Meeting for Minds is a not-for-profit company whose main objective is to involve people with the lived experience of mental illnesses as partners in research into the brain and mental illness.
We fully endorse the underlying principles of LinkPADD relating to the management of mental fitness in the workplace based on the lived experience of managers and employees, and the need for their involvement as partners in research into this form of management practice.
— Hon. Keith Wilson AM, Director
Meeting for Minds
A refreshing dose of common sense.
— Winthrop Professor Fiona M Wood FRACS AM
Director of the Burns Service of WA
Director of the Burn Injury Research Unit UWA
I’m so excited someone actually wrote it all down … it does a REALLY good job of starting the conversation about high-performing teams but cleverly doesn’t give enough information for a potential Driver to go off half cocked. It forces them to do a long-term, sustained program rather than just thinking they can buy a box of mental fitness … they won’t finish it with all the answers but they will be armed with better questions. Great work.
— Dean Crouch, Principal Consultant
Resources Health & Safety Services
(Former WA Mines Inspector)
Well what can I say? I bloody loved the book. I resonated with it immediately (the word ‘Leadershit’) … and wanted to buy the book and start the process straight away.
I believe the book is meaningful, and the main reasons were the real examples given in it. Every leader who reads this book will resonate with at least a few of the examples.
I had several favourite ‘aha!’ moments in the book.
As a qualified HR professional, I was interested in chapter 11. I agreed with all that was written in the chapter, and wondered how HR could assist in a POSITIVE way to influence and assist Visionaries and Drivers.
I also saw this as a way more intelligent form of ‘Workforce Planning’ from a HR perspective. If mental fitness were incorporated into workforce planning, it would mean huge gains for the business. This really excited me when I was thinking about it, and it may be a way for HR to be fully involved and take some ownership.
Overall this book made me want to be a leader in an organisation again — and I never thought I would say that!
—Valma J Warren, Director
Be Frank Results
We are more aware of mental health issues and are constantly reminded of the impact of poor mental health.
Very little has been done proactively to enhance mental wellness. This book is not only proactive, it is practical. The impact will be felt by all and will make a real difference to the lives of those employed, and to the business.
As a responsible leader, implementing the strategies proposed is essential, and right.
—Steven Stanley, Director
CEO Institute WA
I love what I read; I reflected on what I had done throughout my working career and it connected well with me. I loved the myths.
The book makes good connections from the Visionary to the workers, something I noticed to be missing from many places I have worked. I also liked the way it addresses workplace culture and how supervisors should conduct their business.
—George Ray, Retired Mine Manager & Pit Optimisation Expert
OTML PNG
I have read the book (a couple of times) and really enjoyed it. I find it easy to read, with a good flow of information, not too many statistics, and some practical steps and stretches to work through.
—Shane Stafford, General Manager
Readi Recruitment Agency
I think it’s great — I like the language and the way concepts are delivered.
—Mark Paris Williams, Managing Director
Donorcentricity (Fundraising & Development Agency)
This book has an uplifiting message for people working in institutions that have lost their soul. For someone who lost their daughter working as a junior doctor in the NHS it is a doctrine for humanity. .
—Mark Polge, Regional Medical Director
National Health Service, UK
The easy-to-read style presents critical concepts such as mental fitness, the Intelligent Org Chart (IOC) and the four scopes of leadership in a practical manner supported by numerous real-life examples. The Mental Fitness Stretch reflection activities and questions are a valuable way to personalise the reading and learning experience.
Implementing the concepts, developing an IOC, and working through the 10 Bands of organisational redesign incorporated within the LinkPADD system has the potential to create mentally fit organisations resulting in observable benefits for ‘Companies, Teams and Self’.
Any organisation that is committed to its people and wants to increase productivity and profitability is advised to seriously consider the numerous advantages of LinkPADD. This book can be the first step in that journey.
—Kathleen Zarubin, Senior Training Consultant
RS & KZ Services
First published in 2018 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064
Office also in Melbourne
© John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2018
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.
Cover design by Wiley
Cover image © bulentgultek/iStockphoto
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Disclaimer
The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.
To my mother, who struggled her whole life without ever achieving mental fitness and knowing the joy of work.
To Chloe, Ryan and Lucas, who have so much ahead and need to bring mental fitness along for the ride.
— KGH
To my accidental mental fitness instructor: Kenith, my son.
— AEKA
To our son Bob, a strong man with a kind heart. Keep fighting.
To our daughter Ashlee. Love you always.
— JKW
I first had the privilege of meeting Kris Harold through my burnout research. He comes from decades of experience in management and mining operations, a world away from mine as an academic. In talking to Kris, it was clear that he wanted to make a difference to the mental health of employees in Australia; his passion for the topic was palpable. However, it was also evident that he had something new to say about how to make our workplaces healthier and thus more productive.
It is becoming more widely accepted in the field that organisations cannot afford to ignore the psychological health of workers. Productivity, employee engagement, absenteeism and workplace injury are all directly related to how ‘well’ a worker feels in their job. We know that neglecting to address these issues not only affects the worker who is suffering, but the organisation’s bottom line.
This book encourages us to move away from the notion of mental health at work, and towards a new definition: mental fitness. The concept is relatively new and scholars are still in the process of defining the term. However, the benefits of the term ‘mental fitness’ are widely recognised and, in exploring the notion, this book encourages us to think about what is strong, rather than merely what is wrong. The term ‘mental fitness’ diminishes the stigma that plagues the term ‘mental health’. And finally, it allows managers to see the psychological health of employees as an occupational imperative that is just as important as preventing physical illness and injury on the job.
The authors move beyond the more obvious strategies to achieve psychological wellbeing in the workplace, and dig a little deeper, exploring culture, attitudes, values and self-awareness for managers. It is a book that will help managers assess themselves and their organisation honestly, and diagnose issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve mental fitness. We know that managers are the first line of defence in safeguarding the wellbeing of staff. Read this book if you want to be a better manager, have a more productive team and improve the working lives of your employees.
Dr Marieke Ledingham
University of Notre Dame, Australia
With ten-plus years of senior management experience, Kris has applied his unique way of addressing peak performance in the workplace with transformational results by introducing LinkPADD and the Link:Flow:Grow methodology. Companies in the transport, mining, manufacturing and construction industries have been part of the development journey since 2012. Kris is a graduate of both UWA (Science of Human Performance) and Curtin (Business) and a keen proponent of mental fitness in the workplace in an industry where mental health issues cost an average worksite of 170 employees $300 000 to $400 000 per year. The Intelligent Org Chart he conceptualised sets the foundation for the individuals, teams and departments of an organisation to perform at their EveryBest. Kris has learnt across both corporate and family businesses that the philosophy of ‘Mental Fitness First’ ensures managers are equipped with the personal and organisational skills to facilitate a sustainable culture of success.
Unlike many trainers or coaches, John has been a supervisor and manager with personal insights into the issues facing his clients’ frontline managers, and what they need to succeed. Having served for 20 years as an organisational design and development coach, John has worked with thousands of groups, from the smallest of businesses to the biggest resource industry players. He has written many business management documents and training materials for blue-collar frontline managers and developed nationally accredited courses and qualifications. His presentations have been well received at work groups, conferences and industry events. Before running his own business, John did the hard yards in his early career and worked his way up into positions of responsibility and accountability, building his capabilities along the way. He has always seen people as the key to success, and has the expertise to help organisations create a mentally fit workplace culture that maximises the wellbeing of their people to create outstanding business outcomes.
Alexis is a writer acknowledged by Kris and John as a co-author who articulates their boldly innovative and humane system of change management, and transforms their beehive of complex ideas into a light and engaging read. Alexis’s input distils the essence and authenticity of Kris and John’s gritty and disruptive approach to organisational design and development for easy sharing. She had the most fun spinning their field encounters into stories and suggesting new terminology for key concepts. What she finds most fulfilling is the privilege of being the one who gets to capture Kris and John’s managerial genius on paper for posterity.
The authors would like to acknowledge two fantastically supportive and inspirational people who care deeply about the lived experience of mental health, and lead important research in Australia and overseas.
The Honourable Keith Wilson and Maria Halphen are directors of Meeting for Minds, a multinational not-for-profit organisation that involves people with lived experience of mental illness as partners in the planning and understanding of research into the brain and disorders of the brain. This approach directly adds value to research and discernible benefits for those with hard-to-treat psychotic and mood disorders.
Keith is a former Western Australian minister for health, and chairman of the Mental Health Council of Australia. He is keenly interested in organisations improving the wellbeing of all employees.
Maria is committed to enhancing research in the field of mental health, particular international research. She founded Meeting for Minds in order to improve the lives of people living with serious mental illness. Maria is also the founding president of the Philippe & Maria Halphen Foundation, based in Paris, France, under the auspices of the French Academy of Science.
Without their guidance and support, pushing through the barriers in organisational mental fitness would have been so much harder.
The authors are also delighted at the enthusiastic and brilliantly constructive feedback we received from our first wave of reviewers: Bryn Jones, Dean Crouch, Frank Henderson, George Ray, Hon. Keith Wilson, Jamie Pirie, Jeanette Denham, Kathleen Zarubin, Mark Paris Williams, Mark Polge, Professor Fiona M Wood, Shane Stafford, Steven Stanley, and the inimitable Valma J Warren. We are also appreciative of Professor Gary Martin’s permission to use content from the Australian Institute of Management Education & Training (AIM).
The authors are extremely grateful to Senior Commissioning Editor Lucy Raymond at John Wiley and Sons for accepting our fledgling book proposal and initial 25 000-word manuscript. We appreciate the masterful way Sandra Balonyi orchestrated a structural edit from Melbourne (essentially transforming our literary caterpillar into a butterfly) and helped us realise that ‘workplace mental fitness’ was a more accurate term than ‘organisational mental fitness’. We respect the magnificent precision with which Canadian-based copy editor Allison Hiew brought us to the editorial finish line like a personal trainer beefing us up to be heavyweight authors worthy of Wiley. Senior Editor Ingrid Bond was indispensable in managing our first major book project like a pro, especially in collaborating with us to evolve the book title and subtitle.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is consistently ranked number one as a Big Four auditor and the top company Australians want to work for. It is a privilege and honour to be working with thought leaders Ross Thorpe, Penelope Harris and Graeme Hartnett in a collaboration made in heaven.
Billions of dollars are wasted annually across Australia.
In the world of work, poor mental health and wellbeing exact a tremendous cost to industries. Work stress and burnout fuel a loss of billions of dollars:
Nobody should be getting hurt, mentally or physically, on the job.
The numbers tell us that the current focus on mental health is not improving worker wellbeing. Ironically, it’s causing increased stress and job insecurity.
There are complex problems in businesses of every kind that current management theories have not yet solved. This is because everyone is trying to fix mental health issues in the workplace without first addressing a foundational issue — the lack of workplace mental fitness.
I (Kris) wish I had been taught the key components of mental fitness earlier in my life. I believe this would have made me a better manager, father, son and husband.
Fortunately, in the ten years I’ve led large enterprises in the mining, manufacturing, transport and construction industries, I figured something out that helped me produce results such as these:
Yes, you heard right: zero staff turnover.
Remember the old adage: people don’t leave the company, they leave their manager. When the manager gets it right then nobody leaves. (Unless they leave to pursue personal goals, which isn’t negative staff turnover but positive life progress.)
In writing this book, I want to share a perspective and system that I truly hope can improve your work life. The system is called Link:Flow:Grow. It will provide the missing MindFit link that will show you how to create a kickass workforce to achieve long-term business excellence.
It doesn’t matter if you are a senior or junior manager, white-collar or blue-collar worker. I know our program has empowered many people I’ve worked with, and wish the same for you: in your Company, your Team and your Self (CTS).
Remember ‘CTS’, because change has to happen at all three levels: Company, Team and Self. Also because CTS is the acronym for my co-author John’s training and workforce development business (Combined Team Services), which has been instrumental in helping me achieve what I have as a manager.
As a senior manager, I see too often that leaders put other priorities above mental health and mental fitness. Conditioned left-brain thinking puts these concerns at the back of the line.
Mental health experts are very clear in recommending goals but, judging by the results, neither they nor business leaders know exactly what needs to be done, and how. It’s complicated.
You’ll read more about mental fitness further along in the book. For now, keep in mind that the work of managers and mental health professionals may interact but are not the same.
I’ll stick to talking about what I know best: workplace mental fitness.
It’s expected that any idea worth sharing will be subject to scrutiny and debate. While my team and I work directly and successfully with businesses to establish workplace mental fitness in practice, we acknowledge that the term ‘mental fitness’ itself has never been precisely defined after it was first suggested in 1964 by developmental psychologist Dorothea McCarthy as ‘a more appropriate term to describe the positive aspects of mental health’.
If we don’t have a well-defined term, managers can’t be expected to know exactly what it is and how they should be trained in it. Therefore, my company LinkPADD, in collaboration with Meeting for Minds, has also commissioned research at the University of Notre Dame to advance the understanding of mental fitness as a concept.
While anticipating the results of this research, this book will serve as a beacon to navigate the way to workplace mental fitness.
The concepts in Part I: Setting the Scene are distilled from over a decade of hands-on gritty management work. Deep in the trenches of real-world organisations, I observed, analysed, hypothesised, discussed, executed, reviewed and improved my management techniques in a continual cycle of progress.
I am excited that this book shares my methods for success with more people than I could personally meet. More importantly, it invites academic institutions to involve real-world organisations in their research on the leading edge of workplace mental health and fitness.
The seeds of each chapter in Part II: Making It Real come from the people and organisations my co-author John and I encounter in the course of our work. I would often be inspired after a client meeting, thinking, ‘This is exactly what’s happening in the real world! I must add it to the book!’ John, an ace trainer who knows our system inside out, provides substantial explanatory content as well.
We would share these gems of thought with our co-author Alexis, who then adds her word alchemy. She turns our words into gold to make our ideas shine, and weaves in quite a few eloquent gems of her own.
There are new ideas in this book that some readers may find disturbing, insulting, or politically incorrect. If that’s what it takes to jolt you out of your stupor, it’s doing its job. If you are easily offended, please put this book down and get a golf magazine or something. However ...
If you want to know how to create a workforce that’s on fire, not burnt out, stick with us.
Let’s build organisations where people love to work, where success loves to live, and where growth in many forms loves to thrive.
I look forward to providing thought leadership in this space to contribute something of value to education and training.
I leave you with the inspiring words of Rhonda Brighton-Hall, CEO of mwah. (making work absolutely human):
Work is a core component of our existence, our identity, our financial independence, and, ultimately, our overall wellbeing. A happy workplace where people feel valued can increase productivity and innovation and reduce unwanted outcomes like employee absenteeism, workplace grievances and staff turnover.
‘Link:Flow:Grow’ is my mantra for manifesting happy workplaces. I welcome you to join us, and explore the possibilities with honesty and courage.
Kristopher G. Harold
Perth, Western Australia
January 2018