Angelo sits down with Leighann Harrison — Director of HR and part-owner of Core Mechanical, a mechanical contractor in BC — who brought a psychology background, coaching practice, and clinical breathwork into a trades business. They dig into why most construction wellness is performative, how to notice when someone’s struggling and actually say something, and why mental health belongs under an operational lens rather than a feel-good one. Angelo shares the story of the colleague who created space for him during the hardest stretch of his life, and Leighann closes with the one thing she’d change about the industry: more love, and the safety to be vulnerable.

Key Topics Covered

• The unlikely path from psychology and coaching to part-owner of a trades business

• Coming in as an outsider — and why the trades welcome support more than expected

• What HR looks like with a clinical lens vs. accounting-runs-the-paperwork

• Walking the line between coaching and HR

• How to notice when someone’s off, and how to broach it without crossing a line

• Angelo’s story: the colleague who quietly created space

• Resilience vs. suppression — and what suppression actually manifests as

• Giving people language for their nervous system (regulated, dysregulated, flooded)

• Treating mental health as an operational issue: presenteeism, absenteeism, safety

• Leading by example, and two actions any leader can take: deepen check-ins, be vulnerable

• “Support or advice?” and witnessing pain instead of fixing it

• Mental health first aid, the CPR analogy, and the 50% lifetime mental illness stat

• Signposting: you don’t have to be the therapist, you just need to know where to point

• Therapy as “the dentist for your brain,” and dropping the stigma

• The reframe: what’s missing instead of what’s wrong

• The one thing: more love, and psychological safety to be vulnerable

Guest Bio

Leighann Harrison is Director of HR and part-owner of Core Mechanical Ltd., a family-founded mechanical contractor in Langley, BC. She holds a background in psychology and is a certified coach and clinical breathworker. She co-owns the company with her husband Ryan Harrison and leads culture inside a business that partners with major BC general contractors.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit humansideofconstruction.substack.com