The quietly cracking: Staying sane while supporting those breaking silently

Half of your team is quietly breaking while still hitting their targets, and everyone expects you to spot it, fix it, and somehow not break yourself in the process. Through raw storytelling and hard-won wisdom, Nick reveals how to support struggling teams without becoming their therapist, how to use your own mental health journey as a leadership strength rather than a burden, and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can say isn't "I can help you" but "I see you, and you're not alone in this." This isn't about becoming perfect - it's about becoming real. And in a world where everyone's quietly cracking, maybe being human is exactly what your team needs most.

What you will gain:

Recognition that quiet cracking is happening in their teams right now, with tools for having meaningful conversations without becoming amateur therapists. A framework for sharing their own struggles in ways that help rather than burden others, strategies for protecting their energy while genuinely supporting their people, and the confidence to be authentically imperfected in their leadership. They'll understand when to listen, when to speak, and when to refer, plus permission to care deeply without carrying everything. Most importantly, they'll discover that you don't have to have all the answers - you just have to be brave enough to acknowledge we're all figuring this out as we go.

Seven learning points:

• The invisible epidemic - how to spot quiet cracking when your best performers are professionally functional but personally.
• Fragmenting, and why high achievers often crack the loudest in silence.
• The helper's trap - why your natural instinct to fix everyone will destroy you, and the moment you realise caring deeply doesn't mean carrying everything.
• Your story as their permission slip - how being honest about your own breaking points gives others permission to be human without oversharing your trauma or becoming the office therapist.
• The art of staying present without taking ownership - how to sit with someone's pain without making it yours, and why "I've been there too" is more powerful than "let me help you".
• When doundaries become bridges - why protecting your energy isn't selfish but essential, and the difference between empathy and absorption that could save your leadership career.
• Reading the room (and your own capacity) - when to listen, when to speak, when to refer, and the signs that someone needs more help than a chat over coffee can provide.
• Building resilience, not dependency - creating teams where struggle is acknowledged without being amplified, because the leader who tries to save everyone ends up drowning.

About Nick Elston:

Nick Elston is an award-winning inspirational speaker and founder of Forging People, a transformational coaching company that empowers people to find their authentic voice and create real impact. Drawing from his lived experience of mental health challenges and recovery, Nick delivers keynotes globally to stages, boardrooms, businesses, organisations, education establishments, and events, focusing on mental health engagement, resilience, and personal development. As a transformational speaking coach, he works with individuals from corporate leaders to high-profile clients, helping them overcome speaking anxiety and communicate with genuine authenticity.

Additional information:

Parking at the DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon is free of charge. Please do however register your car with reception/parking eye monitor on arrival.

Light refreshments will be served.

Please arrive at 17:00 for a 17:30 start.

Please note:

1. Reminder emails will be sent to you the day before, with a further reminder on the morning of the event.

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4. Please cancel your ticket so someone else can take your place if your plans change and you can no longer make it – there is usually a waitlist for our events.

5. This event may include an external speaker who has prepared their own presentation. Any views or opinions expressed by the speaker are their own and do not reflect those of the CIPD.

6. If you require any reasonable adjustments to enhance your experience, please get in contact with us by responding to this email and we will do our best to accommodate.