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. Distraction erodes our day-to-day life and diverts our resources towards things that really don’t matter. This easily digestible article from Psychology Today demonstrates how to become indistractable with purposeful practices to help you manage your wandering mind. Get traction back into your life and free yourself from some of the less helpful trivialities of life.

2. J.Emmett et al., reported in June 2020 (COVID-19 and the employee experience) that employees who stated they were ‘living their purpose’ at work compared to those that said they weren’t reported well-being levels five (5) times higher than the latter, and four (4) times higher engagement. We know that personal purpose is a highly nuanced and emotive subject, but people who have a strong sense of purpose tend to be more resilient and exhibit better recovery from negative events as well. Whether the good times are rolling or you’re facing local and global challenges, we’d encourage you to think about what the power of purpose can bring to you and the organisation you’re working in.

3. In their recent State of the Global Workplace study, Gallup reports that 60% of people are emotionally detached from work, and 1 in 5 are downright miserable (getting worse year on year). Forbes estimates that we spend $366 billion EVERY YEAR on Leadership Development to address this lack of engagement, and yet 75% of employees leave their jobs because of their bosses. The annual cost of this lack of employee engagement - despite the massive investment in training... $7.8 TRILLION in lost productivity! Engagement is an experience created by organisations, managers and team members, and creating a culture of engagement is challenging.

4. Research from the Association for Psychological Science shows that deep conversations make us feel more connected to others and help us understand one another. Perhaps nothing ground-breaking there, but here's maybe the more thought-provoking aspect... Psychologists say most of us would like more meaningful conversations in our lives and when we do have them, even with strangers, we find them less awkward and more enjoyable than expected. Are you unlocking the value of deeper conversations for your own happiness, and the opportunity they also present for your friends, family, and even the colleagues you work with?

5. Purposeful people live longer and healthier lives. Research from the Association for Psychological Science found that a single standard deviation increase in purpose decreased the risk of dying over the next decade by 15% - a finding that held regardless of the age at which people identified their purpose. If that wasn't enough, a study from McKinsey & Company found that people who find their individual purpose congruent with their jobs are more productive and outperform their peers. The same research discovered a positive correlation between the purposefulness of employees and their company's EBITDA margin. Are you unlocking the power of purpose for your own well-being as well as for the culture of the organisation you're working for?

Company Spotlight

In each issue, we'll either invite a guest to write a column on something related to personal well-being and inspiring leadership, or spotlight amazing companies that we've noticed doing great work around their employee experience and organisational culture.

In this issue, we celebrate the great cultural stewardship seen throughout Admiral.

A Great Place To Work

Congratulations to Admiral for continuing to top the Quarterly Best Companies to work for league. As with many awards, scaling the heights to get the top is one thing, but to maintain that position from quarter to quarter takes a great deal of commitment and shows true long term sustainable decision making in relation to their organisational culture.

Some of the impressive stats about Admiral and their c7500 employees in the UK include: Established in only 1993, at least 40% of senior management roles are filled with Women, including the CEO Milena Mondini de Focatiis; More than 40% of employees have worked there for more than 5 years; They provide non-work related personal development support, school and family friendly working hours, free well-being initiatives including gym membership, and generous pension and maternity benefits among other things.

What’s also significant, and requires great cultural stewardship at all levels, is that 84% of their employees agreed that their organisation is run on strong values and principles, without losing the enjoyment of work, with 88% of employees saying that their direct teams were fun to work with. Sounds like a great place to work.

The Best Companies approach to evaluating culture is through companywide, anonymous, employee feedback surveys where a minimum percentage of employees must respond before you can even be considered for the award. At Emei we trust these results as not only do we have direct experience in the past of helping organisations to get to the top of these leagues, but we also know it’s impossible to ‘game’ the results.

If you’ve noticed a company doing great work around it’s employee experience and organisational culture and would like them to be included in this spotlight section of the newsletter then just let us know. It is possible to love what you do, with people you enjoy doing it with, and we’re happy to keep pointing this out wherever possible.

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.

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.