Helping Organisations Thrive with Julian Roberts

#105 Andres Fonseca | How to support your staff so that presenteeism doesn’t negatively impact your organisation..

Is presenteeism costing your business? In 2021 people turning up for work unfit to do so cost UK businesses £24-28 billion in terms of lost productivity. In the public sector 42% of people will turn up for work even if not well enough to do so. In the private sector this rises to 51%. People struggling with aspects of their mental health are particularly likely to succumb to presenteeism as they feel their careers may be negatively affected if they admit to having mental health issues.
 
Physician, Psychiatrist and Senior Executive of privately held companies in the mental health field Andres Fonesca discusses presenteeism in the workplace, and what it might mean for your staff and your organisation. Andres addresses how to support your staff so that presenteeism doesn't negatively impact your organisation.
 
Andres is committed to improving service provision for NHS patients. He is currently CEO of Thrive, a company dedicated to creating evidence-based digital tools to detect, prevent and treat mental health conditions. 
 
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxO_TjxD9FI
 
Connect with Andres:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-fonseca-1679b716/
Website: https://thrive.uk.com/
Email: andres@thrive.uk.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrFon
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com

BOOST #12 | How to use visualisation to create success

Welcome to this solo series called BOOST, the purpose is to give you little BOOST to your day, to further provide ways to create a thriving organisation.
 
Michael Phelps famously credits visualisation to his success in the 200m butterfly at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won gold and set a world record despite not being able to see for the last 75m while water filled up his leaky goggles.You may be thinking, yeah I get it for elite sports but what has that got to do with the workplace. Well you can use visualisation whether for personal or business, the effect is just the same.
 
What is visualisation?
In essence it is a mental rehearsal using all of your senses – see, feel, hear, taste and smell.
 
Why is visualisation Important?
Visualisation is important because it helps to prepare and to teach you how to respond to a situation before it happens. It also helps you achieve your goals by conditioning your brain to see, hear, and feel the success in your mind.
 
How does it work?
Visualisation will engage the reticular activating system (RAS)—a bundle of neurons that acts as your filtering system and helps you to determine what information is important vs. what is not important. The phrase ‘you get what you focus on’ is linked with the RAS, and the reason why goal setting works and is important, since you are setting your RAS to filter everything for the goal achievement.
 
Three types of visualisation
There are 3 main types of visualization in performance psychology: outcome visualization, process visualization and clarity visualisation. I use all 3 types with my coaching clients where appropriate.
 
Clarity visualisation is when you look ahead to what you would like to see, hear and feel and then track back to find clarity of steps to get there.
Outcome visualisation is when you imagine your end goal. For example, you see yourself winning and crossing the finishing line of a running race.
Process visualisation is when you imagine each step it will take to get to your end goal. For example, you mentally rehearse yourself giving a presentation to an audience, going through the whole process of the event.
 
Does visualisation work?
In essence yes, and there are lots of examples used in sport along with everyday business, but also there was an empirical study conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago in 1996 on visualisation.
 
Dr. Blaslotto’s study was conducted by asking a group of students who had been randomly selected to take a series of basketball free-throws. The percentage of made free throws were tallied. The students were then divided into three groups and asked to perform three separate tasks over a 30 day period.
–         The first group was told not to touch a basketball for 30 days, no practicing or playing basketball whatsoever.–         The second group was told to practice shooting free throws for a half hour a day for 30 days–         The third group was to come to the gym every day for 30 days and spend a half hour with their eyes closed, simply visualizing hitting every free-throw.
 
After the 30 days all three groups were asked to come back and take the same number of free-throws they had in the beginning of the study.–         The first group of students who did not practice at all showed no improvement–         The second group had practiced every day and showed a 24% improvement–         The third group however, the group which had simply visualized successful free-throws, showed a 23% improvement
 
Mental rehearsal (or visualisation) is powerful because the subconscious processes the experience as a real one (by firing those neurons that are responsible for skill acquisition), makes the person calmer and more adapted to stressful situations, and can speed up the learning process.
 
How do you mentally visualise?
The process visualisation technique is a common one I use with my clients. Before you visualise, get yourself in a relaxed state, this can be done by sitting down, closing your eyes and taking 3 deep breaths in and out.Once you are relaxed, visualise the situation, for example speaking at an event in front of a audience. Mental visualise what you will see, the people, the venue, the stage etc. Then what you can hear, you speaking, the audience and other noises you may hear in the room. Then move onto how you will be feeling when you are speaking, what you can smell, has food been served and also what you can taste.Try to make the visualisation as vivid as possible, it helps if you have already been to the place before. Now visualise it all going well, using all the senses – see, hear, feel, smell and taste.
Now think of number of scenarios where there might be some obstacles to your presentation, e.g. you get a dry mouth as you are speaking, the technology doesn’t work etc. Now visualise the plans to mitigate those things going wrong, the plan B’s, e.g. having a glass of water to drink if you get a dry mouth. I would suggest you spend around 5 minutes on this visualisation, and look to do it a few times prior to the event itself.
 
In summary, visualisation is a powerful way to prepare yourself for an event or situation before you even get there, along with gaining insights into what could be the obstacles that get in the way, which gives the opportunity to develop strategies to overcome those obstacles. 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com

#104 Sally Orange | What are the analogies between endurance racing and mental health

*** Trigger warning - mentions of suicide ***
 
The analogies between endurance racing and mental health have often been cited. In this fascinating podcast Sally Orange draws comparisons between her extreme physical adventures and her challenges with severe depression, suicidal tendencies and crippling anxiety. 
 
Sally has completed over 8 Ironman triathlons, 71 marathons, along with events such as Ride Across America. She is the only person to have run a marathon on every continent dressed as a piece of fruit. Her creativity when taking part in such events is all to raise awareness and money for mental health charities. 
 
Sally describes how any big challenge needs breaking down into achievable parts, whether that is getting through the next minute/hour without attempting suicide, or completing the Marathon Des Sables. Setting and working towards a goal is helpful for her mental health, and she is committed to both supporting charities and raising awareness. 
 
When in Antarctica to run a marathon, Sally found the 24hrs of daylight hard, and found that as in life, we need a balance between the good times and the hard times, the light and the darkness, in order to fully live and fulfill our own potential. 
 
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snQ12N2QP7I
 
Connect with Sally:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-orange-95948741/
Website: https://www.sallyorange.com/
Email: sally_orange@hotmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sally0range/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sally0range
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com
 

#103 Dr Rebecca Williams | How to empower and equip your team to manage their own stress

How to empower and equip your team to manage their own stress. 
As a GP of 20 years, Rebecca saw a multitude of variations of the harm caused by stress, with most people coming to her at crisis point, when it was hard to disentangle what might be causing the physical and mental health symptoms she was presented with. This led Rebecca to start her own business, Williams Stress Management. She now helps people manage their own stress levels by recognising symptoms and putting in effective boundaries. Rebecca explains how some physiological systems are suppressed when we're under acute or chronic stress, such as the immune system, gut health, and sexual and reproductive health.. Chronic stress can also affect processes in the brain leading to mental health issues.
 
Organisations would benefit from education within the workplace to help people identify potential stressors in their lives, and develop strategies to manage this, understanding how stress might be affecting them physically, mentally and emotionally. Employees experiencing acute or chronic stress have a prefrontal cortex which is less active, leading them to be less able to concentrate and more prone to memory lapses, as well as having difficulties making decisions and planning. This can lead to more anxiety, loss of confidence, and a general downward spiral ensues. Rebecca explains simple tools to help us manage our own stress, work more productively, and generally enjoy life more.
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8z2azDv5_s
 
Connect with Rebecca:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamsstressmanagement/
Website: https://williamsstressmanagement.co.uk/
Email: rw@williamsstressmanagement.co.uk
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com
 

#102 Tarin Calmeyer | How to support wellness when your organisation works remotely

How to support wellness when your organisation works remotely?
The opportunities and challenges facing managers who want to provide holistic support for employees' well-being are discussed in this fascinating podcast with Tarin Calmeyer. Tarin describes wellness as a way of looking at your whole life - financial, social, physical, spiritual etc, and describes wellness as an optimal state of thriving.
Tarin also shares about the, now more widely known but possibly not so widely practised, science of breathing. The breath is the single most important way to bring yourself into a state of productivity and creativity, because it takes you out of your head and into your body; into your rest, digest and destress parasympathetic nervous system. Breathing brings us into the now, and out of living mentally in the past or the future, being driven by our fight or flight sympathetic nervous system. Tarin shares examples of the impact her online wellness sessions have had on organisations, and why wellness should be an intrinsic part of work culture, whether we are office-based or work remotely.
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftsLyj9OzBA
 
Connect with Tarin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarincalmeyer/
Website: https://remoteteamwellness.com/
Email: tarin@remoteteamwellness.com
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com

#101 Tom Finn | How to turn your team into an ideas factory

How to turn your team into an ideas factory, giving you a modern engine of innovation to drive ROI. 
CEO and Co-founder of Leg Up Tom Finn talks about how to achieve the balance between kindness and accountability within servant leadership, and explores reasons behind the turnover tsunami of the current Great Resignation. The importance of having a growth mindset is nothing new, but Tom explains how to move people from the fear that causes a fixed mindset, into the freedom of a psychologically safe workplace, making the most of the talented individuals that we have employed.
Tom explains servant leadership, and how to create a psychologically safe workplace; along with how to work as a leader with your own potentially autocratic boss - adjusting your style when you manage up, but being a filter for the communication coming down to your team. Tom's six ways of creating psychological safety can be used just as effectively in the boardroom or round the kitchen table at home with your family.
 
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z9QzKgqBMI
 
Connect with Tom:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomfinnleggup/
Website: http://www.leggup.com/
Email: tom.finn@leggup.com 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/_TomFinn
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com

#100 Corina Walsh | How to identify and support emerging leaders

In this podcast Corina discusses how to identify and then support emerging and front line leaders. She prioritises "coach-ability" as the number one trait to look for when identify future leaders; and advises organisations to consider having two different leadership tracks - one for business/technical leadership, and one for people leadership. 
Corina advises companies to give any employee the chance to practice leadership skills in a low risk environment, and gives examples of this. 
New leaders need supporting in their role - knowing how to have a difficult conversation is a skill set that can be learned, and, like giving effective feedback, is something which a new leader can learn and practice in training.
 
The managers of these new leaders also need to know (or to receive training on) how best to support the new leaders they are responsible for. Corina discusses how to create an environment within your organisation allowing and encouraging people to show emerging leadership skills or potential. Corina is a business owner, certified coach, and author of The Engaged Employee.
 
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCR9TRaLKhk
 
Connect with Corina:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinawalsh/
Website: http://www.shiftpd.com/
Email: corina@shiftpd.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/corinawalsh
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com

#99 Gillian Selby | Creating a service mindset to achieving sales growth

Seeing sales in a new light: Ex global business director Gillian Selby talks about the impact of taking a collaborative approach to sales, and elevating your business as one unit, rather than seeing sales as a stand alone entity.
She explores the value of having a service mindset approach, as opposed to a company seeing themselves as the experts and expecting clients to come to them. She explains the longer term value of wanting to be of service to people; going out and meeting them where they are; listening first to establish the needs they may have. This may mean a slightly slower take off in terms of sales, but will lead to much higher revenue and return.
The cost of client acquisition is high, and Gillian looks at how a business can increase the sustainability of their client relationships, looking for a longer term investment in clients, rather than the "sales-driven" approach, which may be quicker but is less sustainable in terms of client relationships. The entire company needs to be included in this type of approach, and the sales team need to be involved in more than just selling.
 
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO-_NWAqePU
 
Connect with Gillian:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-selby/
Website: http://www.gunnmcqueen.com/
Email: gillian@gunnmcqueen.com
 
 
Helping SME’s build resilient, high performing teams and businesses, quickly, so they can innovate, deliver, and thrive.
 
The SME’s I work with typically struggle/suffer/ with one or more of these challenges:
- no clear strategy
- dysfunctional team dynamics
- not knowing their vision or mission
- feeling stuck and procrastinating
- business not growing
- leadership challenges
 
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me:
https://www.julianrobertsconsulting.com