The AIM Business School has taken a practice thousands of years old and fine-tuned it into an MBA course for the modern business world.
Known as ‘Mindfulness and Transformational Leadership’, AIM Business School’s innovative MBA elective teaches the practice and benefits of mindfulness in a leadership context. From creating more productive workplaces to developing greater self-awareness and resilience – the elective equips students with a comprehensive suite of mindfulness tools to deal with organisational culture, leadership and strategy.
AIM Business School’s mindfulness elective was crafted from knowledge and research drawn from multiple scientific disciplines. Mindfulness is practiced in only a handful of institutions around the world, and AIM Business School’s elective unit is the first of its kind in Australia.
AIM Business School Facilitator, Dr David Paul has over 25 years’ experience teaching mindfulness techniques to some of Australia’s top leaders and Global Executives.
According to Dr Paul, mindfulness plays a greater role in the business world than many think, and continues to grow in prevalence every day.
“Those who participate in the mindfulness program learn how to be more productive at work and at home. It impacts culture, conflict and a person’s ability to regulate emotion,” Dr Paul said.
For AIM Business School students like Julia Sparke, the mindfulness elective became a crucial part of their MBA education.
“This course was one of the most important units of my MBA experience. The content applies to so many areas of life and can be used in so many other aspects of business, management and leadership training,” Ms Sparke said.
“It has provided me with tools and strategies which will be useful both for myself and my organisation well into the future.”
Speaking on the topic earlier this year, Dr Paul said MBA graduates who have learned AIM Business School’s mindfulness and transformational leadership content can enjoy several benefits including:
- Reduced stress
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower anxiety levels
- Improved memory
- Improved efficiency
- Increased awareness
- Increased attention and focus
- Increased clarity in thinking and perception, and
- Greater control over the everyday environment.
“From issues management, organisational science, organisational culture and productivity…mindfulness not only improves productivity but improves relationships and the bottom line.”
AIM Business School’s mindfulness delivery is not on a spiritual or philosophical platform, but a purely scientific one.
“Mindfulness is actually a very old concept – practiced for over 2,000 years – but what is new is that we can now measure what happens in the brain,” Dr Paul said.
“It is very much a science-based approach.
“Mindfulness is based purely on neuro-science – looking at how the brain actually functions and operates. And then it draws on medical research like biochemistry and neurology, as well as various psychological research.”
A number of major international companies have started to catch on to the mindfulness phenomenon, opting to hire employees whose specific responsibility is to keep the attention on mindfulness and the overall mental health of the workplace, to ensure businesses interests are run by fresh, healthy minds.
Google and the British House of Lords are but a few examples of organisations who have chosen to prioritise mindfulness as a dominant business consideration.
However, AIM Business School decided to raise the bar by incorporating the leadership element into their MBA program by developing a new elective option, which integrates mindfulness with leadership and business management.
“Application to leadership was a logical step,” Dr Paul said.
“Mindfulness is also about changing leadership and how leadership can be a positive, practical business element rather than a trait of charisma.
“Mindfulness implemented by senior leaders can be highly beneficial.
“When effectively applied to daily work, and put into the context of larger corporate objectives, it can be the foundation for enhancing performance and I believe, the key to raising profits and real organisational effectiveness.”
