hospital

For Jonathan Frostick, Regulatory and Compliance Lead at HSBC in London, an average Sunday afternoon took a dark turn that forced him to reevaluate his life choices while face-up on a hospital bed.

Sharing his near-death experience on social media, he said getting a heart attack is not how he planned to spend his Sunday.

Jonathan Frostick via LinkedIn

“It was pretty standard up to 4pm. Morning coffee, a trip to the local country park, a shopping trip and late lunch,” he wrote.

“I sat down at my desk at 4pm to prep for this week’s work. And then I couldn’t really breathe. My chest felt constrained, I had what I can only describe as surges in my left arm, my neck, my ears were popping.”

Frostick said he didn’t experience his life flashing before him as many describe in such life-altering moments. Instead, his first concern was a meeting with his manager the following day, which made the ordeal “inconvenient”, followed by concerns on how to secure funding for a work-related project.

After that, he remembered he hadn’t updated his will, and lastly, “I hope my wife doesn’t find me dead.”

After being transferred to hospital, Frostick reflected on his experience and his priorities at that moment in time, leading him to re-evaluate his approach to work and take some decisions, “on the basis I don’t die”.

Here are six leadership lessons from Frostick following his near-death experience:

1. I’m not spending all day on zoom anymore
2. I’m restructuring my approach to work
3. I’m really not going to be putting up with any s#%t at work ever again – life literally is too short
4. I’m losing 15kg
5. I want every day to count for something at work else I’m changing my role
6. I want to spend more time with my family

Related

An ongoing commitment to your people: 14 tips to sustaining excellence in teams

2 December 2023
by Karl Grech

As I coach great leaders, I have captured some tried and tested tips to develop and sustain high performing teams. ...

Retirement savings strategies: ‘How can I plan better?’

1 December 2023
by Luca Caruana

A reader turns to money expert Luca Caruana to ask how much of her income should be allocated towards retirement ...

ISO 30415: A guide to diversity, equity and inclusion in business

29 November 2023
by Viviana Premazzi

How can CEOs and managers leverage DEI to improve performance in their organisations?

Time for a change? 6 signs your company’s branding needs an overhaul

26 November 2023
by Fabrizio Tabone

From a simple tweak to a complete shake-up, each change in a brand’s identity can impact performance.

Close Bitnami banner
Bitnami