By Jonathan Schroder, Barnet Council
When I joined LGcomms Executive last year, one of the first things I did was agree to work with a fellow Executive member to develop an event on the topic of mental wellbeing and resilience for comms professionals. It’s an area that I’ve been passionate about on a personal level, and this was an opportunity to work on something that I hoped would help others deal with the bumps in the road that we all encounter.
What I’ve realised since then is that to do this properly takes time. It takes time to think, time to talk, time to listen, time to reflect. Providing support around mental wellbeing and resilience absolutely can’t be a tick-box exercise, and that’s why I’m looking forward to planting the seeds – through this blog, and through a planned workshop at the upcoming LGcomms Academy – so that what we end up with is something that can make a real difference to members of LGcomms and the wider profession.
One of the first things I did when planning this blog was ask my team for their input, views and advice. And it’s fair to say I was blown away by the thoughtfulness of their responses, the clarity of feeling, and the evident situation that many people are dealing with their own struggles and sometimes, all that’s needed to help them through it is the ability to share and talk about their feelings. This is a principle I’ve always tried to put at the core of how I manage teams – being able to listen and respond with care, humanity and flexibility can make the world of difference.
Some of the key reflections to come out of these conversations included:
- The impact on communicators of communicating difficult messages: so often, as communications professionals in the world of local government, we are so busy that we become process-driven and forget that every situation can prompt an emotional response. Examples from my team included being thrust into a meeting to respond to the suicide of a young person in our borough; another was asked to put out an internal comms tribute to a colleague, who was also a friend, who had passed away. The pressure – especially for senior comms professionals – to constantly project a resilient, calm and professional approach is something that can take its toll, and isn’t always obvious through someone’s external façade
- The impact of multiple stresses at home can impact our work: we are all human and we all wear multiple hats, both at home and at work. Again, reflecting on myself and my team, over the last year and a half, individuals have had to deal with close family bereavements, terminal illnesses (I myself lost my brother-in-law in 2023, and just this month found out another close family member has breast cancer), their own personal serious health issues, and family worries that can have a real impact on the ability to think clearly and professionally in a work environment. It’s so easy for these stresses and strains of life to creep up on us and it more often than not results in burnout, sickness or fatigue
- We need to prioritise the networks of support: everyone has different ways of dealing with stress, but as senior managers and representatives of the industry, we have a responsibility to make sure we give ourselves and our teams time to open up, talk, take time away if necessary (and if possible in line with business needs) and advocate for and build those wider support networks that places like Barnet are great at providing. Every one of my team mentioned the importance of a supportive and healthy working environment where they’ve felt comfortable opening up and that the structures are there to allow us all to be vulnerable but feel supported. The need to ‘live and breathe’ wellbeing and resilience principles in the way we approach our work every day.
- As a manager, learning how to delegate: one of the hardest lessons for many managers is learning how to delegate. Yes, you can be great at your job but if you let the work pile up, it not only makes for longer hours but it can compound the stress you feel to deliver on multiple projects. And that can also impact on your team members’ personal development. Take the time to mentor and coach your team and they will support you as you support them.
I’m 100% aware that the topics talked about here have only scratched the surface of what mental wellbeing means to each of us as individuals, but if there’s one thing to take away during this Mental Health Awareness Week, it’s the importance to communicate, communicate, communicate with each other – it’s an old cliché, but it really is good to talk.
I look forward to seeing many members at our workshop at LGcomms Academy, and continuing this conversation. Please comment or get in touch with me directly with any reflections, thoughts or pointers of what you’d like to see LGcomms provide in this space over the coming months.