Geoff McDonald: Mental Health and Wellbeing

This episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times issues an unmistakable call to action: Join the crusade for workplace openness and compassion! Host Chris Schembra’s guest, Geoff McDonald, is explaining the business and moral case for making mental health integral to our corporate cultures. Why? Because beyond fostering top performance and competitive advantage, it saves lives. As a keynote speaker and business transformation consultant with decades of HR leadership at Unilever, Geoff is uniquely positioned to destigmatize the mental health challenges that are all too common in today’s noisy world. Having navigated a diagnosis of anxiety-fueled depression, he understands the paralyzing impacts and basic ingredients for restoring equilibrium. His experience was painful and frightening but, as Geoff shares, it was also an invitation to enable change and human connection. You’ll learn through this conversation how a combination of unconditional love and willingness to be vulnerable ultimately empowered Geoff, a UK-based native of South Africa, to open a global dialogue around mental health in the workplace. “Too often we have not focused on the concept of the health and energy of our people as a critical enabler of performance,” says Geoff. But we can reject stigma and isolation! Join us as Geoff outlines the steps we can take to bring more gratitude, kindness, quality of life and bottom-line results to our workplaces!If you want to be further inspired by Geoff’s perspective on mental health and wellbeing as key indicators for thriving workplace cultures, check out his powerful TedX Talk, "Let's Talk About Mental Health."If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.Click here to hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainers who have shared their human stories about Gratitude Through Hard Times. KEY TOPICS:If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or enough thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? It has to be mom, in recognition of the unconditional she provided as Geoff’s baseline.Midnight, January 25, 2008: How a massive panic attack on the eve of his daughter’s 13th birthday triggered debilitating anxiety, a diagnosis and a transformational choice.The Power of Love: About the curative effects of both embracing his humanity and accepting the love Geoff’s family and friends offered through a dark passage.Four Ingredients that Healed Geoff’s Anxiety-Fueled Depression:Getting a concrete diagnosis that integrated various symptoms.Being authentic and forthright about the feelings he was experiencing.Trusting the credibility and respect he’d built over 20 years at Unilever.Working for a compassionate leader who had experience dealing with mental illness within his circle of family and friends.How Geoff empowered himself – and others – through openness and vulnerability.Common Conditions: Why depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges are just part of being human in the world today.Implementing the Cure: Why purpose is integral to creating workplaces that are healthy.About a Finite Resource: How pervasive burnout and pernicious stress erode the energy we need to fuel our teams and move mountains.Making Mental Health and Wellbeing a Strategic Priority:Supports and energizes workers – a key ingredient for workplace success.Enhances people’s lives – which is simply the right thing to do.Yields performance metrics – that support leadership objectives.Why actively de-stigmatizing mental health at an organizational level cultivates psychological safety, retention and potentially saves lives.Chris Captures the Alchemy: About the combination of openness and cushion of unconditional love that supported Geoff’s recovery and fuel his mission today.In closing, please join this crusade by doing three things:Reflect on (and get curious about) your own relationship to mental health and ask: Is it one of intolerance or true compassion?Keep the conversation going. The more of us who are candidly discussing mental health, the greater the de-stigmatization.When you’re ready, consider sharing your story, which is like sending a small lifeboat out into the ocean of people now suffering in silence and feeling alone. QUOTABLE“The purpose-driven work that we do is very tiring … But every time I talk to (Geoff) the energy is real, I feel it in every bone in my body and it inspires me to do greater good for our world.” (Chris) “That sense of unconditional love – and how powerful that can be … is so important.” (Geoff) “The decision I took was that I wouldn’t be burdened by the stigma associated with (mental) illness and that empowered and liberated me.” (Geoff) “A sense of love and a sense of hope were probably the two most powerful ingredients in my recovery ... Those two emotions kept me going.” (Geoff) “I am not good at masking my feelings. It’s just who I am and – you talk about gratitude – I am so thankful that my personality is ‘what you see is what you get.’ ” (Geoff) “An expression of your vulnerability just makes you more human and allows for deeper, more meaningful connection between two human beings.” (Geoff) “If overall health and wellbeing is a critical enabler of performance, then why don’t you make it one of your strategic (business) priorities? Why don’t you create workplaces … that will enhance the lives of people working there?” (Geoff) “Too often we have not focused on the concept of the health and energy of our people as a critical enabler of performance.” (Geoff) “It’s time to step up bigger and think of the purpose and legacy that you’re leaving with the people that surround you ... the energy and connection and social wellbeing.” (Chris) “Sometimes just being more open to receiving love from others is the first step to your own healing.” (Chris) LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:About Alastair Campbell, podcast host and communications strategist.More information about the WorkHuman Live Conference, where Geoff will be a keynote speaker, from April 17-20, 2023 in San Diego.Geoff’s Tedx talk "Let's Talk About Mental Health." ABOUT OUR GUEST:Geoff McDonald is now best known as a global advocate, campaigner and consultant who is passionate about addressing the stigma of mental ill health in workplaces, and about helping organizations embed purpose as a key driver of business performance. Prior to this he was the Global VP of Human Resources for Unilever. In 2008 he was diagnosed with anxiety fueled depression, recovery from which led him to discover a new personal purpose. And in 2014 he left his role with Unilever to devote his time, energy and expertise to ending the stigma of depression and anxiety in the workplace. He tells his powerful story to audiences around the globe, knowing first-hand that talking about mental health saves lives. FOLLOW GEOFF:WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | YOUTUBE| TWITTER ABOUT OUR HOST:Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times. FOLLOW CHRIS:WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS