Wellness Evolved Dr. Romie Mushtaq

In a matter of weeks, our personal and business lives transformed due to global pandemic COVID-19 novel coronavirus.  Evolution Hospitality's Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Romie, discusses how to rise above the panic.  In a pandemic, the fear is often as or more dangerous than the disease itself.  In this episode you will hear:
1) What is COVID-19 novel coronavirus and how is it different than the flu?
2) How can we boost our immune system naturally, including the importance of sleep and nutrition.
3) How we can start to rise above the panic so we can function in our personal lives and in the workplace?
Links:
Research on boosting your immune system CDC Website How to wash your hands Loving Kindness Meditation

Take a moment to pause and ask yourself, how do you feel after hearing our leaders speak at the Town Hall meeting or reading emails?  Change in any organization can create fear, even in times of success and growth.  Evolution Hospitality's Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Romie, discusses how to take ten minutes to destress your mind and destress your team.
 
After a period of intense focus, or when you’re feeling stuck, taking just a few minutes away from your desk and looking up from your screen can be just the thing you need. In fact, researchers have found that taking regular mini-breaks during the day can help shift your perspective when you feel stressed, and help you return to your work feeling recharged and refocused.  Try these strategies to pause and recharge during your workday.  You'll hear ideas ranging from power naps, meditation, and being outdoors. 

Evolution Hospitality is a third-party hospitality management company with corporate headquarters in San Clemente, CA.  For more information visit www.evolutionhospitality.com

What happens if you are not mindful of your energy as a leader?  Whether your energy is positive or stuck in discomfort, your team will pick up on your mood and mirror your attitude. Evolution Hospitality's Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Romie, hosts this episode of "Wellness Evolved" as we discuss managing through change at our properties.

Campus & General Manager Michael Murray oversees operations at three hotels and over 200 team members on the Redondo Beach Campus. Michael shares how mindfulness, servant-leadership, and Evo's guiding principles are helping his team navigate growth and change of his campus and the current organizational change in the company.

Murray's advice on managing organizational change is to make sure that team members know that they have a seat on the bus.  He discusses the importance of trusting the process, transparency in communication, and the role of mindfulness to build trust.  Hear how their team implemented Evo's corporate mindfulness program, The Power of Pause,  with the help of his property's Campus Culture Committee.

The Wellness Evolved Podcast is sponsored by Evolution Hospitality, a third-party hospitality management company with corporate headquarters in San Clemente, California.  You can learn more at www.evolutionhospitality.com

In the workplace, change is inevitable and also considered a four-letter word. The human mind seeks comfort in daily routines and rituals.  When our environment changes, our brain shifts into a high-stress mode and then feeds into fear.   
In this episode, Chief Wellness Officer and host, Dr. Romie, breaks down the neuropsychology of why the brain's initial response to change is fear.  When fear sets in, the instinctual response is to question, "Am I safe?" and "Am I cared for?"
As our company faces change, Dr. Romie discusses how Evo's mindfulness program and guiding principles can leaders manage emotions and operations. 
Evolution Hospitality is a third-party hospitality management company with corporate headquarters in San Clemente, California.  For more information visit www.evolutionhospitality.com
Show Notes:
[01:51] I'm going to break down specific skill sets for leaders.  [02:20] Change can feel like a four letter word the "f word" fear.  [02:39] When our routines are disrupted our brains get hijacked and our brain gets shifted into fear. [02:49] Leaders and teams who succeed know how to put actions in place to manage change and manage emotions. [04:01]  Unexpected changes in our routine can create fear. Fear is created in levels one and two of our brain or our subconscious. [04:23] Level one or the basement is our survival center. This is where our life supporting regulations happen. When fear comes in our mind defaults to thinking from this area.  [04:52] During times of change, the emotions present can feel like a lack of safety in the workplace. [05:09] Level two is the limbic system or the emotion and memory center.  When we don't feel safe, our minds start asking if we are cared for. [06:20] Level three is responsible for analysis, processing data, decision making, and taking action. If levels one and two aren't feeling safe, fear can take over and false evidence appears real. [07:50] Start in the basement and assess level one. Do you feel safe? [08:54] For level number two ask, "Am I cared for?" We are a people driven culture.  [10:35] To transform fear into calm stick to your daily rituals of wellness, especially sleep. At times of stress, we often let our wellness rituals go. I asked you to stick to it. [11:14] Find a trusted advisor to talk to.  [11:35] Try the loving-kindness meditation. It's based on self-compassion and showing compassion for others.  [00:13:16] Make sure your team members hear the words, "you are safe I care about you." Links and Resources:
Evolution Hospitality Loving-Kindness Meditation

As season two of Evolution Hospitality's podcast is launched, organizational restructuring, rapid growth, and personnel change have created the perfect storm.  Evo's Chief Wellness Officer & host, Dr. Romie Mushtaq interviews Chief Operating Officer, Will Loughran to discuss how to lead and manage stress during times of change.
In this episode, we cover:
Evo is a company built on a culture of practicing servant leadership, and the priority is making sure everyone reaches their full potential.  What steps leaders can take to combat the stress, anxiety, and fear that are natural during times of organizational change? Will's advice is to come back to our guiding principles including "giving each other the benefit of the doubt" and "listen."   In addition, we discuss managing emotions along with managing expectations.  Bringing that "Evo swagger" can help the company to continue to grow and create multiple verticles of inspired leadership. Evolution Hospitality is a third-party hospitality management company with corporate headquarters in San Clemente, CA.  For more information visit www.evolutionhospitality.com
Show Notes:
[04:12] There is so much going on in the company right now. [04:36] After our merger, we became the largest hotel company in the country. [04:49] John Murphy is moving into an advisory role. Matt Raine our Business Development Leader is going to work with our biggest partner. [05:20] Our leader of talent acquisition is also going to join John Murphy in his new venture. [05:33] All of this has created a large amount of change. [06:28] People involved in integration and working with the other teams are coming back very inspired. They are excited about new resources and strategic initiatives. [07:39] There is also a level of anxiety from other people who feel a level of uncertainty. [08:32] Dr. Romie could energetically feel the pause and the grief when the email was sent out. [09:09] We don't want to be just the biggest company, we want to be a truly excellent company. Will wants people to be confident and have that "Evo Swagger." [10:28] We want to have an incredible culture, but we are also very focused on results. [12:30] We need change management and training. We introduce a new process or integration every year. [13:31] The three programs that have helped us is our mindfulness program called The Power of Pause, emotional intelligence training, and are crucial conversations. [16:18] Guiding principles include giving the benefit of the doubt and listening. Being present is also critically important. [19:43] At Evo, we care for each other as a company. You are safe, and you are cared for. [22:04] Bring your team together and make it better than it was before. [23:58] Think about how to make the broader company better. It's not us versus the parent company. [27:15] We need to maximize performance in all verticals.  [28:46] Will takes a pause by riding his bike, meditation, and music. He loves Rock 'n' Roll. [30:50] Take the time to slow down and spend one-on-one time with people.  [32:00] Giving and accepting feedback openly is a main guiding principle for Will.  [33:01] He wants to lead everyone into making an incredible company in an inspired way. Links and Resources:
Evolution Hospitality
William Loughran
Saturday Night Live Flight Announcement
Why Workplace Wellness & Mindfulness is Important for Leaders & Culture: Interview with Evo's President John Murphy

One of the most guiding principles of Evolution Hospitality is to work with gratitude and humility. Listen to John Murphy's perspective on gratitude. "I think there's a relationship between joy and gratitude." He speaks of being humble and grateful as being the keys to the kingdom.
As we come back to the holiday season, we have busy days and busy minds. Remember, gratitude rewires our brain for true happiness and joy. We will dive into how the brain processes and transforms with gratitude. I'll also teach you the psychological principles of processing gratitude. Yes! There is psychology science, which shows how gratitude can cause this type of transformation.
What happens in your brain? First, think about what happens when you have pain, especially emotional pain and day-to-day stress. Did you know the emotional centers which process pain in our brain can only work if our pleasure system is deactivated? Temporary activities to create pleasure are eating chocolate or buying yourself something new and exciting. This gives you a temporary rush and can quickly transform into guilt, which lends your brain to experience pain.
True pleasure, which can block the pain center in your brain, come in the form of social connections as well as gratitude. Making a habit of giving and receiving gratitude can rewire our brains for a consistent feeling of pleasure. How can we do that? Take a pause and say something you are grateful for in the past week. To stimulate the pleasure center in our brain, we have to perceive that gratitude through our senses.
When you give thanks and gratitude, think of a specific memory that is associated with your gratitude. Think of someone on your team who you are grateful for and think of a moment with them.
As we move forward, let's stimulate the pleasure centers of your brain by not only giving gratitude but receiving gratitude. My challenge for you: before the end of the month, find a person you work with and tell them or write them a note about why you are grateful for them.
Could you take a pause and express this gratitude to a fellow evolutionary?
Show Notes:
[01:22] John Murphy speaks on gratitude. [02:07] Gratitude rewires our brain for true happiness and joy. [03:01] I invite you to pause for gratitude for someone in your workplace. [03:19] What happens in your brain? [04:30] The types of true pleasure you can have to block the pain center in your brain. [05:41] Examples of perceiving gratitude through your senses. [07:29] Think of a specific memory when you give thanks. [10:22] Dr. Romie’s role at Evolution Hospitality and taking time to pause and share gratitude for the teams at EH. Links and Resources:
Evolution Hospitality Mediation: Take a Team Pause