London, 5 August 2024 – The Indian men’s hockey team’s dramatic quarterfinal victory against Great Britain at the 2024 Olympics was one for the ages.

Despite playing three-quarters of the match with only 10 men, they showed Herculean levels of mental and physical fortitude to hold out for a 1-1 draw and then win the penalty shootout 4-2 to qualify for the semifinals. Making their feat even more remarkable was that they had not beaten GB since the 2020 Tokyo Games.

It was the kind of performance one has come to associate with teams working with world-renowned sports mentor and mental coach Paddy Upton.

It was Upton who shaped the mindset that helped India win the 50-over ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, and he is now doing the same with the hockey team in Paris.

Hailed by professional cricketers as one of the great coaches of the modern era, Upton has gained a stellar reputation for instilling clarity of vision in those who find themselves in pressure situations, be they in the sporting or business arena.

Beyond his sports accomplishments, he has helped global business leaders understand the importance of good mental health practices in the workplace. It is a testament to his prowess as a mental coach that he has done so despite the stigmas that continue to blight the corporate landscape.

According to figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in July, 60 to 70 million people in India suffer from common and severe mental disorders. However, numerous hurdles are standing in the way of addressing the situation.

For one, the ratio of psychiatrists (0.3), psychologists (0.07) and social workers (0.07) per 100 000 people pales in comparison to the ratio of psychiatrists in developed countries (6.6 per 100 000). For another, financial barriers prevent tens of millions of people from seeking treatment.

But one of the biggest obstacles is the stigmatisation of those battling mental disorders.

While India is the world’s fifth-biggest economy, and McKinsey & Co. in India reports the government has set a target of growing the country’s GDP to $ 19 trillion by 2047, creating 600 million jobs in the process, there remains a reluctance to disclose anxiety, depression and other mental conditions at work.

The “Insights from India's Best Workplaces in Health and Wellness 2023” report, released earlier this year, surveyed thousands of Indian employees from over 210 organisations and established that a quarter of all workers struggle to voice mental health issues for fear of judgment.

Upton believes questions should be asked about where this stigma comes from and who perpetuates it. In his view, these people present themselves as hard-nosed “authoritarians” but fall into the category of “outdated dictators” who often lack the emotional intelligence required by today's leaders.

In cases where leaders’ behaviour becomes overbearing, employees’ mental health declines to the point that they suffer breakdowns and may even be forced to leave the business.

“When somebody is placed under too much stress, they are either forced to leave through illness, they leave voluntarily, or they mentally check out and simply go to work to tick a box, get the paycheck, and not get into trouble. In all three situations, productivity and culture take a significant nosedive.”

The good news, he says, is that organisations are starting to move away from the era where these types of leaders were celebrated.

“We are recognising the power-hungry authoritarians for who and what they are, and I think that's one of the reasons why the stigma is changing. Now, you have more emotionally mature, respected leaders saying, “Mental well-being is important; let me lead to help alleviate rather than worsen it.”

He says many older-generation business leaders have failed to embrace the fact that the knowledge that was once exclusively theirs is now freely available on the Internet. This has meant their authority has been greatly diminished, and they will have to learn to work with rather than laud over employees.

Upton says much of the change comes from leaders with good heads, big hearts, and the backbone (courage) to connect the two. One of their great attributes within the business context is putting employees in the best possible mind space to be fully present in their work.

Engaged employees who are invested in their work bring their best thinking and problem-solving capabilities instead of only being physically present or on “autopilot” from a mental perspective.

He says it has become imperative for organisations to have mental support measures to help people constantly stressed over deadlines and meeting targets, particularly those in major Indian industries like IT and finance.

Given his superb track record, it is no surprise that Upton’s expertise is in high demand globally. For the most part, there are two scenarios he encounters.

The first is being asked to “put out fires” where business operations are declining. The second, and by far his more preferred scenario, is when a business is doing well, has a healthy culture, and has a hunger for improvement.

“The more cutting-edge and smarter businesses don’t see staff wellbeing programmes as an expense to fix a problem but as an investment that will yield three to five times the returns. This is done to make a healthy business a high-performing one.”

About Paddy Upton

Paddy is a South African leadership, high-performance coach, author, speaker and professor. He was instrumental in leading the Indian national cricket team to win the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time in 28 years and to become the World’s No. 1 Test Team for the first time. As performance Director, he helped lead the South African cricket team to become the first to simultaneously hold the World No. 1 ranking in all three game formats. He has coached in five cricket World Cups. Currently, he is the mental conditioning coach for the Indian men’s hockey team at the Paris Olympics.