Student perspectives on the Mindful Manager
The Mindful Manager was introduced on to the Lancaster MBA in 2007. Interviewed partway through that year, three students give their views on what the new module has meant to them
Ben Harper, a hospital doctor, is in no doubt of the module’s value to him, both on the MBA and in his family life. ‘The Mindful Manager has been one of the most important parts of what I’ve learnt so far. It ties everything together because so much of what we do is interacting with one another, working in teams, from three people to eleven. And even in a lecture theatre, it’s all about communication, especially since the Lancaster style is so interactive. For that process to work with a group of 77 people, you need to understand the importance of respect, of listening, of understanding different personal and cultural values, otherwise it won’t work – it’ll turn into a shouting match.’
Ben has also noticed differences in himself. ‘I’ve found I’ve been much more receptive, I’ve listened more. I’ve pinned my Coverdale chart [which outlines personal strengths and weaknesses] on the fridge at home – which may have been a mistake, as it’s now ammunition if I slip up in some way! I also find I’m using the web log more and more – it’s a bit like having a personal counsellor. And I can go back, look at a difficult situation, see how I handled it, how I found a way of getting the most out of it or simply relieving the tension.’
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‘We have already worked together a lot of different teams during the first semester, for example on the New Venture Challenge,’ says Fredrik Sandvall, a former officer with Swedish Armed Forces who now runs his own team development consultancy company. ‘What we did early on has definitely accelerated the team building process and our understanding of each other, the differences between us and how we can use those most productively. Whatever you do, you can apply the learning from tools we were given.’
‘I think the reflective part is really good,’ he adds. ‘As a manager you’ve got to juggle so many balls – you’ve got to take into account your customers, your staff, your workload, and also your family. It’s a challenge which becomes easier if you think about what you do. But reflection is one of the things that gets squeezed. You can read a thousand books about it, but you only really get to do it when you actually put something down on paper for yourself. On the MBA it can be hard to find the time to do the reflection needed but putting my thoughts down on paper is making it easier to see what I’m getting from the process, and from other parts of the MBA.’
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For Oluwafunke Amobi, a senior HR manager with 17 years’ experience in Nigeria’s telecoms, banking, and oil and gas industries, the new module has already stimulated some powerful insights. ‘I’ve spent my entire career looking at how we can bring out the best in people,’ she says. ‘I’d been an HR practitioner for so long, I thought I’d mastered a lot of things. This MBA – and especially the concept of being ‘mindful’ – has enabled me to take a step back.
‘The Mindful Manager is about discovering yourself and your capabilities, taking ownership of what you find, and then deploying and developing those skills with other people. Coverdale does a fantastic job of setting the tone, awakening the awareness in you. From there you’re left to apply that awareness. The work with HFI allows you to assess your own cognitive, analytical and numerical skills, and shows you where the gaps are – and what you can do to fill them. It’s not a text book ‘how’ – it’s a real life ‘how’.
‘You’re constantly thinking and working on what you’ve discovered about yourself. The reflective practice has been so exciting for me. Particularly for teamwork and collaboration, I began to appreciate the impact and importance of listening to others. I’ve also realised that where planning and control were concerned, my approach to date had been pretty much high level and broad scope – I’d not really paid sufficient attention to the nitty-gritty.’
Oluwafunke is enthusiastic about how the mindful manager concept can be translated into recruitment practice and leadership training when she returns to her post in Nigeria. ‘I’m already looking at how to build this into our recruitment systems at a high level,’ she says. ‘How do we test for certain things, how do we best find out the reflective and cognitive capabilities of candidates.’
Lancaster's corporate partners on the Mindful Manager
Coverdale Human Factors International Outward Bound
