We finish the year on the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast with our final reflections on community with Standing on Giants co-Founder Robbie Hearn. Discussing cases from Airbnb to giffgaff we consider how community engagement can strengthen the business in times of adversity, helping organisations embrace vulnerability and better align with their core values. See you in 2021!
In episode 34 of the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast we talk to the Head of Sustainability Operations at O2 Will Kirkpatrick on how a view of community might add value to a business. From considering the corporate case for O2 and specifically how digital and mobile help connect people, to small business and their place in the local community, we examine the space where the business case meets the moral case.
Kicking off our Q4 focus on community on the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast we talk to Elissa Goldenberg, COO at The Wellbeing Project. We discuss the work of The Wellbeing Project and how they support social entrepreneurs to understand the importance of individual wellbeing and how, through giving and receiving from their community, may help mobilise the change the world needs.
I wrote a few words on social media last Sunday after my morning run. I was saddened to hear of the death of Sean Connery the day before and thought it would be an idea to acknowledge his role, via the founding of the Scottish International Education Trust, in my fledgling career. As I write these reflections five days later the post has just passed 1 million views on LinkedIn. I’m thrilled that so many people found the story inspiring and this unexpected reaction to it has made me think more deeply in a few areas this week.
On Being Grateful
In difficult times, as we all experience the shocks of a post-pandemic world, we might just find solace in the small things that are going well. In much of my work these past several months in the areas of resilience we have highlighted the importance of savouring the small moments of joy each day and being grateful, which studies show makes a huge difference to our mental health. William James, the renowned psychologist said over 100 years ago that “What you attend to in this moment becomes your reality.” Stay aware of the less positive news that surrounds us all these days by all means, but perhaps try to pay more attention to the good in our midst too.
On Legacy
Many of the comments on the post this week have regarded legacy and paying it forward. Almost half a century after Mr. Connery’s decision the Scottish International Education Trust still provides opportunities for many young Scottish men and women. Yet we all have an opportunity to leave our own legacy each day, through our actions and words. I’ve been very fortunate to talk to close to 30,000 people face-to-face in the past 15 years, mostly in a leadership capacity regarding their health, wellbeing and lifestyle choices. I believe I’ve made a positive impact and my experience this week has made me even more determined to go further and multiply that impact as much as possible.
On Opening Doors
I believe part of Connery’s motivation was related to his own modest upbringing and his desire to raise others up who just needed a chance. I had a wonderful childhood in a fairly typical West of Scotland working class home. Yet I grew up just as the predominant industrial heritage of my home town was crumbling, sending many families into poverty. Many people lost purpose, hope, and their lives. I was fortunate to have others open doors for me and am more attuned now to the importance of social mobility in an era of increasing inequality. If you’ve been fortunate enough to climb a few rungs of the ladder where might you let it down so others can climb up?
On the Good and Bad of Big Tech
Of course, it is not the first post to hit 1 million by any means. I’m sure that many will do so each day, with a fair percentage of them, frankly, nonsense. It brought home however, on a more personal level, the immense power of Big Tech. Many thousands of people came across my story and my name for the first time. Perhaps they forgot it the very next instant, but the potential reach for all of us these days is indeed incredible. Yet we have a responsibility to use this power in the right way. We need only look at the current US elections to see how social media can be used in the wrong way. Extremism, conspiracy theories and fake news fills the void where education has been sorely missed. The experience this week was also addictive. I talk in my programs of the dangers of dopamine and social media addiction but with every refresh of my feed bringing hundreds of new profile views, likes and comments from the four corners of the world it was hard to let go. I’m glad to be going on my weekly 24-hour digital detox this evening. I certainly need it.
As the pandemic tightens its grip worldwide in a second wave we may be feeling more isolated and disconnected from one other than ever before. It’s times like these when we may just realise how important we are to each other, the ripples we cause by our actions, and how we’re actually more tightly connected than ever. I have been blessed with my education and will pay more attention to the ripples I cause from now on.
We’re delighted to announce that our Founder, Dr. Steven MacGregor is joining Tictrac, the leading wellbeing platform as their resident workplace wellbeing expert. The launch interview and details on the first campaign, which begins with a focus on mental health, can be read here.
In the third and final episode of our Travel theme for Q3 we talk to Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Hilton UK & Ireland Stephen Cassidy. Framed around his leadership response in one of the travel sector's most badly hit industries we find messages of hope in stories regarding care for NHS workers and the positive legacy that may remain post-pandemic regarding a new way of working.
In the second of three episodes based on Travel for Q3 we talk to McKinsey Partner Melissa Dalrymple about her recent article, "Make it better, not just safer: The opportunity to reinvent travel" including the current pain points for travellers in a "friction-laden experience" and how we might get back to the golden era of travel when romance and excitement, not stress and inconvenience, were features of the travel experience. How travel companies might pivot in their ways of working and customer engagement frames the discussion around concrete action.
We're back with the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast!
Kicking off the Q3 theme of Travel we talk to Matthew Wilson, Associate General Counsel EMEA and APAC at Uber about the company's response to the COVID-19 crisis, discussing the nature of pivoting, dealing with uncertainty, catering for changing customer needs, the wellbeing of younger staff, and many more topics which show how one of the world's most famous disruptors dealt themselves with the disruption of the pandemic.
We are delighted to announce a new partnership with Oratorical who will distribute all of our online learning content and also provide a base for a new regular series of live talks. Click on the images below to see previews of our current portfolio of 40+ video clips and over 3 hours of content.
We are delighted to announce that our Founder Dr. Steven MacGregor has been named as an Honorary Professor at The Glasgow School of Art.
Head of the Innovation School, Professor Gordon Hush said: "Dr. MacGregor’s significant experience with large-scale organisations aligns with our desire to work collaboratively with the NHS to theorise systemic and institutional change in working patterns and behaviours in the field of health, care and wellbeing. We are are keen to work together in exploring a ‘systems of care’ approach, which addresses the experience of the individual and the process of organisational change and evolution.”
More details here.
While we get ready to re-start the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast after the summer break Steven has appeared as a guest on two other podcasts.
Closing out the second quarter on the Chief Wellbeing Officer podcast and theme of “Wellbeing in the Built Environment” we talk to experts in the areas of Facilities Management and Occupational Health and Safety. With Steve Longhorn, the Wellbeing Lead for Accenture at ISS, we discuss a future vision of facilities which breaks people out of silos and advances the wellbeing agenda. With Elyse Nijsse, a specialist at Healthy Workers and Founder of ElyseCare we discuss customising the work environment for different needs and how much the employer needs to be involved in the home working environment.
