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In this special bonus episode, Open Minded crosses over with the Change Happens podcast. Host and EY Oceania Deputy CEO Jenelle McMaster joins JK for a wide ranging double interview. TRIGGER WARNING: This podcast episode deals with issues of suicide and suicidal ruminations. Listener discretion is advised. Why is change scary? It’s a big question. JK and Jenelle kick the episode off unpacking the uncertainty change produces, and talk about strategies to reduce and better manage this uncertainty. Next up they dig into leadership, and push back on the outdated notion that you need to leave your real self at the door when you go to work. They discuss the importance of being real as a leader, and the end of the individual ‘hero’ leader and rise of collaborative leadership. Later, things get a little more personal. JK speaks about his ‘sharks’, those nagging elements of our personalities that can push us to ‘swim fast’ and achieve great things, but can end up swallowing us. And Jenelle talks about her experiences with imposter syndrome, and techniques she’s used to retrain her brain to reframe negative self talk. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Mel Upton is the CEO of Positive Group APAC, a mental wellbeing company focussed on leadership training and group learning. She’s also a veteran of the legal industry and has led wellbeing programs throughout her 25 year legal career. Mel joins JK from a hotel room in Auckland on her first international trip since the start of the pandemic, another sign we are slowly finding our way back to some kind of normal. JK and Mel kick off the pod talking about Mel’s background in the legal industry, and her experience in setting up wellbeing programs as a leader in law firms. She gives us some insight into how to have difficult conversations, and how to be comfortable when you’re having an off day.  Mel also shares a first hand experience of dealing with a team member going through significant mental ill-health. She reminds us that hard conversations are hard, and that it’s important to prepare and be mindful when approaching a hard conversation to steer it toward a positive outcome. Later, Mel gives some insight into the work she’s doing now with Positive Group, and how they communicate the sometimes complex scientific concepts behind mental wellbeing in a way that resonates with business leaders and stimulates change in their clients' businesses. Read and Listen: Moving Upstream: The case for a more proactive approach to mental health in the workplace - Dr Brian Marien of Positive Group A Podcast of One’s Own - podcast by Julia Gillard The Measure of a Man - A Spiritual Autobiography - Sidney Poitier See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robbie Hicks and Lachland Bradford are the hosts of the Funny Business podcast and co-founders of the Wellbeing Network.  After JKs recent appearance on Funny Business, the boys join us on Open Minded to provide an intimate look at the foundation of their business, and how they have embedded wellbeing into the core of their company. Rob and Lach share insight into how the strength of their friendship was instrumental in creating Funny Business and the Wellbeing Network, how their individual strengths make each other better, and how the support they provide each other has helped the business grow. The guys speak about playing different roles on a sports team relates to building successful teams in business, by aligning people’s roles with their strengths and organising around shared core values Later, Rob and Lach give us some insight into their back stories. How they both overcame setbacks and changes in life direction, and how they reframed success for themselves through the lens of personal wellbeing. Read and Listen: Funny Business podcast - with Rob and Lach The School of Life network Killer Thinking - by Tim Duggan See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nikki Hart is a NZ registered nutritionist and weight management expert. Nikki became well known as “The Evil Diet Witch” when she hosted the TV series ‘Eat Yourself Whole’ and ‘The Fat Chance’. In this episode, Nikki talks to JK about the connection between good nutritional practices and better mental wellbeing. They discuss the results of the recent ‘Smiles Trial’ study showing the correlation between eating more fruit and lower incidence of depression and other mental wellbeing issues. Further, Nikki examines a new study by Elaine Rush showing that carotenoids, the pigments which give fruit and vegetables colour, have a greater effect on health outcomes than previously thought, and that a majority of New Zealanders aren’t getting enough of them. As part of our Groov wellbeing campaign on Winter Wellbeing, Nikki shares tips and tricks for getting enough protection from our nutritional choices in winter, and how to eat well efficiently using seasonal vegetables. JK and Nikki also discuss “Blue Zones”, countries or regions whose traditional diets provide high balanced nutrition resulting in low incidence of obesity and a host of other related health issues. They talk about what makes up a “Blue Zone” diet and how we can build this kind of culture in New Zealand. Read and Listen: The New Serving Guidelines Min of Health The Smiles Trial study  Carotenoid studies referenced: 1 and 2 Further information on Blue Zones See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, Jase Te Patu talks to JK about growing up between worlds in New Zealand, and finding his way to mental wellbeing through rediscovering the wisdom contained in the traditional wellbeing practices of Māori and other indigenous cultures. Jase gives JK the down low on the work M3 Mindfulness are doing in schools across the country, sharing stories of the work they’ve done with Māori youth to rediscover their heritage and rebuild their mana.  Through M3 Mindfulness, Jase is also highly active in the business community as a keynote speaker and board member. He provides his perspective on the current business landscape in New Zealand, and the work still to do in fully embracing diversity in the workplace. We’ve recently featured some practices from Jase’s new bi-lingual mindfulness platform Hā in the Groov app. He gives us some background on the development of the practices, and how he’s taken inspiration from traditional practices of hā (breathe), tikanga (customs), and karakia (prayer) to create mindfulness practices that are accessible to all New Zealanders. Read and Listen: Matariki: The Star of the Year - by Rangi Matamua Two Worlds - by Anne Salmon Everyday Māori - podcast by Hēmi Kelly and Āpera Woodfine See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

JK is joined this week by Tazmayn Goode, a South African expat, who founded the 360 Academy and Wellness Hub to bring wellness programs to leaders and employees in businesses around Australia. She’s also in the process of launching Empowered, a program building pathways into the workforce for disadvantaged communities, from indigenous youth and refugees to women who have suffered domestic abuse, and people who are aging out of the workforce. Taz gives us her perspective on the Australian business landscape, how companies can benefit from embracing diversity, and the opportunities that companies can unlock by employing people from a wide range of skill sets and backgrounds. Then Taz puts JK in the hot seat, taking him through some exercises to uncover his own biases. We highly encourage you to try these exercises for yourself, you might be surprised at what you discover.  Read and Listen: On Combat, The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace - by Dave Grossman Unlocking Us - podcast by Brené Brown The Tim Ferris Show Feat. Susan Cain - podcast episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

JK sits down with Tofe Evans, a young man with a big resume; author of ‘Everyone has a plan until shit hits the fan’, ultra-marathon runner, wellness coach, and business owner. Tofe talks candidly about his addictions to drugs, alcohol and external validation, and shares the tools he has developed to build practical resilience and overcome these struggles.  A big part of Tofe’s journey has been with The Man Kind Project, a global program providing wellness coaching for men. JK and Tofe dig into this program and how it uses classical literary archetypes to contextualize emotional expression and foster better mental wellbeing. Finally, the guys talk about Tofe’s experiences with ultra-long-distance running, from the challenges he faced in a race across Scotland, to the triumph of running the highest foot race in the world on the slopes of Everest. Read and Listen To: ‘Everyone has a plan until shit hits the fan’ - by Tofe Evans King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine - by Robert L. Moore, Douglas Gillette Diary of a CEO - Podcast by Steven Bartlett TRIGGER WARNING: This podcast episode mentions suicide, as well as drug and alcohol abuse. Listener discretion is advised. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dr Hillary is the director of Leading Safety, a consultancy specialising in safety leadership, safety culture, human factors, and workplace health and safety.  She is a registered psychologist and works with organisations across all sectors to develop safe and healthy workplaces.  With a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing at work, she was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the New Zealand Health and Safety Awards 2019. After appearing on a couple of our Mentemia customer webinars to offer up her advice for workplace wellbeing, by popular request this episode gets a full hour of her insights, advice and where the agenda should be focused for workplace wellbeing in 2022. In particular Sir JK and Dr Hillary dive into: What is psychological safety As people leaders and business executives, how we can’t just help build mental health literacy and create a psychologically safe environment. How we’ve got to really start tackling the issue of workloads and make that a real focus. Dignity in the workplace - without dignity you can't have wellbeing Dignity in leadership and how it is different to respect The importance of taking restorative breaks Enjoy this episode! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Comedian and Celebrity Treasure Island contestant Joe Daymond joins JK to share his journey with self-acceptance, imposter syndrome and the turning points that have got him to where he is today. When Joey D returned home to NZ after travelling at the age of 21, he stumbled into the first and biggest turning point of his life so far. Realising his lifestyle didn’t align with his values and the people he surrounded himself with were not making him feel good, he made the tough decision to distance himself from the relationships that were impacting his wellbeing and hindering his personal growth. He talks to Sir JK about the impact this decision had on him, and the steps he took to take care of number one and build the life he wanted by eliminating the things that didn’t make him feel good, and pursuing the things that did.  Raised in Wainuiomata, Joe Daymond, the 25-year-old Fijian-Māori comedian is barely four years into his career but he’s sold out the SkyCity Theatre, been on TV and is about to have his own web series ‘Bouncers’ shown on Comedy Central in the UK. Listen to this authentic and open discussion about connecting with yourself, healing, acknowledging when you need help and the experience of imposter syndrome. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this special Open Minded podcast episode, we share the recent live chat between Sir John Kirwan and Dr Fiona Crichton as they tackle the topic of re-entry anxiety, sharing tools and strategies to help us emerge from lockdown and transition well back into the workplace and our communities. As public spaces open up across many parts of Australia and New Zealand while we continue to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic, it's no surprise that the prospect of re-entering the world might leave you feeling anxious. Tune in as Sir JK and Fiona provide some practical advice for managing re-entry anxiety in different situations, how to support those around you who are struggling, what to do to better cope with heightened anxiety, fear and stress during this time, and how to encourage supportive conversations around the topic of re-entry anxiety with the people in your life. The full video recording of this live chat is available in the Mentemia app. Explore Mentemia as your workplace wellbeing solution here --> www.mentemia.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Following the release of the 2nd edition of his hugely successful international best-selling self-help book, ‘The Happiness Trap’, Dr. Russ Harris joins Sir JK on Open Minded to discuss his journey with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and some of the techniques you can put into your day. With a background in medicine as a GP, Dr. Russ became increasingly interested in the psychological aspects of health and wellbeing, and increasingly disenchanted with writing prescriptions. Ultimately this interest led to a total career change. He now works in two different, yet complementary roles – as an ACT therapist and as a coach. In episode 22 of Open Minded, Russ and JK explore some of the basic principles of ACT, and ways you can begin to apply these to your toolbox to live a values-driven life where you feel more comfortable and in control of your thoughts and feelings. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In Episode 21 of Open Minded, Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, renowned psychologist and expert on mental health and stigma speaks to Sir John Kirwan about mental health disclosure and inclusion in the workplace. Our first repeat guest on Open Minded, he draws on his years of experience as a professor and his research on children’s behaviour. Dr Stephen and JK explore the parallels of successful modern schooling and how these same strategies and developments can be applied to the workplace. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This special episode of Open Minded is taken from a recent live chat with Dr Siale Foliaki. With changing alert levels and lockdowns still affecting many of us in Australia and New Zealand, Sir John Kirwan caught up with Dr Siale on how they are both currently feeling, their advice on how to stay well and prioritise your wellbeing, the quality of sincerity in the workplace, with plenty of Q&A from the live audience. Dr Siale has over 20 years experience as a psychiatrist, primarily with Counties Manukau District Health Board in New Zealand and sits on the Clinical Advisory Group at Mentemia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode Sir JK chats to Eroni Clarke, the former New Zealand rugby union player who played for Auckland, the Blues, the Highlanders and the All Blacks at international level. Eroni gives a deep insight into the protective factors for mental health in the Pasifika community, the impact lockdown is having, the need for courageous conversations and cultural competency, plus a wonderful answer on how his son Caleb copes with being compared to him, as the 21st former All Black whose son also represented the team. Eroni was appointed as New Zealand Rugby's first Pasifika engagement manager in August 2020, and updates on how that is going and what success looks like. A deeply inspiring, educational episode - another must listen! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With ongoing lockdown levels and restrictions across many parts of Australia and New Zealand, it is normal to be feeling anxiety, overwhelm or maybe even some burnout symptoms with juggling home and work life. This special episode was taken from our live chats as part of our support of RU Ok Day 2021. Sir John Kirwan checks in with the incredible Shantelle Thompson OAM on how she is going and how she stays well and her coping strategies through lockdown. They also remind us of the importance of checking in, and practical ways we can do that with friends, loved ones and work colleagues. About Shantelle Thompson OAM Known as the Barkindji Warrior in her community, Shantelle Thompson is a 3x Brazilian Jiu-jitsu world champion and was NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year 2019. In 2021 she received the Medal in the Order of Australia for services to the Indigenous community of Victoria. A proud Aboriginal woman, Shantelle is passionate about inclusion, diversity, and mental wellbeing. She has an incredible story of courage and resilience, having overcome challenges like bullying, adversity and abuse in her life. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In support of RU Ok Day 2021, Sir John Kirwan checks in with Australian actor, speaker and entrepreneur Sam Webb. Well known from Neighbours, Home & Away and a popular contestant on Survivor, Sam shares why he always prioritises self care, the tips he has for practicing vulnerability, how to really check in with a mate and the incredible story and work he is doing with Livin, the mental health charity he co-founded in 2013. This chat is packed full of advice for practicing vulnerability and being the safest version of ourselves. Enjoy! Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ review and share the podcast with your friends! You can connect with us on social media at @getmentemia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Beyond Blue is Australia’s most well-known and visited mental health organisation, focused on supporting people affected by anxiety, depression and suicide. They are the ‘Big Blue Door’ for many in the community: a safe and reliable place for millions of people to access information, advice and support, no matter where they are on the mental health continuum. Beyond Blue has huge awareness with almost 90 per cent of Australians knowing about Beyond Blue, and 13 million people reaching out each year. They are often the first place that people go if they are struggling.  As CEO of this incredible organisation, Georgie Harman shares her insights on 'vulnerability is your superpower' as a leader, what she has learnt leading an organisation through the Covid-19 pandemic, and advice for leaders looking to make mental wellbeing a priority in their organisation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a leader or manager in any business, it can be incredibly tough and overwhelming to lead in these times right now. This special episode of the Open Minded podcast was taken from a recent live panel discussion with Sir JK about where to focus right now as a leader. Incredible perspectives from Dr Hillary Bennett from Leading Safety, Dave Wilson - Global Sales Leader at CISCO, Hamish White - CEO of NOW, and Sohail Choudhry, Chief International Business Officer & Chief Data and Technology Officer at New Zealand Post. We hope this helps with some fresh ideas and perspectives to help in these times, regardless of what size team you are leading. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With New Zealand returning to Level 4 lockdown with the spread of the Delta variant of Covid, this special episode was taken from a live chat between Sir John Kirwan and Dr Fiona Crichton, a health psychology specialist and Clinical Team Lead at Mentemia. Here they spoke about how they are feeling right now, what they are doing to cope with anxiety and uncertainty, and insights on what we can be doing to care for ourselves and those around us. We hope this chat helps and wherever you are, gives some coping strategies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do we really need 8 hours of sleep? Why am I waking up tired? Does an afternoon nap make me lazy? Along with teaching us the new word 'Tralse' in this episode, sleep expert Dr Tony Fernando busts some common sleep myths. We all know what a poor night's sleep can do to us, so Dr Tony offers up his advice along with insights for shift workers, larks and owls, plus an interesting take on the benefits of napping - one for the future of workplaces globally! Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ review and share the podcast with your friends! You can connect with us on social media at @getmentemia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.