News Archives | Graeme Cowan

5 great leadership lessons from our Governor General + 4 others

( Photo: Sara Ross) (His Excellency, David Hurley, me, Naomi Frauenfelder (Tracksafe), Katherine Newton (R U OK?) How do leaders inspire commitment and action? I talked with 5 remarkable leaders in Canberra on Wednesday who are doing this every day. I had the privilege of meeting our new Governor-General, General David Hurley, and his wife […]

29 Great R U OK? Day @ Work Ideas for 2019

(Image: Lisa Nichols, Woolgoolga) As September 12 approaches, many people have been asking me for some ideas to celebrate R U OK? at work. Below are some ideas that have come from a number of sources, including entries in the 2019 Barbara Hocking R U OK? at Work awards, ideas I have put together, and […]

Knowing 40% of doctors are burnt out, should worry us all

In findings just released this week, more than 40% of doctors—and 50% of female doctors—are burned out, according to Medscape’s 2019 research. Every Australian should be horrified by this. Having a son about to graduate from medical school, I am very angry. Although this is USA research, as I reveal below – Australian research and anecdotes, suggest […]

Is self-care selfish?

When we are busy it can be easy to forget our own wellbeing. I’ve made that mistake before and it led to a severe episode of depression. What I learnt is that if you don’t take care of yourself – you can’t take care of others. Self-care isn’t selfish. We have to nurture ourselves to […]

10 Commandments of Truly Caring Leadership

Many people are overwhelmed by the rate of change in the workplace. As we rush into the digital revolution, workplaces can seem less human, and yet we all yearn to feel accepted for who we are. Loneliness at work has become a significant problem. We want to be part of a caring team, have a […]

I CARE: How to support a colleague in distress

Since my recovery from a mental breakdown, I have been on a quest to create a relatively simple approach that anyone can follow to support a work colleague they are concerned about. Before I outline how this approach evolved, it is worth asking – “Is this a problem worth solving?” Why care? The bigger question […]

The secret to an agile, fast learning, and resilient team

Every organisation I speak to is trying to do more with less, faster than they did before. This requires the capacity to try many things, fail a lot, learn quickly, and adopt the successful ideas fast. So what is the secret to an agile, fast learning and resilient tribe? Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School […]

5 foundations of the best team ever

The secret to a thriving team in today’s economy is in our past. Severe volatility and ambiguity are challenging our wellbeing and performance. This is having a dramatic impact on productivity with Gallup estimating that only 13% of employees are fully engaged. Despite these challenges, I believe that most people can draw on their past […]

WeCARE July 18 launch – scaling a more caring and mentally healthy culture

We are proud to be launching a practical way to scale a more caring and mentally healthy culture. The WeCARE peer support eLearning and printed resources will help leaders and employees to care for a distressed colleague, ask R U OK?, and guide them to help. Based on what we have learnt from completing FactorC […]