"One of the main things you can do to be happy is to have a purpose in life. If you don't have a purpose, you're not going to be happy."

Speaker and happiness expert Richard Clarke joins me to talk about navigating the emotional transitions of selling his company, what years of studying workplace happiness has taught him, and why we should ignore clichés and get practical about what really drives happiness at work and in life.

From his journey founding and exiting a tech company (where team happiness was the number one KPI) to experimenting with every "fun" workplace trend he could find, Richard shares hard-won lessons on purpose, autonomy, and why learning what truly matters to teams makes all the difference.

We explore his research (and mistakes), why "family" at work can be a problematic metaphor, what truly motivates people after financial needs are met, and the five-part framework for happiness at work.

Highlights:

00:00 The simplest happiness hack and neuroplasticity

02:53 Introducing Richard: Building a happiness-first business

05:09 The door closing: Stepping down as CEO and selling the business

08:13 Handing over your "baby": The tough bits of letting go

11:00 Watching from the sidelines: why partial exits can be the hardest

13:27 Moving towards family time and why real change is so messy

20:07 The shock of a new chapter: Speaker life isn't what it seems

21:39 Why speaking, not coaching or writing, became his new passion

23:53 Becoming the "happiness geek"

37:03 The five drivers of workplace happiness

38:29 Community vs family and why belonging matters

43:54 Autonomy: why boundaries trump "total freedom"

52:34 Purpose: how hospital cleaners outdo the moon landing story

54:35 Auditing your own happiness: What's missing for you?

Richard's Change Toolkit:

Book: Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard

Soundtrack: "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey (and Glee)

One piece of advice: "Just see the good in things, practice noticing positives daily, even in secret, and you'll actually rewire your brain for happiness. No journal needed."

Work with Eleanor

Buy the Book - Another Door Opens; 5 steps for navigating change. Described as 'Game changing' 'Brilliant' 'A must read' 'The best book on change'.

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it's coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training.

Work with Eleanor 121 as your coach, when you are starting something new, to develop the idea, to create the idea, to get it launched.

Book in a Change Mastery for a team session - when your team is navigating change.

Book in a 90 minute workshop - to think through change at work.

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/

Website: www.another-door-opens.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Richard Clarke:

Richard Clarke is a speaker and facilitator who will share the secrets of happy teams.

Richard set up Secret Source in 2014, a tech company with one core belief. If he made team happiness his number one KPI, the company would naturally succeed.

He spent years learning the science of happiness in the workplace and how to make teams happier, before stepping down as CEO and eventually selling the company in 2025. Now he teaches leaders how to make their employees happier so they stay longer and perform better.

Connect with Richard:

Website:https://www.richardclarke.eu/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmclarke/

"Having it all for me means being in control of the trade-offs I'm making and splitting my time amongst the things that I find important rather than chasing somebody else's dream of this… superwoman who's doing everything and still being a mum and a worker."

Author, commercial leader and speaker Fiona McDonnell shares what maternity, careers with brands like Amazon, Nike and Booking.com, and a major health event taught her about identity, choice and letting go of other people's "success".

In her new book Decisions That Carry, Fiona explores what it takes to make rigorous and authentic decisions and bring people with you. And how to make balanced decisions alongside AI with your judgement visible enough that others can believe in it and own it - inspiring commitment, not just compliance.

We talk about being a "human WD-40", why metaphors matter, and how her frameworks (from cheetahs to yellow bags) can help all of us navigate change and make braver decisions on our own terms, not someone else's.

Highlights:

00:00 Exploring "having it all" with Fiona McDonnell

04:22 The door that changed everything

09:00 Returning to work and why she refused to accept sidelining

15:09 "Who is someone else to tell me I'm failing?"

18:09 The power of ignoring "shoulds"

22:22 Why the cheetah walks away and why you should too

28:13 The new book: Decisions That Carry

31:29 How to make choices you can live with

34:30 Exploring the yellow bag framework

39:18 Identity after big job titles

41:25 Try introducing yourself without a job title

Fiona's Change Toolkit:

Book: The Wonder Weeks by Hetty van de Rijt, the "manual for survival" for new parents

Soundtrack: "Mental Calm" (piano piece from a lost pregnancy CD) & "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall

One piece of advice: "Slow down, be patient, pause before you rush…patience will show you the way through change."

About Fiona

Fiona is a general manager, author, and speaker with a career that spans continents, industries, and disciplines. Having lived and worked across the UK, Germany, Poland, France, Singapore and the Netherlands, Fiona brings a genuinely global perspective to leadership, shaped by decades of leading commercial teams and navigating complex, multicultural organisations.

She describes herself as a left-brain marketer, right-brain engineer — someone who started out in technical roles before finding her greatest strength in the commercial and human side of business. .

Fiona is a published author, writing both leadership non-fiction and children's books, and has appeared as a speaker and media commentator on diversity and inclusion. She's proof that a portfolio career, built around things you genuinely love, is not just possible, it's powerful.

Work with Eleanor

Buy the Book - Another Door Opens; 5 steps for navigating change. Described as 'Game changing' 'Brilliant' 'A must read' 'The best book on change'.

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it's coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training.

Work with Eleanor 121 as your coach, when you are starting something new, to develop the idea, to create the idea, to get it launched.

Book in a Change Mastery for a team session - when your team is navigating change.

Book in a 90 minute workshop - to think through change at work.

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/

Website: www.another-door-opens.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

"Bravery for them is, well, I can sack 12,000 people and I can do it in an email at 9:30 on a Monday morning. That's not bravery, that's cowardice. I would look them in their face and go, you're a coward. Just because you've got the power…it doesn't make you brave at all."

When is a "brave" decision really just avoiding humanity? David McQueen, leadership consultant, speaker, and author joins me for a provocative and honest conversation about change, leadership, and the myth of bravery at work.

We discuss the doors that open when you seize terrifying opportunities like leaping into national TV late in life and why fame isn't always what it seems. David shares his passion for helping leaders make better, more human decisions, and the legacy he hopes to leave through empowering others, not being centre stage himself.

Highlights:

00:00 Bravery vs. cowardice in leadership

02:32 Who is David McQueen?

03:40 Why we keep making the same mistakes

06:23 TV, Channel 4, TED Global, and working with Richard Branson

10:05 Why David chose impact over fame

13:26 The real legacy: empowering others, not being centre stage

14:19 "Personal brand" is capitalism, why David McQueen resists it

16:11 Using humour to create safety and challenge bias on stage

19:00 Why relatable storytelling beats "superhuman" motivation

22:18 Mistakes, vulnerability, and creating genuine connection

30:18 Writing "Brave" and the problem with "boldness"

36:12 Systemic barriers and why most senior men aren't equipped to lead women

38:19 Why "bold" doesn't mean harmful, true courage is facing discomfort

44:22 Curiosity, creativity, and the dangers of a frictionless, AI-driven world

51:38 Why we need tension and real argument to stay human.

David's Change Toolkit:

Book: Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (plus The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and On Writing by Stephen King)

Soundtrack: "Breezin" by George Benson & The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill

One piece of advice: "Live full and die empty" - take all the opportunities you can to make the most of life, and leave nothing behind.

About David:

David McQueen works with CEOs and founder-owners on the decisions that shape the future of their organisations. His work spans advisory, speaking, and leadership development, all grounded in a body of thinking focused on how leaders decide well when the stakes are high.

He is the author of The BRAVE Leader, a study of leadership in conditions of uncertainty: the characteristics that allow leaders to navigate complexity with clarity and the habits that quietly undermine them.

His advisory work focuses on three areas where the quality of thinking and judgement has an outsized impact on what happens next: scaling, capital, and succession. His speaking reaches senior leadership audiences across sectors and geographies through keynotes and masterclasses.

He has worked with organisations across financial services, technology, consumer, professional services, and the third sector, at every stage from early-scale to pre-exit.

Connect with David:

Website: https://davidmcqueen.co.uk/

Work with Eleanor

Buy the Book - Another Door Opens; 5 steps for navigating change. Described as 'Game changing' 'Brilliant' 'A must read' 'The best book on change'.

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it's coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training.

Work with Eleanor 121 as your coach, when you are starting something new, to develop the idea, to create the idea, to get it launched.

Book in a Change Mastery for a team session - when your team is navigating change.

Book in a 90 minute workshop - to think through change at work.

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/

Website: www.another-door-opens.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk