Patrice O’Brien is the General Manager of Workplace, Partnerships, and Engagement at beyondblue.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Art of Inclusion, she says something resonant.
“It’s really powerful when a leader can speak sometimes about their own mental health … everyone’s been vulnerable at a point in their life, or everyone’s been through various experiences. That vulnerable leadership in itself can be really powerful. That’s a really strong way to get a message out.”
Patrice is right. Executives leading from the front on mental health would be a great way to get the message out. So, in this episode, two CEOs push through the stigma and get real about being human and not just high performing machines.
The two stories come from DCA’s own Lisa Annese, and Peter Diaz of the Workplace Mental Health Institute, who are far from alone in the challenges they’ve faced: one in five Australian workers is currently experiencing a mental health condition – and the most common conditions affect people during their prime working years.
Work is absolutely the place to talk about these issues. So share the podcast episode with everyone in your organisation and have them subscribe on their favourite player.