Intro

What truly drives people to thrive at work isn’t perks or programs, but the culture leaders create every single day. But when the day-to-day culture at work is marked by fear, unclear roles, and pressure from the top, people disengage no matter how many benefits you offer. 

Leaders often miss this because they’re chasing quarterly targets or process checklists, leaving human potential untapped. Grace Zuncic’s journey from small-town roots to Chobani, Cotopaxi, and now Manna Tree Partners shows a different path.

In this episode of the Happiness Squad Podcast, Ashish Kothari and Grace Zuncic explore how flourishing comes when work itself is designed around courage and kindness.

Grace Zuncic is a seasoned executive and board member with deep experience in scaling purpose-driven companies. She has held leadership roles at Chobani, Cotopaxi, and now serves as Partner at Manna Tree, a private equity firm focused on improving human health through investment in food and wellness businesses.

In the conversation, Ashish and Grace highlight why the answer isn’t to bolt wellbeing programs onto broken systems but to build workplaces where flourishing is the operating model—unlocking both human potential and business performance.

Things you will also learn in this episode:

• Why fear is the biggest barrier to flourishing at work

• How Chobani became a model of human-centered leadership during COVID

• The role of courage and kindness in effective leadership

• Why private equity has more influence on culture than it realizes

• How board service shapes perspective on building enduring, purpose-driven companies

Don’t miss this episode—an urgent call for leaders to lead with courage, act with kindness, and create workplaces where people can truly flourish.

✅Resources:

• How to Make Flourishing Your Competitive Edge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRV-2C-fkNg 

• What Does a Compassionate Workplace Look Like? With Jane Dutton and Monica Worline: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_does_compassionate_workplace_look_like 

• The Cotopaxi Foundation: https://www.cotopaxi.com/pages/our-impact?srsltid=AfmBOoqOcdspf6JmJREdKix62bge5cFMOpEioKkGK1xVMs76EY1mrIUg 

• Women on Boards: https://www.womenonboards.net/

• Tugboat Institute: https://www.tugboatinstitute.com/ 

✅Books:

• Shift by Ethan Cross: https://a.co/d/8ioBnAM 

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: https://a.co/d/aj9Uubw 

• Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia: https://a.co/d/4AWqNws 

• Ray Dalio’s Principles: https://a.co/d/5wfMHzQ 

• Another Way by Dave Wharton: https://a.co/d/gPnSTGC 

• You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh: https://a.co/d/03S2CGn 

• Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari: https://a.co/d/gqZ0SyV