PROFILE
Graeme Cowan helps leaders and teams to be more caring and resilient – and enjoy growing together.
He is a Founding Board Director of R U OK? and host of The Caring CEO podcast, where interviews CEO’s who champion a culture of care AND high performance.
In his earlier career he worked in senior leadership positions with Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and the management consulting company, Kearney.
In 2000 he went through a 5 year episode of depression that his psychiatrist described as the worst he had ever treated. He emerged from this crisis with a different view about how we can increase our resilience, mood, and performance.
He is the author of 4 books, including the internationally acclaimed BACK FROM THE BRINK, which has a testimonial from the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and which has become a best seller in China.
He is also the Co-Founder of WeCARE365, which creates simple practical eLearning, to help managers lead mentally healthy and safe teams.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Building safety, resilience and growth
Leaders running on empty can’t sustain team performance. They need a practical playbook.
What leaders learn
- SELF-CARE: Build resilience and energy that lasts
- CREW CARE: Developing psychological safety and growth
- RED ZONE CARE: Prevent burnout
Adaptable for leaders or all employees.
Self-care: Building resilience and energy that lasts
You can’t pour from an empty cup. Learn how to keep your tank full while leading others.
What leaders learn -Act like a VIP and build your:
- (V)itality- physical well being (move well, rest well, eat well)
- (I)ntimacy- emotional well being (connect well, support well, belong well)
- (P)rosperity- career well being (gratitude, strengths, purpose)
Identify your main mood vampire with the Self-Care Scorecard. Choose ONE tiny change, practice it repeatedly, and achieve remarkable results.
Adaptable for leaders or all employees.
Crew care - Building psychological safety and growth
Great leaders champion the Care, Lead, Grow mindset – which increases team resilience and engagement.
What leaders learn
- Caring about belonging builds trust and engagement
- Leading with psychological safety where teammates share ideas freely, challenge constructively, and take intelligent risks
- Growing together encourages intelligent risk taking and learning quickly from mistakes
Adaptable for leaders or all employees.
Red Zone Care: Preventing burnout before it is too late
Meeting your duty of care with confidence and compassion. The Moodometer shows when team members slide from thriving (green) through stressed (amber) to surviving (red). Leaders who catch this early prevent crisis.
What leaders learn:
- Apply the ICARE framework (Identify, Compassion, Access experts, Revitalising work, Exercise) to have difficult conversations with struggling team members
- Build a culture where asking “Are you okay?” becomes routine, not awkward
- Fulfill psychosocial hazard requirements with confidence, not fear
Adaptable for leaders or all employees.
Green zone leaders for the AI era
Leaders in the Green zone are 31% more productive, 37% better at sales, and 200% more creative (Achor, HBR). This is the mindset AI transformation demands.
What leaders learn:
- Build personal resilience to navigate AI-driven change without burning out (Self-Care)
- Create psychological safety where teams experiment with AI without fear of failure (Crew Care)
- Spot early signs of AI anxiety and prevent it from becoming resistance or burnout (Red Zone Care)
Adaptable for leaders or all employees.
