Nov 24, 2022
We were fortunate enough to host three incredible speakers with a focus on ‘Leading Through Wellness’.
The speakers each brought their own individual insight and learnings from a different lens. For those of you who weren’t present here are the insights. For those of you who were present, please send us any further insight we have missed and we will add it to this article.
Dom Price – Work Futurist at Atlassian. See Dom in action here.
Dom referenced 5 L’s;
- Loved
- Loathed
- Longed for
- Learnt
- Laughed at
Dom recommended that every 90 days you write down what you have LOVED doing, what you have LOATHED doing, what you LONG to do more of, what you LEARNT and what you LAUGHED at. By doing this you can optimize the next 90 days by reflecting on the last.
Dom also spoke about knowledge obesity and how as leaders we are acquiring too much information. We have an information overload right now as information is so easy to access and take on. As leaders we are full, and we MUST get rid and subtract from our lives and diaries before adding more in. Dom’s advice is to get rid of meetings that don’t matter using the Atlassian methodology covering; ‘Keep, Tweak and Kill’.
Dom told his own health journey and that of his family with the aim of explaining the importance of;
- Purpose – ensure you know why you are doing what you do
- Profit – ensure what you do brings value and is serving a need
- People – ensure you are connected in what you do as part of a team that brings meaningful relationships
- Planet – ensure what you do is good for the world
Craig Semple – Mental Health Educational Presenter at The Black Dog Institute. Hear Craig’s story here.
Craig’s story was the most emotive of the event.
As a super successful police officer working under cover, focused on drug investigation and outlaw bikie gangs Craig found himself clinically depressed and addicted to adrenaline. Craig knowing that he was suffering mental health problems eventually succumbed to his lowest point in 2012 and was admitted to hospital soon after one of his career’s biggest highlights (locking up 20 bikies and associates for over 100 serious offences).
Craig emphasised the point that admitting his illness and asking for help and now talking about it took far more courage than any of the dangerous tasks that his police job involved. Craig lost 3 years of his life to serious depression and the loss of his career and relationships made the challenge of rehabilitation daunting.
Craig reflected and created a ‘game plan’ that requires a lot of hard work, discipline and commitment to execute.
Craig’s Resilience Strategies;
- Exercise & Healthy Lifestyle
- Mindfully Connecting
- Giving
- Challenging Negative Thinking
- Gratitude
Craig focused on turning the negative experience of his battle with mental illness into something positive. First of all, Craig toured NSW on his motorbike delivering his presentations to rural high school kids, farmers and community groups. Eventually finding his purpose Craig then transitioned into a role with the Black Dog Institute teaching kids about mental health.
Craig continued to rebuild his resilience by;
- Volunteering
- Socially Connecting
- Turning loss into gain
- Learning new skills
- Challenging himself
Today Craig is a mentor with a program called ‘backup for life’ with NSW Police legacy and has started his own mental health training company, become an accredited instructor for delivering mental health first aid courses and is also a master instructor delivering these courses all over Australia.
Justin Langer – Australian Cricket Coach. See Justin in action here.
JL spoke as a Father to four daughters, as a professional sportsman and as a coach / leader.
Australian men in particular don’t talk enough. Talk, talk, talk…..JL gave a great story about when he was dropped from the Australian cricket team and he subsequently didn’t speak up about his disappointment and feelings. He threw himself into training and a program of improvement. The bottled emotion led to more poor form before JL experienced a dressing room conflict with one of his team mates. Afterwards JL was able to open up, communicate how he was feeling and what was going on for him. Nevertheless, when finally reinstated back into the team JL hit two innings of 100+. Talking, sharing his feelings, and communicating helped. JL shared that advice from his father-in-law on his wedding day to wife Sue…talk, talk, talk.
Be clear on what you are doing and what your purpose is. JL believes that you should be able to write your purpose onto the palm of your hand – it should be that simple. The purpose of the Australian cricket team under JL’s leadership was to make Australians proud. JL’s instructions were simple and clear with the Australian cricket team, “watch the ball out of the bowler’s hand”. In business we should have the same simple and focused message.
Learn to meditate – JL has meditated every day for 30+ years and he gave a great story as to why. He spent 10 months of last year overseas and the first thing he would do when arriving in an overseas hotel room was find his spot in a room to be able to meditate. JL attributes meditation as playing a significantly important part in helping him both focus and manage the challenges life has thrown his way.
Be disciplined with social media. JL told a story of being sat next to Sachin Tendulkar who had pressure from most of the Indian population on his shoulders. When JL asked him how he coped, Sachin explained that he never read or watched he news and did not engage on social media. JL told a story about Steve Waugh telling JL that he wanted him in the team and to ignore the journalists / critics. The impact on knowing that his mate and captain had his back was immense – look after your mates and colleagues, let them know you have their backs.
JL told an amazing story from India where he was woken every morning at 5:25am by the sound of very loud laughing. After several days of being woken up he went downstairs one morning to find out what was going on. He there found a group of people enjoying laughing meditation. JL emphasised that laughter is like medicine. Teams laugh in great environments and cultures. Laughter is the glue of camaraderie. Surround yourself with people you like and love and remember losers have meetings, but winners have parties.
