The Happy Manifesto

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 teams, successfully creating a positive workplace environment that values individual strengths and encourages open communication and innovation.

She discusses the small, yet impactful changes she made, encouraging autonomy and decision-making among team members, creating psychological safety and utilising liberating structures for effective team collaboration.

Helen’s tips for a happy workplace:

1. Creating a culture of freedom, responsibility and trust
2. Give staff respect and opportunity and not punishing mistakes
3. Play to people’s strengths and social styles

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

The Coaching Habit book by Michael Bungay-Stanier

Level 7 Senior Leadership Apprenticeship Programme

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 outside of work distinguishing it from mere job satisfaction.

Alex's tips for a happy workplace

1. Stop wasting money on the wrong things: focus on results and relationships
2. Start with the leaders in your workplace (if they don't get it, nobody will!)
3. Put somebody in charge of the happiness project (have a Chief Happiness Officer)

Links and resources mentioned in this episode

Alex's book Happy Hour Is 9 to 5

The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer

Alex's video 6 Reasons Why Greece’s New 6-day Work Week Will BACKFIRE

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 with her colleagues.

Emma's tips for a happy workplace

1. As a leader, build a culture of multiplying
2. Build radical candor: empathy and feedback with team members
3. Take the joy of joy at work seriously

Links

Multipliers, book by Liz Wiseman

Radical Candor, book by Kim Scott

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 "motor framework" (MTOR), which values movement, thought, and rest. Her passion for dance exemplifies the joy found in activities outside of work, underscoring the episode's theme of creativity in a happy workplace.

Natalie's tips for a happy workplace

1. Building cultures of trust in the workplace
2. Modeling self-inquiry as leaders and managers
3. Motor activity is more movement, thought and rest

Links

Connect with Natalie via LinkedIn

Figure 8 Thinking (Natalie's website)

The Creativity Leap (Natalie's book)

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.

Maja also emphasises the impact of organisational culture on problem-solving and employee well-being, highlighting the role of leadership.

Maja’s tips for a happy workplace:

1. Allow people to pursue their own interests regardless of skill

2. Identify and address draining work elements

3. Recognise individuals needs for fulfilment

Links:

The Possible Self - Maja's book

Gallup

Maja Djikic

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, CEO, Natalie Heskall, shares details of the organisation's training programs that enhance communication and teamwork, and the implementation of an approach that puts people first to empower projects and employees. She also shares Copperfield's adoption of a nine-day fortnight work schedule and the importance of playing to individual strengths.

Natalie's tips for a happy workplace:

1. Understand your purpose
2. Foster by belonging to and building community
3. Provide autonomy for people to be themselves

Links:

CoppaFeel

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 the workplace and promoting a more inclusive, flexible, and productive environment for everyone. She champions the idea of understanding and acknowledging different strengths and needs to foster a sense of belonging and joy in workplace settings.

1. Create flexible social environments that allow people to connect in ways that work for them.
2. Adapt work schedules, information sharing, and learning opportunities to suit individual cognitive strengths.
3. Encourage a non-judgmental environment where people feel comfortable expressing their feelings without fear of criticism or misunderstanding.
4. Cater to individual physical and sensory needs, like temperature preferences, noise levels, and work locations.

• Connect with Ludmila via LinkedIn
• The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work – Ludmila’s book
• Liberating Structures Immersion Workshop

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 demonstrate his insight and experience in business growth and people management.

1. Hire great people
2. Show them the destination
3. Get out of the way so they can do their best work

• The Melting Pot – Dominic’s podcast
• Connect with Dominic via LinkedIn
• Mind Your F**King Business: The No-Nonsense Guide to Making Your Good Business Great – Dominic’s book
• The Founder's Survival Guide: Lead your business from start-up to scale-up to grown-up, by Rachel Turner
• The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision, by Matthew Dixon
• Hiring for Attitude: A Revolutionary Approach to Recruiting and Selecting People with Both Tremendous Skills and Superb Attitude, by Mark Murphy
• Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down, by Vineet Nayar

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 find out if what people say about employee happiness really does have a measurable impact on a company’s bottom line.

• Trust people to organise themselves when the purpose and goals are clear
• Run small experiments to continuously evolve and improve
• Value employee happiness as a measure of success

• 2024 Happy Workplaces Conference
• Connect with Pieter via LinkedIn
• Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage in Human Consciousness, by Frederic Laloux

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 of the four-day work week idea, which has now become a global movement and has been implemented in multinationals, governments, and NGOs worldwide. Andrew has written a book on the four-day week and has been involved in numerous implementation pilots in countries and companies of various sizes.

1. Introduce the four-day working week
2. Look after your building
3. Put great art up on the walls

• Connect with Andrew via LinkedIn
• The 4 Day Week: How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase Productivity, Profitability and Well-being, and Create a Sustainable Future – Andrew’s book
• The Four-Day Working Week at Happy
• Happy’s apprenticeships and long-term development programmes
• Happy’s Level 5 Global Majority Empowerment Apprenticeship programme