Samantha Green is the leader of a UK charity working on animal welfare in Sri Lanka. In today's conversation, Samantha shares how the Level Seven Senior Leaders programme helped her shift from top-down leadership to empowering self-managed teams. Samantha discusses her experience with cross-training staff, adopting 'Toyota-inspired' continuous improvement, and fostering a workplace of trust and transparency. Samantha also emphasises the importance of local leadership and provides practical advic...
Jun 18, 2025•33 min•Ep. 42
Sophie Bryan works at the deepest level of workplace culture: where energy, trust, & curiosity shape everything. In today's episode, Maureen and Henry are joined by Sophie to explore how Montessori principles such as freedom, curiosity, and play can transform workplace culture. Sophie shares stories from her HR career, advocating for employee autonomy, transparency, and coaching over traditional management. Sophie also discusses the positive role of sexual energy in creativity, the importanc...
Jun 04, 2025•37 min•Ep. 41
In this episode of the Happy Manifesto podcast, hosts Maureen and Henry converse with Vanessa King from Action for Happiness. Vanessa is an expert in positive psychology and the author of The Ten Keys to Happier Living. In this episode, Vanessa discusses the active pursuit of happiness, distinguishing between short-term pleasure and long-term fulfilment. Vanessa shares the importance of making connections, gratitude, and psychological safety in the workplace. We also discuss practical strategies...
May 21, 2025•30 min•Ep. 40
Can organisations gain a strategic advantage by investing in their employees? Stephan Meier, a Columbia Business School professor, and author of The Employee Advantage , shares, in this episode, the relationship between employee motivation, organisational culture, and profitability. Stephan reveals that organisations prioritising employee well-being, ones that align with their core values, foster ethical behaviour and a positive work environment that benefits all with profitability and increased...
May 07, 2025•32 min•Ep. 39
Kelly McGovern is the Chief Nurse at the West Hertfordshire Foundation Trust In this episode, Kelly shares how she has fostered a transformative culture of trust and empowerment in a healthcare environment. Kelly shares her leadership journey, highlighting the importance of empowering staff to drive change and celebrate small wins. She recounts how her hands-on approach and role modeling have led to significant improvements in patient care, such as reduced waiting times and better discharge rate...
Apr 23, 2025•29 min•Ep. 38
Ann Hartland, Deputy CEO and Growth Director of Cedar, discusses the importance of joy at work, personal growth, and leadership as well as her experiences in the Level 7 Senior Leadership Programme. Ann shares insights into her role highlighting a people-first approach and the significance of listening to employees. Today's conversation reveals some of the challenges and successes of implementing a positive workplace culture and the practical application of theoretical learnings. Ann also touche...
Mar 19, 2025•28 min•Ep. 37
Jenny Fernandez is an executive coach and professor at Columbia and NYU. In this episode, we explore some of Gen Z's unique characteristics, such as being digital natives and the impact of "helicopter parenting." Jenny highlights the challenges Gen Z faces, including communication skills, job security and concerns exacerbated by the pandemic. We also explore the need for supportive work environments, effective onboarding, clear training paths, and why mentorship is important. Jenny's tips for a ...
Mar 05, 2025•30 min•Ep. 36
In this episode of the Happy Manifesto Podcast, co-hosts Maureen and Henry engage with Helen Stuart, Managing Director of Now You're Talking. Helen Stuart, Managing Director of Now You're Talking discusses her transformative experiences from a leadership program at TLC, emphasising trust, empowerment, and psychological safety in management. Helen shares practical insights on fostering team ownership, leveraging individual strengths, and creating a supportive work environment based upon 'pre-appr...
Feb 19, 2025•23 min•Ep. 35
Nigel Paine, head of people development at the BBC, discusses the evolution of workplace learning, the creation of the BBC's iPlayer, and the importance of fostering a true learning culture in organisations. Nigel emphasises the need for trust, autonomy, competence, and connectedness toward creating an effective learning environment and shares with us examples from Danone and WD-40 to illustrate successful learning practices Nigel also highlights the significance of leadership qualities like cou...
Dec 04, 2024•29 min•Ep. 34
Did you know that there's a strong link between happiness and success? In today's episode, we explore the surprising connection between happiness, productivity, and workplace culture. Nic Marks, a happiness expert and founder of the Centre for Wellbeing at the New Economics Foundation, and CEO of Friday Pulse, sheds light on this fascinating relationship and dives deep into the Happy Planet Index. We discuss the impact of happiness on productivity and how a positive workplace environment can boo...
Nov 20, 2024•32 min•Ep. 33
Many businesses still focus solely on financial metrics to understand why they are underperforming. However, one crucial factor is often overlooked—the well-being and happiness of employees who contribute to those results. Mark Price, former Marketing Director of Waitrose and founder of WorkL, discusses the critical role of employee happiness in driving business success. Drawing from his 32-year career at the John Lewis Partnership, Mark shares valuable insights into the direct impact of a posit...
Oct 23, 2024•36 min•Ep. 32
In many workplaces, mistakes are not tolerated or easily forgotten, leading to environments where employers are feeling pressurised to be perform perfectly and potentially nervous to innovate new ideas. Ben Clarkson, Chief Finance and Operating Officer at Parkinson’s UK, joins the podcast today to share his journey implementing the principles of the Happy Manifesto, including the idea of celebrating mistakes rather than admonishing them. Previously at Asthma and Lung UK, Ben recounts his leaders...
Oct 09, 2024•28 min•Ep. 31
Creating a culture of trust and collaboration and empowering frontline staff in the pressurised environment of Adult Social Care could be a challenge but it’s possible when leaders are given a clear blueprint, and the skills needed. Helen Taylor, Head of Services in Adult Social Care at Hounslow Council took on that challenge when she joined our Level Seven Senior Leader Apprenticeship programme and joins us today to share her transformational journey of embedding coaching practices within her t...
Sep 25, 2024•24 min•Ep. 30
Alex Kjerulf is the original chief happiness officer and in today's episode shares insights from his 25-year journey, emphasising that true workplace happiness stems from meaningful results and positive relationships; rather than superficial perks. Alex reveals the growing global interest in workplace happiness, the benefits of remote working, four-day workweeks, and the pitfalls of relentless positive thinking. Hear practical tips for fostering a happy work environment and to finding joy outsid...
Sep 11, 2024•29 min•Ep. 29
Emma Halahan is an apprentice who has worked with the Dog Star Foundation and is now at Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust. In this conversation, Emma shares her journey as a Gen-Z leader, discussing her experiences with leadership, the challenges of transitioning between organizations, and the impact of her apprenticeship. Emma also highlights the importance of empowering her team, developing team members who show initiative, embracing agile methodologies, and practicing radical candor ...
Jul 24, 2024•28 min•Ep. 28
Learning from mistakes can create a more fulfilling work environment says our guest, Dr. Natalie Nixon, a creativity strategist, who draws upon parallels with jazz music's improvisational nature, to explore the intersection between creativity, organisational culture, and productivity. Natalie advocates for a human-centric approach to problem-solving and balancing curiosity with discipline towards fostering innovation. Additionally, Natalie challenges traditional work culture by proposing the "mo...
Jun 19, 2024•29 min•Ep. 27
Understanding that happiness can be tied to outcomes, and that joy can be connected to the process of growth and potential, in both life and at work, can be key to developing happiness in the workplace. In this episode, Maja Djikic, an associate professor at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and author of The Possible Self, shares her "Wheel of Self" framework and explores the distinction between happiness and joy; and the implications of focussing on joy over happiness. Ma...
May 22, 2024•31 min•Ep. 26
Early and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer, particularly in younger individuals, is important not just in the workplace but to any individual in any team or community and this is at the heart of CoppaFeel's mission: to promote early diagnosis to 18-24 year-olds, which can lead to treatments being more effective and less invasive whilst working towards higher survival rates. CoppaFeel is a breast cancer awareness charity taking a happy and positive approach to serious business. In this episode...
May 08, 2024•28 min•Ep. 25
Embracing neurodiversity in the workplace not only benefits neurodiverse individuals, but creates a more inclusive, flexible, and productive environment for everyone. By understanding and acknowledging different strengths and needs, we can reshape jobs and work cultures to foster a sense of belonging and joy, leading to more effective organisations. Ludmila Praslova is an organisational psychologist at Vanguard University in Southern California. Her work focuses on embracing neurodiversity in th...
Apr 24, 2024•31 min•Ep. 24
Going from startup to scale-up takes strategic planning and insight, along with a real understanding of employee happiness. Plus, crafting great job descriptions and letting people make their own decisions once they’re in a role are key to developing a team of A players. Dominic Monkhouse has a distinguished career in scaling up businesses, especially within the IT sector. He successfully built two web hosting businesses from 0 to £30,000,000 within 5 years, and is an author of two books that de...
Apr 10, 2024•35 min•Ep. 23
Employee happiness makes a big contribution to a company's success, as can self-management. But how do you know what’s really working, driving the business forwards, and helping it meet its targets? This week's guest is Pieter Jelle de Brue, founder of digital agency Statik, a company that values employee happiness and has adopted a self-managing structure with multiple autonomous teams. They’re continuing to grow and evolve, and one of the metrics they’re currently conducting an experiment to f...
Mar 20, 2024•24 min•Ep. 22
A four-day work week doesn’t simply lead to longer weekends. When implemented right, organisations can maintain the same level of productivity, and give their employees significant – and measurable – increases in happiness. The four-day week challenges traditional concepts of work and productivity and encourages companies to measure output rather than time spent working. This shift in approach has led to reduced stress, fewer sick days, and enhanced team cohesion. Andrew Barnes is the originator...
Mar 06, 2024•35 min•Ep. 21
Before chasing the latest technologies or trends, organisations need to focus on building a strong foundation and core capabilities. They need a culture that encourages learning, collaboration, and transparency, and to have leadership that prioritises long-term success over short-term gains. In this episode, Henry is joined by Howard Yu, a renowned strategist and innovation expert, a Thinkers 50 strategy award winner, and the Lego Professor of Innovation and Management at the IMD business school...
Feb 21, 2024•29 min•Ep. 20
Creating democratic workplaces lead to accelerated growth and a culture that people love. By giving power to employees and treating them with dignity and fairness, companies can tap into the full potential of their workforce. Transitioning to a democratic workplace takes a specific mindset, democratic leadership skills, and the implementation of systems and processes that value transparency and accountability. But not only does it increase employee satisfaction and engagement, it can also result...
Feb 07, 2024•29 min•Ep. 19
A culture of trust, empowerment and respect towards employees leads to a successful and sustainable business model, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and a happy workplace. That ethos has been key to Handelsbanken’s operation for over 40 years, and has led them to top ratings in UK customer satisfaction for 15 years. It also makes financial sense. The banking group has been the most profitable within its peer group for nearly 50 years. Bernard Charles is Chief HR Officer at the UK division...
Dec 13, 2023•21 min•Ep. 18
Creating a culture of psychological safety is crucial for organisations. By fostering an environment where people feel safe to speak up, share their ideas, and take intelligent risks, companies can promote learning, innovation, and growth. Celebrating failures – especially intelligent failures that result from thoughtful exploration – can encourage individuals to take risks and contribute to the collective knowledge of the organisation. Amy Edmondson is largely credited as the founder of the Psy...
Nov 22, 2023•29 min•Ep. 17
Ricardo Semler’s radical book Maverick is now 30 years old. Happy was an early adopter of some of its key principles, and when software company cofounder Zahid Malik was looking for implementation examples, Happy was just about the only one he found. As Semler’s work suggests, implementing a culture of trust, freedom, and autonomy can have a transformative impact on a company. By allowing employees to make decisions, fostering open communication, and providing guidelines and frameworks, organisa...
Nov 01, 2023•24 min•Ep. 16
As an organisation expands and new people come on board – either remotely in or in satellite offices – it can be hard to ensure everyone’s aligned with the same values and goals. This can lead to a lack of cohesion and a sense of disconnection among team members. So organisations need to find creative ways to maintain their culture as they grow. TLC, a relationship charity based in Greater Manchester, which invests in its employees’ wellbeing. They give staff the freedom to plan their own career...
Oct 11, 2023•27 min•Ep. 15
Creating a truly inclusive and happy workplace means understanding and addressing the unique needs and feelings of each individual. This involves actively listening to and communicating with employees, recognising and addressing implicit biases, and creating a culture of trust and fairness. Creating connections between teammates and increasing knowledge and understanding of each other's backgrounds and strengths will help foster greater inclusion and happiness in the workplace. Femi Otitoju is t...
Sep 27, 2023•26 min•Ep. 14
Psychologically safety isn’t just about creating a comfortable climate, but about embracing discomfort. That’s because discomfort helps us grow and address complex problems, which in turn leads to greater psychological safety. This means shifting from a parent-child dynamic to an adult-to-adult relationship within teams. That involves relating to people's potential, treating them as competent professionals, and involving them in the decision-making process. A psychologically “safe” environment w...
Sep 13, 2023•23 min•Ep. 13
