Storytelling is a powerful way for humans to share what they are going through. It can also be a way for the stigmas of mental health to be lifted. My guest in this episode, Clare Munn, has been putting story telling at the centre of her efforts to disrupt how the world talks about mental health.

Clare Munn is an entrepreneur, media executive & activist focused on disrupting irrelevant and redundant models by using story telling. She is the Award-winning Executive Producer of The Square - a 3 Emmy, Oscar Nominated film. She also coined and trademarked CQ: Communication Quotient: Expressive & Receptive Intelligence, and H2H, Human 2 Human. Both are being developed into APPS and video and animation vignettes.

She talks about the importance of clear communication to get the support needed, her personal experiences during the pandemic and how we need to value play and diversity. She also discusses gender inequality and how the communication quotient (CQ) is the new IQ.

“Until there is equal pay for equal skills, we are going to continue to have massive problems in all fields” – Clare Munn

You'll hear about:

05:17 - Communication intelligence and self-awareness

11:03 - Mental health, assessments, and personal growth

16:55 - Valuing play and diversity

21:52 - Managing stress and anxiety during a pandemic

29:35 - The importance of having support

37:13 - Gender inequality and entrepreneurship

46:34 - The importance of clear communication

48:20 – Pro and cons of AI mimicking human work

54:13 - CQ is the new IQ

58:20 - Mental health stigma and the importance of storytelling

Clare Munn’s resources:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/claremunn/ 

IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6143693/ 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ClareMunn 

Boxplay website - https://www.boxplay.io/ 

Petra’s resources:

Petra’s website - https://www.petravelzeboer.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petra-velzeboer/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/petra.velzeboer/

Buy Petra’s book: Begin With You: Invest in Your Mental Well-being and Satisfaction at Work - https://shorturl.at/nyDOX 

Imagine not being able to say a word as a child. Imagine every time you stammered you were beaten. Imagine that this treatment cured you.

This was the experience of my guest, Jon Smith. It was life changing and allowed him to pursue a career at the elite level of sport as a super-agent culminating in an OBE. 

Jon discusses his own experience with mental health and the attitude towards mental health in sports. He also discusses the lack of support he got when he needed it in his own life when dealing with depression and why mental health and mental wellbeing are not the same thing.

Jon Smith gives motivational talks on how he conquered communication and the severe lack of confidence due to complete dysfluency as a child. He has also worked with some of the biggest sports stars in the world such as Diego Maradona and managed the off-pitch activities of the England Football Team for 10 years. 

“I couldn’t talk for 15 years” – Jon Smith

You'll hear about:

01:34 - What is Jon working on at the moment?

06:22 - Does the NHS need to be ripped up and started again?

10:49 - From stammering kid to impacting the world

20:14 - How is mental health used as an excuse?

26:42 - Jon's experience with depression

28:59 - Jon's experience with mental health support

38:40 - Jon's thoughts on men’s mental health

46:16 - Pathologizing normal human emotion

Jon Smith’s resources:

Jon’s website - https://www.jonsmith.co/

X - https://twitter.com/jon1startist

Send your questions to [email protected] 

Petra’s resources:

Petra’s website - https://www.petravelzeboer.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petra-velzeboer/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/petra.velzeboer/

Buy Petra’s book: Begin With You: Invest in Your Mental Well-being and Satisfaction at Work - https://shorturl.at/nyDOX

Do you suffer from the Sunday night blues?

Everyone has experienced that feeling of dread before you start work on a Monday. But what if that could be an indicator to so much more, not just to you as an individual but the organisation you work for. Then you would have the power to know where your energy and time should be spent rather than fearing the start of the week.

In this episode I am joined by Kirstin Furber, who is People Director at Channel 4. She has been researching the Sunday night blues and how it can be used to develop a toolkit for employees. She discusses the research and its findings so far and how it can be used to help businesses. She also covers why wellbeing has become so important in the workplace, her own journey with difficult conversations and the wellbeing changes we need to see in the world of work.

“The purpose and soul of an organisation comes from humanity” – Kirstin Furber

You'll hear about:

03:43 - The Sunday Night Blues project

05:58 - Does Kirsten get the Sunday night blues?

07:43 - How the project will help businesses

10:40 - Why has wellbeing become so important

13:25 - An opportunity to connect the dots

15:19 - The last brave conversation Kirstin had

19:10 - What leading by example looks like

25:13 - What was the role given to Kirsten as a child?

33:38 - What do people choose not to see?

39:37 - Can profit & growth foster healthy work?

41:30 - What is the most radical change needed?

Kirstin Furber’s resources:

Kirstin’s website - https://kirstinfurber.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstinfurber/

The Sunday night blues research - https://business-school-expertise.exeter.ac.uk/banishing-the-sunday-night-blues/

Petra’s resources:

Petra’s website - https://www.petravelzeboer.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petra-velzeboer/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/petra.velzeboer/

Buy Petra’s book: Begin With You: Invest in Your Mental Well-being and Satisfaction at Work - https://shorturl.at/nyDOX 

Are your life goals aligned with your job?

We are all different and all require different things to maintain our wellbeing. You need to be able to align with your flow, your skills, your joy and not be influenced by something that can harm that.

In this episode I talk to Stella Smith, Founder and CEO of pirkx, my collaborator on this podcast. Pirkx is a pioneering force within the benefits market working hard to make them inclusive for all. 

Stella discusses her own wellbeing journey including the role her childhood had in making her who she is today. We also talk about how ambition and wellness fit together, the reasons for wanting to start this podcast and where we see the future of wellbeing and work.

“Everybody is different and needs different things” – Petra Velzeboer

You'll hear about:

01:13 - What drives Stella to create change?

04:43 - What role did Stella play as a child?

06:16 - One thing from Petra's childhood that made her who she is 

10:56 - Can ambition and wellness co-exist?

16:27 - How our influences and conditioning affect wellbeing

12:19 - Definitions of mental health and wellbeing

28:49 - Why this podcast is being created

33:13 - Stella's mental health experience as a founder

37:39 - Will wellbeing change the future of work?

Pirkx’s resources:

Stella on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-smith/ 

Pirkx’s website - https://pirkx.com/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wearepirkx 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pirkx/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/pirkx/ 

Petra’s resources:

Petra’s website - https://www.petravelzeboer.com/ 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petra-velzeboer/ 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/petra.velzeboer/

Buy Petra’s book: Begin With You: Invest in Your Mental Well-being and Satisfaction at Work - https://shorturl.at/nyDOX

Join me, Petra Velzeboer and founder of pirkx Stella Smith as we give you a snapshot of what's to come in this exciting new podcast! 

We discuss many things, including: 

• Can ambition and wellbeing co-exist