline of mindfulness is looked to as one of the main assets in project management and internal and external communication.
Reason #5: Leaders from all over the planet are looking for mindful employees as well
With the global marketplace more competitive than ever, the highly pressurized world of yesterday’s staid corporate culture no longer applies. Instead, leadership at companies large and small have come to realize the import of people skilled at reaching beyond the daily pressures and demands and work together to solve problems and build business.
To Learn More
For more information on Lesley's Mindfulness Studies Programs, please visit the links below:
Mindfulness Studies
Self-Designed Master’s Degree: Mindfulness Studies Specialization
Mindfulness Studies – Advanced Professional Certificate