The Happy Manifesto

Kathryn Wright, CEO of Culham Saint Gabriel's, a charitable foundation focused on religion and worldviews education.

Kathryn shares, with your hosts Henry and Maureen, her leadership journey, including how the Happy Leadership Programme helped her transition from a hands-on role to strategic leadership.

She discusses key leadership principles such as psychological safety, autonomy, and empowering teams through "Pre-Approval."

Kathryn also highlights initiatives like co-creating strategic plans and coaching-oriented performance reviews. The episode concludes with her three tips for a happy workplace: fostering positive relationships, providing clarity, and celebrating joy.

Kathryn's tips for a happy workplace:

• Foster positive and thriving relationships in the workplace
• Provide clarity: set expectations
• Celebrate joy

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Kathryn on LinkedIn
• Culham St. Gabriel's
• Happy Leadership Programme

Mark Williamson, co-founder of Action for Happiness and author of Make Life Happier talks to your hosts, Henry and Maureen, in today's episode, sharing his personal journey from chronic back pain to well-being through mindfulness, and explores happiness as a direction rather than a destination.

Marks covers meaningful goals, the power of kindness, active listening, and practical workplace strategies.

Mark offers accessible tools, including simple breathing techniques and gratitude practices, to help individuals and organisations build more connected, purposeful, and fulfilling lives.

Mark's tips for a happy workplace:

• Check-in at the start of meetings
• Trust people and give them agency
• Focus on the micro moments of interaction

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Happy Workplace

Dr. Anja Milde, a former senior leader at Bayer, talks with us today about the company's radical organisational transformation.

Hear how Bayer shifted from a rigid 12-layer hierarchy to a 'Dynamic Shared Ownership' model, empowering teams to make 95% of decisions, operating in 90-day learning cycles, and reducing management from 15,000 to 5,000 which delivered over 500 million euros in savings within the first year.

Anja suggests that lasting transformation begins with individual mindset shifts

Hear how her new company, Forward Evolution, helps other organisations achieve similar results.

Anja's tips for a happy workplace:

• Transformation starts with yourself
• Don't tell people what to do - let them make decisions
• Do what you love

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dr Anja Milde on LinkedIn
• 4ward evolution
• Happy Workplace

Dr. Apurv Gupta, a former Chief Medical Officer and performance improvement expert, today discussed the redefinition of the relationship between love and work; in the workplace.

Dr. Gupta argues that burnout isn't a failure of individuals, but a failure of systems designed around fear and industrial-age hierarchies.

Hear why traditional performance improvement often ignores the human component and how COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for change.

Dr. Gupta also shares with your hosts, Henry and Maureen, a deep dive into the 9 systems (4 people-based, 5 process-based) that constitute every organisation and how to move them from a place of fear to love.

You'll also hear whether AI will dehumanise the workplace or act as a tool to supercharge connection and empathy; and 3 practical tips on his three pillars for a happy workplace.

Dr. Gupta's tips for a happy workplace:

• Incorporate humour into your life
• Start your morning with gratitude
• Bring love into the workplace intentionally

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Apurv Gupta on LinkedIn
• Happy Workplace

Kim McCabe, is the founder of Rights for Girls and author of From Daughter to Woman.

In this episode, Kim shares her journey as a leader, with your hosts, Maureen and Henry, discussing how embracing vulnerability and psychological safety transformed her organisation's culture.

Kim also reveals how the alarming rise of anxiety and depression among young girls, advocates for restricting children's smartphone use, and offers practical parenting tips focused on unconditional love and confidence-building.

Kim also provides some actionable workplace guidance, including the benefits of flexible hours and celebrating mistakes as learning opportunities.

Kim's tips for a happy workplace:

• Pause before anything important
• Let everyone choose their own hours
• Hope to make everyone feel like they belong

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Kim's book From Daughter to Woman : Parenting girls safely through their teens
• Rites for Girls
• Happy Workplace

Patricia Elias is international lawyer and founder of the “No Peace Without Women” campaign.

In today's episode, Patricia shares some of her own journey; advocating for women’s leadership in peace building, highlighting how including women in negotiations can lead to more sustainable peace. 

Patricia shares with your hosts, Henry and Maureen, her humanitarian work, the upcoming UN event promoting women’s inclusion, and the importance of empowering women globally.

Hear how you can support women’s leadership in peace processes and to sign the campaign’s petition for lasting, equitable change.

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• UN Security Resolution 1325
• Patricia on LinkedIn
• Global Petition No Peace Without Women
• Happy Workplace

Well-being and leadership expert and author Jeanette Browning challenges burnout culture and reframes self-care as a leadership responsibility.

In our chat today, with your hosts Henry and Maureen, Jeanette shares personal stories of burnout and caregiving, and introduces the concept of “power pausing” towards creating clarity and connection, with others and for others.

Hear about the importance of listening with empathy and also how trust, agency, and caring conversations can transform workplace culture, towards making both high performance and humanity compatible.

Jeanette also offers practical tips for happier workplaces, through pausing, building trust, and genuinely caring about people.

Jeanette's tips for a happy workplace:

1. Design "pausing" into your work and conversations
2. Build trust (within people themselves) by creating space to listen
3. Care about people (have a conversation)

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Jeanette's book The Self-care Mindset
2. Happy Workplace

Finnish philosopher and psychologist Frank Martela, author of Stop Chasing Happiness joins hosts Henry and Maureen in today's episode, sharing insights on what makes life meaningful, why chasing happiness can backfire, and how the importance of autonomy, trust, and equality can foster meaning at work

Drawing on Finnish culture and education, Frank reveals practical ways leaders can create and cultivate meaning at work, through the value of connecting with others, and how a “militarist” mindset—seeking constant improvement—can boost well-being.

We also explore Finnish attitudes toward happiness, modesty, and resilience, offering you a fresh perspective on creating joyful, purposeful lives and workplaces.

Frank's 3 tips for a happy workplace:

1. Connect with yourself: reflect on who you are and what you enjoy
2. Connect and spend time with people you love
3. Do good for other people: find your way to make a meaningful contribution

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Frank's book, Stop Chasing Happiness
2. Happy Workplace

Dr. Vernon Bainton, Chief Medical Officer at Havas Lynx and co-founder of the Health and Happiness Lab, shares his journey from medicine to healthcare innovation, focusing on patient-centred care and the importance of measuring happiness and well-being in both patients and staff.

Vernon shares insights on the limitations of traditional clinical metrics, the impact of the pandemic on workplace well-being, and practical strategies for fostering trust, purpose, and joy at work.

Today's conversation highlights the essential role of well-being in healthcare and organisational success.

Vernon's tips for a happy workplace:

1. Move beyond traditional job satisfaction (consider people's lives as a whole)
2. Change how you capture information and set goals
3. Foster trust and accountability (build a culture of trust)

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Havas Lynx
2. Happy Workplace

Talent is everywhere; opportunity is not.

In this episode, Joe Seddon, founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, shares his journey from a single-parent household in West Yorkshire to launching an award-winning tech platform that supports over 15,000 talented students from low-income backgrounds, providing mentoring, coaching, and career pathways to help them gain entry into top UK universities and secure successful careers.

Joe is widely recognised as a leader in tech for social mobility, and has been named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list, and received a British Empire Medal for services to social mobility.

The conversation reveals the importance of having an authentic company culture, taking risks, and cultivating mission-driven leadership. Joe highlights, to your hosts, Henry and Maureen, Zero Gravity’s impact on social mobility, the power of mentoring, with Joe offering practical advice for building a happy and high-performing workplace.

[Guest's] tips for a happy workplace:

1. Measure what matters
2. Distil your culture into a culture deck and make this part of your onboarding process
3. Human beings are self-interested creatures: Incentivise and reward

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Zero Gravity
2. Happy Workplace