4/15/21 | Mental Health, Wellness | Written By Naomi Haile

Stress and recovery: why rest is critical to your success
with Joanne Bezzubetz

“Where there is help, there is hope.” Joanne Bezzubetz

Joanne Bezzubetz is on a mission to de-stigmatize mental health and substance abuse. Drawing on 20 years of leadership experience in healthcare organizations across Canada, Joanne serves as President and CEO of The Royal – among Canada’s foremost mental health care and academic health science centres. Committed to community-centred treatment, Joanne has led close collaborations with partners, clients and their loved ones, to help get more people living with mental illness into recovery, faster.

An executive, triathlete, and champion for women in leadership, Joanne shares how you can harness the power of community and self-knowledge to create a vision for the life you want (that’s powerful enough to withstand life’s ups and downs).

This episode is for you if:

  • The pandemic has taken a toll on your mental health
  • You feel unfulfilled by your work but worry it’s too late for a professional pivot
  • You’re eager to support more women in leadership
  • You want to offer meaningful mental health support for your team
  • You struggle to practice rest and are on the brink of a burn-out

Looking for something specific?

[9:00] Moving mental health and substance abuse services out of hospitals and into the community

[10:00] How the pandemic has accelerated treatment for mental health and substance abuse

[12:19] Employers’ roles protecting mental health in the workplace

[13:17] Accountability in employer-employee relationships

[18:00] The consequences of sleep deprivation

[19:24] Anxiety’s ripple effect on the people around us

[22:20] Recovery = growth, speed and improvement

[25:12] Breath is powerful

[26:25] Joanne’s personal, professional and athletic approach to development

[29:22] The best decision Joanne made

[32:20] Crafting a vision for yourself

[35:04] How to support women in non-traditional industries

This episode is brought to you in collaboration with Invest Ottawa. We teamed up to produce this special series in celebration of women leading in Ottawa. Invest Ottawa supports business owners and entrepreneurs through services and programs and recently opened applications for SheBoot, a six-week investment-ready Bootcamp. Visit investottawa.ca/SheBoot to learn more.

Psst — Joanne shared some great resources to help you create a vision for the life you want, protect your mental health, and empower your team. Check them out below, with links you can access right away.

Naomi: Let’s start with your origin story.

Joanne: I’m from Northern Ontario, and I lived in Timmins most of my young adult life. I have lived with the Inuit in the Arctic, the Cree of Northern Quebec, and in Northern British Columbia, Vancouver, and Ottawa, where I worked with clients and family members with mental health and substance use issues.

Naomi: Where does your passion come from?

Joanne: I entered this space when concern over substance use was still very, very new. I had friends and family who struggled with it.

I was drawn to the deep human connection that’s created when someone shares their story with you. I eventually became the Director of the Detox Centre where I did my student placement. That was the first big door that opened in my career.

Naomi: Do you believe that today, in 2021, mental health is accepted by employers and society as a whole?

Joanne: It certainly is evolving – in part due to the pandemic. The Royal and other community organizations are devoted to de-stigmatization. Where there is help, there is hope, and we’ve worked hard to ensure that people are comfortable coming to us, anonymously and with their confidentiality respected. There are services available, they don’t have to suffer in silence.

We recently launched a coordinated access point for our region (a pilot for the province), so clients can self-refer, and family members can find resources, services and groups for themselves. General practitioners can also refer patients.

Everyone isn’t destined to receive care at the Royal, but we will find the best place that matches their needs. We’re meeting people where they are, by moving services out of hospitals and into communities. This helps the public understand that mental health and substance use disorders can be treated and cared for like other chronic or acute conditions.

Our research institute has found that mental health or substance use disorders have worsened for people who had them prior to the pandemic, and people who didn’t have them before are grappling with them now. There’s an exponential growth in demand.

Naomi: What is the role of the workplace here?

Joanne: We’d like employers to have a basic awareness of the signs and symptoms to look out for when employees might need extra help. As an employer myself, visibility with employees is top of mind. We need to check in with each other and have resources available for support.

An employer/employee relationship is a two-way street. Employers are accountable for ensuring a safe work environment, and that employees have both the tools they need and can come to them, confidentially, if they require extra help. I expect my employees to be accountable to themselves, and that they know where to go for resources, or who to ask for help.

We know workplaces aren’t this cut and dry. We don’t expect employers to be trained therapists, but we do expect them to guide employees to the expert help they need. Do they need a general practitioner or emergency support? Mental health and substance use disorders are chronic conditions that can happen to anyone at any time.

Naomi: At an event, you encouraged people to self-monitor, which means being conscious of how your body signals its needs to you. How does someone develop this skill?

Joanne: There are basic needs you clue into as an adult. You need water, food, a roof over your head, sleep, security, and connection with others. Often my grumpy mood is because I’m dehydrated or hungry.

Now, let’s consider the athletics and stress of work, and of being in a leadership role, as the pandemic waltzes into our lives and busts down the doors. In this pandemic, our organization created our first integrated strategic plan. At first, I was struggling to sleep. Back when I was doing my studies and working full time, I would only sleep for five, six hours. This can work in the short term when other things in your life are well. But in the long-term, and when you’re navigating a pandemic, stress from work, environmental crises, and distance from loved ones, five hours is not enough.

I also learned about the power of anxiety, and how it manifests and comes across to others. Anxiety can cause a ripple effect that heightens people’s stimulation. My anxiety might impact my colleagues. Because of this, you must understand where your anxiety comes from, so you can manage it.

As a triathlete, I’ve learned that if you wait to eat until you’re hungry, you’ve waited too long. Low energy prevents you from doing what you want. Be proactive about drinking, eating and taking care of yourself, because later, you might need a different intervention to address them.

Naomi: How do you practice slowing down and rest?

Joanne: Another lesson in sport is that growth, speed and improvement happen through recovery. You need stress and recovery.

Let’s think about that in the context of leadership. Leaders value having time to think, reflect, and plan ahead. You have to make time for those moments. I’ll book a lunch break and will go outside for a run at the Experimental Farm. That may not sound relaxing to you because it’s different for everyone – remember that.

Give yourself something to look forward to. Have close colleagues you can chat with. Being a leader doesn’t mean you’re alone all the time. It’s about having a team and bringing out the best in them. But, other times, it is a solo sport.

I know people who meditate and practice yoga, and I’ve recently learned about the power and positive impact of breathwork. If you’ve been doing something for a long time that doesn’t mean that you can’t still learn. These things may seem simple, but they’re good for everybody.

Naomi: How have you approached your personal, professional and athletic development?

Joanne: No career moves in one direction. Most careers, including mine, have lateral stages, dips, climbs, and more lateral stages, and dips, and climbs. When I was in my 30s, I thought every job had to be a step up. I came to learn, after not always being successful in my applications for employment, that I could be approaching work the wrong way. This was when I was about 40 years old.

When I went to the Arctic, I chose to seek out experiences instead. How could I gain experience without climbing a ladder? You get to learn a lot about yourself and gain diverse, unique skills that you can then bring to work. You don’t get that in traditional workplaces, but you can get it through volunteering, helping a friend, traveling.

Mentorship is important. The smartest thing I’ve done for myself is hiring a coach – they don’t just help with your career; they help you with your life. Find a mentor you trust, who is willing to listen to you and ask you great questions. My coach didn’t tell me what to do, he asked me questions that I had to answer myself.

Naomi: People are often told to follow a step-by-step playbook for “success” – which is not one thing. The power of self-insight is getting to define success for yourself. What advice do you have for women in leadership?

Joanne: Whether you’re an emerging leader, mid-career, or more advanced, the most important thing is having a vision for yourself. This strategy will guide you throughout your career. There’s no straight trajectory, and there will be lots of ups and downs. You must accept that.

We can encourage the development of women’s leadership by organizing campaigns for young girls to experiment, foster interest in non-traditional careers, helping them gain experience and develop that vision of themselves. I did that when I was 35, 40 years old. If you start earlier, imagine the satisfaction of being a 20-year-old who knows they’re headed in the right direction?

We should also consider that some women may decide to have a family, and that’s okay. We must accommodate for that and be flexible as employers. Those decisions should be made without punishment or consequence to career.

If you’re in the latter stages of your career, when someone asks you to be their mentor, really consider it and say yes. I always have time for mentorship, and to speak with other women leaders who are wondering if they’re on the right track

Naomi: What are you keeping an eye on in your space?

Joanne: The importance of voice, and our new strategy of co-creation, access, hope and new possibilities. Clients and family members with lived experience and expertise are helping inform how we care for people with mental health and substance use disorders. This transformation at the Royal counts on their voices and input.

We all have a voice. We can all share what works for us, and we can customize our lives to our needs and desires. As for my personal “why”, I know what works for me, and that’s what I go after. I encourage your listeners to do the same.

Naomi: Thank you, Joanne. The Royal is hosting “Is It Just Me?” during Mental Health Week from May 3rd to 9th. They have an incredible lineup of experts from neuroscientists, psychologists, and young adults who live with mental illness.

This episode is brought to you in collaboration with Invest Ottawa. We teamed up to produce this special series in celebration of women leading in Ottawa. Invest Ottawa supports business owners and entrepreneurs through services and programs and recently opened applications for SheBoot, a six-week investment-ready Bootcamp. Visit investottawa.ca/SheBoot to learn more.

More episodes

We Are Here for All Women

When we use the term ‘women’, we are referring to all individuals who identify as women. This includes women of colour, transgender women and women who are gender non-conforming who have historically and systemically been excluded from mainstream women’s programming and opportunities. We are making a concerted effort to create a culture of belonging and to prioritize equity.

Naomi

About the Host

Naomi Haile

An intrapreneur, consultant, and interviewer.

Naomi Haile is curious about people, their paths and what drives them. In 2017, she launched the Power of Why Podcast. Her guests have taken the non-linear path in business, venture capital and other creative professions to share their story. Each episode explores people’s philosophy on life and work.

As we all navigate our lives and careers, Naomi hopes that everyone she connects with – guests and listeners – can shape products, companies, and communities of impact.

Naomi is a consultant at QuakeLab. She is starting graduate school at Columbia University.