Mark Simmonds, Management Trainer and Mental Health Champion
I’ve enjoyed a long and varied career in the world of business and was lucky enough to find my calling early on when I became a management trainer. Over the last 30 years, I’ve travelled the globe and had the privilege of working alongside a number of illustrious global organisations including Unilever, HSBC, GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco, ABInBev and AstraZeneca. I currently run my own boutique agency called Genius You. This is my ‘day job’.
However, throughout my life, I have always struggled with anxiety and stress. During my late thirties, this culminated in a nervous breakdown and an attempt on my own life. During the last few years, I have had two books published – Breakdown and Repair (2019) and Beat Stress at Work (2021), both of which are based on lived experience.
I now use the experience and communication skills from my day job and the platform provided by the two books to deliver talks and workshops to both companies and schools on the topic of stress management. This is my very important ‘side hustle’!
I am married to Mel and we have three grown-up children - Will, Emily and Jack, of whom we are very proud, as well as a cat and dog called Maisie and Peggy, both slightly bonkers!
What elements make up the book?
Relevant themes: a) Finding a career that suits your authentic self; b) A description of the impact of anxiety, stress and depression; c) How to build your resilience “muscle” to help you reach your goals.
A true story: A biography of my professional career, detailing my close relationship with stress, anxiety and depression. Warts and all.
Other people’s lived experiences: 10 individuals, one per chapter, share their own experiences of mental health in the workplace.
A strong self-help element: Including a section at the end of every chapter where a framework or checklist is introduced, enabling the reader to apply the theory to themselves.
“Although the focus of Mark’s excellent book is balancing ambition and anxiety in the workplace, these two themes could equally apply to other areas in life”
Sir Clive Woodward, OBE, Coach of 2003 World Cup Winning England Rugby Team
“This insightful book highlights the importance of moving from reactive to preventative measures in addressing mental health. It's an invaluable handbook for those seeking to combat stress at any stage in their career”
Leena Nair, CEO, Chanel, former Chief Human Resources Officer, Unilever
“This book will appeal to those who want workable ways to manage their personal stressors and strengthen their professional prowess without the need for wellness gurus and psychobabble!”
Dr Audrey Tang, Chartered Psychologist, award-winning author
Bespoke talks and workshops for companies
I have delivered talks and workshops for companies including Unilever, Innocent, Virgin Media O2 and Philips. I talked to 6th formers at St. George’s School Ascot, Aylesbury Grammar and the Minster School.
Here are 5 topic areas I cover:
Spotting signs of stress in others – what to do and what to say.
Establishing daily ‘doing’ and ‘thinking’ routines for stress management.
Understanding the difference between good, bad and ugly stress.
The negative impact of stress on productivity and creativity.
The role of senior leaders in promoting a wellbeing culture.
“Mark delivered a thought-provoking session which focused specifically on the dangers of excessive stress. He drew extensively from his own experiences of work-related stress and introduced a number of very practical frameworks from his book.”
Katie Torode, Unilever
“The feedback on Mark’s session has been fantastic. Striking just the right balance of theory, real life experiences and practical tips the session was both insightful and empowering”
Mark Dodd, Virgin Media O2
"It was the most useful talk the Sixth Form have had on coping with stress and anxiety. Mark offered practical suggestions that they could all relate to and implement. I have never had so much positive feedback from a talk."
Debbie Kratt, St. George’s School, Ascot
Stress Gems
Everybody is time-pressed these days and attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. Stress Gems are short bite-sized chunks of learning, produced as videos, which explain various aspects of stress management and mental wellbeing, succinctly and visually.
These can be developed on demand. Below you can see some examples of what we have created to date: