<p>Mindful leadership expert, author, and former urban monk Pandit Dasa helps organizations create a mindful work culture—leading to greater workplace happiness, employee engagement and retention, and stronger rapport with customers. </p><p>Pandit Dasa inspires organizations to create a more mindful workplace by encouraging them to lead by example, appreciate the contributions of their colleagues, communicate mindfully and manage one’s emotions. He knows that mindful workplaces can lead not only to improved employee happiness and retention, but also greater rapport with customers, which can lead to increased profits and repeat business. </p><p>Pandit’s parents migrated to the U.S. from India in 1980 with very little money. He was just a little child and one of the first things his parents did to earn an income was to set up a small shop on the boardwalk on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, where he began to experience American culture for the first time. </p><p>In his book, Urban Monk, Dasa explains that he didn’t just wake up one day thinking to live in a monastery without money and minimal possessions. </p><p>After a lot of soul-searching, he decided to take a break from everything he could to figure out what he really wanted to do. He bought a ticket for India and decided to spend the month living in a monastery. But he fell in love with the lifestyle of living simply and decided to spend the next six months in India. </p><p>After his Indian visa expired, he returned to New York and realized that he wasn’t ready to live life with a 9-to-5 job, so he ended up spending 15 years in a monastery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Having learned so much from the monkhood, he began sharing that wisdom with college students around the country. Now, in his post-monk life, he has been sharing messages of resilience, leadership, stress management, and work-life balance with people around the globe.</p><p>He has spoken to Google, NASA, Citibank, IBM, State Farm, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Kellogg’s, Cadillac, ADP, Nationwide Insurance, Whirlpool, SAP, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, AMC Theatres, Intel, WeWork, Royal Bank of Canada, AMC Networks, Novartis, Comcast, TD Ameritrade, JPMorgan Chase, The World Bank, World Government Summit, SHRM National Convention, Oracle HCM Convention and many others.</p><p>Pandit is the author of two books,<em> Urban Monk</em> and <em>Closing the Apps: How to Be Mindful at Work and at Home</em>.</p>
Mindfulness, resilience, mental health expert; author and former monk
<ul><li><strong>The Future of Work and Mindful Leadership</strong></li><li>The Great Resignation and the rise in mental health struggles demand a workplace culture transformation. Leaders need to create more human and employee-centered workplace environments to attract, engage and retain top talent. We must create a workplace environment that encourages and supports our mental, physical, and emotional well-being so we can perform at a high level while taking care of ourselves and our families. </li><li>This talk will address and provide a practical takeaway for the following items: <ul><li>How to develop positive social connections in a hybrid workplace</li><li>Creating a sense of belonging in the workplace</li><li>Creating a positive culture that can lead to improved customer rapport and increased sales</li><li>The importance of appreciating our colleagues</li><li>Methods for communicating mindfully to maximize collaboration with customers and colleagues</li><li>Research and tips for improving sleep and eating habits</li><li>Research and practicing mindfulness at work</li></ul></li></ul><p><strong>Creating a Mindful and Positive Workplace Culture</strong></p><ul><li>The growth and overall success of an organization is defined by its culture and leadership. A positive workplace culture enhances teamwork, collaboration and morale. As a result it boosts employee engagement, efficiency and retention.</li><li>This presentation will address the importance of creating an environment where ego battles aren’t driving the company down and where individuals are willing to put aside their own self-interest for the sake of the greater good. It encourages an environment where individuals are willing to appreciate the contributions of their co-workers instead of feeling threatened by them. The research on mindfulness and its application for the workplace will also be presented.</li><li>As a result of this keynote, the audience will be able to:<ul><li>Communicate with awareness, clarity and compassion</li><li>Manage their emotions to handle conflicts</li><li>Develop a positive mindset towards individuals they don’t see eye-to-eye with</li><li>Express appreciation towards the work of their colleagues</li><li>Utilize mindfulness breathing and focusing techniques to lower stress and improve productivity </li></ul></li><li><strong>Mindful Leadership: Walking the Talk and Developing Self Awareness</strong></li><li>Leaders set the tone for the rest of the organization. To fully inspire and bring out the best from the workforce, leadership has to lead by example and “walk the talk.” They can’t say one thing and do another. To attract, engage and retain top talent, leaders need to create more human and employee-centered workplace environments. </li><li>This talk will address the importance for leadership of all levels to not only set the right example, but also, on a regular basis, appreciate the contributions of their workforce, communicate mindfully to encourage and inspire, lead with humility and without ego and manage their emotions. The research on mindfulness and its application for the workplace will also be presented.</li><li>After this keynote, participants will be able to:<ul><li>Improve their level of self-awareness</li><li>Communicate mindfully and with compassion</li><li>Lead with confidence combined with humility</li><li>Better manage their emotions to remain calm during challenging situations</li><li>Implement mindfulness techniques to reduce stress and improve focus and productivity</li></ul></li><li><strong>Developing Resilience During Change</strong> </li><li>Change breaks us out of our comfort zone and disrupts our routine making us feel uncomfortable. However, change is the biggest constant in our life. Most external changes are out of our control and can’t be avoided. What we can do is build resilience and begin to recognize that change is actually the most powerful thing that can happen to us to help us grow, mature and become stronger for the future challenges that are sure to come in our personal and professional life.</li><li>This talk will help the audience understand practical ways in which our mindset can be shifted to see change as positive and not as a negative and help us accept the inevitability of change.</li><li>The audience will walk away with a better understanding of how to:<ul><li>Shift our mindset to learn and grow from life's challenges</li><li>Embrace change and stay focused on our goal</li><li>Strengthen the mind and develop a positive mindset</li></ul></li></ul>