by: Greg Headley, Director, MS OCP Practice and Colleen Hein, Content Marketing Associate

The recent kickoff of the NFL season has demonstrated what can happen when organizations come together to tackle a common problem. With a planned approach and coachable teams, the NFL has started their season despite the obstacles posed by COVID-19.

The Seahawks victory this week over the Patriots has certainly stirred up their fan’s hopes for another chance to win the Super Bowl. It has also brought to mind how the Seahawks won back in 2014, in addition to the star power of Russell Wilson, Cam Chandler, and Richard Sherman.  

Their secret weapon? Mindfulness—and Michael Gervais.

Success at last—how the Seahawks won the Super Bowl

The Seahawks stomped out the Broncos at Super Bowl XLVII in 2014 with a score of 43 to 8, the largest margin of victory for an underdog in the NFL’s history. According to an article in the Huffington Post, Gervais’ regiment of yoga and mindfulness meditation gave players a slew of advantages, including “focus, awareness, clarity of thought, and the ability to stay in the present moment”. Awareness is what allowed the Seahawks to “guide our [their] minds, relentlessly toward an ideal mindset”—the mindset that allowed them to win biggest game in the NFL.

Staying mindful has been especially difficult for organizations on and off the field during the past six months—but it is arguably more important now than ever.

Translating mindfulness into business success

In an interview in The Oregonian, Gervais said “Athletes and coaches in elite sports have lots to teach us. They manage uncertainty with great eloquence, every game they go into the outcome is unknown”. This ambiguity is something that athletes and coaches share with business leaders, as they each must make calculated decisions to try and achieve the best result.  Heads of enterprises can encourage their employees to do yoga to help their employees with mindfulness, but they can also incorporate presence, awareness, and trust in their org structure and company culture by taking actionable steps to meet their employee’s concerns.

One of the biggest uncertainties facing businesses and their workforces today is the future of work in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a recent Gallup survey, fewer than 4 in 10 workers feel very confident that they will be able to continue to meet the requirements of their job successfully should the outbreak continue. Companies can use the combination of mindfulness and the right resources to create a sense of presence, awareness, and trust among their employees when its most needed.

Knowledge is power. Participating in a highly competitive and changing business landscape requires coaching and training to equip your team for success. Addressing the uncertainty of job performance in this new remote environment through education and mindfulness will allow your organization, like the Seahawks, to have the presence, awareness, trust, and focus to overcome the unknown