Several years ago, I set up Conversations for Coaches about Mental Health. I was frustrated that we didn’t always have places to go to explore difficult topics that wasn’t supervision. The first series was fun with so many people coming back for more.
Earlier this year I started to feel a frustration again that with significant amounts of money being invested in wellbeing and mental health related interventions, many report high stress, absence due to mental health pressures, often anxiety, depression and stress or burnout.
What prompted me to take some action was reading about a case, Foxton Duffy vs The Jockey Club Racecourses Ltd where a sum of £990k was awarded.
Why? For allowing an increasingly unsustainable working environment to develop over time. It’s a stark reminder that employers must actively respond to concerns raised about workplace stress.
With an itch to scratch I started series 2 with a conversation about duty of care.
The irony of our coming together was disrupted through the very technology designed to facilitate conversations. That’s possibly a conversation for another day.
How rich and thought full it is being with curious coaches who give generative attention for us to learn from and with each other. One of the strongest themes to emerge was around responsibility. Sometimes, as coaches, do we care too much that we lose sight of where our responsibility begins and ends. We know that when an organisation and an individual are not aligned, everyone can become more vulnerable. What if there are times when stepping up and challenging the status quo is the ethical thing to do? What is our contractual obligation?
The sad fact is that conversations when someone is finding themselves at an edge, where capacity, clarity, or identity are being challenged, are not primarily about recognising distress, it’s about having a conversation – before whatever is happening becomes a crisis. What might seem to be someone struggling and in survival mode may highlight a need to learn new skills, to get clarity about what they want, or to find ways of increasing capacity.
Another strong theme was about recognising boundaries. It’s about having the judgement to know what belongs to you, what belongs to the client and what belongs to the organisation.
Several of us in the conversation are used to having 3- and 4-way alignment meetings that highlight roles, responsibilities, expectations, resources available as well as what policies and processes exist to support any psychosocial risks. These can be transformative as the coach can be an enabler for a deeper, fresher, and robust conversation. I see these as places where trust can start to build in new ways. There is often learning and education in these meetings too.
We have just got going and you would be very welcome to join in with our next conversation.
Enjoy the fabulous work of Carbon Orange and Anne-Marie Miller who provided the artwork.
With the focus of these conversations being on exploration, curiosity and learning, I am looking forward to the next one 24th September at 9.30am UK. Booking links will be provided shortly.
