Mental Preparation - Recognising, understanding and preparing your own Mental Health and others.

This article is dedicated to World Mental Health Day.

I’m not a fan of the term “resilience”; I am, however, a huge proponent and fan of the term “Mental Preparation.”

It is a positive term; mental preparation invokes taking good sound steps, small daily actions that develop the internal strength that is needed to survive and thrive in an ever VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world.

This is a key to your Mental health.

I recall back in July 2000, I assumed the leadership of my IT team; some 25 plus staff that would grow over the next three years.

One of the key ground rules  I instituted from Day One, was that everyone in the team, had the right to take a “Mental Health Day” when they needed it.

The process:

• The staff member would tell me verbally, text me or email me to say they were taking a Mental Health Day.

• I was the only one that could approve it.

• It was recorded as a normal workday, not as sick leave.

The result:

• Increased morale

• Increased team spirit

• Rise in productivity.

The aim of the Mental Health Day was simple; there are times when people just need “time out.”  

It gave my staff the opportunity to do their mental preparation away from the office; to rest, regroup and refresh before returning to work and their next project.

At the time, no one outside of the team knew this was going on. Even my boss had no idea. The reason I never mentioned this was because it was ahead of its time and no one would have got it. Rather than take sick leave, it was an understanding that people’s mental health was and, in my view, remains the number one priority of businesses, sports teams, and governments.

As time has passed since then, I believe this view is much more prevalent than those days. 

Leadership Lesson: The mental Health of everyone is crucial. It’s a very simple thing to look after your people. It does not need complex policies; just sensible support structures developed in consultation with them. And it takes courage to do so.

Philip Wagner is a contrarian Project and Leadership educator and practitioner, Program, Project Leader , serving part time Army Officer and developer of the Leader IQ and Project IQ concepts of Leadership and Project Intelligence -