We couldn’t finish the week of shining the spotlight on our TPP community without featuring our very own Founder and Director Jaime Gallocher.
In our opinion, Jaime needs no introduction! She is our inspiring leader who continuously shows up for us and sets the tone from the top.
Our role model, guru, sounding board and mentor, Jaime’s approach to leadership and wellbeing is refreshing and authentically her (as you’ll see from her interview!).
Lets hear from Jaime:
I fell into a leadership role at a young age (21), managing people who were at least two decades older than me, it had its ups and downs. Shifting into an individual contributor position after that for a decent stint of 10 years, I wasn’t sure leadership was for me. Working in the people business, we see a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly and I was cautious to jump back in. When I was 32, I hired my first staff member at TPP (1 yr into the TPP journey) which as a business owner brings two challenges – 1. I have to be accountable to someone else now, and 2. I am responsible for their financial wellbeing too! I can’t fuck this up, they are showing up for me, I have to hustle for them. And that’s what I did, the rest is history. The greatest opportunity I have had as a leader is to learn from all the leaders I work with, which as an HR consulting business owner is a lot – I have learnt more from my clients over the last 6 years than anything I could read in a book.
- What does mental health mean to you, and why do you think it’s important to talk about it openly?
Mental health to me is the spectrum that your brain, body and mind connect and balance. While ever changing, having an awareness of the things that bring you joy, a relaxed state of mind, fuel creativity, and inspiration, is how we aim to maintain our emotional wellbeing each day. This could be through relational connection, spiritual practices, physical expression or any other practice that gives you fulfilment. This is incredibly personal for everyone, and valuing people’s version of this may differ and is what makes it so powerful.
By speaking about this openly we get to understand the wide range of things that can contribute to mental health and wellbeing so we can learn from others and be present to support the people in your life as well.
- How do you prioritise your mental health in your daily life?
For me, it’s important to check myself if I’m showing up in a frustrated or negative way then I try to switch to something that brings me joy or a good belly laugh – that tends to reset my mindset. In terms of a regular routine for daily life, if I’m completely honest I am a shocker when it comes to prioritising myself over others. Running a growing business has meant that I just worked longer and harder for my clients and ensured the wellbeing of my team was balanced which was my priority. I’ll also make any excuse not to exercise and eat a balanced diet so basically, I’m a train wreck! (jokes!) BUT I am aware of it, and I don’t beat myself up if I have been in a bad routine for a few months or longer, I just get back into it and try again. I am a big advocate for speaking nicely to myself. We are our own worst critics, and I’ve learnt as I’ve got older that it is not helpful to have negative self-talk, so I reject imposter syndrome or the perfect person complex for a broad ethos of: “am I doing my best, and am I continually improving in some capacity?” That’s enough for me to feel balanced.
- What are some of the biggest challenges you face when addressing mental health in the workplace, and how do you overcome them?
We work in an industry that demands a lot from us emotionally. When you deal with people all day every day, it’s important to identify a channel that protects your own wellbeing. Whether that is talking it out with a colleague, doing some exercise, positive self-talk, whatever it might be for you. Recognition and awareness of maintaining your own balance is important. It is important for me leading a team of senior HR specialists that I take notice of what is going on for my team so that I can adapt to their individual needs to support them to decompress in a positive way. We foster an environment at TPP that has a deep level of psychological safety which means we enable each other to be honest and open with how they are feeling without judgement.
- What advice would you give to other CEOs or leaders who are hesitant to address mental health in their organisations?
Not enabling an environment that people can speak freely without criticism has no benefit. Typically, when people shy away from this it stems from their own discomfort and insecurity around the topic, and sometimes ignorance about it. The notion of I “don’t know how to respond if someone tells me they have a mental health issue or crisis” is not good enough to ignore it. Would you ignore it if someone close to you said something? No – so why would you do that at work? We spend a lot of time with the people we work with. By enabling a conversation and therefore a channel for your people to know how they can get support could save lives. As a leader we are in the position of great responsibly and that needs to be taken seriously. You’re not just a manger of a team, or a person that runs a business, you are someone that people look up to. Pride yourself on being a positive role model. If you want to be an autocratic leader that wishes it was ‘like the old days’: wake up, no one wants to work for you.
If you want to be better at managing a diverse, modern workplace then listen up! With more people entering the job market that are faced with a variety of mental health challenges than ever before, you need to get on board. To lead a business today requires you to navigate these challenges and learn as you go. That requires you to take an interest, ask questions and have an open mind. If someone comes to you and you’ll not sure what to respond, you can say “thank you for sharing that with me, I can imagine that was difficult. This is new to me, and I want to support you, let me see if we can get some help to navigate this, or what do you need from me to support you at work?”. It’s not that hard. Genuinely care, it will build your respect and credibility as an authentic leader.
If a mental health matter is impacting someone’s ability to do their job, you can still be empathetic and get the most out of them at work. Some people’s understanding of leading teams and businesses in this age is all muddled up, it’s not to say you have to be lenient or ‘soft’ with your people, it’s about setting clear expectations and being direct – that’s never changed. Strong organisational wellbeing and performance occurs when people have clarity, boundaries, consequences and safety* (Safety referring to an environment that is free of criticism, judgement and fear).
Put simply, treat others the way you would want to be treated yourself.
