Daddy Blackbird Communications

How polite is your organisation? 🤔 ‘Polite’ by Louise Mullany is a manual for navigating politeness in the 21st century. Among other significant topics and themes covered, this book looks at how leaders can effectively use politeness strategically - whether that’s softening critical feedback, showing empathy, or inviting challenge in a respectful way. Politeness here becomes a sign of strong leadership, not weakness, and a good indicator of the mental and emotional health of an organisation. Mullany offers some pointers on how the adoption of politeness strategies enhances employee experience and wellbeing: 📣 Promoting positive communication: Leaders who communicate politely help employees feel more at ease, making them more likely to open up about challenges, seek support, and contribute ideas, all of which can positively affect their emotional health and job satisfaction. ❤️🩹 Supporting emotional needs: Leaders who understand and empathise with the emotional states of their employees and respond with polite, considerate language can create an emotionally supportive workplace. 🤝 Building trust and collaboration: When employees trust their leaders, they are more likely to engage fully, collaborate, and be open to feedback. This kind of teamwork and mutual respect enhances a sense of security, which boosts both individual and collective wellbeing. ⚖️ Mitigating power imbalances: In hierarchical settings, politeness can help bridge the gap between leaders and employees. By using polite strategies, leaders can avoid coming across as authoritarian or dismissive, helping to mitigate feelings of powerlessness among employees. ‘Polite’ shows that leaders who apply politeness strategies with intention can enhance not only the professional environment but also employees’ emotional and psychological wellbeing, which is crucial for long-term success and productivity in any organisation. Let's do better together (politely) 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #Wellbeing #Leadership #Culture #Politeness ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

***Promoting Suicide Prevention in the Workplace: The Power of Lived Experience*** 📚 Some of the most impactful communication tools we have are lived experience and stories. Research shows that storytelling is one of the most effective ways to build emotional connections and drive real change. 🔗 Emotional storytelling increases engagement and retention by up to 22 times*, which is especially crucial at work, where mental health conversations are difficult or avoided. ❤️ Sharing lived experiences creates a safe space for dialogue and fosters a supportive culture. That’s why I share my personal story of loss by suicide and describe some of the ways we can enhance prevention efforts. 🗓️ Mental Health Awareness Week starts on 12 May 🎤 I have two speaker session slots remaining during that week 🔔 Get in touch to book a place If you're looking for a platform to start these critical conversations and to make a lasting impact on your organisation’s suicide prevention efforts, talk to me strengthening your initiatives and creating a supportive, mentally healthy workplace. Let's do better together 💛 #SuicidePrevention #LivedExperience #Storytelling #MentalHealthAwareness #EndTheStigma #LanguageMatters #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #MHAW *Stanford Graduate School of Business ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications

One of the reasons we struggle to break down the stigma around suicide and mental health more broadly, is the lack of understanding surrounding it. 📚When communities and organisations use their communications to upskill people it can really help to build that understanding and therefore the confidence in talking about it. And that it a powerful way to take the sting out of the stigma. 💡One of the switches suggested in our microlearing+ sessions is all about shifting towards a much more informed and educated place by creating learning opportunities around the subject of suicide prevention and postvention. ONE THING you can do as an individual is to switch from a very limited understanding of suicide to being more informed by spending a little time researching it - organisations like Mind, Samaritans, Suicide&Co and Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide all have really helpful and informative resources to help you explore, learn and improve. Let’s do better together 💛 #DaddyBlackbird #Communication #InternalCommunication #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #SuicideAwareness #Culture ……………….. Microlearning+ sessions enable you to show support beyond the staff handbook by efficiently embedding memorable and impactful principles into everyday communication and 'leaning in' rather than stepping back from the tough topic of suicide.

89% of workers at companies that support wellbeing initiatives are more likely to recommend their company as a good place to work.* 🙌 Those word-of-mouth recommendations are arguably the most powerful way to build a strong and sustainable reputation as a top employer 💥 So, here’s the thing… ✔️ You may have a number of wellbeing initiatives available to people. ❌ But do your employees actually know about them? Communicating consistently about the things that matter to your employees needn’t be as challenging as you might think. If you could do with a helping hand promoting your wellbeing products and initiatives, get in touch for a quick chat today and start off those reputation ripples! Let's do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #Wellbeing #EmployeeExperience #Culture #Reputation * American Psychological Association. ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

Setting the tone for Monday… Wishing you all a kindness (and sunshine) filled week ❤️ Let’s do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #Wellbeing #MentalHealth #Managers #Culture #Leadership #Kindness #DaddyBlackbird ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

Setting healthy boundaries gives us better control over our work/life balance, time, and happiness. Helping employees to communicate and enforce these boundaries – and ensuring leaders model these behaviors too – can improve emotional resilience and allow individuals to devote more of themselves to what matters to them most. Those boundaries can come in all shapes and sizes: ☂️ Work hours: Sticking to defined timings and avoiding work outside of them. ☂️ Breaks: Scheduling regular breaks and time to recharge. ☂️ Task limits: Being clear about how much work you can take on. ☂️ Personal space: Protecting your workspace from unnecessary interruptions. ☂️ Emotional boundaries: Limiting emotional energy spent on work stress. ☂️ Communication: Defining when and how you'll be available for messages and meetings. ☂️ Social boundaries: Setting limits on after-work socialising. ☂️Technology: Keeping personal and work tech separate. Let’s do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #Wellbeing #MentalHealth #Managers #Leadership #Culture #DaddyBlackbird Image by Liz Fosslien ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

Has traditional wellbeing in the workplace run its course? This was the question posed earlier by the brilliant Chris Britton from Reward Gateway who hosted a lively and informative session for Liberty Recruitment Group Ltd. ‼️35% of UK employees say their wellbeing has declined in the last two years ‼️40% say the workplace is having a negative affect on their wellbeing  ‼️48% said their wellbeing isn’t supported by the organisation Chris quoted these compelling statistics from the HR Priority Report from Reward Gateway to illustrate how workplace wellbeing strategies have become a bit too ‘cut and paste’ and ‘best practice’ approaches are no longer fit for purpose. Despite the time, effort and money that has gone into wellbeing initiatives, employees are saying they are feeling more burnt out than ever before. So what can we do about it? These top five tips that all link closely to compassionate communication summed up how we can create a tailored and dynamic culture of wellbeing in our own organisations: 💡Promote your people strategy – communicate it widely and let people know they are a valued part of it 💡Connect the strategy to your benefits and DEIB efforts using a clear and relatable golden thread 💡Elect and support wellbeing champions, across your organisation 💡Measure, track, evaluate and repeat everything frequently 💡Bring everyone along for the journey, think like marketeers and tell brilliant stories And finally, underpin it all with RECOGNITION and APPRECIATION.    Let's do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #MentalHealth #Leadership #Wellbeing ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

Mental Health Awareness Week will be here before we know it, so it’s important we start planning ahead for initiatives and activities, particularly if we want the backing of senior leaders. Here are seven ways to get them involved in this year: 📚 Personal stories: Encourage leaders and managers to share personal stories or experiences related to mental health, showing vulnerability and reinforcing a supportive culture. 🧠 Lead wellness initiatives: Have senior leaders participate in activities like guided meditation, mindfulness sessions, or fitness challenges to set an example. 📑 Endorse your tools and resources: Use MHAW as an opportunity for leaders to promote the initiatives that are available to your employees. 📣 Commit to policy enhancements: Have senior leaders reinforce your organisation’s commitment to ongoing improvement when it comes to your policies and procedures around mental health - and publicly promote the progress you make with this! 🏆 Celebrate mental health champions: This is an ideal opportunity for leaders to publicly recognise your MHFAiders and colleagues or teams who have been champions of mental health awareness and support. 🎤 Panel Discussion: Organise a panel with senior leaders and mental health professionals where they can discuss mental health challenges in the workplace and how to support employees. 🚶🏽♂️Walk and Talk sessions: Arrange for leaders to host walking meetings during MHAW, where employees join them for a casual walk around the local area. Create a mental health time capsule: Leaders can participate in creating a box filled with mental health resources, letters, and messages of support from employees. The time capsule can be sealed and opened during next year’s MHAW, reflecting on how attitudes, support, and initiatives have evolved over time. By actively participating, your senior leaders can set the tone for your entire organisation and emphasise the importance of mental health in your workplace. Let's do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #MentalHealth #MHAW #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #Wellbeing #Ledership ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

'Fortitude' comes from the Latin word fortis, meaning strong, and in English it has always been used primarily to describe strength of mind. With mental health permanently on the agenda for many responsible workplaces, it’s good to understand how we can build and sustain that strength in our people and our teams. Author, Bruce Daisley sets out a practical path to greater self-confidence, courage and strength for us all in his aptly named book, “Fortitude: The Myth of Resilience, and the Secrets of Inner Strength”. Under Daisley’s foundations of CONTROL, IDENTITY and COMMUNITY, here are some question to ponder on when it comes to furthering fortitude in the workplace 👇 Let's do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #Fortitude #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #MHAW #Wellbeing #Community ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.

Only 30% of employees say the leadership of their organisation has communicated with them about grief or bereavement in the past year, and only 32% of employees are aware that there is a bereavement policy in place.* For those organisations currently addressing this troubling issue, kudos to you! For the rest, when you’re creating these critically important policies, keep in mind that the last thing bereaved employees want is another cold and generic page in the staff handbook that’s been written by ChatGPT. When employees face distressing experiences like bereavement, they need a policy that comes from the heart ❤️ Here are seven considerations to apply to your new or refreshed bereavement policy to ensure it’s human and compassionate: ❤️🩹 Co-create your content - It’s important that the voices of employees are heard and that these policies are based on real experiences. Involve people through staff surveys, individual consultations or forums. ❤️🩹 Recognise individuality - Grief is deeply personal and affects each individual differently. A compassionate policy should allow for this and address the fact that every bereavement is unique. ❤️🩹 Consider cultural sensitivity - Acknowledge and respect that grieving customs and the length of time needed may vary across cultures and religions. ❤️🩹 Focus on care and support, not just logistics - Ensure the policy communicates that your organisation is there to support employees in practical, emotional, and personal ways during a difficult time. ❤️🩹 Provide clear but gentle guidance - Balance clarity with sensitivity by ensuring the policy states the steps employees need to take in a way that feels gentle, not cold. ❤️🩹 Use inclusive language - Avoid clinical or formal wording and use language that acknowledges the emotional and personal nature of grief. Eg, instead of simply stating “bereavement leave,” the policy can read, “time to grieve and honour your loved one.” ❤️🩹 Ensure quick and easy access - Make sure that bereavement policies are clearly communicated and that the process for accessing them is simple and stress-free. If your bereavement policy is a little stale - or you don’t have one at all - perhaps it’s time to take do something about it. By revising your policies to emphasise empathy, flexibility, and the importance of mental wellbeing, you can ensure that they aren’t just procedural but truly compassionate and supportive too. Let’s do better together 💛 #Communication #InternalCommunication #Wellbeing #MentalHealth #Grief #Leadersip #Culture #Compassion #DaddyBlackbird *Sue Ryder, Grief in the Workplace Report ………………………… Daddy Blackbird Communications combines the power of lived experience with deep knowledge and expertise in the wellbeing space to kickstart clear, consistent, compelling communications.