Transformation Coaching(1): Wellness is the Key

By:?Rajiv Tewari ?based on dialogues with?Dinesh Chandra

Dinesh has played a key role in the transformation of several organizations around the globe. His exposure includes well known and respected brands like Oracle, Fujitsu, Harley Davidson, American Express, Motorola, PSA-Singapore, Cadbury, Tata, Eicher, L&T & Beckman Coulter. Besides working for so many respected brands Dinesh has played the role of a mentor and transformed several individuals. I have known Dinesh since 1995 when I was with The Indian Express at Delhi. Since then I have learnt a lot from him and have had many dialogue sessions to learn about his work. I am sharing some excerpts from my dialogue sessions on wellness with Dinesh. Your comments and sharing of experiences will be of great help.?

Complete Strangers resolve complex issues in Dinesh’s Wellbeing Community Retreats

I have attended some of these offline and online and was surprised to find complete strangers resolving complex issues. In one of the latest get together; one member who had achieved a lot in her professional and personal life felt guilty about taking time out for herself. For her that was a big issue as she thought she is duty bound to do everything for her family and doing anything for her own pleasure would be selfish.

Another member had an issue with not being able to sleep on time in the night as her family members would call late nights from another part of the world as it was day time for them. The thought of switching off the mobile was considered inappropriate. She simply could not request them to fix a time to call as they may feel hurt.

In another case, one of the participants had lost all his wealth in search of an ego trip in the spirituality domain following all kinds of absurd rituals. What surprised?me in all such cases was that these persons were willing to open up to complete strangers, find insights through dialogues and willing to commit to change with a promise to follow up with each other on the progress towards solutions.

Clinical Evidence

Dr Clark and colleagues have conducted a study to discover the psychosocial benefits of wellness coaching.?This study undertook a study of 100 Mayo Clinic employees who underwent a 12 week, in person wellness coaching programme. Main objective of this study was to examine the potential improvements in their quality of life (QOL). The improvement factors included physical, social, emotional, spiritual, cognitive & the impact on stress levels. Secondary objective was to examine the improvements over time.?The wellness programme included one to two hours dialogue based session to explore the participants’ challenges, strengths, personal goals & strategies for achieving these goals. In 11 follow up sessions of about thirty to sixty minutes each, dialogue sessions between the participants and the coaches discussed actions taken towards achieving these goals and the strategies for continuing on the chosen path.

The results of this study which appeared in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 2014, demonstrated significant improvements at 12 weeks in all areas — overall quality of life, the five domains of QOL, depressive symptoms and perceived stress levels.?The results from this study suggest that these areas of functioning improve after participating in wellness programmes.?

Key Learning Points from the Community Wellbeing Retreats

1.?Its okay to ask for help:?During his corporate interactions, Dinesh has observed that the more successful one is the more difficult it is to ask for help as it may be interpreted as a sign of weakness. This is perhaps one of the key reasons why the community members open up more with strangers.?Once this barrier is broken in the wellness community meet, members open up to accepting help from colleagues, siblings, neighbours and friends if they offer to assist. Accepting help is just like offering help to others. The pride factor should not affect us in either of the two cases as this is the essence of a community. In case of women, this is even more important.?Women may be caring for old parents, bringing up children and may also be working outside with an organization. Trying to be a super daughter or a super woman may not be a good idea and asking for help should not be associated with any form of guilt. Imagine if the woman of the house does not get enough sleep or rest what would happen to the wellbeing of the whole family. This may apply to many men too.?

2.?Finding time to do what you want to do:??One of the reasons for wellness retreats & celebrating wellness days is to take time off to think and talk about what one really wants to do but does not find time.?Taking a break to do what you really want to do is not wastage of time. Doing what one likes to do is like tonic as it energizes and creates a higher energy level to carry out our responsibilities even better. Blocking time for gardening, writing, spending quality time with friends, reading your favourite book contributes to wellbeing and in effect increases the efficiency levels. Think of these activities as your doctor’s prescription as these are directly connected with your mental and physical health.

3.?Have fun: Have fun with friends and family members.?There is no need for a big budget plan for such activities. A cup of coffee or tea or a simple meal can do wonders for your health and wellness. Laugh loud and often as this is really the best medicine. Dinesh shared an experience of working with L&T, an Indian Engineering Company. He discovered the value of singing a song with the CEO to raise the energy levels in the meeting rooms discussing strategic issues with too much seriousness and a bit of boredom at times.

4.?Practice spirituality:?You can find spirituality in religious prayers, meditation or in nature, music, art or by contributing to social and environmental causes.?By staying connected with your inner spirit and people who appear in your life you can enhance the quality of life physically as well as practically.

Dinesh’s Mission Wellness

Dinesh has been taking time off from his busy schedule to create wellness communities by organizing wellness retreats for over a year now. He is leveraging his several decades of coaching experience to contribute to the wellbeing of humanity by celebrating wellness days, organizing wellness community events, coaching leaders from diverse domains and communicating through the mass media. Formats include family gatherings, group meetings at a friend’s place or a large event hosted by an organization. The online as well as the offline communities are now several thousand strong and are connected with Dinesh online as well as offline.

In select cases, particularly in the corporate context, customized formats are co-created with the active participation of the leadership teams. The formats have a lot of flexibility but it requires a seasoned coach to help and guide the community members into following a process which leads them to resolve and commit to their goals in front of the community members. Members also commit to share their feedback later on to educate and in some cases inspire others with their experience.?…..?To be continued in the next article