With the first-ever NDA Heroes Awards just days away, we caught up with the leaders of the businesses sponsoring the new event. Here, we meet Cate Murden, Founder and CEO of training and coaching consultancy PUSH…
What attracted your organisation to sponsoring the first-ever NDA Heroes awards?
We’ve always liked the work of the NDA and Bluestripe Teams – they seem like a brilliant, down to earth bunch who wholly invest in, support and want the best for the creative, tech and digital industries that we all work in and support. The fact that they have created an awards programme for people rather than organisations or brands reinforces this even more and is absolutely spot on for PUSH’s mission.
We are a company that is committed to Making Work Better for individuals and organisations alike and, crucially, we support and empower people to be their absolute best. We think that everyone deserves to think, feel, do and manage like a hero. So, the synergy really couldn’t be more perfect.
What are the big priorities for your organisation this year?
PUSH has made a big commitment that we will Make Work Better for 3 million people over the next 3 years. We will deliver this through continuing to run our brilliant programmes through PUSH Corporate – our work that combines live and digital content and directly supports individuals and organisations across our four pillars:
Think Better: Mental Health
Feel Better: Wellbeing
Do Better: Personal and Professional Development
Manage Better: Leadership
We have made a huge impact with these programmes, partnering with awesome companies like TikTok, Rightmove, Teads, Defected Records, Havas, W+K, Twitter and Facebook to name but a few.
However, this year, we have also launched two ground-breaking new initiatives PUSH Community and PUSH Futures.
PUSH Community is about supporting those people that are out there supporting everybody else.
It is available to the non-profits, charities, third sector and other small-business heroes in recognition of the amazing work they do and is a subsidised service of the unique programmes that we give to our Corporates.
PUSH Futures is a pioneering programme that invests in the next generation. We are committed to helping our future workforce manage their mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
How important is collaboration to the work that your organisation does?
Collaboration is key to PUSH’s success.
We consider all of our client partnerships to be collaborations – after all, whilst we are experts in human behaviour, our clients are experts in their industries and organisations. Together we create an unstoppable force which will ensure that their people are match-fit to deliver game-changing business strategies.
However, our partnerships, with the likes of New Digital Age, YouGov, Mind, Brixton Finishing School, The Deaf and Blind Association and, in the future, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, will mean that we can better understand what different industries, communities and audiences need from us so that we can keep developing insights, expertise and reach to get to the people that need us most.
Together we can create solution focused programming that will deliver the real change needed most in the world right now.
Generally speaking, how well do you think the digital media industry does at supporting the needs of the individuals within it? What could the industry do better?
Over the last 2 years we’ve seen a huge uptake in the number of agencies and companies who have called on us to support their people’s mental health, wellbeing, development and leadership. More and more, the digital media industry is investing in its people and, as someone who was inspired to start PUSH after experiencing burnout myself in an agency, it’s brilliant to see.
However, I would add that still, how invested an organisation is in this kind of work does seem to always be determined by how enlightened their leadership teams are. So, the question is, how can we encourage more self-aware leadership?
In terms of where the industry could do better? Probably in supporting their people’s wellbeing, growth and potential outside of times of crisis. This industry houses a wealth of creative, innovative minds: if you provide them with the tools to think, feel, do and manage better, and if you create psychologically safe environments for them to work in, that’s when the magic happens – it’s the secret sauce for award-winning work.
Do you have any Heroes of your own, individuals who were particularly important in the development of your career or who acted as an inspiration to you?
Kathleen Saxton is absolutely one of my biggest heroes and someone that I have looked up to for at least the last 15 years.
I remember when I was working in media and she started The Lighthouse Company and was just this formidable powerhouse of a woman, smashing through all of the glass ceilings that females in the industry faced and creating this massive, incredible, market-leading company that no one could even come close to. She was (and still is!) literally unstoppable.
Kathleen and I became closer once I launched PUSH and I was fortunate to create a joint event with her about 5 years ago. At the event, we looked to uncover the future of work alongside industry stalwarts Bruce Daisley, Geoff Macdonald and Rory Sutherland. It’s fair to say memories of the event will stay with me for a long-time but none more so than Kath’s generosity, kindness, wisdom and experience.
Kathleen is now one of my dearest friends and I remain nothing short of grateful to have such an incredible woman to share the trials and tribulations of life with and there are very few people’s brains that I benefit more from both professionally and personally.
In my opinion, Kathleen has paved the way for many generations to come and one day will leave a massive legacy in the media industry.
PUSH are industry-leading training and coaching experts. They specialise in delivering better mental health, wellbeing, development and management for you and your organisation.
