Welcome to the latest instalment of “Nourishing Waters” our monthly newsletter.

With so much employee disengagement, ill health, and disruptive external influences on the workplace we’ve never felt more committed to and convinced that the long term sustainable solutions to these dilemmas lie in unlocking the power of purpose and belonging in company cultures and everything achieving that entails.

Nourishing Waters is just one of Emei’s offerings where individuals can come and reconnect with their hidden or diminished potential and also be a place where leaders can find provocations and enquiries into what can inspire themselves and deeply connect and unlock the potential in those around them.

We have a guest columnist every month either offering their own deep insights and experiences around personal and organisational change, or a heart-felt individual story of change and purposeful practice leading to latent and hidden potential being released.

And we aim to deliver this content in a range of mediums from video and visuals to the written word in order to cater for different preferences. We hope you enjoy and drink deeply of these waters and we welcome anyone that is willing to share their own experiences and reflections.

If you would welcome a conversation about how you or your organisation could benefit from Emei’s deep knowledge and experience in this field then feel free to get in touch.

—
Andrew & Matthew.

Replenishing

A collection of the developmental insights and provocations that we have found particularly motivating this month.

1. It’s hard to make accurate and impartial sense of pretty much anything at the moment with the information ecology so fundamentally damaged, and so just how much can you trust your own decision-making? The War on Sensemaking from Daniel Schmachtenberger and the Rebel Wisdom Ltd team lays out the challenge we all face to offer up any undeniable truths to our friends and colleagues.

2. Currently, the information economy is incredibly warped and this is extremely damaging to societal stability and trust. Edelman has not only measured the impact of this lack of trust within their 2022 Report, but they’ve also looked at the key agents in repairing this trust and concluded that societal leadership is now a core function of business. Creating purpose drive, connected and conscious company cultures are so critical, not only in the well-being of their employees and the return on investment to shareholders but also the direct positive influence these cultures have on the systems and societies they operate in.

3. Whether you believe Gartner or Gallup or another reputable research source - most are reporting that employee turnover is currently over 50% higher and it’s taking roughly 20% longer to fill roles compared to pre-pandemic. Career progression remains one of the key reasons for employees leaving and ironically investing effort in employee career development is often at odds with the metrics line managers are typically measured against. Despite the explicit financial, and more implicit cultural costs of not doing it, most organisations still fail to prioritise and reward those that develop and share the talent that already exists in their companies while continuing to reward behaviours that undermine employee engagement, retention, and trust.

4. How deeply are you involved in your life and benefit from all the growth that comes with reflecting on this question and acting upon what you uncover? Kirk Schneider, in his article on Life Enhancing Anxiety, suggests we must be brave and embrace the unknown, (which counter-intuitively is a deep caring act for our own long-term well-being) while being kind to ourselves at the same time on that journey of discovery.

5. Is Your Network as Strong as You Think? This easy to understand and yet powerful article by Psychology Today demonstrates the difference between “Network” and “Relationship” building. Conscious and connected cultures understand how to allow and indeed encourage behaviours that help employees to move to the inner circles increasing engagement, well-being, and productivity along the way. Don’t leave it to chance, tool yourself up with the knowledge to unlock this potential in your culture.

6. 89% of bosses think employees that quit their companies want more money (Leigh Branham – “The 7 hidden reasons employees leave”). Ironically 75% of employees that leave quit because of their bosses, not their jobs, and only 12% actually leave because of financial reasons. Unsurprisingly a recent study by CareerBuilder revealed that 58% of line managers received no management or leadership training. It doesn’t seem hard to connect some of the dots here. It seems that there is some sort of trap in thinking that because someone is good technically, they will be similarly talented at inspiring and unlocking the brilliance in others. Organisations are a bunch of people working together, let’s not leave that company culture to chance.

7. Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable from nirandfar.com is a thought-provoking article on the “comfort crisis” and the importance of the regular practice of stepping out of our comfort zone in order to maximise the chance to grow into our ideal selves. We love the straight-forward 4 step process to disarming our internal triggers drive from our ego judgement system. Discomfort can be a guide, it’s usually trying to tell us something, and it is very likely that treasure lies down the path of uncertainty.

Guest columnist

Each month we invite a guest to write a column on something related to personal well-being, inspiring leadership, or creating amazing companies and cultures that people love to work in, with those they love working with.

This month we welcome Nicholas Loveridge to share a reflective piece on self-compassion.

Nicholas is an analyst and content writer with a passion for stories. Nicholas has experience across several People & Culture functions, Business Development / Intelligence teams, and within preventative medicine programmes. More recently, Nicholas founded round square peg - which exists to help individuals and organisations communicate who they are, their purpose, and their story.

Sea glass.

I wrote the following piece a few months ago after a couple of tempestuous weeks when I was struggling with stress and a lack of balance. A friend recommended that I start journaling to help me understand more about my thoughts and feelings. This form of expression truly helped provide a foundation for real introspection and also a creative outlet for me. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone seeking self-analysis or those open to soul-searching to ‘put pen to paper’ to help discover more about their deepest self. It’s calming, therapeutic and above all - an invaluable exercise in memory and boosting your emotional well-being.

‘Sea glass’ was born from a family beach day. We are extremely fortunate to have roughly 90 miles of coastline in Norfolk and we try to visit parts of it every fortnight. In our family we have a tradition when at the beach - we hunt for sea glass. If you find a piece, you may have an ice-cream! On holding a small piece of frosted glass in my hand, I thought of the transformation it had been through and the parallels that we go through.

adrift

caught by currents

we tumble and thrash

we may even sink

down in the doldrums

cracks appear

pieces of us amiss

fractured we float

anew we abide the tide

changing with time

refined by the ebb and flow of life

Sometimes we believe that we are undeserving of certain things.

Perhaps incapable of others. We cast doubts and overthink our actions.

These thoughts are natural in all of us.

All of the change, misfortune and chance we experience and decisions made and those not taken have an impact on us.

We are shaped by them all.

The experiences and lessons learned on our journey are valuable. Our cracks, rough edges, and missing pieces are dear to us. We are all in some way broken but this does not make us a fraction of a whole.

One of the hardest things we learn to be is ourselves. Accepting our imperfections and owning our choices. Knowing we are where we are because of them.

Our fortitude is often unrealised.

Our persistence and resilience are unspoken. 

Yet we exercise these daily.

We are whole and we owe ourselves a great deal of self-compassion.

Soul on Deck

Our blog, Soul on Deck, is a personal reflection of our own dreams and aspirations at Emei. We know our art is our life and our lives are our art and our invitation to you is to connect and explore the unknown unfolding in front of you through this art. We wholeheartedly encourage you to embrace and yield to the unknown seas and landscapes we traverse together to help your soul to shine and to inspire and light up others.

We are on the journey with you.

At The Helm

We all learn in different ways, and at different speeds. Our YouTube Channel, At The Helm delves deeper into our purpose, values, and beliefs to help navigate contemplative thought and develop purposeful practices that support our ability to enlighten ourselves and others in our day-to-day. Providing inspiration to grip the wheel and stay the course and nurture your inner courage.

How can we be enlightened leaders?

In this short video, Matthew asks how can we be enlightened leaders. How can we bring our very best selves to the organisations that we're leading in ways that bring out the very best in the people that we're collaborating with?

Beyond The Horizon

A fully lived life requires the constant exploration of the unknown. It is scary and fulfilling at the same time. Beyond The Horizon is our Podcast aimed at helping individuals, teams and organisations unlock their deepest intentions, get in touch with their purpose and bring all their potential and talents into the workplace and into the world in service of other people.

Thank you for reading

Our wish is for individuals and leaders like you to take nourishment in our words, practices, and provocations to help support you in accessing your hidden resourcefulness and helping change the workplace.

Change is rarely a straight line or straightforward journey and we hope we can help unlock that powerful source of trust and belief for you in a different future where your brilliance is realised.