This blog post is prompted by Mental Health Awareness week, as you would expect. Early disclaimer: I believe strongly that promoting good mental health is a priority for all organisations, but I am no mental health expert. I would welcome comments from people with more expertise that would help improve my understanding. From the stance of my own experience, though, here a few reflections
When we set out to develop corporate strategy for promoting good mental health is governance at the front of our minds? Probably not. We can put in place good initiatives that raise awareness, roll out training and provide support. Taking these steps is really positive and will make a difference. There has been good progress in recent years on resources for organisations, leaders and individuals to draw on. The Forward Institute recently published Helping you Thrive: Leading through Covid-19 which has helpful, practical tips for leaders coping with the current crisis and looking beyond. I strongly recommend it to everyone looking after themselves and their teams right now.
We can raise awareness and take actions across organisations without having to do more than use already established governance processes – thinking through the business case and perhaps putting in place a project or programme structure to focus on delivering benefits. The case for going further depends on whether we are committed to lasting change.