Tees Business Tees Business issue 19 | Page 81

The voice of business in the Tees region | 81 Business leaders reveal stress-relieving tips By Joanne Barrett Sitting on a panel at the Tees Business Leaders event, organised by Tees Business, left to right Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen, PD Ports chief Frans Calje, SABIC’S Daren Smith, Nomi Ahmad of SembCorp and Sharon Lane, MD of Tees Components shared their own coping mechanisms with more than 100 gathered delegates. W hen Russ Devereux took his own life last year, the devastatingly sad news sent shockwaves right around the Teesside business community. The 41-year-old boss of family-owned Billingham firm Devereux Transport and Distribution left behind a loving family including wife Catherine and three young daughters. He was, said Catherine, the last person anyone would have expected to end his own life and it led her to launch a special project in his name to talk about the issue. It is undoubtedly a difficult topic to broach, especially in the world of industry and commerce, but that’s just what some of Teesside’s leading business lights did recently. Sitting on a panel at the Tees Business Leaders event, organised by Tees Business, SABIC’S Daren Smith, Nomi Ahmad of SembCorp, Tees Components MD Sharon Lane, PD Ports chief Frans Calje and Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen shared their own coping mechanisms with more than 100 gathered delegates. Talking, being more open, sharing the load with family, friends or colleagues and even a good old dose of switching off in front of reality TV were just some of the things thrown in to the mix by the panel. “People in our position are at risk,” said Sharon. “You are that person who carries everything at work and at home, and for that kind of person it is difficult to say we are not managing. “We are all under similar pressures and I think coping with it is just about awareness of your own resilience and what defines it. “You’ve got to understand yourself, we can all only cope with so much.” The subject can be a moot area, said Nomi. For him the key lies in communication, sharing and getting that work-life balance right. “There’s always pressures at work - that comes with being on a senior leadership team,” he said. “It is about that work-life balance. Recognise it is your career, it is your job, but there’s a whole other thing too. Take more time but we do need that division.” For Daren, it is about having the courage to stand up and ask for help if you need to. He said: “High profile, high pressure, constant demands, the requirement to succeed, to improve - terms that get bandied around to succeed in business. “But nobody ever talks about head space. None of the business courses or books cover that. How to deal with it? When the crash comes, how do you recover? “It is about having the courage to stand up and ask for help. Look around you, look to your loved ones - they are there for you.” Frans echoed the sentiment. “You have to talk about it,” he said. “Don’t internalise things. We need to be open.” And for Ben? He’s a reality TV fan - this summer he recorded every episode of Love Island and hitting the play button on an evening is his little bit of down time. “I try and take it all on the chin, I internalise everything. The position that I am in, you’re the person that people look to and that can be quite stressful,” said Ben. “I love this job, it’s my life. “My wife helps me balance - she doesn’t care at all about politics so I’ll go home and she’ll talk about something completely different to what I’ve been doing with my day. It is good to keep that perspective. “The other thing we do is pre-record Love Island - we sit in front of the telly whatever time I get in on an evening and just completely turn everything else off. You kind of need that bypass, it just allows you to switch off.” The Russ Devereux Headlight project delivers emotional resilience programmes in schools, the project also offers counselling and play therapy sessions. One of its long term aims is to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of the triggers that lead to someone ending their life. teessidecharity.org.uk/2019/02/guiding-light-memory-russ for more information.