Mental Health for Leaders

What if your employees and future leaders didn’t struggle with challenges at home or with their finances? Do you think they’d perform better at work?

According to this week’s guests, they sure would! And they have the data to back it up.

Everyone brings stress and anxiety to work. It’s a normal part of being human. But when leaders and aspiring leaders spend too much time in stressful situations they’re not as effective in their roles. Coaching can help, and organizations that offer coaching to employees help to improve the humans in their charge which creates better results for the company. It’s a win-win and we don’t do it enough. 

This week on the podcast, Rod McDermott and Zach Smith of Activate 180 share why it’s so important to provide coaching for employees, no matter where they are in the organization. Especially now, with so many leaders leaving and younger employees moving up quickly to fill their roles.

This conversation is so hopeful for the potential of organizations overall and the teams and individuals the organizations support. Coaching isn’t designed to improve performance that might be lacking; it’s for helping team members show up as their best selves to help maximize their impact in the company.

About Rod McDermott:

Rod McDermott is the CEO + Co-Founder of Activate 180, which helps companies elevate employee performance, productivity, and happiness through affordable coaching for all; the CEO + Co-Founder of McDermott + Bull, one of the fastest-growing executive search firms in North America with offices domestically and internationally; the President + CEO of M+B Interim Leaders, which he founded along with Angela Anderson in 2011 to address an increased client need for time-sensitive solutions to important leadership challenges; and the Founder of the M+B Executive Network, a community of in-transition senior-level executives seeking guidance to land their next role, serving over 10,000 members since inception.

Rod has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years, growing companies from the ground up and challenging industry norms. His ultimate goal is to meaningfully contribute to the greater good, which is showcased through his passion for hard work, fostering relationships, and conceptualizing solutions for professional development. Connect with Rod on LinkedIn.

About Zach Smith:

Zach Smith is the Chief Activation Officer + Co-Founder of Activate 180. He has been a trusted voice in mindset, career optimization, and leadership coaching for over 10 years. Zach has coached thousands of employees across mid-market and enterprise-level organizations, aligning their careers with true calling and passion to create total life fulfillment.

Before becoming an award-winning coach, Zach spent more than 10 years in senior marketing and client relationship management roles for well-known, international consumer beverage brands. Zach trained with the Ascension Leadership Academy’s coaching program, graduating from their highest level course. He is a sought-after keynote speaker who regularly appears before audiences at industry conferences and events. Connect with Zach on LinkedIn.

Connect with Activate 180 on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Activate 180
• Mental Health Skills Training
• Join the monthly digital subscription

The humans in your organization are the most important asset you have. It’s essential that you take care of them, especially as we come out of the pandemic. There’s an overwhelming feeling of isolation that employees felt in the last few years and the confusion of today is causing the isolation to linger.

What’s a leader to do? Go back to foundations. Empathy is the single most important skill that leaders can and should use to ensure that employees feel safe and heard. Unfortunately, empathy is also a skill that we’ve been trained out of using in the workplace.

This week on the podcast, I’m talking with Jim Link, chief human resources officer at the Society for Human Resource Management. This is the conversation that will change your mind about having mental health conversations at work, if I haven’t already convinced you. 

We talk about why mental health support will save your organization money, how to engage leaders in conversations around supporting employees in this way, and how tech can free up the HR managers’ time so they can be the empathetic people person they want to be.

So many ah-ha moments to be had here! 

About Jim Link:

Jim Link is the Chief Human Resources Officer for SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. Jim’s experience includes roles of increasing responsibility in human resources, mergers and acquisitions, and operational effectiveness. His personal interests include talent acquisition management, employee and leadership development, equality and equity, employee engagement, internal innovation, and driving rapid business scalability through both organic and inorganic, often complex, growth opportunities.

Born and raised on a working family farm, Link brings an agile, transparent, can-do approach to his client’s needs. Equally effective from manufacturing floor to board room, his natural curiosity and resourcefulness generates long lasting relationships that drive value creation and sustainable business results.

As a recognized thought leader in human capability and the future of work, Jim is a sought-after commentator with the national and international press, features widely on the lecture and speaker circuit, and consults with leaders, companies and boards of directors around the world on matters related to the workplace. 

Additionally, he is in his tenth year as an adjunct professor teaching Human Resources Strategy in the MBA program at the Poznan School of Economics in Poznan, Poland and entering his second year teaching the same topic to graduate students in Yangon, Myanmar.

While serving on boards of advisors for several early-stage companies, Jim is a board member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Human Capital Advisory Council. He is active with a number of charitable organizations in his community and is certified as a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Join the monthly digital subscription
• Mental Health for Leaders Training
• LifeGuides

When we take care of our leaders and their mental health, we’re all able to show up as our best selves--at work and at home. As leaders in human resources, we can do this by unlocking potential by supporting them to growth their mental health skills - in empathy, leadership, and coping with challenges.

This is important because organizations that are viewed as highly empathetic have employees that are more likely to positively talk about their company to friends, peers, and families. And organizations that truly focus on culture are twice as likely to retain their employees.

We’re in a world of change, with the great resignation and the lesser-talked about great retirement. Both are impacting the workplace in ways we couldn’t have predicted.

This week on the podcast, I’m happy to share this and more with you from Dr. Alexander Alonso, the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Chief Knowledge Cfficer. We’re talking about unlocking leadership potential, the benefits of having taboo conversations, why we need to hold onto our talent, and so much more. Alex also shares more about the conversations he had at the recent SHRM conference and his newest book about making the most of polarizing conversations.

About Alexander Alonso:

Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Knowledge Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service.   He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.  

During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses.   He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).

Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review.  He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.

Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington. 

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Talking Taboo: Making the Most of Polarizing Discussions at Work by Alexander Alonso
• Think Again by Adam Grant
• Wendi Safstrom: The Need to Prioritize Mental Health at Work
• Mental Health Skills Training
• Join the monthly digital subscription

I recently attended the Society of Human Resources Management conference (SHRM) in New Orleans, Louisiana and had the pleasure of attending many sessions and connecting with a handful of speakers talking about mental health in the workplace. Of course you know this is my happy place!

If you listened to Season 5 of the podcast, you can listen in to those conversations. Nicole Butts and I talked about organizational justice, Wendi Safstrom shared about the need to prioritize mental health at work, and Daryll Bryant talked about how to flourish at work. Of course, there were many other episodes in Season 5, all equally important.

The theme of the conference was Cause the Effect You Want to See, and Jeaneen Andrews-Feldman, chief marketing and experience officer for SHRM talked about this on the first episode of the season. 

I talk about some of my own biggest takeaways from the conference on this week’s episode, and they include connection, culture, and employee experience. And I wanted to hear from some of the attendees about their takeaways too.

Listen in as I get feedback from five attendees and they share their answers to the questions:

• What is the top mental health skill HR leaders need to know?
• What is greatest opportunity for employers in the future of work?
• Where would you start if you were asked to elevate employee experience with greatest impact?

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Wendi Safstrom: The Need to Prioritize Mental Health at Work
• Jeaneen Andrews-Feldman: Cause the Effect You Want to See
• Dan Jolivet, The Standard
• Rob Whalen, PTO Exchange
• Dan Murdoch, Nayya
• Dr. Margarida Rafael, Workzinga
• Josh Tolleson, University of Louisiana at Monroe
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

Countless studies have shown that laughing is a good way to relieve stress. And even if we love our job and our teammates, there’s always an element of stress in the workplace.

So why not find ways to spice it up with some humor?

According to Greg Schwem, comedian and corporate speaker, humor is disappearing from the corporate world just when we need it the most. Organizations are shying away from using humor of any kind for fear of offending someone. But the reality is that the positive benefits of humor far outweigh the negative ramifications.

Human resource departments are charged with fostering a fun and healthy work envioronment. Employee experience is a huge part of that. On this episode, Greg shares how organizations can improve the employee experience through humor without risking offensive jokes. We talk about the best kind of humor to use, why humor and laughing is so good for us, how to navigate the fine line between good humor and bad humor, and what role communication plays in humor at work.

Greg’s presentation at the SHRM conference is Is it Okay to Laugh, and after listening you’re certain to say a resounding yes.

About Greg Schwem:

HuffPost calls Greg Schwem "Your boss's favorite comedian." He has spent 25 years making the business world laugh at itself, with clients ranging from Microsoft to the CIA.  He will be addressing the SHRM 2022 conference with his latest keynote, "You Can't Cancel Laughter."  Greg has appeared on Comedy Central, Drybar Comedy, opened for musical superstars such as Celine Dion and Keith Urban and can be heard regularly on SIRIUS/XM Radio's Laugh USA. Follow Greg on Instagram and Facebook and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Greg's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - You Can't Cancel Laughter: Understanding How Stifling Workplace Humor Can Also Stifle Creativity and Retention
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

The reality of the pandemic has impacted the workplace in many ways the past couple years, some more expected than others. One thing that leaders are finding is that after so much time working from home and being more vulnerable, employees are looking to have a more genuine connection with their coworkers. Gone are the days of putting on your work persona before clocking in. People are expecting authenticity, openness, and organizations that value them for who they are.

Along with this cultural shift, it’s important for leadership to learn how to be compassionate. What does being a compassionate leader mean? Why is it beneficial to your, your people, and your organization? Can you just learn how to be a compassionate leader?

Today I’m joined by Marissa Afton, compassionate leader expert, and she answers these questions and more. Marissa explains the difference between compassion and empathy (and why we need both) and the different types of compassionate leaders she’s found in her work. Tune in to learn how having a human-focused approach will lead to more success for your team and less burnout for yourself

About Marissa Afton:

Marissa Afton is a driving force behind leadership development and change initiatives at multinational companies. She helps leaders and organizations unlock their potential to create cultural excellence and superior performance, resilience, and innovation.

A mindfulness practitioner for over 25 years, Marissa is recognized for her breadth of knowledge and deep experience in transforming organizations by transforming the mind. She is a sought-after speaker at leading HR and leadership conferences about the impact of mind training on high-performance cultures, as well as the mental qualities of excellent leaders. She has worked with leading companies, including Accenture, Bloomberg, Cisco, Eli Lilly, and others.

Marissa is co-author of Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way (HBR Press 2022). She also has written articles for various publications, including Harvard Business Review and Fast Company.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Potential Project
• SHRM Conference
• Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in a Human Way
• Insight by Tasha Eurich
• Find Potential Project on LinkedIn
• Marissa's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - Compassionate Leadership: How to Do Hard Things in Human Ways
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

With an increasing number of employees leaving their organizations as part of the Great Resignation, it’s more important than ever that we as people leaders create an environment where employees feel valued and want to be. A great way to do this is by developing your influence in the workplace, over your people, work culture, and organization.

Today I’m joined by Vivian Blade, leadership expert and thought leader, to discuss skills and tactics that leaders can use to have more influence in the workplace, including influencing up the ladder, and how to leverage that influence for your own mental health. By utilizing these tactics and developing these skills, we can create workplaces with higher trust, engagement, and psychological safety.

Listen in as Vivian details the Influence with SCALE framework and what being influential really means, so we can start leveraging our influence for positive change today.

About Vivian Blade:

Recognized as one of Engagedly’s Top 100 Global HR Influencers of 2021, Vivian Blade is a sought-after leadership expert and thought leader. She works with the world’s top brands to build better, more resilient workplaces, equipping leaders to solve the pressing burnout, turnover, and workplace culture challenges your company is struggling with right now. 

Her impact is felt as a frequent keynote speaker, and in delivering transformative leadership development programs, executive and team coaching, and corporate consulting. She also works in academia as an Adjunct Professor of Leadership and Project Management for the University of Louisville College of Business.

Vivian is the author of four books, most recently the Amazon #1 best-seller Resilience Ready: The Leader’s Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises, and Influence in Talent Development.

To learn more you can visit Vivian’s website and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Vivian’s website
• Influence with Scale
• Resilience Ready
• Fuelforward
• Vivian's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - SCALE Your Influence: How to Elevate Your Influence, Respect, and Impact in HR
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

Communication feels very different when we’re working virtually. But even through we’re screen-to-screen, we still need to be respectful and have expectations and guidelines around what’s appropriate and what’s not.

We’ve learned from the last few years that it’s easy to feel isolated when we’re not in-person. So regular check-ins and conversations is essential. But what does that look like? And how do you communicate with others who don’t have their cameras on?

On this episode of the podcast, Lorie Reichel-Howe of Conversations in the Workplace is talking about just that. With so many different cultures in every workplace, we need to have these conversations so we can set norms that work for everyone. 

Lorie shares scripts you can use to start difficult conversations, what it means to host a true training around conversations, and some examples of boundaries that get crossed in both virtual and in-person conversations.

What’s so interesting about this interview and Lorie’s presentation for SHRM is that this may not have been a conversation we had too often prior to the pandemic. It’s a critical one now!

About Lorie Reichel-Howe:

Lorie Reichel-Howe is founder of Conversations in the Workplace. She equips managers, teams, and business professionals to have “Safe Conversations” – transformative dialogue that uncovers hidden workplace issues. Whether addressing challenging team dynamics, mismanaged expectations,  cultural insensitivity, or good old-fashioned bad behavior, “Safe Conversations” foster greater innovation, inclusion, and collaboration within organizations.

With over 20 years of experience in communications and relationship management, training and development, Lorie is passionate about supporting organizations in creating a culture where people love where they work and love the people they work with.

Lorie is a professional mediator and conflict coach. She has supported organizations such as Pinterest, SHRM, PIHRA, HR.com, Pinterest, Women in Technology International, Los Angeles Women’s Leadership Conference, Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, Santa Clara Superior Court, San Jose State University, Santa Clara County Office of Education and many more. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Lorie's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - Creating a Culture of Respect While Working Remotely 
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

There’s a common misconception about leadership, and that’s that we’re paid to be rational and not emotional. But in reality, our emotions are what make us human. And don’t we want human leaders who constantly push their feelings down. For one, it’s physically unhealthy. And for another, it doesn’t open up the space for others to feel included and like their emotions matter. Because they do.

On this episode of the podcast, Javier Santos is sharing about emotional technology, the evidence that shows us the value of neuropsychoanalysis and how our brains map memories to make life easier for us in the future.

This episode is fascinating because we haven’t always had the brain science behind what psychologists suspected all along. Now that we do, we can utilize that knowledge to understand how our emotions work and set ourselves up for success. 

Javier and I discuss neuroplasticity and our changing brains, the implications on our health if we push back our emotions, how our brains are wired to save energy, and how emotions and inclusion are connected.

About Javier Santos:

Javier Santos is a Canadian diverse entrepreneur and international speaker on mental and emotional health at work. Javier redefines what is possible by using our emotional capital to become happier and more productive at work. He founded The House of Purpose to help companies improve the human and subjective side of work, affected today by burnout, unresolved conflicts, and prejudices.

Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:

• Connect with Javier on LinkedIn
• The House of Purpose
• Javier's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - Mental Health and Inclusion - Use Emotional Technology in Your D and I Transformation Strategy 
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

As leaders, we know the importance of giving feedback. Our teams need to know how they’re doing so everyone can work better…more efficiently and at a higher level of excellence.

But what about receiving feedback? It matters how our teams receive the feedback we give them, and how we, the leaders, receive feedback ourselves.

It could take a lot for a team member to come forward and give honest and open feedback to their manager, even if that leader asks for it so it’s essential that they feel safe to do so. Simply telling them it’s safe isn’t enough - leaders have an opportunity to grow a culture of psychological safety through open and proactive communication.

On this episode of Mental Health for Leaders, Dr. Teresa Peterson is sharing more about receiving feedback and building trust. She shares what trust-building really looks like, why language is so important, and why organizations are truly centers for relationships. She also gives listeners some of the language leaders can use to respond to the feedback they receive in a productive way.

About Teresa Peterson:

Dr. Teresa Peterson is the Director of Learning and Development for Sarah Noll Wilson, Inc. Teresa is passionate about applying best practices for learning to make development experiences meaningful, engaging, and accessible for all types of learners. In her role, Teresa co-creates powerful learning content and guides deep research. Teresa holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Northern Iowa and brings over twenty years of experience teaching, facilitating, and leading. People love Teresa’s grounded energy, depth of thought, and ability to listen deeply. Teresa is trained in Immunity to Change coaching and is completing her certification in Appreciative Inquiry. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Language of Mental Health - join the monthly digital subscription
• Super Soul Sunday - Anatomy of Trust
• Email Teresa
• Teresa's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - More Than Feedback: How Receiving Feedback Can Impact Trust and Safety
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

On a human level, we know that we all have struggles. But the definition of a good leader is not someone who leaves everything at home because they need to be seen as strong and impactful. In fact, vulnerability is a much more important trait of leadership. It’s just one component of helping teams flourish at work.

Organizations and leaders need to be more aware than ever about the changing workforce. New technology and new workers are allowing teams to work more efficiently and more autonomously. But when old school politics and practices get in the way, workers don’t feel supported or appreciated. Add to that the growing awareness of mental health and psychological safety and team members at all levels are reevaluating life and work and making big changes.

On this episode of the Mental Health for Leaders podcast, coach Daryll Bryant is sharing what organizations and leaders can do to support the mental health and safety of teams so both the organization and employees can flourish. He shares a personal example that helped reframe his own view of mental health awareness and conversations.

Everyone deserves to flourish. Are you giving your employees the ability to do just that?

About Daryll Bryant:

Daryll Bryant is a transformational leader with a distinguished career in manufacturing, providing outstanding results for several Fortune 100 companies.  He has a vast repository of high-level skill sets as a Lean manufacturing operations expert and change leader.

Daryll’s passion is in supporting operations efforts to increase productivity, reduce costs and grow profits using his ™ “The Winning With Excellence System’.  As a Coach, his approach is to guide leaders to leverage team engagement to unlock the collective genius of their people. Connect with Daryll on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• OptimizeU
• Daryll's talk at the SHRM22 Conference - Reimaging the Future of Work: How Leaders Can Promote Flourishing
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a hot topic right now and one that a lot of organizations have begun to address. But are they really doing the work? Not always, says podcast guest Nicole Yeldell Butts.

We know that diversity work is necessary but the challenge is getting leaders to do the work alongside the organization. It’s not a box to be checked or a meeting that needs to be held. DEI work needs to be part of an organization’s values and day-to-day operations.

In this episode, we talk about the fear of pushback when you start talking about diversity, why it’s okay to get it wrong (because you will), the role of organizational justice in your DEI work, and the future of diversity work. Nicole shares her framework around creating systemic, effective, and sustainable cultural change in your organization.

About Nicole L. Yeldell Butts:

Nicole Butts is an accomplished Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) executive, strategist, coach, facilitator, and public speaker who specializes in transforming executives into inclusive and equitable organizational leaders. As a facilitator of learning and challenging cultural dialogues, Nicole creates welcoming and safe spaces for people to engage, explore, and grow.

During her 20-year career, she has built multiple inaugural DEI offices while serving as a chief diversity officer, a director of employee diversity, inclusion, and climate and a director of equal employment.

Nicole is the founder of NLYB Solutions, a DEI consulting firm helping executives, executive teams, and organizations courageously and effectively navigate personal, professional, and organizational DEI journeys. She is the creator of SHIFT, a transformational five-step framework for creating systemic, effective, measurable and sustainable DEI cultures.

NLYB Solutions was recognized as a Top Ten Emerging Diversity & Inclusion Company of 2021 by HR Tech Outlook magazine. Connect with her on LinkedIn and find out more on her website.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Mental Health for Leaders podcast episode with Lindsay Harle-Kadatz – Values as Action
• Nicole’s talk at the SHRM22 Conference – SHIFT: A Framework for Transformational Cultural Change 
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

The world is different than it was 3 years ago, and it is different than it will be 3 years from now. Change is a constant in life and business alike, and as people leaders it's an opportunity that we get to intentionally adapt to these changes along the way.

Today on the podcast, Jennifer McClure joins me to answer questions about what changes HR leadership has faced over the years and how it will continue to change into the future. With an emphasis on skills like problem solving, integrity, and relationship building, it’s clear that the way forward is by prioritizing our people and their mental health. 

Tune in as Jennifer shares what mental health skills forward-thinking HR professionals need, how they can learn these skills even when it’s not in the budget, and how we can help them navigate their way forward without them burning out.

About Jennifer McClure:

Jennifer McClure is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and high-performance coach who works with leaders to leverage their influence, increase their impact, and accelerate results. 

Frequently recognized as a global influencer and expert on the future of work, strategic leadership and innovative people strategies, Jennifer has decades of in-the-trenches leadership and executive experience working in and with startups, privately held companies, and Fortune 500 organizations in a variety of industries. 

Jennifer is also the Chief Excitement Officer of DisruptHR, a global community designed to move the collective thinking forward when it comes to talent in the workplace, and the host of the Impact Makers Podcast with Jennifer McClure.

You can connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Jennifer’s website
• DisruptHR events
• SHRM Conference 
• Join the monthly digital subscription

What if we all approached conversations with others with respect, empathy, and maturity? Just think of all we could accomplish together! We would all win!

Every one of us has a different lived experience and we all see things differently from one another. At the same time, we all have biases. We tend to gravitate toward people who look like us and who we were surrounded by as we were growing up.

In short, we’re all human. And we need to move outside our comfort zones if we want to see change in the world. When we get comfortable with change, we allow ourselves to grow and develop. As leaders, this is essential.

On this episode of the Mental Health for Leaders podcast, guest Kenston Hendersion is sharing about bias, approaching conversations with an open mind, why leaning into discomfort is a good thing, and how to do right by your employees. He also shares an amazing resource that can help you identify your own biases so you can start to do something about them.

About Kenston Henderson:

This week’s guest is Kenston Henderson Sr. aka "The Bias Disrupter" and " The Winning Conversations Enthusiast". He is the founder and CEO of Live With Lyfe, LLC, is a TEDx Signature Speaker, a certified John Maxwell Leadership Speaker and Trainer, Culture Transformation Champion, and certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid USA. He is also a speaker at the upcoming SHRM conference being held in New Orleans in June of 2022.

Kenston has over 18 years of experience in Human Resources coaching and training leaders and teams to communicate and play well together. Kenston delivers impactful, on-time, and action-packed speaking and training messages.

Kenston is one of the most sought after Corporate and Youth motivational speakers and trainers around the world. He is enthusiastic, dynamic, and engaging. Since the pandemic, his impact has extended virtually to international areas in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. His most recent talk was given live in Nairobi Kenya. Kenston also received the ICN Dr. Astell Generation Leadership Award. I think you’ll really enjoy Kenston’s insights so on with the show.

Mentioned in this Episode of Mental Health for Leaders:

• Harvard Implicit Association Test
• Creating Culture of Racial Equity in Workplace - course
• Join the monthly digital subscription

Nobody is immune to mental health issues, and they affect all aspects of your life. Even your physical and economical vitality (or lack thereof) can be linked to your mental health. That’s why it is so important for organizations to make mental health in the workplace a priority, especially as we work together to try and establish a “new normal” in the wake of the pandemic.

Earlier this year, the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation published a report detailing the current state of mental health in the workplace. Today, Wendi Safstrom, President of the SHRM Foundation, joins me to discuss the findings of this study and why mental health and wellness needs to be prioritized within organizations. Wendi also shares ways to get senior leadership engaged in the process, and how you can implement these conversations and programs into your business—even if you feel you lack the tools and resources to do so.

As you prioritize employee mental health, your people and organizations will thrive. Tune in to learn more and see what’s next for SHRM.

About Wendi Safstrom:

Wendi Safstrom is a senior non-profit leader committed to serving the public through philanthropic program management, cultivating strategic partnerships and managing and developing high performing teams. She has both association and nonprofit management experience including; national program development and administration, membership strategy, marketing and product development, grant management, development and donor stewardship, and leading cross functional teams. Safstrom currently serves as President for the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM Foundation), where she leads the development and implementation of SHRM Foundation's programmatic, development, and marketing and communication strategies in support of SHRM Foundation's new mission and vision, creating growth plans and ensuring alignment with SHRM goals.

Prior to assuming the role at SHRM Foundation, Safstrom served as Vice President at the National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, where she led the development and implementation of their Foundation's most recent five-year strategic plan, and was responsible for all Foundation programming, including workforce development initiatives, scholarship and event management, community relations and engagement initiatives. In 2016, she served as lead project director for the development of a $10 million contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to develop the hospitality industry's first apprenticeship program, and was instrumental in the Foundation's reorganization and relocation of operations from Chicago, Illinois to Washington, D.C., transforming the staff and culture.

Safstrom has also held human resource management roles with the Leo Burnett Company and Hyatt Hotels Corporation in Chicago, Illinois. She has a BS in Business Administration from the Eli Broad School of Business at Michigan State University and was recognized as a member of the 2014 "Power 20" by Restaurant Business Magazine as a leader in philanthropy within the restaurant industry. 

Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:

• Society for Human Resource Management Foundation
• Mental Health in America: A 2022 Workplace Report
• HR Resource Hub
• Society for Human Resources Management
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

Organizations can’t survive without people. And HR professionals have the privilege to and responsibility for starting conversations, creating influence, and leading the cause and effect that happens in our organizations.

When we empower employees and support them through challenges and adversity, encouraging them to grow and develop themselves personally and professionally, they get to make an impact on those around them--in the office and at home.

On this episode, chief marketing and experience officer of the Society for Human Resource Management Jeaneen Andrews-Feldman talks about the role of human resources in business today and why it’s so important that we create a ripple effect with our work.

Jeaneen also shares some more background about the SHRM conference in June: who’s on the schedule, what attendees will get out of it, and how SHRM is helping to spearhead hope and mental health conversations at work.

About Jeaneen Andrews-Feldman:

As Chief Marketing and Experience Officer, Andrews-Feldman is responsible for all activities related to conceptualizing and implementing market strategy and achieving marketing targets. She is responsible for providing executive leadership and management of SHRM’s marketing activities worldwide. 

Andrews-Feldman is a marketing executive and business strategist with 30 years of experience in both B2B and B2C organizations. 

Prior to joining SHRM, she was Senior Vice President, Marketing at Merkle Inc., leading the marketing strategy and execution for the performance marketing agency, where over the course of 5 years, she transformed the marketing organization into a strategic asset to the business while gaining recognition with multiple Stevie Awards for marketing and customer experience programs. 

Previously, Andrews-Feldman was the Head of Global Product and Channel Marketing at the Corporate Executive Board (CEB). While there, she architected the marketing organization to support 7 practice areas and 54 programs for both acquisition and retention marketing. She also cofounded two marketing-related entrepreneurial ventures in suburban Washington, D.C., one of which was acquired by AES, Inc. 

Earlier in her career, Andrews-Feldman spent more than 10 years in the telecommunications industry at both Sprint and AT&T.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing from the University of Scranton and attended Cornell University’s Executive Management Program while at AT&T.

Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:

• Season 5, Episode 1: Mental Health Skills You Need To Know
• Mental Health for Leaders
• FREEBIE: Guide to Influence & Impact at Work
• Society for Human Resources Management
• SHRM Annual Conference & Expo
• Mental Health Skills Training

Focusing on mental health in the workplace is becoming more and more of a priority for organizations and our people and our company bottom lines are benefiting greatly from this focus. As People Leaders and HR professionals, I think there’s been a gap in our skills training to really know how to best navigate this new world of work and that’s where this episode of the podcast comes in to help fill that gap.

In this first episode of the season, I’m going to share with you the top mental health skills we could all use to be our best selves at work and encourage brilliance in those around us as well. 

This is also a special episode for another reason – it will kick off this extra-special season of the podcast with a focus on SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, and SHRM’s upcoming conference in June of 2022 in New Orleans, LA. The rest of the season will introduce you to conference organizers, leading researchers and ten of the conference speakers, all sharing their brilliant and action-inducing thoughts around the mental health skills we all need to be successful. 

This is season five of the podcast and with this season, I’ve changed the focus – from only focusing on helping you find the words, space and opportunity to have mental health conversations at work, to also focusing on you as the fabulous leader you are. This episode, and all the ones following, will give you the mental health skills you need to be successful in your role in your workplace but more importantly, to be successful in your other roles too – as family members, friends, community members and all the other roles you play in your life. We’re going to focus on your mental health so you can learn and live these new skills out loud, encouraging others to also take care of their mental health.

Society has set us up for failure. With the glorification of busyness and the pressure to check things off the list, we don’t have time to do the most important work: the strategy and innovation organizations need to be successful.

But there’s a small shift starting to happen, one that allows for slowing down to speed up. Because individuals and organizations are starting to see that busy mode isn’t sustainable. It’s a recipe for burnout and resignations.

We feel the need to constantly be busy because we feel like we don’t deserve the success that we have or strive for. But we do, and this week’s guest is here to tell us why.

Listen in to Jess share how to start getting past imposter syndrome and what organizations can do to support team members at all levels. (Spoiler alert: having conversations is top on that list.)

It’s time we stop glorifying working through lunch, taking work home, and skipping vacations and start balancing life with some work…not the other way around. 

About Jess Stuart:

Jess Stuart, International speaker, coach and author of five personal development books specialising in mindset, performance and women in leadership.  A well known Imposter Syndrome expert with a background in Senior Human Resources roles and a decade working in leadership development. 

A brush with burnout in her corporate career lead Jess across the world to train with Buddhist monks and Nuns.  A decade later, after coming out, writing five books and running her own successful business she shares what she knows about mind-set, resilience and self-belief to empower people to unlock their potential.

Highly acclaimed event speaker featured on TV3, BBC, RNZ, Dominion Post, Stuff and NZ Business Magazine.  Described as inspiring, articulate and relatable by audiences.  Jess has a passion for sharing her knowledge and motivating others with her words. Follow her on Instagram, connect with her on LinkedIn, and subscribe to her YouTube channel.

Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:

• Jess’s Website
• Burnout to Brilliance by Jess Stuart
• What is imposter syndrome and how can you compat it? - TED-Ed
• Join the monthly digital subscription

You remember being taught that each person is unique and different and special in their own way. That’s still true. And organizations are finally catching up.

We know that we all react differently to different situations and we need different tools to succeed. Opening the door to those conversations not only supports neurodiverse employees, but entire teams benefit. And are more successful as a result.

This week on the pdocast, Chris Turner of Neuro Advantage is sharing what those conversations might look like and how to get them started. And he normalizes the differences we can’t see among team members.

There are so many misconceptions around why one person might react differently to adversity than another. Let’s start the conversation or, better yet, let’s just assume that we all need support in some way.

About Chris Turner:

Chris is the Founder of Neuro Advantage - an inclusion training practice supporting organisations to learn how to be inclusive of Neurodivergent job seekers and employees.

As a parent of an autistic child and with a career of more than 18 years across commercial disciplines Chris understands the challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals along with the organisational need for innovation and productivity.

Neuro Advantage’s mission is to break down the barriers of uncertainty and confusion for employers when it comes to neurodiversity inclusion. By making the complexity of neurodiversity more relatable and presenting ideas through personal stories and experiences, Chris’ goal is to help more people feel confident to support neurodivergent colleagues and to help neurodivergent employees with a range of strategies to find workplace success. Through increased inclusion, organisations and team stand to gain from the advantages that neurodiversity inclusion brings.

Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:

• Connect with Chris on LinkedIn
• Join the monthly digital subscription

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 19.7 million American adults (anyone over the age of 12) was battling a substance use disorder in 2017. Imagine how that statistic has changed in the years since, especially as we've navigated our lives through massive transformation and change.

If your organization has any number of people working within it, there's a high likelihood someone is struggling with addiction. Some may be highly functioning, some may be getting the help they need and others may be staying silent in shame, unsure of the steps to take next. Addiction doesn't discriminate and as humans, we need all the compassion and support we can offer each other, especially in our greatest times of need. 

This week on the podcast, Joe Gardzina of Brazos Place and Adapt Programs in Texas is sharing how to avoid stigmatizing language when talking about addiction, how to be a supportive organization, and why we should lean on treatment and support rather than rigid consequences for those struggling with substance use.

Conversations are important, as is appropriate treatment and trauma-informed care. 

This episode is as real as it gets and is an important one for anyone who leads people, whether you suspect substance use or not. The conversation is compassionate, intelligent and practical - love to hear what you think.

About Joe Gardzina:

Joe began his career in 1993 as a psychiatric technician at a Houston aftercare facility. Mr. Gardzina became an LCDC in 1996. Joe is Board Certified by the Texas Certification Board of Addiction Professionals. In addition, he is certified as both an Anger Resolution Counselor and US DOT Substance Abuse Professional. He has served as the program director for substance abuse treatment facilities in Houston, TX, and San Diego, CA.

Before founding ADAPT Programs in 2007, Joe worked for the Right Step in Houston as the Program Coordinator of their inpatient adolescent treatment program. He also was the Director of Programs for Phoenix House in San Diego, CA. In addition, he worked for the United Way for five years, serving as the Associate Executive Director. Joe and his beautiful wife Victoria are the proud parents of one child, William.

Mentioned in This Episode of Mental Health in Minutes:

• Follow Brazos Place on Facebook
• Follow ADAPT Programs on Facebook
• Join the monthly digital subscription