On this episode of ‘Making It Count’, I am joined by Georgie Harman, CEO of Beyond Blue.
Georgie was appointed as the CEO of Beyond Blue in May 2014 where she has led a significant expansion of effort and results in service innovation, suicide prevention, and digital solutions.
Previously, she was the Deputy CEO of the National Mental Health Commission, providing independent advice to government on mental health reform.
From 2006-2012, Georgie had national responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, substance misuse, cancer and chronic disease policy and programs at Beyond Blue a senior executive at the Commonwealth Department of Health. She led the development Beyond Blue of the largest ever mental health Budget package. At the same time, she was responsible for the strategy and development of legislation to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products in Australia – a world first.
Georgie has also led national reforms to lift Australia’s organ and tissue donation rates and worked in the HIV/AIDS sector in Australia and the UK.
Also joining us on the discussion is Patrice O’Brien General Manager Workplace, Partnerships & Engagement at Beyond Blue. Patrice drives activities to promote mentally healthy workplaces Australia wide, guides the establishment of strategic partnerships for Beyond Blue and leads Beyond Blue’s community engagement activities.
This is such an important chat and will not only help you in the workplace but will help you in life situations also. When the statistics are showing that 1 in 5 Australians workers will suffer a mental illness, the conversation in business has got to change to include tabling mental illness as a business as usual discussion. Georgie and Patrice share examples, stories and some really simple strategies that you can run with to ensure you have a mentally fit workplace and taking care of yourself.
In this episode we cover:
- Georgie’s role as CEO and how she keeps herself grounded in her leadership
- Heads Up– the resources available and tips for leaders and small business owners to keep themselves mentally fit
- What is a mentally fit workplace
- Keys to providing a mentally fit workplace
- Tips for how to manage mental health issues when confronted with them
There are incredible resources available for small business specifically on the website – refer to the Heads Up link below.