2020 has not been kind to our mental health. Pre-COVID, there was an emerging crisis in the areas of leader and entrepreneur mental health in Canada and the United States, and globally. If anything, COVID-19 and the government public health responses – along with massive economic pressures and social isolation – have made this crisis even worse. We are all witness to daily media reports of the increase in depression, anxiety, suicide rates, addiction, and other mental health issues in our “new normal”. As we all continue to experience unrelenting stress and life disruption due to COVID-19, new surveys in both Canada and the United States reveal a population that is self-reporting worsening mental health. Research is also uncovering that this “temporary” pandemic is leading to long-term mental health issues.

So, how can leaders cope in this new landscape? All of these challenges impact not only the leader at a personal level – but also at a professional level – AND the mental health of their teams. The pressure is on for leaders to understand and manage the mental health risk in their organizations, and create a supportive ecosystem for the members of their teams - but what about their own mental health? And how can leaders in 2020 support the mental health of their organization?

In this interactive session, we will dive into a current snapshot of leader and organizational mental health – and look at the current toolbox most leaders possess to support team mental health.

We will then move into solutions with ten science-based strategies for building leader resilience which will provide a platform for supporting leader mental well-being. But moving beyond just the organizational leader – understanding that leaders impact the mental and physical health of their teams - we will share three critical strategies to support team mental health.

We will conclude with a discussion of next steps by looking at how leaders can create an organization that supports mental health for their teams and themselves