How One Employee at Google Is Changing the Way They Work

At the recent Wisdom 2.0 conference in Silicon Valley, I met a remarkable man named Sean who works at Google. There was something about him and his presence that was compelling and downright joyful, and I was honestly surprised to discover that he was a leader in the IT field.  He was not your stereotypical IT guy.As we got to know each other over lunch, we chatted about Google’s culture and how they are working on cultivating the concept of Mindful Leadership, meaning that they’re encouraging employees to be more present in the moment.  Although mindfulness isn’t fully rooted in Google (just like it’s not in most companies), Sean explained how he was helping to change the way they worked.Sean painted a picture of a typical day at Google where people are constantly running from back-to-back meetings, staying at work late and walking down the hallway with their laptops open reading emails.  This sounds nothing like a mindful environment, but one I think many of us can unfortunately relate to.  Then Sean told me how he starts his meetings.  No matter whether it’s a one-on-one meeting or a meeting with dozens of people, Sean requests that before the meeting starts that each person take a few breaths and turn their attention to the room and to each other.  Sean explained that having people take a few deep breaths is his way of cultivating a bit more mindfulness, with the intention that those moments of breathing will help turn everyone’s attention to the topic at hand and to connect with the people they are working with.I was dying to know how people responded to his request.  Sean reported that people were mostly surprised by his “strange” request, but after they tried it, they are generally receptive. People have reported feeling more focused, and, in his words “a bit happier.”  What I love about this story is that Sean didn’t wait for a mindfulness program to come down through the organization before he experimented with ways to help himself and others become more present.Sean is a true leader because he tried something new and risky because it was something he believed in.  Sean’s attempt at creating a more present and engaged workforce has started to catch on, too.   He recently heard through the grapevine that other leaders, some he doesn’t even know, are sharing his practice with their teams, and little by little, Google’s employees are becoming more engaged.  This story makes me think they’re onto something big at Google.  If Sean’s energy is any indication, it might be that Google is allowing for a unique and compelling competitive advantage that few saw coming.Experiment:I encourage you to do a little R&D (Rob and Duplicate) from Sean’s story.  Try to experiment with this idea of taking a moment before a meeting starts to bring your focus to the present moment.  Maybe you’re not ready to ask others to take a few breaths to get centered, but at minimum, it’s a behavior you can try on to see if it makes a difference.