Great Leaders Care : Developing Safe, Resilient and Successful Teams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cowan, Graeme.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mental health.

Burn out (Psychology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (316 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Newark : John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2026.

Summary:

Great leaders don't choose between results and wellbeing -- they build both Leadership is tough.When it comes to delivering success, you face higher demands, yet you receive less support.Meanwhile, your team members are stressed, tense and on the verge of burnout.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Introduction

We have a (mental health) problem

What great teams really need

The solution: A great leader's care mindset

What you'll gain from this book

Your journey ahead

Chapter 1 Code red: From burnout to breakthrough

What's really happening to managers like you

The hidden crisis destroying workplaces

The human and financial cost

What this really means for your daily life

The competitive reality nobody talks about

Your critical role in the solution

Self-care: Personal resilience for uncertain times

Crew care: Developing safe and resilient teams

Red-zone care: Supporting those who are struggling

Your 70 per cent impact

Three questions to help you juggle well

The ripple effect of great leadership

What happens when you get this right

The ultimate success metric

The choice is yours

Chapter summary

Pillar 1 Self-care

Chapter 2 Your moodometer

Introducing the moodometer

Green zone (7-10): Optimistic, resourceful, energetic, grateful

Amber zone (4-6): Worried, defensive, irritated, stressed

Red zone (1-3): Anxious, depressed, angry, shame

A quick assessment: Where are you right now?

Using the moodometer effectively

Your starting point

Chapter 3 Mindset: Your psychological wellbeing

Three game-changing discoveries

Self-compassion: Your secret weapon against burnout

Growth mindset: Transforming challenges into opportunities

The upside of stress: Your body's secret ally

Why these three mind shifts matter for caring leaders

The choice that changes everything

Chapter 4 Vitality: Your physical wellbeing

Moving well

Nature heals

Combining exercise with connection

Moving well with creativity

Starting from scratch?

Find exercise you like.

Incorporate weights and resistance training

Rest well

A good sleep routine

Resting well during the day

Eat well

Turning your vitality knowledge into action: Vitality scorecard

Chapter 5 Intimacy: Your emotional wellbeing

Your green zone crew

Long-term romantic success

How to strengthen intimacy with friends and family

Three ways to build caring relationships

Reaching out when you're not okay

Intimacy scorecard

Chapter 6 Prosperity: Career wellbeing

The three pillars of career prosperity

Gratitude: Your fuel

Strengths: Your tools

Purpose: Your direction

Combining the three elements

Prosperity scorecard

Pillar 2 Crew care

Chapter 7 Your crew's moodometer

Introducing the crew moodometer

Green-zone crews: Collaboration and thriving

Amber-zone crews: Transition and competition

Red-zone crews: Crisis and disengagement

The sobering reality

Assessing your crew's zone

Watching for patterns and language use

Using rituals to reveal crew mood in real-time

Introducing the moodometer to your team

Zone-by-zone transitions

Red to amber: From crisis to hope

Amber to green: From competition to collaboration

Maintaining green: From good to great

Warning signs you're going backwards

Chapter 8 Care about belonging

The science of workplace friendship

What belonging really means

Five ways to build connection and belonging

Listen with empathy and stay curious

Make it safe to be vulnerable (and maintain your sense of humour)

Normalise help-seeking and caring check-ins

Celebrate small wins and progress (with genuine joy)

Create opportunities for personal connection (with curiosity and care)

Overcoming common obstacles to belonging

Measuring belonging in your team.

Caring about belonging scorecard

Chapter 9 Leading with psychological safety

Understanding fragility and building psychological safety

Model a learning mindset

Encourage thoughtful dissent

Celebrate intelligent failures

Create structured opportunities to speak

Build real connections

Building safety with tools and techniques

The proof: What success looks like

Your journey starts now

Lead with psychological safety scorecard

Chapter 10 Growing together: Moving from amber to green

Avoiding the amber zone trap - and growing into the green zone together

The bridge from amber to green

Reasons amber teams can stay stuck

Essential grow together rituals

Weekly growth conversations

Leader vulnerability check-ins

Collective problem ownership

Your 30-day amber to green starter plan

Growing together scorecard

The path forward

When growing together isn't enough

Pillar 3 Red-zone care

Chapter 11 Applying the ICARE framework

Understanding red-zone care - and why you need to act

Introducing the ICARE framework

Identify: Recognising the warning signs

Compassion: Having the conversation

Access experts: Guiding them to professional help

Revitalising work: Supporting their recovery

Exercise: The power of movement

The big impact when leaders walk the talk

Chapter 12 Building a WeCARE Culture

The tragic birth of R U OK?

The lasting impact of suicide

The first R U OK? event in 2009

From humble beginnings to an iconic movement

What made R U OK? work?

The crisis hiding in plain sight

The scale of the challenge

Where is your organisation now?

Building your WeCARE culture

Leadership foundation: Identifying and managing harmful work stress.

Manager development: Creating the right environment

Individual capability: Building skills across the organisation

Embedding WeCARE into organisational DNA

Five WeCARE quick start actions

Chapter 13 Complying with WHS laws

What's changed in Australian workplace law?

Understanding psychosocial risks in legal terms

Personal liability threats: The game-changer

What this means for you as a manager

Spotting problems and knowing what to do

Five scenarios to help you prepare

Scenario 1: The sudden personality change

Scenario 2: The overworked high performer

Scenario 3: The team drowning in change

Scenario 4: The conflict that won't resolve

Scenario 5: Unclear expectations creating chaos

What these scenarios have in common

A hard truth for self-reflection

What to say: Conversation scripts that work

What good documentation looks like

Your action plan: What to do this week

Sarah's story: Three months later

Using data rather than guesswork - and taking action

The bottom line

Moving from red zone to code green

Pillar 4 Code green

Chapter 14 A different kind of awakening

The prophecy fulfilled

The science behind the shift

What hasn't changed

The universal truth

A crisis without borders

The price of pretending we're fine

Looking forward

The future belongs to caring leaders

Some simple questions that change everything

Chapter 15 The ripple effect of green zone leadership

The compound effect of caring

What ripples look like day to day

Your moment of choice

The gratitude cascade

Chapter 16 The movement starts with you

From 10 to a learning movement: How Gemma Sisia built a school

Enrolling parents to improve the movement

The profound turtle lesson.

Building a movement

Why movements outperform institutions

When pain becomes purpose: Simone Allan's story

What Gemma and Simone can teach us about building safe teams

Gemma's feedback loop becomes your Monday morning ritual

Simone's pandemic start becomes your imperfect beginning

The turtle lesson for your transformation

Call to adventure

Life's better in the green zone

Conclusion: The movement you're invited to join

EULA.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

ISBN:

1-394-38934-5

9781394389346