How can you build a healthier and more resilient workplace culture?

In this episode of Prevention Pioneers, the President of Lockton Philadelphia, Bill Stedman, shares how he builds stronger workplaces as a leader focused on human connection.

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Creating a work environment that supports employee satisfaction and retention is a challenge for many organizations. According to our host, Laura, Bill Stedman is “known for building cultures rooted in trust and connection.” For today’s guest, a healthy workplace climate comes down to factors like trust, communication, and empathy.

Let’s explore Bill’s leadership tips for fostering relationships and guidance on how to improve your company culture.

Why Connection-First Leadership Builds Stronger Workplaces

When asked how to build a healthier and more resilient culture, Bill’s answer was simple: “Get to know your employees.”

Being present is one of the simplest ways to do this, which is why he values in-office culture. Proximity creates natural opportunities for connection.

Bill explains that when employees are in the office, they have more natural opportunities to connect over “watercooler talk.” They can be open and candid about their lives, which leads to “being a part of something larger than you…and saying…I’m not the only one struggling with this. It’s pretty powerful.”

Connection builds a sense of belonging and safety and is a protective factor for workplace resilience. The other factors we’ll cover here, like trust, communication, and empathy, drive that sense of connection.

Practical Ways to Connect With Employees

Bill’s ideal for connection is spending time in person with employees, creating space for those open conversations. Here are some other tactics you can try to build connections in your workplace:

• Periodically take employees or teams out for a coffee or a meal
• Give new hires a “new hire buddy” they can check in with at set touchpoints
• Create structured peer learning moments, like a Lunch and Learn led by an employee
• Add short “wins and lessons” roundups to your meetings
• For hybrid workplaces, leave space on in-office days for casual interactions
• For remote workplaces, set rituals and manager habits that encourage employees to interact

Trust as a Business Strategy

Getting to know employees and clients also builds trust. It’s the baseline for communication and retention, driving all areas of business, from internal culture to external efforts. Bill says, “Sales and partnership is all about trust. That’s where it starts and stops.”

Bill believes that what sets Lockton apart from competitors is the relationships it builds with clients and its personal knowledge of them. This starts internally by getting to know employees.

He makes it a point to take them out to dinner because, as he says, “that’s where you really get to know someone. Their background, their history, what they believe in.”

Actionable Ways Leaders Can Build Trust at Work

Aside from getting to know people, there are many ways to build trust at work, including:

• Consistency – Do what you say
• Clarity – Reduce ambiguity
• Fairness – Be transparent with decisions
• Repair – Address breaks in trust quickly

Empathy Connects Employees to the “Why” Behind Their Roles

Empathy improves collaboration and supports psychological safety.

When speaking about how to help employees feel more connected to what they do and why they do it, Bill emphasized its importance: “Empathy is incredibly important… Empathy is putting yourself in somebody else’s shoes and trying to understand what they’re hearing or what they’re seeing, what they’re feeling, enables us… to deliver a better product, a better outcome.”

Tactics to Encourage Empathy Without Burning Out

Leaders can build empathy in their workplaces with the following tips:

• Check in with your employees. Ask questions like “What’s the hardest part of this week?” or “What would make this 20% easier?”
• Reflect on what you heard and validate it to confirm understanding
• Name uncertainty, such as “Here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t know yet, and here’s when we’ll update.”
• Normalize boundaries like taking PTO and not responding after work hours

How Communication & Collaboration Shape Culture

Communication and collaboration go hand in hand, especially when it comes to culture. When Bill considers organizational culture, “the first thing I go to is just communication needs…There needs to be paths for communication to make sure that collaboration is not impeded.”

Bill also praised a flat organizational structure in which everyone is valued without hierarchy. He said, “We are super team-oriented…everybody’s got a unique ability and…we’re all equal members and of equal importance on that team.”

Bill also warns leaders not to assume what others are thinking or feeling. Instead, empower them to use their voice. He says, “I try to encourage somebody to say, hey, listen, we’re all in this together. Everybody has a key role… Everybody has a voice, and we all have to make sure that we’re all comfortable using our voice at the right time.”

Design Teams and Processes for Better Collaboration

When planning how to improve company culture with communication, consider the following tactics:

• Evaluate how you implement hierarchy. Does it impede employees’ ability to work together or openly voice ideas?
• Make it clear where important updates live, who has decision rights, who should advise on decisions, and how to raise a concern when needed.
• Identify cross-functional teams for key initiatives.
• Identify shared definitions of “done.”
• Watch out for collaboration red flags on projects: unclear ownership, approval pile-ups, recurring misunderstandings.

Turning Teams into Community

Community is not passive. It’s something leaders and employees invest in. Community increases loyalty, retention, and resilience. Bill says, “You will get out of community what you put into it.”

He reflects that being in athletics gave him a sense of belonging and being part of something bigger than himself. That sense of belonging carries directly into the workplace. As Bill explains: “Being part of something larger than yourself enables you to lean on others and for them to lean on you. And so everybody has a role, right? And that’s what I feel team translates to in the workforce.”

Intentional Ways to Build Community at Work

Companies can encourage community building by providing opportunities for employees to lean on each other or support something bigger than themselves, such as:

• Shared service/volunteering days
• Mentorship circles
• Employee resource groups with real charters
• Host a book club, a happy hour, or other events during which employees can be more open and social

Using Connection to Improve Workplace Culture

Connection, trust, empathy, communication, collaboration, and community are all the ingredients for a resilient company culture. To hear more of Bill’s leadership tips and how to improve company culture, listen to the full episode. Or, explore more episodes of our mental health podcast for other insights on leadership and mental resilience in the workplace.The best way to create a resilient workplace is to support your employees’ mental health. Spirence is a preventative mental health platform that does exactly that. Book a demo today to learn how you can empower your team.al health podcast to learn how to spark resilience across a workforce.To learn how our preventative mental health platform, Spirence, can support your mental health, book a demo.

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How can you show up for yourself when you get a life-threatening diagnosis?

In this episode of Prevention Pioneers, Corporate Risk Solutions’ CEO and founder, Joe Coughlin, is back for the second time. He and Laura discussed his holistic health journey and how he took care of himself following a diagnosis of prostate and lung cancer.

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A potentially fatal diagnosis makes a major mental and physical impact. For Joe Coughlin, it meant clarifying how he wants to live. It also meant taking an active role in living through naturopathic medicine alongside traditional treatment.

Let’s explore Joe’s journey with holistic medicine for cancer treatment and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

The Mental Impact of a Cancer Diagnosis

Joe’s cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call that helped him clarify his purpose and his priorities. Regarding his diagnosis and the availability of treatment, he said, “I feel like I have been tapped on the shoulder…I’m given a chance to say, What are you going to do with your life…while you have it? What are you going to achieve? What are you going to advance or advocate for?”

Laura recounted that just after his diagnosis, Joe told her, “Every day right now I’m waking up, and I’m making a decision if I’m living or if I’m dying.”

Joe ultimately decided that he wanted to be an active participant in living, so he put his effort into an open-minded, holistic treatment approach.

Three-Legged Holistic Health Approach

While sitting in the podcast studio, Joe regarded a camera tripod and said, “It’s kind of like the way that I look at medicine currently, or wellness.” He used the metaphor that, like a tripod, medicine has three legs it needs to stand on: Traditional (allopathic) medicine, naturopathic medicine, and mental health. Holistic medicine for cancer treatment should include all three.

Traditional Medicine

Joe explains that traditional, or allopathic, medicine is modern medicine. Someone goes to a doctor, gets a diagnosis, and typically receives a prescription to treat it. 

Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic medicine uses natural, empathic medicines to treat people. Joe leaned into this approach to supplement traditional medicine.

Mental Health Treatment

Preventative mental health goes a long way towards resilience, especially when handling a life-changing diagnosis.

Supplementing Traditional Medicine to Treat Cancer

The traditional approach to cancer treatment is choosing a pharmaceutical drug to treat it and hoping that the drug works, which Joe did. However, he realized he needed more than his traditional doctors were offering. So, he added naturopathic medicine doctors to his care team.

He said, “I went into the naturopathic side in a big way, because I realized that I needed to be involved in my own health…when you’re involved, and you’re trying, it’s different than sitting on a couch at home and doing nothing and just saying, geez, I hope the medicine works. And what do you do when the medicine stops working?”

Opening his mind to supplementing traditional care gave Joe a stronger sense of agency. He explored lifestyle changes and holistic medicine for cancer treatment. Even if some of the treatments weren’t effective, at least he was trying everything he could.

His biggest lifestyle change was diet, cutting out sugar to stop feeding the cancer cells. Watch the full episode to learn more about his naturopathic treatment approaches.

Preventative Health Care and Advocating for Yourself

Preventive health care is key to preventing and detecting major illnesses early, while there’s still time to intervene. However, Joe stressed that, “You have to advocate for yourself, and you have to assume that you’re the only one making these decisions or looking and doing the due diligence on anything.”

There were moments in his healthcare journey where he felt his doctor’s missed something. For example, not catching something on a scan that led to his lung cancer a year later, or not asking about his diet in cancer treatment.

Use these tactics to advocate for your health:

• Stay Informed – Before appointments, list what medicines and supplements you take, your conditions, unusual symptoms, allergies, family history, etc.
• Name Your Concerns and Goals – Name these to keep appointments focused, such as “I want to confirm I’m up to date on screenings and understand my risk factors.”
• Ask Questions – Ask questions to understand your doctor’s suggestions and next steps, such as: “What am I due for?” “If these symptoms aren’t caused by X, what are the other likely causes we should rule out?” “What results would prompt action?” “At what point do we repeat testing or refer out?” “If we’re not doing that test, what are we doing instead to monitor this, and when?”
• Request a Documented Plan – Request a documented plan (in writing or via your patient portal), including what they’re doing, why, and when follow-up will occur.
• Bring Backup – If you tend to freeze or forget details, bring a friend or partner to your appointments.
• Follow Up – Confirm that your referrals, tests, and follow-ups actually got ordered and scheduled. Reach out through the portal if any results weren’t clearly explained or if symptoms change.
• Ask for a Second Opinion if Needed – When stakes are high, or uncertainty is persistent, seek out a second opinion.

Final Thoughts on Holistic Health

Whether you get a major or minor diagnosis, you have agency in your healthcare. Traditional medicine provides a solid foundation for treatment, but advocating for yourself and seeking additional treatment modalities may help. To learn more about Joe Coughlin’s journey, listen to the full episode. Plus, check out Joe’s first appearance on our mental health podcast to learn how to spark resilience across a workforce.To learn how our preventative mental health platform, Spirence, can support your mental health, book a demo.

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How can you take care of yourself and find purpose through significant life transitions?

In this episode of Prevention Pioneers, Olympic gold medalist Heather Mitts Feeley discusses the challenge of transitioning from a professional soccer career into motherhood, how she takes care of herself, and finding purpose.

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Major transitions in careers or life stages can shake your sense of purpose. For Heather Mitts Feeley, gratitude, presence, and self-care have been vital in connecting with her purpose and supporting her mental health in this chapter.

Let’s dive into her insights and explore how you can get more gratitude, presence, and self-care in your daily life.

The Challenge of Transition and Finding Purpose

For professional athletes, finding purpose after retiring from their competitive career can be a challenge. Heather explained, “We’re expected to kind of reinvent ourselves. Like, what are they going to do next? That’s always the expectation for all athletes.”

Heather’s natural athlete career transition was working in television, which required extensive travel. Her next personal step was becoming a mom, which she describes as her “most amazing phase.” However, she said, “once I added the motherhood bit into it, it was just really hard to juggle it all.”

These major career and personal transitions made her reflect on her purpose. She and Mike discussed how one can have multiple purposes throughout their life, and how these purposes can change. For Heather, reflection during the COVID-19 pandemic provided her with greater clarity on finding her purpose in life at that moment.

Gratitude

Gratitude helped Heather recognize the good things in her life, which in turn gave her clarity around her purpose. During the pandemic, she read The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan, which inspired her to write down three things she was grateful for every day.

That and the pandemic highlighted her gratitude for family, as she said, “It just made me realize that I already had so many amazing things right in front of me. It made me appreciative of what I already have. And obviously, my family was always a part of that.”

Some other ways to practice gratitude include:

• Mindful reflection meditations
• Writing down things you’re grateful for on slips of paper in a jar
• Visual prompts around your home to remind you to reflect on gratitude
• Writing more thank you notes or telling people in your life you’re thankful for them and their actions

Staying Present

After the pandemic, Heather gained more clarity on her current purpose: staying present with her family instead of being on the road.

She acknowledged that staying present is a challenge and not something she was used to as an athlete. She said, “Because all [athletes] look forward to is the next big game, the next World Cup, the next Olympics. I mean, we’re looking years in advance. So living in the present was not something that I did when I was playing in sports.”

Some tactics to help you stay present include:

• Mindful breathing and meditation
• Grounding exercises
• Focusing on one task at a time instead of multitasking
• Mindful listening
• Body scans
• Digital detox time
• Practicing gratitude

Defining Success

The concept of success can put a lot of pressure on athletes, especially after they transition into a new career. Heather believes that “You get to define what success is.”

In her definition, “success is finding your purpose and your passion, doing what you love, and then doing it to the best of your ability.”

Self-Care’s Role in Mental Health

With her purpose solidified, Heather’s attention turned to preventive mental health and self-care. She realized during a discussion on another podcast that parents often overlook self-care, and many parents don’t realize they’re not taking care of themselves until they reach a breaking point.

She says that self-care for parents is “Just figuring out exactly what that is that you need in your life to kind of fill your own bucket. Because when you fill your own bucket, you’re more likely to fill everybody else’s.”

Heather’s self-care routine includes setting aside one self-care activity every day, usually meditation, and taking breaks as needed. Staying present, gratitude, and mental health also go hand in hand.

Some other ways that parents can perform self-care include:

• Scheduling self-care time (even if it’s one activity a day)
• Practicing mindfulness
• Exercising
• Connecting with others
• Taking breaks
• Setting boundaries socially
• Making time for hobbies
• Seeking help when needed

Learning From Trauma

During a self-care trip, Heather reflected on past traumas and how she’s learned from them. After her parents’ divorce, she spent time with some rebellious friends, one of whom passed away in a tragic car accident.

“I realized that soccer saved me,” Heather said, because it gave her a new purpose and surrounded her with motivated, smart teammates for inspiration.

Mental Health for Young Athletes

Heather also advocates for preventative mental health in young athletes. She reminds them that pressure and butterflies before a game are normal, and “it just means that you care and that you want to do well, and it’s just a part of the game.”

However, she acknowledges that social media provides a new challenge to mental health due to the hurtful comments people make and the difficulty in knowing how to handle them. She advises young athletes to be mindful and “If you see that something is affecting you, ask, ‘Is it worth it?’”

She suggests that they try to reflect on why a comment affects them and to work on it from there.

Final Thoughts on Purpose and Mental Health

Significant transitions and shifts in purpose occur throughout life. Knowing how to reconnect with yourself will help you stay resilient and shift through them. To learn more about Heather Mitts Feeley’s insights on purpose and self-care, listen to the full episode of our mental health podcast.To learn how Spirence, our preventative mental health platform, can help you explore gratitude, self-care, and mindfulness, book a demo of the platform.

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When a crisis strikes, how can leaders effectively support their teams and communities?

In this episode of Prevention Pioneers, Jack Lynch, former President and CEO of Main Line Health, shares valuable insights on leadership in crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role that communication and workforce well-being play.

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Every workplace will face a crisis at some point. For the healthcare industry, the COVID-19 pandemic created years of chaos. Jack Lynch guided Main Line Health through this chaos by “Being transparent, explaining why, and empowering people.”

Let’s dive into his insights and explore how you can use these principles in your own crisis leadership.

The Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Leadership

The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges to leaders. Its prolonged and unpredictable nature was difficult to manage.

Healthcare facilities can withstand a short storm, but Jack remarks, “This was not a storm. This wasn’t a hurricane. This wasn’t a flood. This was years of an onslaught of an illness that was very communicable and had bad outcomes.”

Jack’s crisis leadership during this time focused on two areas: adaptability and resilience. His strategy focused on staff safety, maintaining morale, and managing resources.

The Importance of Transparent Leadership in Crisis

Leadership in crisis requires transparent communication. Jack says, “My philosophy is: you be transparent because you’re going to get yourself in trouble if you’re not transparent.” Transparency supports resilience in the workplace, enabling your team to adapt to new information.

When sharing important direction, Jack stresses, “If you tell people why, they’re more likely to do what you need to do to get the job done.” Rather than giving an order, explain why it’s important to your mission. For example, explain why a particular protocol protects staff from COVID-19 transmission.

Benefits of Transparent Leadership in Crisis

• Builds trust: Being open and honest fosters trust and credibility, which is crucial during uncertain times.
• Eases fears: Clear communication helps reduce fear by enabling employees to understand the situation.
• Enhances team unity: Transparency brings people together around the organization’s goals and challenges.
• Supports better decision-making: When employees are informed, they can make better decisions.
• Increases engagement: When employees feel like they’re part of the conversation and understand the “why,” they’re more likely to stay engaged.
• Strengthens resilience in the workplace: Open lines of communication build a resilient organizational culture.

Empowering Employees

For Jack, empowering employees is a key component of building resilience in the workplace. He states, “Empowering staff means giving them the tools and the authority to make decisions on the ground.”

Some ways that leaders can foster empowerment include:

• Fostering open dialogue
• Clarifying goals and expectations
• Providing autonomy in decision-making
• Offering constructive feedback
• Recognizing and celebrating success
• Investing in professional development
• Encouraging problem-solving

Preventive Health as a Key Strategy

Jack also discusses the key role of prevention in healthcare as a whole. He says, “Preventing people from getting sick is good for healthcare.” This is because healthcare facilities have limited resources. Preventive healthcare enables them to focus resources where they’re needed most.

Prevention is also key to workforce well-being. As Jack says, “A healthy workforce is how we all get our jobs done.”

Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace

Preventative mental health is a significant factor in resilience in the workplace. Crisis leadership can especially benefit from mental health support.

This begins with open discussion around mental health to reduce the stigma. Jack says, “The brain is just another organ in the body…why shouldn’t people pick up the phone and say, hey, can you help me find a mental health professional to help me deal with stress?”

Employers need to offer support systems for proper preventative mental health. For Main Line Health, one of those was its Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). CIRT is an on-call “psychological first-aid” system to support employees during a crisis in the workplace.

Another way employers can support preventative mental health is by supplying education. Spirence is a mental health platform that helps employees build resilience, navigate stress, and prevent burnout.

Implementing Employee Support Systems

Especially during a crisis, employee support systems are a key component of workforce well-being. Jack discusses how in healthcare, “We used to have a huge initiative around patient safety… we started a real focus where we talk about safety, not just about the patient, but about the employees.”

Some other ways employers can support their employees include:

• Offering wellness programs to support preventative health
• Provide professional development opportunities
• Create peer support networks
• Establish regular feedback channels

Final Thoughts on Crisis & Resilience

Crisis and chaos are normal parts of life. How leaders respond and support resiliency in their workforce is key. To learn more about Jack Lynch’s insights on crisis leadership, preventative health, and mental health support, tune in to the full episode.

To learn more about how Spirence supports mental health prevention, book a demo of the platform.

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Supporting employee mental health starts with the right tools. Learn how Spirence provides on-demand support that employees actually use.

Support for Your Staff, a Partner for Your Organization

As employees today face mounting stress, burnout, and mental health challenges, what does it take to build a workforce that is not only productive but resilient? Employers know mental wellness among staff is vital but too often try to navigate this challenge without the right tools, expertise, or resources to provide meaningful support.

We created Spirence to serve as more than just a mental health solution but a true partner in workplace well-being. We offer organizations a full suite of evidence-based resources and expert-led coaching to create a culture that empowers employees to manage their mental health. 

If you’re eager to learn how to support mental health in the workplace, follow these few steps and remember you don’t have to do it alone. 

Bake Mental Wellness into Your Culture

Despite progress in workplace mental health conversations, stigma still holds many employees back from seeking help. More than half of people with mental illness don’t seek help or treatment. Given how much time people spend at work, employers have to understand they play a key role in normalizing mental health discussions. Organizations can do this by fostering an environment that emphasizes mental wellness just as much as physical wellness. 

This begins with leaders and managers speaking openly about self-care and giving employees a completely private and confidential way to seek support without the fear of judgment. Spirence offers courses, interactive coaching sessions, and expert seminars that allow employees to improve their mental well-being without needing to involve HR or disclose personal struggles.

Recognize That Every Employee’s Needs Are Different

No two employees are the same, and everyone’s mental health goals are different. Some may need occasional guidance on managing stress, while others require structured support to navigate workplace challenges, career growth, or personal well-being. 

Not only does Spirence have AI-powered mental health assessments to help employees identify their unique challenges and recommend customized courses, but we also offer coaching and clinical resources to match their needs. Our one-on-one coaching service provides confidential, tailored guidance designed to meet each employee’s specific needs. Whether they’re looking to enhance leadership skills, improve workplace communication, or develop better coping strategies, our experienced coaches are there to provide expert support every step of the way.

One Spirence user shared their experience:

Make Mental Health Support Available Anytime, Anywhere

One of the biggest barriers to care is access. Between high out-of-pocket costs, long wait times, scheduling conflicts, and provider shortages (most states have fewer than 40% of the mental health professionals needed), there are often multiple hurdles preventing people from getting the care they need when they need it. 

Partnering with Spirence removes these barriers, ensuring their workforce has immediate, around-the-clock access to mental health support that fits into their lives, not the other way around. Our global mental health resources are available in 130+ languages, so every employee can find support without worrying about waitlists or time zones.

Empower Employees with Self-Guided Mental Wellness Tools

One of the greatest shortfalls of most mental health offerings from employers is that they are reactionary instead of preventative. Mental wellness doesn’t have to begin with crisis intervention, nor should it. Instead, give your team the tools to develop resilience and emotional intelligence before problems escalate. 

75% of employees are mentally well and just want access to resources that fit into their daily routines. Spirence offers an extensive digital library of expert-led courses designed to teach employees stress management, emotional regulation, and mindfulness techniques. These short, engaging sessions allow employees to build wellness skills at their own pace and teach how to recognize when they may need to seek more advanced counseling.

Take Action with Spirence

Workplace mental health isn’t just about offering benefits—it’s about creating real, accessible solutions that employees actually use. A truly resilient workforce requires personalized, proactive support that meets employees where they are. With 24/7 access to mental health tools, AI-driven guidance, expert-led coaching, and critical incident services, Spirence helps organizations move beyond reactive wellness initiatives to build a culture championing everyday mental well-being.

You don’t have to do this alone. Spirence is ready to be your partner in workplace mental wellness. Schedule a free demo or call us today at (866) 989-4028 and get started.

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If you’re always finding yourself running on empty juggling everything, this is an episode you DON’T want to miss. 

In it, Laura sits down with Katrina Moriarty, COO of Aon Consumer Benefit Solutions and mental health advocate.

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Together, they discuss what it actually takes to lead well in today’s workplace. They also talk about the leadership moment that changed everything for Katrina, and why it’s important for leaders everywhere to model vulnerability, openness, and calm in times of change to foster trust, psychological safety, and stronger team performance.

If you’ve ever felt the tension between performance and self-preservation, this is the episode for you, so tune in, and keep reading!

Be the Swan, NOT the Duck

Katrina’s most powerful leadership lesson didn’t come from a class or conference, it came from someone pulling her aside and saying: “You’re flapping around like a duckling when your team needs to see a swan.”

At the time, she was reacting to every problem, jumping into every issue, and trying to save the day. But that image stuck. She realized that leadership isn’t about fixing everything, it’s about showing calm in the storm so others can do their best work. Now, she leads massive teams not by micromanaging, but by mentoring and modeling steadiness under pressure.

Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

Katrina doesn’t just talk about mental health, she also models it: she takes time off, she walks, she rests, she sets boundaries, and she expects her team to do the same.

In a world where leaders say “take care of yourself” but email on PTO, Katrina is refreshingly aligned. When her team runs too hard, she steps in and says: “Go home, unplug, we’ve got you.” 

That kind of leadership sends a message louder than any wellness campaign.

Where Culture Happens

When companies go through change, most of the focus is on strategy and structure. But as Katrina says, “transition,” the messy, emotional, in-between space, is where culture either deepens or deteriorates.

Change without space for people to react, ask questions, and feel seen? That’s a recipe for resistance, and disaster. But when leaders move at the right pace, communicate openly, and support their teams emotionally, real transformation becomes possible.

Why Leadership Is Personal

Katrina used to believe that sharing personal challenges at work would hold her back. Now, she sees it as essential. When leaders share what they’re going through (appropriately and honestly) it creates a ripple of trust that opens doors for others to do the same.

She doesn’t perform vulnerability; she lives it. And it’s what makes her leadership style not just effective, but human.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a reminder that leadership isn’t just about vision or execution, it’s about presence and about being steady when things get messy, honest when things get hard, and human all the way through. 

We discuss all of this in more detail in this episode, so make sure to tune in if you want to catch the whole conversation!

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We’ve all heard the advice: “Lead with vision.” But what if that vision is leaving your team behind?

In this episode of Prevention Pioneers, our host Laura sits down with Matt Espe, a chairman, director, advisor, and investor who has led transformations in several multi-billion-dollar firms (including Armstrong, GE, and Icon), to talk about the one leadership shift that changed everything for him: Patience.

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Matt discusses what it takes to achieve sustainable transformation and why leaders everywhere need to prioritize team wellbeing, trust, and patience just as much as strategy and execution.

If you’re leading through a time of uncertainty or transformation, this episode is for you, so don’t miss it!

Slowing Down to Speed Up

Matt’s biggest leadership lesson didn’t come from a boardroom; it came from a quiet conversation behind a closed door. He was running full-speed to fix a broken billion-dollar plant, when a trusted colleague told him: “You’re leading, but nobody’s following.”

That moment stopped him in his tracks. He realized he was so focused on results, he’d forgotten to bring his team with him. That moment completely changed how he leads and how he supports mental health in the workplace.

It’s Not a Sprint, It’s a Relay

In fast-moving transformations, leaders are trained to look at the vision, the strategy, and the stakeholders. But leadership also requires looking back: checking if people are with you, understanding where they are, and adjusting the pace accordingly.

Too many leaders burn through teams in the name of progress. But transformation isn’t just about getting things done, it’s about allowing your employees to survive the process. Slowing down, listening more, and calibrating your message to the people on the ground can actually speed up sustainable results.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

One of Matt’s biggest tools is repetition. Not the flashy motivational speech kind, but the boring, effective, drumbeat kind. He tells leaders to take two or three priorities and repeat them so many times they get sick of hearing themselves; because that’s when people actually start to hear it.

During big changes, your message needs to cut through fear, complexity, and distraction. Simplicity and consistency are what help a message stick, and help a culture shift.

Why Wellbeing Is a Strategic Priority

Mental fatigue hits long before physical burnout, especially during periods of transformation. That’s why your employees’ wellbeing is not just a perk, but as a strategic imperative.

Through it, you can build cultures where people can speak up, where leaders make space for psychological safety, and where listening comes before directives.

Final Thoughts

In a world that equates speed with success, Matt’s message is refreshingly counterintuitive: slowing down is what makes change last. It helps your team feel seen, gives your message time to land, and ensures you’re not the only one crossing the finish line.

We discuss all of this in more detail in this episode, so make sure to tune in if you want to catch the whole conversation!

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On World Mental Health Day, let’s talk about prevention, the missing piece in our wellbeing system.

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Today is World Mental Health Day.

It’s a day to pause, reflect, and recognize that mental health is health.

And yet, the very system designed to protect that health is showing signs of collapse.

Across the country, clinicians are overwhelmed. Therapists are closing their books. Psychiatrists are scheduling months out. And millions of people (overworked, exhausted, and out of options) are being funneled into a one-size-fits-all model that was never meant to carry this load.

Providers aren’t walking away because they don’t care. They’re walking away because they can’t keep up.

Low reimbursements, high caseloads, and unsustainable demand have created a cycle that’s burning out the helpers as much as those seeking help.

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A System Out of Balance

Therapy and medication save lives. They are critical interventions when people need clinical care.

But somewhere along the way, they became the default path, not because it’s the best fit for everyone, but because it’s often the only path we offer.

Here’s the reality:

• 43% of U.S. adults are now taking psychiatric medication, according to recent data from the CDC.
• Yet only about 25% meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition that truly requires ongoing therapeutic or medical intervention.
• That means nearly 1 in 5 adults are likely receiving care designed for crisis—not for prevention, growth, or resilience.

That gap isn’t just a statistic, it’s a warning sign.

It reflects a deeper failure in how we teach people to care for their minds. A gap in education, in coping skills, and in our collective capacity to handle the everyday stressors of an increasingly demanding world.

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The Cost of Waiting for Crisis

The current system rewards reaction, not prevention.

We wait until stress becomes burnout, until worry becomes anxiety, until sadness becomes depression. And by the time we act, we’re already in crisis.

Then we reach for the most resource-intensive, least scalable solutions, clinical therapy and medication, when many people simply needed skills, tools, and support earlier in the process.

And the cost isn’t just emotional, it’s economic.

Mental health-related absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover now cost U.S. employers over $300 billion per year. Yet less than 5% of that investment goes toward prevention-based programs that could reduce those numbers before they start.

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Flipping the Model

It’s time to flip the model on its head. To stop defining mental health by crisis, and start defining it by capacity.

A prevention-first model means:

• Mental health education that helps people understand what they’re feeling, and why.
• Resilience training that teaches practical, evidence-based skills to regulate stress and recover faster.
• Access to early support, like coaching, group programs, and guided tools—that bridge the gap before therapy is needed.

Prevention isn’t about replacing clinical care. It’s about reducing the number of people who need it in the first place.

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Where Spirence Comes In

At Spirence, we believe prevention isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

Our platform is built to help people build emotional capacity, not just manage symptoms. Through clinically-informed education, assessments, and personalized support, we guide users to the right level of care, whether that’s a reflective exercise, a coaching session, or connection to professional help.

We’re building a system that starts the conversation long before the crisis.

Because wellbeing doesn’t begin in a therapist’s office.

It begins in everyday moments, how we cope, connect, and care for ourselves and each other.

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This World Mental Health Day, let’s expand the conversation.

Let’s make prevention the foundation of mental health, not the afterthought.

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