There are challenges in sports and professional challenges, and this is one of those challenges that combines both realities in a scientific alchemy.
And when institutions like SDA Bocconi, IrcCAN of the Catholic University, and the Association of Human Resources Facilitators (AFRU – under the auspices of VEGA Consultancies) come into play, the game becomes even more interesting.
We all know how managers are subjected to high levels of stress on a daily basis and need to manage complex situations in real-time, relying on their leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, while maintaining a focus on objectives, nurturing relationships, and managing themselves and their emotional responses.
In the waters of the Aquamore pool at the Bocconi Sport Center, the managers of the Executive MBA program at SDA Bocconi have taken to the field to undergo an innovative research protocol aimed at cognitive neuro-enhancement of executive functions. Essentially, the goal was to investigate whether it was possible to train and improve the valuable and essential skills for the study participants. The answer obtained through the experimental protocol Mind~theDeep, based on immersion exercises with breathing modulation (both dry and in water) and appropriate mental and cognitive training stimuli, shows that significant improvements are possible, particularly in attentional focus, emotional regulation, self-awareness, and stress management.
However, these encouraging results are not new to the experimenters. In fact, elite athletes undergoing training with the Deep Inside-state of Mind methodology, adapted by Silvia Pozzi in the Mind~theDeep – research protocol for managers, have shown highly significant increases in all the aforementioned skills, as demonstrated not only by their sports results but also by neuroscience, from which the experimental validation tools have been borrowed.
For me, along with Rosarita Gagliardi and Silvia Pozzi , this is definitely a professional challenge that has become possible thanks to the trust, collaboration, and partnership primarily with Carlo Altomonte from SDA Bocconi. SDA Bocconi has indeed immediately shared our enthusiasm and understood the importance of a scientific validation of our method, anticipating the interest in its implications for executive training programs.
