Lead From the Heart

    Laurie Santos is one of the world’s leading voices on the science of happiness and well-being. She’s a psychology professor at Yale University, where her course Psychology and the Good Life became the most popular class in Yale’s 300-year history. So many students enrolled that the university had to move it to a concert hall to accommodate the crowds. Building on that success, Laurie created the online version—The Science of Well-Being—which has now been taken by millions worldwide, making her one of the most influential teachers on happiness anywhere.   But Laurie’s work reaches far beyond the classroom. She hosts The Happiness Lab podcast, downloaded tens of millions of times, where she translates the latest scientific discoveries about human flourishing into insights anyone can use. Her ability to take rigorous research—whether from psychology, behavioral science, or neuroscience—and make it deeply practical is what has made her a global thought leader. What she’s uncovered challenges some of our most deeply held assumptions. Laurie shows that the things we chase—money, promotions, material success—aren’t nearly as powerful as we think. Instead, small intentional practices like gratitude, social connection, exercise, and sleep have profound effects on our happiness and resilience. These findings are not just personally transformative; they have enormous implications for leaders and workplaces. At a time when stress, burnout, and disconnection are at record highs, Laurie’s research is a wake-up call. She helps leaders see the blind spots that keep employees from thriving, and she offers evidence-based strategies for creating cultures of well-being that fuel both human and organizational performance. Her insights cut through outdated engagement metrics and show what really makes people flourish at work and in life. This is a remarkable and powerfully insightful conversation that no leader, manager, or professional should miss. Laurie brings both the science and the practical wisdom to help us understand what truly drives human happiness—and why supporting employee well-being is one of the most important investments any organization can make. The post Laurie Santos: Yale’s Star Professor Brings the Science of Happiness & Well-Being to Work appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

Amy Gilliland, president of General Dynamics Information Technology, shares her inspiring leadership journey from the Naval Academy to the helm of a $9 billion tech enterprise. She highlights the importance of integrating employee well-being into company culture, rather than just offering perks. Her groundbreaking 'How Are You, Really?' campaign has sparked vital conversations about mental health at GDIT. Amy emphasizes that compassionate leadership drives performance and outlines innovative practices that empower managers and elevate employee voices.

That’s the groundbreaking case made by Dr. Angela Jackson, Harvard University professor and New York Times bestselling author of The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success. Angela’s journey is remarkable. After losing her mother at age four, she was raised by grandparents who grew up in the Jim Crow South and never advanced beyond sixth grade. Nonetheless, their resilience and determination gave Angela the foundation to earn a PhD, teach at Harvard, and become a leading voice for creating workplaces where people truly flourish. Drawing on research from over 1,200 organizations—from global giants like Walmart to small manufacturers—Angela demonstrates how the old zero-sum model of “wages for labor” is breaking down. In its place, she shows how win-win cultures—where employee well-being is prioritized alongside company performance—deliver superior results. In our conversation, Angela shares truly actionable strategies leaders can use right now: transforming manager mindsets, investing in overlooked employees, listening with intention, and boldly reshaping benefits so all workers feel valued. Her message is clear: the future of work is already shifting toward more humane, caring organizations—and leaders must be ready to meet the moment. A wonderfully inspiring conversation that proves the future of work is fully aligned with the longstanding themes of our show! The post Angela Jackson: What If Thriving Employees Were The Key To Thriving Companies? appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

    Nick Foster, former head of design at Google X — the “moonshot factory” — and author of Could, Should, Might, Don’t: How We Think About the Future, joins us to discuss his stunning conclusion that human beings are terrible at predicting the future, calling most forecasts “mostly nonsense.” For leaders, this insight is absolutely essential: we’re constantly asked to make or evaluate predictions that shape strategies, investments, and organizational futures. Foster’s book provides a vital framework to assess these pitches, helping leaders navigate the uncertainty of forecasts (whether making them or receiving them) with clarity and skepticism, avoiding costly missteps. Foster outlines four mindsets—Could, Should, Might, Don’t—that define how people generally pitch future outcomes. Each carries strengths but also huge traps that can derail effective decision-making: The “Could” mindset fuels bold visions, like Theranos’ claim of running hundreds of blood tests from a single drop. But unchecked optimism can obscure feasibility, leading to failures that leaders, swayed by hype, might miss. The “Should” mindset, as seen in Blockbuster’s focus on in-store rentals, aligns with identity but can blind leaders to disruptive shifts like streaming. The “Might” mindset relies on data, as Sears did before missing e-commerce, yet past trends can mislead when predicting new realities. The “Don’t” mindset, like Kodak’s resistance to digital photography, protects strengths but risks stagnation. Through stories from his career at Google, Dyson, and beyond, Foster reveals how these mindsets manifest in boardrooms and why they often fail. He equips leaders with tools to spot red flags—over-optimism in “Could” pitches, rigidity in “Should” arguments, outdated data in “Might” forecasts, or fear-driven “Don’t” resistance. Drawing from his time at Google’s X lab, where he asked “dumb questions” to unpack emerging tech, Foster urges non-technical leaders to embrace curiosity to challenge predictions without being swayed by charisma or budgets. Foster’s key takeaway? Leaders must approach predictions—whether their own or others’—with rigorous skepticism, using his framework to test ideas while staying open to change. Leaders must learn to challenge all predictions when tasked with making high-stakes decisions or evaluating pitches that could shape their organization’s future. This episode explores how to navigate uncertainty, avoid flawed forecasts, and make smarter choices in a prediction-obsessed world, offering a clear-eyed guide for leaders steering businesses or personal goals. The post Nick Foster: What If Most Predictions About the Future Are Just Noise? appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

    What’s worse than a boss who emails you at midnight, demanding instant replies? How about one who calls you “Mohammed” instead of your real name, Madhumita, or another who expects you to dive back into work just days after your father’s sudden death. Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Mita Mallick has faced these and 10 other toxic manager archetypes in her career, and brings them all to life in her new book, “The Devil Emails at Midnight: What Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses.” As former Head of Inclusion, Equity, and Impact at Carta and Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Unilever, Mita joins our podcast with hard-earned lessons drawn from navigating a gauntlet of workplace dysfunction. Her stories are both stupefying and instructive, from bosses who ruled by fear to those whose micromanaging stifled creativity. During our conversation, I ask Mita whether we learn more from our worst bosses or our best?” One thing for certain is that too many workplace managers are blind to the behaviors that undermine trust, make people feel disrespected — and even quit because they are so undermining. Hearing Mita’s stories is amusing, but they also teach us about building stronger, more inclusive teams. Mita exposes why toxic behaviors like bullying (1 in 2 workers has faced or witnessed it) or relentless email barrages take root in organizations. She unpacks the most damaging archetypes and why companies tolerate them, offering leaders strategies to replace chaos with cultures of respect and collaboration. It should be obvious that no one wants to respond to emails at midnight, but to many a leader, apparently it isn’t. The post Mita Mallick: Bad Bosses Have Much To Teach Us appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

    In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with Urs Koenig, author of “Radical Humility: Be A Badass Leader And A Good Human,” to explore leadership through a lens of selflessness and authenticity. Drawing from his experience as a peacekeeping mission commander in Kosovo, Urs shares surprising insights on leading in high-stakes environments, revealing how humility shaped his approach in ways that challenge conventional leadership norms. Few could argue that humility is a great strength in workplace leadership – and it’s a core value across all major world religions. One question we ask Urs is why humility is too often missing in leadership –subsumed by the ego-driven leadership style so prevalent in business today? In our conversation, Urs highlights key research, including a University of Washington study which underscores humility’s profound impact on effective leadership. He also discusses a study from the book, Humbitious on how encouraging deep relationships between co-workers not only fosters greater connection, but also builds stronger, more cohesive teams. We also question Urs on whether the current leadership selection paradigm needs an overhaul (we advocate for choosing people for leadership roles who prioritize genuine care to create more humane workplaces). Urs dares us to imagine a world where radical humility redefines leadership, and we ask if this is possible in our ego-driven world? The post Urs Koenig: Humility Is Leadership’s Secret Weapon appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

    Is Bree Groff delusional or naive to believe work should be a source of fun and joy? Having read her bestseller, Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously) and interviewed her, we’re certain she’s spot-on—and voicing what many of us have long felt: work shouldn’t be a grind that erodes our happiness or well-being. Bree’s expertise stems from a dynamic career in organizational transformation. With over a decade advising leaders at Google, Microsoft, and Hilton as a consultant and former CEO of a global change agency, she’s reshaped workplace cultures worldwide. Holding an MS in Learning and Organizational Change from Northwestern University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, Bree now teaches strategy and change communications, championing work that prioritizes purpose over stress. Growing up, Bree saw her educator parents find joy in their work, joining them on school holidays and assuming all work was inherently meaningful. Yet, entering the workforce, she was stunned by “patently ridiculous, if not outright dangerous” practices she observed that drained all the fun from work. In this episode, Bree pinpoints what’s broken and shares practical leadership solutions to fix it. She defines how joy can coexist with high performance and explains why fostering it is critical for success. She also reveals why emotional reliability is a vital leadership skill and offers steps to cultivate it, strengthening team trust. During our conversation, Bree explains why nurturing workplace friendships boosts organizational outcomes and introduces her “user manuals” concept, where teams share personal preferences to enhance collaboration. This season, our podcast is highly focused on employee well-being, and Bree’s perspective aligns perfectly. She critiques the cost of “discretionary effort” in employee engagement—“It’s free labor, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves where that effort comes from,” she writes, citing sacrifices like missing bedtime stories, not getting exercise or losing sleep. We dive into whether leaders should chase engagement metrics or prioritize well-being for sustainable results. The entire conversation will challenge you to rethink work’s role in your life, whether you’re leading a team or navigating your own career. And just like her book title and the mission she’s on, Bree Groff is also a rather fun guest! The post Bree Groff: Reimagining Work with Joy and Purpose appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

    As a statistician by trade, Cambridge University Emeritus Professor, Sir David Spiegelhalter might seem to be a huge outlier for our leadership podcast. At the beginning of our conversation he even acknowledges feeling this way. But his new book, The Art of Uncertainty, was named an Amazon Best Book of 2025, and his investigations aimed at reducing uncertainty in life: about what is happening, what might happen – even why things have happened – have yielded some remarkably useful insights on how leaders can most effectively navigate complex situations. And it’s absolutely invaluable knowledge these days.   As you’ll soon realize on your own, our conversation reveals not only his brilliance, but that he’s also a keen observer of what drives leadership success. It’s also no surprise that that his 50 years of work is so impressive that Queen Elizabeth Knighted him. With clear, engaging and truly charming delivery, Sir David explains why leaders often fear the unknown and how accepting it fosters resilience. He challenges the instinct to eliminate uncertainty, highlighting humility and adaptability as key to success. He also redefines “luck” – not as something mystical but as a skill – built through openness to opportunities and perseverance. His point is we can learn to make ourselves more lucky in life – a wiser path than hoping the universe bestows it upon us. Before we’re done, we discuss the importance of balancing intuition with data when making important leadership decisions (currently a wildly uncommon practice in business) along with real-world examples of leaders who’ve succeeded by routinely questioning assumptions. Finally, Sir David shares a brilliant model leaders can use to communicate in uncertain times when they do not have the all the answers – and also don’t want to appear indecisive. We believe there is great wisdom to be gained from experts outside of business and workplace leadership. And one of the world’s truly great analytical minds (a statistician!) proves the point in this wonderful conversation. The post Sir David Spiegelhalter: A Leader’s Guide To Mastering Uncertainty appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.

In this insightful discussion, journalist Richard Simon, author of Unplugged, shares his eye-opening experiences after a year-long phone detox. He reveals the staggering impact smartphones have, consuming 75 days a year from our lives. Simon highlights the detrimental effects on relationships and productivity, urging listeners to set boundaries on device use. Through personal anecdotes and stories from figures like MLB star Nick Castellanos, he emphasizes that unplugging isn't about disconnecting—it's about reconnecting with what truly matters.

    We’re thrilled to welcome back Margaret Heffernan to the podcast, a guest whose erudition and insight left us in awe last time! Margaret is one of the most remarkable people we’ve had on the show—an entrepreneur, former CEO, acclaimed author, and thought leader whose uncommon education and thirst for knowledge imbue her work with extraordinary depth. Her TED Talk, “Why it’s time to forget the pecking order at work,” viewed over 15 million times, challenges hierarchical thinking and champions collaboration, showcasing her ability to reshape leadership. Her new book, Embracing Uncertainty: How Writers, Musicians, and Artists Thrive in an Unpredictable World, explores how to transform uncertainty into a source of creativity. It’s the subject of our conversation — essential for leaders eager to navigate today’s unpredictable world with courage and creativity.  In our conversation, we explore how artists embrace the unknown as a vital part of their creative process, and what leaders can learn from their courage. We dive into why controlling outcomes often stifles innovation, and how practices like walking spark transformative ideas. Margaret shares stories of artists who lean into uncertainty to create extraordinary work, offering lessons for leaders to shape the future. We also discuss how to empower those feeling overwhelmed by uncertainty to thrive in turbulent times. Margaret’s well-read perspective and intellectual curiosity shine through, delivered with a mentor’s warmth. Her insights inspire us to rethink how we lead and innovate, leaving us with actionable ideas to foster creativity and resilience. It’s an honor to have her back with us and to learn from her truly uncommon intellect — and heart. The post Margaret Heffernan: How Artists Turn Uncertainty Into Opportunity appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.