Picture a world where the traditional role of managers, as we know it, ceases to exist. In this brave new realm, employees are entrusted with unprecedented levels of autonomy, and the rigid hierarchy of management is reimagined. Is this a utopian dream or a recipe for chaos? Today, we dive deep into the question: Should managers be extinct? Join us as we explore whether the age-old power structure of management is a boost or a hindrance to productivity in the modern workplace.

Work FORCE is a podcast hosted by Dr Grace Lordan (www.gracelordan.com), author of Think Big, Take Small Steps and Build the Future You Want and professor at the London School of Economics.

You can buy Think Big Here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Big-Small-Steps-Future/dp/0241420164/kacey123-21

Follow Grace on Instagram @profgracelordan; on LinkedIn drgracelordan

Joining this Work FORCE discussion are:

Henry Stewart

Henry is the founder and Chief Happiness Officer of London-based learning provider Happy Ltd. Happy was rated one of the top 2 workplaces in the UK in 2022, and one of the top 15 in Europe (in the SME section). This multi-award-winning B Corp now helps other organisations create happy workplaces. Henry was listed in the Guru Radar of the Thinkers 50 list of the most influential business thinkers in the world. "He is one of the thinkers who we believe will shape the future of business", explained list compiler Stuart Crainer. His book, The Happy Manifesto, was short-listed for business book of the year.

Go to www.happy.co.uk to find out how their movement can help create joy at work.

Rob Pierre

Rob Pierre is the co-founder and chairman of Jellyfish, a global business that partners with brands to achieve and optimise marketing performance in a platform world. Today, Jellyfish works with brands including Google, Netflix, Uber and Sanofi. Launched in 2005, Jellyfish is proud to be at the forefront of the global digital economy. Rob was awarded Media Leader of the Year at Campaign’s Media Week Awards in 2021 and featured in the Powerlist 2022 and 2023, a listing of the UK’s 100 most powerful black Britons. A business innovator, Rob has introduced a unique organisational infrastructure at Jellyfish that is disrupting norms both within and outside the media world.

Find and follow Rob on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/robapierre/

Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso

Elizabeth Mancuso (Ph.D. Clinical Psychology) is Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University. She teaches in the areas of psychotherapy, interpersonal behavior, research methodology, and psychology of religion. Her research interests are in the areas of positive psychology and psychology of religion. Her recent work has focused on virtues, including intellectual humility. She has co-authored two monographs: "Faith from a positive psychology perspective" and "Women who sell sex: A review of psychological research with clinical implications". She is licensed as a psychologist in California.

Discover more about Elizabeth’s research and read her articles at https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/academics/faculty/elizabeth-krumrei/ or

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Tgsa7LoAAAAJ&hl=en

Lizzie Penny & Alex Hirst

Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst are friends, entrepreneurs, changemakers and bestselling authors. They have been leading the Workstyle Revolution for a decade, campaigning for the individualisation of work in order to improve wellbeing, step change productivity and redefine inclusion through a fundamental redefining of work. They believe fiercely that creating autonomy at work - giving everyone the freedom to choose when and where they work - could drive diversity, equity and inclusion at work in a way not seen before. They co-founded B Corp Hoxby Ltd in 2014 to prove the concept and now to consult others wishing to work this way. Hoxby has delivered projects working in a workstyle way for some of the biggest businesses in the world including Unilever, Merck, Amazon, AIA and Sony.

Find out more about our speaking and our campaigning work at www.WorkstyleRevolution.com

Go to www.WorkstyleRevoultion.com/Community and click the 'Join Us' button to join our Slack community of brilliant people working together to change the world

For additional bonus content from all of this episode’s guest conversations visit the WorkFORCE YouTube channel: @ProfGraceLordan

Dr Grace Lordan is the Founding Director of The Inclusion Initiative. Find out more about The Inclusion Initiative on @LSE_TII or visit https://www.lse.ac.uk/tii

Dr Grace Lordan is leader of www.diversirtyandproductivity.com

WorkFORCE is produced by Decibelle Creative: @decibelle_creative / www.decibellecreative.com

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