1. Which of the 10 declarations of The Mindful CIO Manifesto resonate the most with you?
#2 – We Promote A Healthy Culture.
2. Please elaborate on why do you identify the most with the declaration selected above.
I believe that we promote a healthy culture sums up all the other declarations. A healthy culture implies that we respect ourselves as humans – rather than robots or worker drones of a bee hive. Respect starts with myself – only if I respect myself I can treat others with respect, too. Health is a combination of physical and mental needs (see also the Maslov spectrum). By promoting a healthy culture, we bring the 10 declarations of The Mindful CIO to life: we bring humanity – EQ, respect, support – to the industry which in turn implies presence and the acknowledgment and respect of healthy human boundaries.
3. What is your #1 Strategy (or Ritual) for Self-Care?
My first strategy is grounding or presence exercises: to become aware of a) who I am, b) where I am, c) the challenges at hand, and d) what I can do in this very moment. It reminds me to put myself and the current situation into the context of my life and life in general. It also helps me to become aware of what is in my power to change or influence and what is not. It sharpens my vision and focus – it is the often quoted step back for a moment. Bringing a wider context to a situation is helpful to prioritise my own actions properly and to take the next step with confidence and without self-doubt.
4. What Mindful Leadership means to you?
In simple terms: unlocking the human potential; to become who I want to be; to be part of a generative human collective where we support each other to all our benefit. By role modelling the way as well as supporting individual and teams to become more empathic, mindful leadership is as much about creating psychologically safe working/living environments as living fulfilled lives together.
5. Why do you think The Mindful CIO movement is important? In other words why have you accepted to become a Champion of this community?
The Mindful CIO movement is important because we all are at risk of loosing ourselves at times, maybe today even more so than 200 years ago. The world around us is moving faster and has become louder so that we might feel existential pressure if we do not keep up or we simply cannot hear our own thoughts and feelings any longer. Mindfulness and this movement are here to remind us that the situation is not totally out of our control – we can shape our own lives, we can create and evolve this world ourselves and together.