ARTICLE
21 September 2023

Speaker Series Examines Intersection Of Mental Health And Performance

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Foley & Lardner

Contributor

Foley & Lardner LLP looks beyond the law to focus on the constantly evolving demands facing our clients and their industries. With over 1,100 lawyers in 24 offices across the United States, Mexico, Europe and Asia, Foley approaches client service by first understanding our clients’ priorities, objectives and challenges. We work hard to understand our clients’ issues and forge long-term relationships with them to help achieve successful outcomes and solve their legal issues through practical business advice and cutting-edge legal insight. Our clients view us as trusted business advisors because we understand that great legal service is only valuable if it is relevant, practical and beneficial to their businesses.
This month, Best Self – Foley's firmwide wellness initiative – launched a three-part speaker series to explore the complicated ways that mental health drives performance...
United States Law Department Performance

This month, Best Self – Foley's firmwide wellness initiative – launched a three-part speaker series to explore the complicated ways that mental health drives performance and how it shows up in high-achieving work cultures. Led by Kara Hardin, founder and CEO of The Practice Lab, these sessions also impart skills to support healthy performance and achievement in the workplace.

The first program, titled "The Performance Paradox: The Complicated Relationship Between Mental Health and Performance," was held on September 14. In this session, Hardin explored how perfectionism and feelings of inadequacy show up as we achieve. She also shared strategies for relating to ourselves, others, and our work in more generative, kind, and productive ways.

Key Takeaways

Strivers are excellent at exceeding others' expectations and feel most safe when we're productive. But success gets slippery — we want to do it all, the to-do list never ends, and we dig deeper to meet expectations so we can hypothetically relax.

The very qualities that make strivers successful can also lead to mental health challenges such as anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and disconnection from what really matters to us.

High performance demands you work with your body and have curiosity about what you know and what you need.

You're the expert on you. If you're feeling "off," check in with your body. Are you hungry ... thirsty ... on edge ... tired ... tense ...overwhelmed ... grumpy ... lonely? Identify how you're feeling and work to learn what best helps you to regulate.

There are numerous strategies to address the physiology of stress:

  • Immediately actionable tactics, small things you can do in the moment to help you feel safe, include deep breaths, movement, and sips of water.

  • Over-time practices, things you can do to connect to your body and feel more nourished, include exercise, rest, connection, meditation, sunshine, and idleness.

The second program in October, titled "The Achieving, Anxious Brain: Working With Drive and Dread Effectively," will examine the impact of our near constant focus on outcomes, advancement, promotion, development, progression, and improvement on how we perceive and experience the world.

In the third program in November, titled "Finding Choices: Working With Accountability and Agency," Hardin will delve into how to take accountability for what we want to do — and how to find agency and meaning as we do it.

About Foley Best Self

Foley Best Self recognizes that our people and their health, well-being, and professional satisfaction are at the center of our culture and core values. Best Self is built on the four pillars of Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Meaningful Connections, and Fulfilling Careers with the ambitious goal of making each person's humanity a welcome part of our collective enterprise and topic of open conversation.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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