Construction

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Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Allison Milner: Interview with Professor Tony LaMontagne | Episode 100

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Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Allison Milner: Interview with Professor Tony LaMontagne | Episode 100

For this milestone episode of the “Hope Illuminated” podcast, I wanted to celebrate a hero to many of us: Dr. Allison Milner. Allison was a fierce and mighty leader whose work in suicide prevention and social justice was shifting the world’s views when she died tragically in an accident on April 12, 2019. In this episode Professor Tony LaMontagne and I share stories about her global impact in the areas of:

  • Workplace suicide

  • Unemployment and mental health

  • Psychosocial job hazards

  • Interventions that help people live through suicidal intensity

  • Socio-economic determinants of suicide

  • Women in research

  • People with disabilities and social justice

  • Indigenous people and social justice

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Transformational Leadership in Suicide Prevention -- Lessons Learned from the Construction Industry: Interview with Jerry Shupe | Episode 84

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Transformational Leadership in Suicide Prevention -- Lessons Learned from the Construction Industry: Interview with Jerry Shupe | Episode 84

Transformational leadership happens when people come together to rise for a daunting challenge to benefit the common good. Transformation leaders focus on impact and empower others to reach for higher and higher levels of motivation and morality. Transformational leaders are:

  • Bold

  • Idealized influencers

  • Creativity encouragers

  • Role models for a compelling vision

  • Process challengers

  • Purpose AND people driven

Today’s podcast is about transformational leadership in the area of construction suicide prevention. I interview Jerry Shupe, the Corporate Director of Safety and Health for Hensel Phelps, one of the nation’s largest construction contractors.

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Psychosocial Hazards on the Job -- Listening to the Voices of Suicidal Workers: Interview with Professor Sarah Waters | Episode 70

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Psychosocial Hazards on the Job -- Listening to the Voices of Suicidal Workers: Interview with Professor Sarah Waters | Episode 70

In this podcast, I have the honor of interviewing Professor Sarah Waters from the UK. She is a leading global researcher on the topic of work-related suicides, and a driver of legislation to improve working conditions and help make suicide prevention a health and safety priority at work. Here we discuss a number of large employers who have been held accountable for the suicide deaths of their employees in criminal court.

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Workplace Suicide Prevention Training: Interview with Gabriela Malafaia | Episode 65

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Workplace Suicide Prevention Training: Interview with Gabriela Malafaia | Episode 65

The workplace is arguably the most cross-cutting system in suicide prevention. Just about everyone who dies by suicide or attempts suicide was working, was recently working, or has a close friend or family member who is working. Thus, just like we promote CPR training at our job sites to save lives, we should also consider on-going, skill developing suicide prevention training programs. In this presentation I interview Gabriela Malafaia, a leader in People’s Management in the oil and gas industry. We discuss the many reasons why workplace suicide prevention training is the right thing to do and list several best practices to leverage a tiered approach. Sharing a number of case studies, we conclude that successful training initiatives not only improve the confidence and competence of a workforce dedicated to making suicide prevention a health and safety priority, impactful training actually helps drive a caring culture.

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Leading Others to Resilience -- 3 Ways to Accelerate Organizational Recovery During Crisis: Interview with Bob VandePol | Episode 59

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Leading Others to Resilience -- 3 Ways to Accelerate Organizational Recovery During Crisis: Interview with Bob VandePol | Episode 59

In this interview I speak with crisis response expert Bob VandePol on crisis leadership. We explore the questions of how do leaders embody resilience during trauma? How can leaders sustain a group commitment to a mission greater than the individual? How can leaders cultivate trust and social support when things feel out of control? How do we develop a resilience plan that transitions people to grow through crisis?

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Leadership's Role in Workplace Mental Health -- Inspiring a Collective Mindset of Care: Interview with Cal Beyer | Episode 57

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Leadership's Role in Workplace Mental Health -- Inspiring a Collective Mindset of Care: Interview with Cal Beyer | Episode 57

What are the steps leaders need to take in cultivating a mindset of psychological well-being and a caring community? In this podcast, Cal Beyer and I analyze the steps many leaders have taken to make suicide prevention and mental health promotion health and safety priorities at work.

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Emotional Intelligence at Work -- Building Trust and Transparency Leadership Skills: Interview with Brent Darnell | Episode 54

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Emotional Intelligence at Work -- Building Trust and Transparency Leadership Skills: Interview with Brent Darnell | Episode 54

Despite being in public awareness for many years, emotional intelligence remains an undervalued competency in many workplaces. The more we learn about the impact of training on emotional intelligence at work, the more we impressed we are with the ways it can affect safety, retention and even insurance costs. If you are an “Alpha” or a “Self-Sacrificer” in your leadership style, you may experience burnout if you are not able to cultivate emotional intelligence skills. In the podcast, we help leaders overcome “the smartest person in the room syndrome, and learn more about the four basic elements to emotional intelligence and the 16 competencies of the EQ-i 2.0…

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The Human Side of Crisis Management: Interview with Tricia Kagerer | Episode 50

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The Human Side of Crisis Management: Interview with Tricia Kagerer | Episode 50

“We are not just human resources, we are human beings.”

A significant workplace traumatic event can make or break a company depending on how well the employer has prepared for it — at the heart of a successful transition through the crisis is the how well leadership connects with the people most impacted by the trauma. In this interview, Tricia Kagerer, an expert in workplace risk management, shares key steps in helping companies move from “it-will-never-happen-here” mentality to building a responsive plan for crisis.

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A New Frontier in Workplace Safety -- Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention: Interview with TJ Lyons | Episode 35

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A New Frontier in Workplace Safety -- Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention: Interview with TJ Lyons | Episode 35

In the US, the construction industry is the top industry with the highest suicide rates and largest numbers. Historically, mental health and suicide have not been considered safety priorities, until now. In this podcast a global safety expert helps us connect the dots….

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Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary -- The Role of Union Leadership in Suicide Prevention: Interview with Chris Carlough | Episode 34

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Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary -- The Role of Union Leadership in Suicide Prevention: Interview with Chris Carlough | Episode 34

“Be vocal, be visible, be visionary. There is no shame in stepping forward, but there is great risk in holding back and just hoping for the best.” ~Higher Education Center

When it comes to suicide prevention in the workplace, we need bold leaders — leaders who are willing to take a stand and say, “suicide prevention matters to me, and it matters to our workforce.” We need leaders with a vision to aspire to a zero suicide mindset and to yield their influence to creating a culture of caring and mental wellbeing. When workers are having a hard time, we need leaders to notice and tell them, “If you reach out to me when you are suffering, I’ve got your back. I will persist with you until we’ve found the right support and resources to help you be your best self again. You matter to us and we need you to achieve our mission.”

In this episode we will hear from one leader who is doing just that within the construction industry — within labor specifically — building upon the culture of “we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.”

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Pain and Suffering -- What We Can Do To Address the Opioid Crisis and Its Relationship to Suicide: Interview with Dr. Don Teater | Episode 33

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Pain and Suffering -- What We Can Do To Address the Opioid Crisis and Its Relationship to Suicide: Interview with Dr. Don Teater | Episode 33

  • One opioid prescription after an injury doubles the risk of being disabled at one year. (Teater, 2015)

  • The combined deaths among Americans — suicide and unintentional overdose — in 2000 was 41,364 deaths and in 2017 was 110,749 deaths. (Bohnert & Ilgen, 2019)

The good news is there are shared prevention approaches, and we are learning more and more as the silos between those addressing the opioid crisis and those addressing suicide begin to fall away. In this podcast Dr. Don Teater and I explore how opioid use and suicide are connected and what we need to do to find better ways to alleviate pain and suffering.

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Leadership, Strategy & System Change: Interview with Stuart Binstock & Michelle Walker | Episode 11

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Leadership, Strategy & System Change: Interview with Stuart Binstock & Michelle Walker | Episode 11

In order for mental health promotion and suicide prevention to be successful, leadership must be bold and engaged....Leaders who are most influential in creating a caring culture at the workplace are able to build a business case that looks at the ROI of investing in resilience and mental health support. They are also strategic in their effort, enrolling others in a pragmatic blueprint for change and tracking progress and pitfalls....One of the biggest success stories in this effort is the creation of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention overseen by the Construction Financial Management Association.

www.PreventConstructionSuicide.com 

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9 Best Tips for Effective Construction Suicide Prevention -- An Interview with Jorgen Gullestrup of MATES in Construction | Episode 2

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9 Best Tips for Effective Construction Suicide Prevention -- An Interview with Jorgen Gullestrup of MATES in Construction | Episode 2

Jorgen Gullestrup's LinkedIn profile lists him as a plumber and suicidologist from Brisbane, Australia. The truth is since 2007, he has helped revolutionize how the construction industry addresses suicide prevention, and his innovative strategies are now recognized internationally. Listen to his 9 top take-away tips from a decade of discovering best practices in moving an industry from awareness to action.