On this episode Kat is joined by Stuart Townsend, a passionate mental health advocate in the construction industry and Operations Director at Taylor Woodrow. In this episode Stuart talks about the challenges of switching off, the dangers of not being able to, and the one habit that he uses to decompress and be fully present with his family.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The construction industry is a demanding, tiring, rewarding one and it’s difficult to leave things at work, which I think are big contributors to the mental health of everybody. In some industries you finish your shift and you’re home, in our industry things play on your mind, there are certain things you can’t leave because tasks can last week and even months before they’re finished as well as the responsibility for the wellbeing of everyone you manage as well.
• We’ve been in a mental health pandemic for a lot longer than people realise. It’s difficult subject, and construction traditionally being a male-led industry meant people were told to be more broad shouldered and get on with it. This made it difficult for people to open up. We’ve looked at that as a business and have health and wellbeing champions in our divisions who go through training, but it takes a specialist to work with people who are struggling, our training allows people to signpost because we’re not fully medically trained.
• The pressures that come with delivery, timescales, locations, juggling all those balls at the same time, as well as trying to look out for a team, deliver quality, right first time, hit targets set internally, meet the clients’ targets externally, they’re all massive catalysts. And you’ve got to be as professional as you can be every day. You can’t help but take it home.
• ‘Fire-gazing’ goes right back to the Stone Age, I tell my people about it, it’s based around hunting: Man goes hunting, man brings food home, lady cooks food, man stares at fire. There’s an element of fire-gazing that I think everybody in this industry needs, whether you’re a man or a woman. You need to try and switch off in the evening. I now turn my phone off whenever I’m not at work or need to be contacted, that’s been a real benefit to me.

BEST MOMENTS

“Two people die by suicide every year in this industry and 91% of people feel overwhelmed.”

“I’m finding myself asking ‘are you OK?’ It’s OK to ask for help. It gives them confidence in me as a manager to give them the support that they need.”

“But there’s still that stigma and I don’t know how we break it.”

“I like to cook, it helps me de-stress.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Stuart Townsend is an experienced Contracts Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the construction industry. Skilled in Subcontracting, Construction, Value Engineering, Cost Management, and Highways. Strong operations professional.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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We are facing the greatest global pandemic of all time. Burnout, anxiety, stress is at an all-time high. People are the greatest asset of an organisation. The better people look after themselves, the better they perform in all areas of life - both at work and home.

Every single tiny choice we make during the day is shaping our lives, directly impacting how we feel and experience life. After getting the biggest wakeup call of losing everything in my life in 2016 I had no choice but to face my habits and make a change. The changes at first seemed so insignificant that I didn't believe they would make a difference. BUT they did.

The Positive Habits Podcast is for people who want to live a better life, with higher energy levels, less stress, better relationships and ultimately to supercharge their performance in all areas of life.

I'm on a mission to help people improve their wellbeing with one small habit change.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In the recently published Mental State of the World 2023 Report where 71 countries were surveyed, the UK came second lowest which reinforces the knowledge that we already have that a lot of people are struggling with their mental health and their wellbeing.
• It’s such an exciting time we’re living in where there’s so many opportunities and so much information out there to do business, learn, grow, improve ourselves. Yet, people are more stress, overwhelmed and exhausted that ever before.
• There’s a huge gap between talking about mental health, wellbeing, resilience, how we feel – which is a brilliant development, especially in industries where historically it’s been ignored – and doing something about it.
• Looking at the report it’s clear that there are a number of areas, for organisations and us individually, where we could make some small changes that would have a huge ripple affect on us professionally and personally.

BEST MOMENTS

“One of the challenges we’re facing is we’re living in a ‘always on’ world.”

“Advice has got to be practical, it’s why each guest on the podcast shares the one habit that’s made a difference to them and why.”

“The top three reasons for bad mental health and wellbeing are: The smartphone, increased consumption of ultra-processed foods, and the lack of family bonds.”

“It’s really hard sometimes to make healthy decisions when it comes to food.”

Mental State of the World Report 2023

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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On this episode, Kat is joined by Demi Broughton, a key member of the team behind the High Performance Podcast. As the Corporate Events Manager she shares her top strategy for enhancing both personal and professional performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It’s very easy to criticise other – as a society we’re very good at it – and lay blame on others. There aren’t enough people celebrating those small, unseen things that people are doing that are really good. Monday Club is something that I hope breaks through the mould of what you see on LinkedIn on a Monday and highlighting people I’ve enjoyed working with or are going unsung.
• A negative habit that has affected both my private and professional life is: First thing in the morning, before I’ve said hello to anyone, I’ve reached for my phone and read emails. We’re not being paid or expected to do that, so why are we doing it? It created a sense in me of never switching off. I now don’t touch my emails until I’ve had my morning cup of tea.
• I would never go to bed not knowing what tomorrow looks like. Of course, anything can happen at any time that I’m not in control of, but it sets me up so that when I wake up in the morning, I’m only revisiting what’s already been put in place for me. It takes the weight off.
• How I was able to break negative habits and bring in positive ones was I just reached breaking point with them. I don’t advise people to reach rock bottom before they change, but I didn’t want to live that way anymore; constantly being tired, developing physical and mental problems due to fatigue and blowing off social engagements because I didn’t have anything left in the tank.

BEST MOMENTS

• “We have a very flat hierarchy: Everyone is a manager in some sense of the word (running their own departments, owns what they do, has autonomy and power).”
• “Machines need to be switched off to recharge. So do we.”
• “Don’t have you phone ion your room but have a physical notepad and pen in case your brain is racing so you can write down in order what your day is going to look like.”
• “What would you want people to say about you at your eulogy? I’ll be damned if what they read out at mine wasn’t conducive with the life I want for myself knowing I had full control over achieving that.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Demi Broughton is an award winning Corporate Events Manager at The High Performance Podcast, she’s responsible for planning, organising, and executing engaging and impactful events for listeners, guests, and sponsors. Demi leverages her expertise and skills to create memorable experiences that showcase your mission, values, and goals. Being well experienced in the industry, working with various clients and partners, from small businesses to global corporations. Demi is passionate about delivering high-quality events that inspire, educate, and entertain the podcast’s audience, and that reflect its field of expertise: high performance in business, sports, and life.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sectors. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in her becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high-impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn

Instagram