Welcome to another episode of My Pocket Psych, which is part of our ongoing 'Sustainable Leadership' series.

In this episode, Richard is joined by clinical and coaching psychologist Dr. Petra Gwilliam, to discuss the importance of mental health when it comes to leadership.

We've previously looked at some of the challenges leaders can face at work, and the benefits of cultivating psychological flexibility (Episode 186). In this episode, Richard and Petra discuss some of the many challenges to leaders' mental health specifically, how dips in mental health can show up in leaders' emotions, attitudes and behaviour, and the importance of taking early action when mental health issues become apparent.

Resources for this episode

• Our Sustainable Leadership information hub: https://www.worklifepsych.com/sustainableleadership
• Download our free white on Sustainable Leadership: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Sustainable_Leadership_whitepaper.pdf
• Ep 186 - Why leaders need to be psychologically flexible: https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/186
• Our Psychological Flexibility information hub: https://www.worklifepsych.com/psychologicalflexibility
• Find out more about Dr. Petra Gwilliam here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petragwilliam/
• Register for our upcoming free Sustainable Leadership webinars here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sustainable-leadership-4167563

Visit https://www.worklifepsych.com/podcast/187 for full show notes, Petra's detailed bio and a selection of important mental health resources.

Continuing our theme of the importance of Sustainable Leadership, this episode is a little bit different.

Earlier this month, I facilitated a webinar with my good friend and collaborator Dr. Rachael Skews. It was the first of our new series of free monthly webinars on the topic of Sustainable leadership - and I'll put a link to the booking site so you can see the details of the remaining sessions.

The focus of our session was making the case for boosting psychological flexibility in leaders. I explained what we mean by sustainable leadership, Rachael introduced the concept of psychological flexibility, and then we looked at how it can address some of the many challenges leaders can face at work. We wrap up with exploring some of the ways leaders can cultivate these important skills.

And while we have a lovely video recording of the webinar live on our YouTube channel, I know lots of you prefer to access this kind of information via audio, as you go for a walk or a run, do the housework, or navigate your daily commute. So here's a slightly edited copy of the audio from last week.

As always, get in touch with your questions, comments and feedback by email via podcast@worklifepsych.com

Thanks for listening!

Resources for this episode

• The video recording of this webinar: https://youtu.be/QeGSpYbeguY
• Download the slides that accompany this webinar here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Why-leaders-need-to-be-psychologically-flexible-slides.pdf
• You can find all the resources that accompany this series at our dedicated page: https://www.worklifepsych.com/SustainableLeadership
• Download our free white paper on Sustainable Leadership here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Sustainable_Leadership_whitepaper.pdf
• We’re also running a series of free leadership-focused webinars over the next few months. You can find out more and reserve your place by visiting our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sustainable-leadership-4167563
• Finally, you can learn all about Psychological Flexibility by visiting our resources page here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/PsychologicalFlexibility

This episode is the first in a new series where we'll unpack all aspects of leadership, leadership development and the wellbeing and performance of leaders.

In this episode, Richard is joined by Dr. Wayne Mullen, an experienced leadership development expert, to set the scene, outline our rationale for focusing on leadership, and explore some of the ways leadership can go wrong.

In the coming episodes, we're going to look at topics like the role of coaching in leadership development, the importance of leaders' mental health at work, and why resilience just isn't enough.

We hope you'll join us on the journey

Resources for this episode

You can find all the resources that accompany this series at our dedicated page: https://www.worklifepsych.com/SustainableLeadership

We're also running a series of free leadership-focused webinars over the next few months. You can find out more and reserve your place by visiting our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sustainable-leadership-4167563

Details of our 'Considering Coaching?' webinars can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/considering-coaching-4113743

You can find Wayne's blog post about intentional leadership here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/sustainable-leadership-leading-on-purpose/