029: Humanity and Mental Health in the Workplace

Authenticity, humanity, and integrity are just a few of the words to describe the two gentlemen on this show and the direction that the conversation went in.

When it comes to pairing guests for the Culture Crush Business Podcast, we pair strategically. We tend to pair a company that has a great culture with a company that offers resources to improve culture. For this show, each of the two companies that were on the show fit into both of these categories. BOTH companies are growing a great culture while ALSO supporting companies with improving their company culture.

This conversation started strongly in the direction and importance of DEI in the workplace and supporting individuals in being their authentic selves in a psychologically safe work environment. Psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking. It gives the employees the opportunity to disagree and still be supported in the workplace.

This was part of the bigger conversation of things that leaders and companies can do to support the mental health of their employees. Companies can’t just talk about supporting mental health- they actually need to take action on it.

We walked away with tons of examples on how to do this!!

• Ask the right questions
• What am I doing and what is the company doing that can be improved on?
• How are you doing professionally?
• How are you doing personally?
• Have open visibility to what goes on the calendar
• Therapy sessions
• Dentist Appointments
• Doctor appointments
• A block on the calendar for self care
• Support from leadership to the staff in being their own authentic self
• Provide a stipend that allows them additional mental health support
• Allowing them the time for self care during the work day
• Letter from the CEO articulating the importance of mental health
• Putting in boundaries for when emails can be sent to the staff

When trying to find out more info about Hummingbird Humany, head to their website www.hummingbirdhumanity.com and go to the resources tab where they offer free resources to the Hummingbird community. From the website, visitors can also sign-up for their weekly newsletter or follow their social media accounts.

evolvedMD has a variety of resources listed at their website as well. Head to their main page, https://www.evolvedmd.com/ and then head over to their resources and news tab.

Both Sentari and Brian are on podcasts out there as well! Make sure to find them and follow them!

Let’s just say this conversation will definitely have to have a Part B to it!

Hummingbird Humanity is committed to amplifying the voices of the unheard.

Hummingbird’s offerings include a consulting practice which partners with companies to build human-centered workplace cultures through assessment, strategy, and implementation; a speakers bureau featuring diverse voices who share about their lived experiences and offer suggestions for tangible action in their message; a growing collection of children’s books and resources for grown-ups to have age-appropriate diversity conversations with kids; and a soon to be launched practice for coaching and facilitation helping leaders develop their skills to be inclusive and people-centered.

Brian McComak is a consultant, speaker, author, and facilitator with over 20 years of experience in Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, HR, company culture, change management, internal communications, and employee experience.

He is the founder and CEO of Hummingbird Humanity, a consulting firm that cultivates and champions inclusive workplace cultures and human-centered leadership.

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn and Instagram.

evolvedMD is leading the integration of behavioral health services in modern primary care. Uniquely upfront and ongoing, our distinctive model not only places but embeds behavioral health specialists onsite at your practice. We offer an economically viable and better way to integrate behavioral health that ultimately drives improved patient outcomes.

Sentari Minor is most passionate about bringing the best out of individuals and entities.

His love languages are strategy, storytelling, and social impact. As Head of Strategy for evolvedMD, Mr. Minor is at the forefront of healthcare innovation with a scope of work that includes strategy, corporate development, growth, branding, culture, and coaching.

Prior to evolvedMD, he worked with some of the Nation’s most prominent and curious CEOs and entrepreneurs advising on philanthropy, policy, and everything social good as Regional Director of Alder (formerly Gen Next) [PHX + DAL + SFO] and strengthened social enterprises as Director at venture philanthropy firm, Social Venture Partners.

A Phoenix native, Mr. Minor continued his education in the Midwest and is an alumnus of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana where he studied English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. He is also a member of Class IV of the American Express Leadership Academy through the Arizona State University Lodestar Center. If you want to profile him: he’s an ENTJ (Myers Briggs), a Maverick (Predictive Index), and trimodal Blue/Green/Red (Emergenetics).

Where does he shine? In high-touch stakeholder engagement, capital raising, public relations, and strategic planning. With his background, Mr. Minor serves on the board of directors for a diverse set of social impact organizations, as a venture mentor for socially conscious companies nationwide, and as a facilitator for businesses who want organizational clarity.

Committed to strengthening brands doing good in the world, Mr. Minor speaks nationally and publishes often on strategy, marketing, leadership, capacity building, social entrepreneurship, and engaging high-profile leaders in the dialogue of today. For his impact on business and community, he was honored among the Phoenix Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” class of 2022.

When he’s not busy changing the world, self-care to him looks like working out, stirring the pot on social media, being an amateur author, and spending time with the people who make him smile.

Connect with Sentari on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Culture Crush

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”

As a growing company- Culture Crush Business Podcast is THE culture improvement resource that supports companies and leaders.  Our Mission is to improve company cultures so people WANT to go to work. Employees and leaders should like where they work and we think this is possible.

Within the company: Culture Crush has Vetted Resources and Partnerships with the right people and resources that can help improve your company culture.

On this podcast:  We focus on everything surrounding businesses with good company culture. We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company.  We also find the companies that offer resources to help improve company culture and showcase them on the show to share their tips and tricks for growing culture.

About the Host

Kindra Maples  is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).

She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.

Then came the opportunity for leading  the Culture Crush Business Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.

Shout Outs

We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.

These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: [email protected]