On this episode Kat is joined by Daniel, a hairdresser and corporate and community fundraiser for Mind in Somerset, to talk about why getting your hair cut is good for your mental health.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• I joined Mind because I wanted to help people. Over a 25-year period as a hairdresser I’ve got really close with a lot of people, we’ve got real strong bonds. It’s not always one way either, if I’ve been struggling over the years I open up. It’s a nice space where people can say how they feel and feel comfortable with that knowing it’s not going to go any further and that they’ve got your support.
• Sometimes as a hairdresser you have to deal with deep conversations, if you’ve got a client who’s coming in and has lost a loved one or something like that, there’s nowhere to run or hide. It teaches you to have those conversations and really open up, it’s a real journey that you go on together.
• Statistically, men find it harder to talk and open up. It’s about trying to find those areas where you can reach out to men and in a way where they do feel comfortable. If that is in the role of a barber, that’s fantastic.

BEST MOMENTS

“Hairdressers probably have a stronger bond than most counsellors and can probably connect a lot longer.”

“Sometimes taking on deep conversations day-to-day all year long for a long period of time can really affect you if you don’t look after yourself.”

“Hairdressers and barbers are finally getting the credit they deserve for the role they play in society, and that’s mainly around mental health.”

“If I can help anyone in any way I will, it’s a really good feeling. Being able to help somebody will always outweigh money, which doesn’t fuel me at all.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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On this episode Kat is joined by Paul Evans, CEO of Carlisle Support Services, who shares his fascinating story of how he went from a working-class lad in Sheffield, starting out as a security officer opening and closing doors to leading a 5,000-person organisation. And why he’s a better CEO than he used to be.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The world is a challenging place and it’s become more challenging over the last few years. Therefore, caring for people working in many kinds of environments is the biggest thing that me and my team must make sure of, from a wellbeing perspective. As the senior team, we have to make sure we’ve set the business up correctly to look after people, both from a health and safety perspective but equally from a wellbeing and mental health perspective, which has become more important over the last few years.
• As we’ve gone from 1,600 employees – that we call our family members – to 5,000, one of the biggest things has been making sure everybody cares for everybody. From the CEO downwards I’ve wanted to get a philosophy that runs through the business around looking after people. One of the measures in place is that anyone can ring/email the CEO to create a family feel, like ringing your parents or grandparents to talk about things.
• Now we’re bigger I can’t be everywhere, I have to protect my own mental health as well. As a leader it isn’t possible for me to visit and speak personally to all of our 5,000+ family members. We’ve done a lot around organisational structures with roles and hierarchies to make sure that managers can get on and manage and the strategic element can still be strategic.
• The aspect of driving your business can cross over into your personal life. Make sure you check in with yourself and your family to make sure of what you’re doing it for, what’s the purpose of it in terms of heading in the right way, are you on track, are you taking time out.

BEST MOMENTS

“I was brought up with the philosophy of you get out of life what you put into it.”

“You learn so much more as a CEO being on the ground than you do in a boardroom.”

“We’re all getting older; you’ve got to look after yourself. You only get one mind and one body; you don’t get a second chance.”

“There are sacrifices I’ve made for being successful but, equally, they’ve had some real impact outside of work on me as a person.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Paul Evans is CEO of Carlisle Support Services, has overseen the transformation of the business. With a career spanning the last two decades in the facilities management sector, and having worked his way up from the front-line, he is passionate about making sure the business strategy remains aligned to its employee-led and customer-centric values.

In addition, Paul is also the Vice Chair of the United Kingdom Crowd Management Association (UKCMA) and was previously Co-Chair of the Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider’s Leadership Group, and an Executive Officer of the National Association of Healthcare Security (NAHS) from 2020-23.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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On this episode Kat is joined by Jovan who shares his journey with habits, what led him to suffer from panic attacks and the number one thing he swears by that has made him better at work and at home.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Two years ago, I had a moment with my mental health where I got stuck inside my own head. I was new to a role, and I wasn’t getting assessed like I had been, they were small things, but in my head, I’d been quite successful at everything that I’d done, so when I started hitting barriers it was alien to me. I starting having panic attacks and got to a point where I needed to take time off.
• It’s really important not to hold yourself to too many rigid rules because things change and adapt and we need to change and adapt with them, and if you don’t that’s where you can get problems.
• In 2018 I weighed 22 stone, I was coaching football with my kids and work was fine but I was starting to develop health issues – underactive thyroid, diabetes, liver disease and sleep apnoea – I thought “this isn’t me”, I’m quite a sporty person but I’d lost balance in my life. That was a switching point where I needed to get my head in the game again.
• Guys on the ground doing the work in the construction industry are more likely to eat anything on their lunch because they’re burning the calories, and I can understand that. People who work behind the desk need to think about what they’re eating more and take time to plan the preparation of their food. That said, there are more coffee shops and gyms and fewer pubs now and the attitude to health and exercise is much better in youngsters that it was for us growing up, they’re clearly paying attention to it.

BEST MOMENTS

“For a number of years, mental health wasn’t a term I’d heard in the construction industry, it wasn’t talked about at all until the last 10 years, and it’s great that it has.”

“You can only control the controllables.”

“We all know how to control habits but, until you’re bothered enough and care enough for yourself, you don’t try to control it.”

“I want to be there for my kids when they’re older and not balloon, get less health, have problems and have a heart attack.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jovan Marcetic, Regional Director at PSR Solutions, has worked in recruitment since 2000 and his passion has always been people. Specialising in the recruitment of freelance professionals within the Construction Industry he has built many long-term business relationships as well as amassing a large candidate base.

"I am extremely passionate about the work I do; I enjoy the pressure it brings, and I love the Construction Industry and the people working in it. I am keen to pass on my knowledge whilst also continuing to expand my own experiences with additional learning through reading and listening to a variety of related podcasts and audiobooks. Helping to make a positive difference in people's lives is a fundamental driver for me."

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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On this episode Kat is joined by Max Fortis, Sales Director at Clarendon Speciality Fasteners, who shares the differences in family dynamics, especially in Italy where your living room is the local café, and why social connections are so important for our wellbeing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• I see less connection here in the UK. In Italy, everyone’s door is open, they don’t have to make appointments to see their family members they just pop in. In the UK, people live more insular lives and it’s easy to get trapped in your own world. I even find myself being much less sociable in the UK than I am in Italy.
• In Milan all my colleagues would take lunch together as well as taking 2-3 coffee breaks during the day. It was a cultural shock when working in the UK and I was offered a coffee and someone just went to the coffee machine and brought it back to my desk and left it there. Or everyone had lunch at their desks rather than going out and making an effort to invite me for a beer after work. Work is completely separate from their private lives, which sometimes is good, but you can easily feel more alone.
• During covid, I started doing a lot more work myself as I had got some bad habits with regards to separating work and private live, I was always available and working almost 24/7. I was also locked into social media because I couldn’t go back to Italy as often as I wanted. After a while I realised that I needed to set barriers and develop better habits to support myself and my family.
• I turned things around by spending more time with my family, doing more active listening, having more positive habits with my phone like putting it in a box when I get home from work and not looking at it until later in the morning. Me and my wife make time in the morning to have coffee or tea together before the kids wake up and in the evening we don’t just put the TV on, we put music on and have conversations. I read a lot more than I have in the past and all this fills up my energy tank and I’m actually doing more now than I was before.

BEST MOMENTS

“People need to be more spontaneous, let people in, pick up the phone and call people rather than just looking at what they’re doing on social media.”

“Personal space is a really strong barrier in the UK than in other countries. I’ve worked all over the world; in Chile you become part of your colleagues’ families very quickly, the parents of my friends insisted I call then uncle and aunty.”

“A habit is something you do without realising that you’re doing it, making time for my friends, family, my daughter’s friends is something that I do without thinking about.”

“Making yourself indispensable at work often isn’t the right thing for you and for your family, the last 2.5 years has been a rollercoaster journey, but I’m definitely happier now.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Max Fortis is sales director at Clarendon Speciality Fasteners where he helps clients to identify the best solutions for their fastening needs and to ensure that engineers chose cost-effective solutions.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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On this episode Kat talks about the power of a morning routine, what her old one was like compared to the one now that has unlocked so much potential.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There were 3 things I used to do every morning: 1. Snooze my alarm 4-6 times. 2. Pick up my smart phone and scroll through my emails and look at deadlines, thinking I was getting ready for the day ahead but was actually making me hyper-stressed. 3. Have some kind of caffeine (coffee/energy drink) to start the day.
• My morning routine wasn’t getting me mentally and physically prepared for the day ahead. When I shifted, after my breakdown, into changing up how I went about my mornings, everything changed. I swapped this really unhealthy morning routine that was damaging my performance/mental health/wellbeing/long-term relationship/career prospects/everything, for small habits (starting with reading) that really powered me up.
• Reading a few pages or consuming something positive for my brain (podcast/motivational video), because the brain is wired to think negatively in the morning, because when you start feeding your brain positivity you start feeling better, having more energy, thinking positive thoughts.
• When you write your thoughts down (journalling) they start to lose power and you start to regain power over them.

BEST MOMENTS

“Snoozing your alarm is one of the most toxic habits you can ever have.”

“Checking my phone first thing in the morning was quietly, over a long period of time, sending me on a path to destruction.”

“Habits don’t just change your day, they change your week, your month, your year, they change your entire life.”

“Feed your brain positive food.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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On this episode Kat is joined by Francesca McClory, who is killing it in her business in Future Cloud Accounting and who has been on the most incredible life journey, who talks about when you put your mind to something and believe you can do it, you really can.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• So many people stay stuck and don’t dare change something because of the unknown of what will be next. I’ve embraced that, I don’t want to stand still and be unhappy. My first marriage ended because I sensed something wasn’t right just weeks before the wedding. He admitted he was unsure he wanted to go through with it, if someone’s unsure about something weeks before you shouldn’t go through with it just to save face. It’s uncomfortable starting again, I was humiliated but I’m so much happier now.
• I do little challenges with myself which is how I got into fitness training while running a business, because so many people told me I wouldn’t have time to do it. Training has helped me run a better business, even if it comes across as selfish, I’d rather make time to do the things that make me happy, otherwise what’s the point?
• The stronger you get and the more you achieve through doing an activity, the more you look after your body, it makes you more confident about yourself and your abilities in your friendships and relationships. Unless I’m injured, I’m always doing something.
• You have to have a balance on LinkedIn. To me it’s simple: You either share your solutions to people’s problems, share some motivation, but the more you help others the better, you won’t necessarily get something back – you shouldn’t do it for that – but just watch what happens.

BEST MOMENTS

“In order to do certain things in life you’ve got to get uncomfortable.”

“Fitness is absolutely key in life.”

“Comparison is good, to a point, for inspiration. But, if you’re spending too long looking into other people’s lives and feeling unhappy in your own, that’s where you’ve got to think ‘what am I doing?’”

“I became an accountant because I realised that everybody needs an accountant and I love businesses.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Francesca McClory is the managing director of Future Cloud Accounting and co-founder of Quirq – a personal branding agency. Whilst working as an accountant with various businesses including retail, construction, cafes, bars, restaurants and farms, Francesca discovered a passion for helping businesses find solutions to help them grow. She also loves how using cloud technology to its full potential then enables businesses to make better decisions.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn

Instagram

On this episode Kat talks about why your phone being out of your bedroom will be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When you think about the concept of a mobile phone, the idea is that we have this device that we can take anywhere with us. This also presents huge challenges. Every single time I ask the question “which habits are negatively impacting your energy/performance at work and home?” the answer is always related to the phone.
• It’s becoming a huge issue. The 2023 Mental State of the World Report talks about one of the 3 main contributing factors to our mental health is our smartphones. In particular, the age at which young people are getting access to smartphones.
• It’s become such an incredible tool for being able to stay in contact with the people we love and share memories, but there’s a dark side too. My excessive phone habits were a huge contributing factor to nearly having a heart attack in 2016.
• The challenge with having mobile phones in our bedrooms is that we’re tempted to look at them which affects your mental wellbeing. The more people take action to create a home for their phones the better you sleep, the better your relationships are, the better your health is, the better your performance is at work and home.

BEST MOMENTS

“80% of people check their mobile phones within 15 minutes of opening their eyes.”

“How do you use your mobile phone? What kind of relationship do you have with them?

“We used to have other alarms before we had smartphones.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

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