The role of modern leaders is to take care of and pay attention to working people. Working people today all have problems waiting to be solved, especially mental health, amidst rapid adjustments to change. Dr. Chiratkal Pongphakthian, Deputy Director of the Center for Contemplative Education, Mahidol University, and Ms. Penpapha Senelaksana, regional sales manager of Verveer Thailand Co., Ltd., will invite you to talk about the role of modern leaders who need to urgently increase the intensity of taking care of the minds of working people.
Start with our feelings, then listen to their feelings.
Because this era is an era of rapid change, sometimes employees cannot adapt in time. What role can leaders play to help their employees cope with the changes? Ms. Phennapa Senelaksana, regional sales manager of Verveer Thailand Co., Ltd., sees that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many internal adjustments to the organization, including management, work systems, and external factors such as customer demands and government policies. Everything has changed, affecting employees’ personal matters, from travel, work styles, or the increasing use of technology. If employees want these changes to not be a problem or a burden, they must start by asking themselves how they feel. If they feel uncomfortable or resentful, they should gradually look at those feelings and see them as normal first, in order to increase their understanding of themselves and, in turn, their understanding of others. That is, they should learn to stop listening to their own feelings and use their “listening” to take care of the feelings of those around them.
Communicate to reduce emotions
Dr. Chiratkan Pongphakthian, Deputy Director of the Center for Mindfulness Studies, Mahidol University, emphasized the impact of COVID-19 that has changed people’s way of life. At first, some people were shocked by the situation. Some people felt that everything was so overwhelming that they could not handle the situation. If it is someone who has never learned about managing their mind, it will be even more difficult to manage everything, leading to anxiety or a risk of depression, which is currently increasing greatly, reflecting that people are unable to manage their minds or emotions.
Nowadays, we spend more time working, so we should also give more importance to taking care of our minds. If there is any turmoil in our minds, we should accept it. The turmoil often comes from the fear that we will not be able to work well. Therefore, we need tools to help us observe our minds. We must start to take care of our own frustrations and see what is happening as normal. To truly take care of these things, we must start by finding a safe space to take care of ourselves and communicate it properly in order to relieve our emotions from the stories that have been expanded until they have become problems.
Leaders start first and learn together.
If the atmosphere in the workplace is like an oasis, a safe space where people can talk, support and listen to each other, employees will be better off from the stressful situation. Of course, the organization’s leaders should be the first to take the initiative, starting with taking care of themselves. When they are strong enough, they will automatically be able to take care of others. Dr. Chiratkal suggests that tools that invite people to check in and talk about their feelings and mental life, such as inviting them to look at the sky and see what color it is based on their feelings, which will automatically allow them to tell us and we will listen. Many people find that their problems are smaller than others from listening and can use the time to help others.
Leaders must also have the skills to take care of their own minds. When employees are insecure, they want to be listened to, seen as human, not seen as machines for producing work. Therefore, leaders must have enough open and wide space in their hearts to allow employees to use their potential, creating an atmosphere where everyone is valuable, cooperates, and takes ownership of the work.
This seems easy, but it is hard to explain. We have to try it. Leaders start by setting an example, training themselves to show their employees that even leaders are on a journey of learning and developing themselves. Sometimes they do well, sometimes they don’t. Let employees see that we are trying to practice. This will create a learning space where the team can take care of their minds and develop themselves from within together.
We can all be leaders. Train ourselves to be calm and slow down.
The approach that Dr. Chiratkan recommends is called “spiritual wisdom”. It is about understanding the nature within ourselves, which will allow us to understand others as well. It is a reflective inner learning that allows us to accept who we are and see our own potential.
How to: How to start in a way that you can do by yourself. Dr. Chiratakarn and Ms. Phennapa suggest that you find time to be with yourself, to be still and slow, for example, when taking a shower, practice feeling the coolness, the warmth of the water. When eating, be aware of the taste of the food, not eating without knowing the taste in order to rush to do something else. Or when driving, focus on driving, not just seeing the destination, wanting to go quickly, getting annoyed at red lights, getting annoyed at traffic jams, etc.
Try to practice bringing yourself back to what you are doing or to the present. Bringing yourself back to the present moment will help you see the phenomena that arise in your mind. Gradually get to know them. Sometimes they come, sometimes they go, just like when we see clouds. Sometimes they are cloudy, sometimes they are light and airy.
Do things without rushing, against the flow of life that wants us to move very fast for future work, until we can hardly do anything slowly. Try to focus only on that, with an empty and light mind. It will make us more aware of ourselves, we will release less toxic, and will be able to help others more. We must do it first. These activities do not require much thought, but we are not up to date with ourselves, thinking about this and that all the time. Try to bring yourself back to the present, slow down your life, and enjoy the present moment more.
#Happiness is growing #ThaiHealth #LifeTalk #HappyGrowth #Decoding the happiness of working people
You can choose to watch the program in YouTube format at: LIFE TALK HAPPY GROWTH: Modern-day supervisors take care of their employees’ feelings.
Or you can choose to listen to the program in Podcast format at:
Recommended articles:
Lost Passion – What should we do? The person has lost their Passion.
