DEVSOC Dispatches

According to the Kantar Health National Health and Wellness Survey 2012-19, 1 in 4 of the general population is likely to be suffering from poor mental health in any one year. This translates to nearly 2 billion people who could be suffering from mental health challenges worldwide. Poor mental health severely impacts an individual’s ability to thrive both personally and professionally and there is an all too obvious need to provide individuals and organisations with the means to support mental wellbeing. One important way of doing this is to build a meaningful base of support around you. My guest on this episode, Mike Pagan believes in helping clients achieve positive mental wealth through building handpicked support networks and helping them unlock significant performance improvements. Mike has worked with entrepreneurs, small businesses, corporate board members and professional sportsmen and women, domestically and internationally. He is a coach, author of four books and a non-executive director. He is the first to admit that his approach is not a standard one, he can be blunt, direct, honest and open where necessary. His Book ‘Mental Wealth: Unlock your potential, enrich your life’ is available for purchase here:https://www.mikepagan.com/mentalwealthbook orAvailable on Amazon NowGet 3 extra months free with 12-month plan (Limited-time offer for The Development Society listeners) ExpressVPN - A Fast and Secure VPN | Podcast

We all know that getting a good night’s sleep is a vital part of peak performance. Without it we are more likely to be short tempered, easily distracted and make poor decisions. Recent research showing how much is spent on sleep medication and sleep aids every year in Europe and America only goes to support how far people are willing to go to achieve a good night’s sleep. Back in February 2021 I was fortunate enough to hold a conversation with Yadid Ayzenberg, as part of the Hospitality Resilience Series I co-hosted with Jonathan Humphries and Chris Mumford. At the time Yadid was leading the development of sleep technology at Bose Corporation as their Global Head of Sleep.Yadid is best described as a curious, thoughtful, energetic, entrepreneurial spirit who has over 20 years’ experience of innovating, creating, building, and scaling consumer products and technology platforms. In 2014 he was co-founder and CTO of the Sync Project, which developed the concept of using music as precision medicine. The Sync Project was eventually acquired by the Bose corporation in 2018. He has a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is also one of the major shareholders of Bose Corporation. Bose is a company rooted in cutting edge research, which is one of the reasons the founder, Amart Bose, donated the company to this particular institution. Get 3 extra months free with 12-month plan (Limited-time offer for The Development Society listeners) ExpressVPN - A Fast and Secure VPN | Podcast

In the world of Elite sport the process by which young talent is nurtured, developed, encouraged and supported from eager youth to successful Olympian is a fascinating but challenging journey. I discussed this journey with the Bath and England rugby player, Ruaridh McConnochie in an earlier episode and my guests on this episode discuss this process but from the viewpoint of the Coach. To hear from those who design, deliver and review this incredibly tentative developmental process presents a fascinating opportunity to understand more about performance management. Chris Atherton and Jack Grundy, both currently working at the RYA, have spent their entire careers getting the very best out of the athletes in their care. For proof of this simply take a look at the GB medal tally for Sailing in the recent Olympic Games. Chris Atherton is the National Performance Manager for British Youth sailing. Responsible for helping develop sailors from grassroots to Olympic athletes, a process often referred to as ‘the English and UK Talent Pathway’.  Jack Grundy, has over 12 years’ experience working within the Talent Pathway as a practitioner and manager for institutions such as Higher Education, Sport England, the English Institute of Sport and other National Governing Bodies. Jack has worked with a great number of athletes from a wide variety of Olympic and para Olympic sports including; Skeleton, wheelchair fencing, triathlon and offshore sailing. He currently manages and delivers the British Youth Sailing Performance Squads, and transition programmes taking athletes from Youth to Olympic Class.Get 3 extra months free with 12-month plan (Limited-time offer for The Development Society listeners) ExpressVPN - A Fast and Secure VPN | Podcast

In this episode, Alex talks to flexy-legend Richie to bust some myths about yoga. With his own unique style of movement, Richie is on a mission to make yoga more accessible for all. He is also the host of DEVSOC's 30 Day Yoga Challenge, available on the website. Find more of Richie's stuff at Yoga WIth Richie on socials.

For many, the focus for the last couple of years has been on adapting to survive in a hostile environment. Is it now possible that despite the many challenges that still lie ahead, we might move to a more positive, hopeful mindset and ask ourselves ‘what conditions do I need to create in order to thrive’? Our guest, Chris Bodman has been working in elite sport doing just this with individuals and teams for the past 17 years. Initially as a strength and conditioning coach working with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club before moving to work in sports psychology as a Chartered Sport Psychologist where he has worked with a variety of elite sporting organisations including the English Institute of Sport, the Rugby Football Union, England and Wales Cricket Board, Somerset County Cricket Club and Gloucester Rugby.His work has focussed on finding ways to improve individual and team performance at both a physical and psychological level under the incredible pressure that comes as part of playing sport at such a high level.Chris recently founded his own company,LMNTARY performance, which draws on his experience to offer clients a wide range of services to empower those who want to improve their minds, bodies and behaviours through essential learning and development experiences. Chris’s work delves into the why, what & how of human development & human performance.  He describes his role as one of support and facilitation in order to create psychologically underpinned and sustainable high-performance environments that develop the person as well as the performer to THRIVE.

Get 3 extra months free with 12-month plan  (Limited-time offer for The Development Society listeners) ExpressVPN - A Fast and Secure VPN | Podcast

The term, Wellbeing no doubt conjures up many different images. For some it might be one of peace and tranquillity; achieving a calm state of mind, for others it might be one of physical improvement or perhaps a combination of both. Increasingly it is seen by organisations across the world as a vital focus in life and one that, if correctly applied, can bring profound benefits to the performance of the individual. Back in June 2021 I was fortunate enough to hold a conversation with Pekka Pohjakallio, Business Development Director & Executive Mentor at Hintsa Performance as part of the Hospitality Resilience Series I co-hosted with Jonathan Humphries (HoCoSo founder and Director) and Chris Mumford, (Cervus Leadership Director). We discussed this often confusing topic drawing on Pekka’s many years of experience working in this field with the very best in the business. Pekka had a successful career with Nokia and in his final position there was Vice President of Concepting and Innovation. After Nokia he founded 925 Design, a design agency for better working life and he also co-authored a book ‘Workbook’ focused on practical solutions for higher productivity and higher energy. Today Pekka is part of the team at Hintsa Performance. Hintsa works with many of the drivers and teams on the F1 grid and over the past six seasons 99% of the races have been won by a Hintsa-affiliated driver. Their work however is not just in sport but in business, coaching executives and leaders all around the world. Get 3 extra months free with 12-month plan  (Limited-time offer for The Development Society listeners) ExpressVPN - A Fast and Secure VPN | Podcast

In this episode, Alex (Head of Waves) interrogates Darren (Head of Vibes) on his controversial opinions within the fitness world. From short term mega shreds to supplements.Get 3 extra months free with 12-month plan  (Limited-time offer for The Development Society listeners) ExpressVPN - A Fast and Secure VPN | Podcast

The ability to persevere against challenges and setbacks in the achievement of our goals can often seem overwhelming. We are forced to dig deep and draw on our well of personal resilience in order to overcome the negative influences and voices that crowd us on our journey of personal development. Self confidence is a critical tool in our resilience arsenal and one that can be hard to find and develop. In this episode DEVSOC’s Head of Self engages in a fascinating, honest and insightful conversation with Pasha Munro , ex Royal Marine, Mountain Leader, SBS operative and own business Director about how the challenges he faced in his childhood and his career helped develop his confidence and create his own methodology for success. Pasha’s self belief, enthusiasm and determination despite everything he has faced is infectious and provides some wonderful insights in the art of building self confidence.  Check out our Executive Coaching Executive Coaching – The Development Society