Training launched for leaders to better manage team mental health

Promoted by RiSe Initiative.

New training to teach principals and real estate leaders how to have conversations with their teams about mental health has been announced by the industry's mental wellness charity.

The RiSE Initiative, together with mental health provider Heart On My Sleeve, is hosting exclusive live workshops in Melbourne and Brisbane to step real estate principals and leaders through how to proactively manage powerful discussions that can save lives.

With data showing that Covid lockdowns had a significant impact on the already perilous state of mental health for both sales agents and property managers, the workshops could not be more timely.

"Having a conversation with a member of your team who you believe is experiencing a mental wellness challenge is one of the most difficult conversations you can have as a boss," said Rise Initiative interim president John Cunningham.

"But it is essential to lean into these conversations - both for the person who needs help and for the rest of the team who can be impacted by their behaviour. The results can be life-changing."

Melbourne and Brisbane were chosen to launch the training because both states have some of the country's strictest employment laws that threaten penalties including jail time for employers who fail to make their workplaces mentally safe.

"Mental health in the workplace isn't a "nice to have" or something touchy-feely - it's part of our legal duty as employers," Mr Cunningham said.

"But in real estate, we all know how to have conversations about listing, selling and property management because we do it every day and it's familiar. The goal with these workshops is to teach principals the skills they need so that they can feel equally confident talking about mental wellness issues with members of their team as they do discussing any other part of their business."

Made possible through the generous support of MRI Software and Macquarie, the Mental Wellness Conversations for Principals & Team Leaders are live half-day workshops to be held in Melbourne on October 10 and Brisbane on October 17 both from 9.30am to 1pm.

At the workshops, principals will be guided through the accountability they have as leaders, ways to feel comfortable that you’re not ‘making it worse’, plus how to ensure there are healthy boundaries on both sides.

The workshops are being hosted by Heart On My Sleeve trainer, Julia Hern, the General Manager of Heart On My Sleeve and a workshop facilitator with over 10 years experience and professional qualifications as a senior educator.

Formerly a consultant at EY, Julia worked on an engagement with the CBA for 7 years, refining and delivering their financial literacy curriculum.

But she also has a second ‘life’ and holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts and a Grad. Dip. Ed while also living with her own mental ill health diagnoses, making her a great role model for the powerful impact of recovery and integration leading to high performance.

Mr Cunningham said that as a result of the training, principals will be more competent to hold supportive conversations around mental health and understand how to create a sense of psychological safety for team members to approach their manager with relevant wellbeing concerns.

The CEO of MRI, David Bowie, said he could personally testify to the value of the Heart On My Sleeve training.

"This is training that we've done inside MRI and that I have personally experienced with Heart On My Sleeve and I can't speak highly enough about its quality and value and positive impact on our team," Mr Bowie said.

"The MRI Voice of the Australian Property Manager shows conclusively how big an issue mental health is inside the industry affecting staff productivity and retention, so we need the skills to deal with it differently to how we've done in the past and this is the first step."

Tickets to both the Melbourne and Brisbane half day training are just $295 (plus ticketing fee) and extremely limited to just 20 places per session.

BOOK TICKETS MELBOURNE for Monday October 10

BOOK TICKETS BRISBANE for Monday October 17