In my blog in early 2022, I wrote about retaining your top talent in the midst of the “great resignation”, I’ve invited some of my esteemed colleagues to write about the kinds of things leaders need to pay attention to and this week I’d like to introduce you to Anne Archer. Anne is a coach, facilitator and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England Instructor.
Here Anne talks about how poor mental health and a lack of mental fitness has a direct impact on the decisions made by staff.
Imagine for a minute a busy airline that has a super casual attitude to safety. Pilots showing up for work with a bad migraine, unable to see properly they still take controls of a full plane; Cabin crew who don’t bother about checking people have seatbelts on during turbulence or that children are sitting down on landing and take-off; security staff who let everyone through without being scanned or their bags checked.
It’s hard to imagine that airline would have any customers wanting to fly or for that matter staff.
Across an airline, there are groups who take responsibility for part of the safety of all of us. Cabin crew, pilots, ground crew, baggage handlers, engineers, pilots are all trained. There are protocols, policies and practises that ensure safety.
Now imagine a company that has created conditions where staff work to capacity and can never complete their work; where instead of taking a break to refresh, staff hold expectations of missing holidays and key dates for their children and work instead; or where hundreds of staff are so fatigued, they are starting to make mistakes and miss priorities, creativity is diminished.
I could name easily 10 companies where burnout is not considered a significant risk to the company. One plane crashing and the world would be on standby. How did it happen? Who is responsible?
Yet poor mental health and a lack of mental fitness has a direct impact on the decisions that get made; the quality of work; creativity; productivity; engagement; the families of those who feel overwhelmed and operate with high levels of cortisol on a consistent basis; the next generation who live with parents and carers who use technology rather than connection to “just finish this email”.
What is clear as I work with leaders across the globe are 3 key things:
- The leaders who role model good mental fitness and resilience and who talk about that, create businesses where both the organisation and the people can thrive.
- There is a significant lack of understanding and knowledge of what makes up good or poor mental health and fitness. An example that comes up often is not realising how possible it is for someone with a chronic mental health condition to be productive in the workplace with appropriate adjustments. Or how being able to talk openly about challenges and encourage resourcefulness can ease the stigma, raise awareness AND productivity of those concerned. That treating people as hardware or resources will diminish trust and ultimately lead to lower productivity.
- That being responsible for mental health in your organisation is about being clear why your own and your employee’s mental health and fitness matter. It is learning how they contribute or thwart your bottom-line results. It is showing up as a leader for today and the future and not yesterday.
Leadership matters especially as organisations navigate the complexities facing us. Leading responsibly matters for and to us all.
You can connect with Anne Archer on LinkedIn if you’d like to know more about her work. Or, visit her website here.
