Performance and Entrepreneurial Leadership In Management Needed for Mental Health In Your Workplace

“Win your better outcomes: High Value and Valued ROI” – Raj Gavurla

Your valued employee is missing work more often and you can tell some things aren’t making sense.  As leadership and management, you think about what’s happening to them.  Then, your office manager or human resource person informs you they gave them the Employee Assistant Program (EAP) phone number.  Of course, something serious happened yet you’re still puzzled.  However, because you don’t know what to do or policy you don’t initiate to share authentic dialogue with your valued subordinate.

Your subordinate doesn’t know what’s happening as all they think is I’ve been having very unusual thoughts and not feeling well.  It’s as if the microprocessor (brain) in my computer (body) isn’t consistently functioning.  They really don’t know when told they have a mental health diagnosis what that means.  They just hope the doctor determines the right treatment to help/cure/exhibit teamwork to allow them to successfully continue working and living a robust life.  Sometimes for a percentage of workers, this happens and they continue successfully working and living a robust life.  Often times the facts are this doesn’t happen and your employee’s performance is valued for periods of time and then an episode or something happens and they miss work or they aren’t exhibiting their consistent valued performance.  A mental health challenge doesn’t discriminate based on socioeconomic or sociodemographic status.

There is a highly customized fluid solution for your valued subordinate.  An example is:

1.  You (Boss) initiating and sharing private authentic dialogue with your employee.  It takes research better outcomes, preparation, interaction, and communication to deliver better outcomes for your subordinate (employee).

2.  Understanding what his or her treatment plan is and the teamwork needed.

3.  Forming a “small individual/personal matters team/group” to help your subordinate by involving a select group of trained employees as this employee’s support system in your workplace.

4.  Understanding the high-value importance/urgency of their family, work, and financial sustainability to your subordinate’s wellness is essential.  Their family is experiencing similar uncertainty as you about the well-being of your employee.

5.  By taking the initiative and being proactive with a process your employee becomes better and your costs tremendously decrease because your employee is still able to work although it might be scaled back and is given the review and evaluation of their work during this time to continue being a forward performing valued successful employee.

Yes, taking these steps are asking for more effort on your part as Boss and employer.  However, the following are some of the better outcomes (results) from taking initiative:

1.  I know as employer, Boss, team, and employee each is doing everything they can to see each other succeed and your clients succeed.   As an employer, you don’t have to do the bare minimum to be in compliance.  There are value-add resources that can help you.  As a strong mental health advocate, performance consultant/coach, and entrepreneurial leadership expert, my services might be a value-add to your current protocol for this situation.

2.  Donating to charity is important and I encourage you to continue doing so to make your business and community stronger.  However, a lot of times companies donate to non-profits (a humanitarian cause/need) without knowing the person they are helping to receive support services.  By allocating funds for mental health in your company, you are essentially creating “charity in the workplace” and seeing your dollars actually being put to use for your valued employee and receive quality work completed for your efforts.

3.  The sensation of having this humanitarian lens is very fulfilling, highly satisfying, and delivers a win for all (your business and community).  Businesses are here to contribute to family and societal progress.  Being a humanitarian to me means more than “spiritual brothers and sisters have to eat”. Being a humanitarian means “spiritual brothers and sisters have to thrive”. We are very capable of this mission and aspiration being a reality because of the forward progress we consistently make in employer/employee relationships and societal progress.

4.  Most likely your employee becomes more loyal and continues to make forward progress in your company.  Also, you now have an employee with high-value empathy skills and is part of your succession planning for your “small personal matters team(s)/group(s).  Although most of your employees don’t have a mental health diagnosis, they do have mental health challenges whether spurred from a workplace issue or life issue that sharing authentic dialogue with select people in a “small personal matters team/group” would greatly benefit your business.

5.   Mental health is our current major employer/social health challenge to the robust viability of our workplace we have to triumph along with cancer (you could imagine this affects a person’s mental health).

6.   I’ve heard too many personal stories of talented, skilled, and educated people who are underemployed and not doing meaningful work.  Because of this, there might be relationship problems because of the stigma associated with mental health and the individual might lose hope.

Sports often is at the forefront of employer and societal progress.  An example is Lebron James addressing the Cavaliers in the locker room, welcoming, and helping Larry Sanders (mental health challenge) join the team and continue to progress in his NBA career.  Yes, there are a lot of small business owners who are also helping and supporting individuals with a mental health challenge.  How about your Fortune 500, mid-size, or over 50 employees small business?

Remember, being a humanitarian is more than “spiritual brothers and sisters have to eat”.  Being a humanitarian is “spiritual brothers and sisters have to thrive”.  It’s a win for all.  It’s worth it!

If you are an executive, in management, or are a workplace leader, who is challenged by mental health in your business, please contact me to share authentic dialogue.  Your leadership is needed and wanted.

“One’s destination is never a place but rather a new way of looking at things.” Henry Miller 

For programs and services, contact Raj at 864.569.2315, raj@rajgavurla.com, LiiiVEN.

You Don’t Need To Live A Double Life In Your Workplace

“You Don’t Need To Live A Double Life In Your Workplace.” – Raj Gavurla

Do you come to your job or the playing field leading a double life?  You don’t need to.  How is this possible?  I’m there to work (complete tasks, etc.).  That’s what they pay me to do.  Years ago there was a job I inquired about with someone who worked for the company.  He proceeded to tell me “you have to set up equipment”.  I waited to see if he had more to say.  He didn’t.  I wasn’t interested in the job. Why?  Because work is more to me than completing tasks (it’s part of the job) and receiving benefits.   I understand you have family and friends outside of work you have fun, rewarding, and enjoyable camaraderie with.  How about having fun, rewarding, and enjoyable camaraderie with your colleagues or teammates?

Camaraderie is one of the keys that keeps employees performing, retains, and recruits. It also plays a major role in wellness (well-being), motivation, inspiration, engagement, a positive attitude, leadership, and execution.

What’s a solution to nurture camaraderie in the workplace?  By using a small group personal team matters approach. Do you have thousands, hundreds, less than fifty, ten to twenty, five or fewer employees or teammates?  The larger the business, organization, or team the harder it is to have camaraderie with everyone.  Regardless of size test the following:

Break up into “small personal teams”.  A “small personal team” is a group that discusses (has dialogue) about personal matters not directly related to your job.  For example, your family, what you’re doing this weekend, what you did this past weekend, your health, nutrition, fitness, your parents, kids aspirations, your non-work challenges, crisis, someone passing, accident, hobbies, movie, best place to get something, book you’re reading, mountains, sports, festivals, etc. Apply the learning.

A Customized Structure Might Look Like:

1.  Ask people to participate sharing why.  Do not require them to participate.

2.  For those who join a personal matters team, make what’s discussed confidential. That doesn’t mean you can’t share your situation with someone outside of your group.  Use your discretion.

3.  Meet once a week for 45 minutes to an hour in a quiet place (conference room, courtyard, etc.)

4.  Talk about and share personal matters important to each group member

5.   Close the meeting

Use Metrics and Collect Data On The Outcomes:

Are employees mentally performing better?

Is employee retention increasing?

Is it easier to recruit?

What effect does it have on wellness (well-being), motivation, and inspiration?

What effect does it have on engagement, a positive attitude, leadership, and execution?

Small Personal Matters Team Examples:

Look at an amazing family

Look at a business team.  One of the things employees, athletes, investors, donors, and philanthropists look at is the teamwork exhibited.

Look at our military.  They have tremendous camaraderie protecting each other, to survive, and protect us.  They know each other and have nicknames for each other making it easier to accomplish their mission.

Look at a sports team and you hear athletes talk about the camaraderie or if retired the camaraderie is what they miss.

I remember from reading Oscar Robertson’s biography he worked with people of a different skin color and they never had time for camaraderie.  Just do the work because in those times that’s how it was.  People didn’t know each other at work and never met outside of work with people of a different skin color.  He said, “that hurt”.  I’m sure some people of the other skin color had the same thought and feeling, “that hurt”.  Thankfully, we the people have made tremendous cultural and societal progress.

Another example, I went to college to graduate/get an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering.  That was the main goal.  It’s the camaraderie with a few friends I remember and miss most.  Although we don’t talk often or see each other as often I know, feel, sense, and believe we are connected forever.

My final example are my friends from Leadership Greenville.  I shared with a small personal matters group my mom had a stroke.  One told me his dad passed away from a stroke and another told me they had a family member who had a stroke and it’s a slow process.  People get better. Until the emergency personnel told me your mom had a stroke, I’ve heard of the word stroke but knew nothing about it.  Learning about a stroke and talking with my small personal matters team gave me lived experience insights I couldn’t get from a textbook that helped me to mentally perform to be a caregiver for my mom to make her well.  She is talking better and she needs and wants to walk better and drive a car.

Implementing small personal matters teams in your businesses, organizations, and teams might transform the narratives, conversations, and outcomes.  It should be helpful too and take pressure off and inhibit the performance anxiety your employees, team leaders, supervisors, managers, bosses, management, executives, and owners are experiencing. Yes, conventions, conferences, and special events are still needed and wanted for all your employees or sports team to participate in.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” 

– Bruce Lee

For programs and services, contact Raj at 864.569.2315, raj@rajgavurla.com

Win: A Sense of Respect Should Be Automatic, Not Earned

“A sense of respect should be automatic, not earned.” – Raj Gavurla

“If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” – James Cameron

For programs and services, contact Raj at 864.569.2315, raj@rajgavurla.com