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Hamish Nicklin is co-founder and CEO of Agent Flow, who build AI solutions that help businesses to grow.

Hamish Nicklin is a life force and one of the industry’s best-known names, having held senior positions at Dentsu Media UK, Guardian Media and Google. He is also a trustee of NABS and pulls no punches when describing how vital NABS is to adland, and why everybody needs to donate to keep NABS’ vital work going.

Hamish is exuberant throughout, even when discussing the burnout that led to him reevaluating his life and ultimately changing him forever.

If you want to feel cheered up and supported, this is the episode for you.

Key takeaways:

• Your upbringing can contribute to burnout – at some point, the values you were taught as a child may crash into the realties you’re dealing with as an adult. Therapy can help you to unlock what’s going on.
• Take the time to find the right therapy for you – for Hamish, it was about finding practical solutions after understanding his past.
• Don’t fear AI. Instead, learn to vibe code and play around with the technology.

Resources:

NABS Managers’ Mindsets

NABS therapy referral

NABS Stranger than Summer

The Yay List

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

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Beth Sutherland is associate director of programmatic services at Essence MediaCom and vice-president of Bloom North, the organisation for women in adland in the north of England.

In this insightful conversation, Beth discusses the mental wellness transformation behind her successful career, going from someone reaching to external validation to someone working for goals that align with her true values. A young and successful adlander, Beth also gives insight into how to strengthen relationships between Gen Z and more senior colleagues, as well as the power of community in supporting mental wellness and personal and professional success.

Key takeaways

• Therapy can be transformative for personal growth, even in the early stages of your career.
• Gen Z prioritise mental wellness and learn effectively through social media: when you understand how to put this into practice, you can build bridges with this cohort.
• It's okay to be sensitive and emotional in the workplace.

Resources

Bloom North

NABS All Ears

NABS Managers' Mindsets

NABS Speed Mentoring

NABS therapy referral

NABS Walk and Talk

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

Sign up to the NABS newsletter

Follow NABS on LinkedIn

Watch NABS Talks on YouTube

Got a question for The NABS Podcast?

Tom Tapper is the co-founder and CEO of Nice and Serious, a B Corp-certified creative agency committed to only making work the world needs. He joins us for a special live episode recorded at the Festival of Happiness in November 2024.

Tom discussed his agency’s ethical approach to work, including how his team uses the Moral Compass to decide whether briefs fit the agency’s ethos, and how this approach helps to support mental wellness – alongside other emotional support actions at Nice and Serious.

Tom also opens up about the challenge of being a new dad and how he found solace through community.

Key takeaways:

• When leaders discuss their mental wellness challenges, it encourages others to seek emotional support
• A Moral Compass framework is good for morale, creativity and mental wellness as well as an ethical approach
• Early parenthood is really hard so reach out as early as you can for support

Resources mentioned in this episode:

NABS All Ears https://nabs.org.uk/about/impact/all-ears/

NABS Managers' Mindsets https://nabs.org.uk/training/managers-mindsets/

Nice and Serious https://niceandserious.com/

Moral Compass https://moralcompass.app/

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

Sign up to the NABS newsletter

Follow NABS on LinkedIn

Watch NABS Talks on YouTube

Got a question for The NABS Podcast?

The Media Lad is loved throughout adland for his funny takes on the industry as well as his insights into where we're doing brilliantly, and where we can work together to make things better. He champions those underrepresented in the industry and in his own life has come through tough times to be a practical and positive force for good. You'll never know his real name, but you'll be inspired by what he has to say.

Key takeaways

• Positive thinking and resilience can help you to realise that there's always a solution to a challenge
• We need camaraderie or friendship to survive, so always make time to help people
• Let's celebrate the people in our industry who don't always get the shout-outs they deserve

Resources

How to give no f**ks to boost your self-esteem - NABS Podcast with Amy Kean
Media Lad Instagram account
NABS event calendar
NABS training
NABS Managers' Mindsets
NABS Resilience training
NABS Personal Brand training

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

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Caregiving in adland: Ben Waters' devoted double life

Ben Waters is a producer at Mother and a caregiver for his partner. He also founded and runs the caregivers’ support group at Mother, which meets regularly for support and chats in an informal setting.

Ben is absolutely brilliant and down-to-earth and talks about caregiving in such a relatable way, acknowledging that it took him too long to seek support – but he’s so glad that he did. He’s made use of both the NABS Advice Line and NABS’ therapy referral service and now extols the virtues of both to everyone in need at Mother and beyond.

Key takeaways:

• If you’re a caregiver, you must find a way to carve out time and support for yourself
• Being open about your caregiving status can help to bust any stigmas you might be worried about
• Support groups are surprisingly easy to set up, yet they can be so rewarding for all involved.

Resources:

NABS Advice Line

NABS therapy referral

NABS’ Managers’ Mindsets

Carers' Week

Ben's article in The Media Leader 'Adland Cares'

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

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Follow NABS on LinkedIn

Watch NABS Talks on YouTube

Got a question for The NABS Podcast?

Gen Kobayashi is UK group chief strategy officer at M+C Saatchi. Gen also knows the pain of bereavement first-hand, as he sadly lost his sister-in-law to cancer.

Gen is a key industry voice on grief and bereavement. In this beautiful conversation he shares the profound impact of loss on his family. Gen explores what true support looks like, and shares why grief made him take a proper break from work for the first time ever.

Both Gen and Louise have experienced bereavement over the past few years, making this a heartfelt and empathetic conversation. They discuss how best to support team members who are grieving, sharing practical tips as well as emotional insights.

Need some grief support after listening to this? Call the NABS Advice Line for a listening ear.

Key takeaways:

• Take time to understand what the bereaved person needs
• Replace platitudes with active listening and genuine empathy
• Look after yourself too when you’re supporting someone going through grief.

Resources

NABS Managers’ Mindsets

NABS grief page

Caroline Parkes’ post about grief

Gen’s piece for Campaign about grief

NABS Advice Line

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

Sign up to the NABS newsletter

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Watch NABS Talks on YouTube

Got a question for The NABS Podcast?

How to manage your team's mental wellness - and your own, with Sue Todd, CEO, NABS

Sue Todd is the CEO of NABS, the industry's charity, helping everybody to move forward. She's not just in charge of adland's mental wellness; she's also responsible for the mental wellness of the NABS team. To mark Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May), Sue comes onto the NABS podcast for the first time to talk about community, meditation, the menopause and more.

Key takeaways:

• Employers have to do as much as they can to support those going through perimenopause, especially as the support isn't always out there in the wider world
• Meditation doesn't have to be woo-woo, there's a way to do it that helps to separate you from your thoughts
• Community is vital for us - there's real value in learning together and from each other, for example in NABS' Explore and Connect sessions

Resources mentioned in this episode:

WACL

Mental Health Awareness Week

NABS Explore and Connect sessions

Walk and Talk for NABS

MEFA

All In Census

IPA People First Promise

NABS Advice Line

NABS Managers’ Mindsets

NABS All Ears community consultation

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

Sign up to the NABS newsletter

Follow NABS on LinkedIn

Watch NABS Talks on YouTube

Got a question for The NABS Podcast?

How to make a big impact without burnout, with Bianca Best

Bianca Best knows about burnout - she experienced it, and has now written a book on how to avoid burnout while making an impact at work. Bianca is an adland powerhouse, a solo mum of four (five if you include her dog), a coach and a speaker, so she certainly knows about fulfilling your potential without damaging your mental wellness. Having got to the burnout point some years ago, Bianca knows how to bring yourself back from the edge of burnout, and how to avoid it in future.

Key takeaways:

• There are four elements to burnout: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
• The first step in overcoming burnout is to acknowledge any shame you have around it
• Ambition is a good thing that can exist alongside your mental wellness

Resources mentioned in this episode

Bianca's website

Big Impact Without Burnout

NABS Advice Line

NABS Managers' Mindsets

NABS on burnout in Marketing Week: here and here

NABS on burnout in Campaign

Support the show

We are NABS. And we're here for you - for the great stuff, the tough stuff and everything in between. As an independent charity, we're set on advancing the mental wellness of our industry and helping everyone find their way forward - wherever they're starting from.

👋 Need a helping hand? We're right here.

🌻 Group workshops or in-house training? Sign up to our sessions.

🤝 Industry events or networking? Check out our calendar.

📞 Sounding board on promotions, redundancies, parental leave - life in general? Here's how we can help.

More

Find out how you can support NABS

Sign up to the NABS newsletter

Follow NABS on LinkedIn

Watch NABS Talks on YouTube