MAD Leaders Podcast: workplace culture, employee health and wellbeing

Make A Difference Media
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Got a workplace culture challenge you just can’t crack? Or an employee health and wellbeing problem that seems messy and overwhelming? But you really want to make a difference to individuals thriving at work? You’re not alone, even though we know it may sometimes feel like it working in this field. This is the show where ambitious professionals share real stories, real mistakes and real solutions to the toughest culture and wellbeing problems. Think of it like your own personal agony aunt. Let’s make a difference, together :)

  1. Jun 2

    How can employers boost social wellbeing at work? With Welcome Break's Nic Marshall

    In this latest MAD Leaders Club Podcast, Nic Marshall, People Director, shares how Welcome Break has cultivated connection between employees - especially different generations, and made people feel valued and recognised. She also explains the importance of employees getting behind the values and purpose of the organisation and how she's done this.  And she covers why success depends heavily on approachable managers who recruit for attitude and guide younger workers while enabling reverse mentoring across generations.  This focus on building social wellbeing has led to teams that have a sense of pride and camaraderie, and that work better together. She shares, too, how Welcome Break encourages employees to take part in community volunteering and how those that do are more engaged at work. Nic touches on practical steps she's taken to embed social wellbeing as well as reward and recognition. Time stamp of conversation: 00:00 Welcome to Leaders Podcast 00:44 The Connection Challenge 01:19 Meet Nic Marshall 03:32 Connection Through Purpose 05:17 Creating Space on Site 06:41 Recruiting for Attitude 07:59 Generations and Mentoring 11:27 Volunteering and Community 13:35 Peer Recognition Postcards 17:01 Little and Often Rewards 19:36 Unlimited Budget Ideas 21:17 Hybrid Work and Inclusion 24:09 Are We All Social 25:28 The Alien Pitch Finale 26:34 Wrap Up and Subscribe

    27 min

  2. May 11

    How & why senior dads must parent more visibly for true culture change, with Elliott Rae

    In this episode, we discuss how family-friendly employers can encourage senior dads to be visible as parents with Elliott Rae, Founder of Parenting Out Loud, Equal Parenting Week and Working Dads Summit.  Rae argues senior leaders strongly shape workplace culture and dads’ willingness to take enhanced paternity leave or work flexibly, and explains how fear of judgement and presenteeism drives concealment of caregiving.  He links equal parenting to reducing the motherhood penalty and gender pay gap, and outlines practical actions employers can take across policy, culture and leadership. This wide ranging conversation also touches on traditional masculinity,  the ‘masculinity crisis’, creating safe spaces for male leaders through storytelling, and proposes societal investments such as shared parental leave, a four-day week, affordable childcare and cost-of-living reforms. Time Stamp of Conversation 00:00 Welcome to Leaders 00:49 The Senior Dads Challenge 01:55 Why Leaders Shape Culture 04:34 The Case for Equal Parenting 05:58 Policy Fixes That Work 07:38 Flexible Work Beyond Hybrid 09:21 Culture and Manager Influence 11:35 Why Men Stay Silent 13:11 Stories That Shift Leaders 17:08 Make the Business Case 18:39 Tailor and Measure Actions 21:11 Progress Takes Time 22:05 Is There a Masculinity Crisis 25:19 Alien Budget Big Ideas 28:56 Final Thanks and Subscribe

    30 min

  3. Apr 14

    How can I make Rewards & Benefits something that changes culture, not just transactional? With BA's Josephina Smith

    If you’re in any doubt that Reward & Benefits can transform culture, or how, and looking for creative inspiration to replicate BA’s success at your organisation, then this episode is a must-listen. Josephina Smith is Reward and Recognition Director at the airline and has boundless enthusiasm for this topic. A former CPO, she sees herself as not a “reward professional” but as a “reward change professional”. This distinction informs the way she operates and, particularly, her drive to communicate the discipline’s strategic advantage across the company, from function to function.  Time stamp of conversation: 00:00 Welcome to Leaders Podcast 00:44 This Week’s Challenge 01:06 Meet Josephina Smith 03:18 Reward as Culture Change 04:50 Cost Conscious Not Cutting 06:57 Trends Shaping Benefits 09:21 BA Global Benefits Overhaul 11:11 Trust Through Face Time 12:16 Reward Psychology and Creativity 13:18 Cross Functional Influence 14:54 Comms Clarity and Personalization 18:11 Personalized Total Reward Video 22:04 Digital Buzz and Suppliers 24:27 AI Powered Benefits Future 26:42 Advice for Reward Pros 28:04 The Alien Budget Question 29:28 Wrap Up and Subscribe

    30 min

  4. Mar 25

    Working parents are more stressed than ever, but how can employers genuinely support them? With Carly Stanley

    New figures released on Parent Mental Health Day on January 30th confirmed the hunch that working parents are feeling the strain more than ever. (We wrote about the findings, here, on www.makeadifference.media). But it can be tricky for employers to know how to support working parents, and how involved to get. Today's podcast guest is trailblazing HR professional Carly Stanley, Chief People Officer at outdoor advertising company, JC Decaux. In this episode, she talks us through - with her trademark honest how her company - shifted from a hierarchical, presenteeism culture to one focused on psychological safety. As she explains, this starts with listening, building trust with leaders, understanding the business and using data plus coaching to unblock difficult conversations (something she believes employers who want to effect real culture change must embrace, however uncomfortable). She emphasises there is no 'magic pill'  but shares her experience and the actions she's taken, including a raft of progressive benefits. 00:00 Welcome to Leaders Podcast 00:44 Working Parents Under Pressure 01:29 Meet Carly Stanley 04:29 Building Trust First 07:33 Listen Then Use Data 09:15 Coaching for Safety 11:15 Support in Practice 13:27 Policy Versus Culture 16:29 Fertility and Pregnancy Benefits 21:38 Return to Work Program 23:26 Milestones and Impact 24:16 The Alien Budget Question 26:07 Wrap Up and Subscribe

    27 min

  5. Mar 2

    I need to understand our employees.... but what is the best way to REALLY do this?

    Our podcast guest today, Charles Alberts, Global Head of Wellbeing and People Experience at law firm Clifford Chance, tells us why his answer to this question is reverse mentoring. In this episode he explains, alongside his mentor Giulia, why reverse mentoring has been such a powerful experience for both of them, which has built their empathy and understanding of one another 'hugely'. In fact, it even gets quite emotional at times! If you've ever been curious about reverse mentoring, then this episode could be the nudge you need. Charles now describes it as one of the "genuine joys" of his career and it's clear how much he learnt from the experience which has helped him in his job. Remember you can find out more, and join the Make a Difference Leaders Club here: https://makeadifference.media/join-leaders-club/ Time line of podcast conversation: 00:00 Welcome and Leaders Club 00:35 This Week’s Challenge 01:19 Meet Charles and Giulia 02:17 What Reverse Mentoring Is 03:36 Nerves and First Impressions 05:48 Giulia’s Lived Experience 06:38 Building Psychological Safety 08:53 Intentional Structure vs Coffee 11:09 Key Learnings and Assumptions 16:32 Calling Out Behavior 17:50 Disability Inclusion and Language 19:48 How to Make It Work 22:27 Why Leaders Should Make Time 26:22 Alien question 28:06 Wrap Up and Subscribe

    29 min

  6. Feb 17

    Help! Our employees have AI anxiety.... What do I do?

    AI is the biggest workplace behaviour change since the industrial revolution, says this week’s guest, Helen Matthews, former CPO of creative hot houses Weber Shandwick and Ogilvy UK. She’s just completed a qualification in Generative AI in Business from the University of Cambridge and admits to being fascinated by the topic and voraciously consuming anything that mentions it. For her, the biggest challenge she has encountered - which she talks through in this podcast episode - is how to create the psychological safety around AI to make people feel comfortable using it in the office.  She describes the difference between safety levels at home compared to the office as the ‘adoption gap’. It falls to the CPO, often, to bridge this gap and take the pressure from CEOs who are increasingly investing in AI tech and want to see a return. In this conversation she discusses, not only psychological safety but also guardrails and ethics giving strategic, but also practical, advice. For instance, she covers how to leverage early adopters, how to ensure people get time to learn and make mistakes and why co-creation is so important in this space. As well as this, she also talks about what concerns her most about AI, now and going forward, and what we can all do to shape a better AI future. AI, and its impact on employee health and wellbeing and workplace culture is one of the hottest topics currently being debated and it's essential all businesses think about it now - that's why we're running a free webinar on Tuesday 17th March 9am - 10am, 2026. For more info and to register, see here: https://makeadifference.media/featured/ai-workforce-health-culture-risk-webinar/ Time stamp of conversation: 00:00 Welcome to the Leaders Podcast + How to Join the Leaders Club 00:44 Bonus: Free AI Workplace Webinar (March 2026) 01:29 The AI Adoption Gap: Leaders Under Pressure, Employees Anxious 03:15 Building Psychological Safety: Training, Guardrails & Safe Sandboxes 05:58 Why People Play with AI at Home but Avoid It at Work 07:33 Wellbeing Risks: AI Coaches, Therapy, Hallucinations & Human Checks 10:10 Creativity & Connection: Early Adopters, Communities, and Real Collaboration 12:56 Where to Start: Practical Steps, Governance, GDPR & Upskilling Options 15:29 AI and Creativity: Craft, Ethics, and Using AI Without Replacing Humans 17:11 The Next 5 Years: Agents at Work, Shaping the Future, Ethics First 20:27 The Alien Question + Sustainability: Invest in People, Don’t Humanize AI 22:52 Wrap-Up: Thanks for Listening, Share the Episode & Subscribe

    24 min

  7. Feb 3

    How do you avoid bad managers damaging employee health and wellbeing and workplace culture?

    There’s a lot of truth in the old adage ‘people don’t leave companies, they leave bad managers’.  Bad managers are terrible drains for business because they adversely affect employee engagement, productivity and wellbeing. Not only that, they can collectively impact the organisation’s entire workplace culture, regardless of what the C-suite says the company’s values are. So, how do you ensure you get good managers in place? And - perhaps a less common question in traditional career structures - how do you ensure those people who don’t want to progress via people management continue to have fulfilling alternative career paths? And what is the link between career fulfilment and wellbeing? Today’s guest Claire Burns, People Director at textile firm Abraham Moon and Sons, has got answers to these questions as well as highly practical solutions. For instance, she talks us through her innovative ‘try before you buy’ approach, as well as her strength-focused strategy to returning parents. We also talk about the undeniable, but sometimes overlooked, link between career fulfilment and employee health and wellbeing. Why not, like Claire, join Make A Difference Media's Leaders' Club - find out more here Timeline of conversation: 00:00 Introduction  00:44 The Challenge of People Management 01:36 Practical Solutions for People Management 02:48 Implementing the Try Before You Buy Approach 05:51 Career Progression for Skilled Employees 12:59 Honest Conversations and Employee Wellbeing 14:40 Flexible Working and Career Paths 16:33 The Link Between Career and Wellbeing 20:10 Final Thoughts and Alien Question 21:51 Conclusion and Goodbyes

    23 min

  8. Jan 21

    What do you do if you are suddenly in the eye of a DEI storm? With Annisha Taylor

    Of all the different specialisms, within the wider arena of workplace culture and employee health and wellbeing, DEI has arguably found itself in the eye of a cultural and/or media storm most. And that means the people leading on DEI, or with a remit that touches on inclusion, have often found themselves - very suddenly - the one in the organisation that everyone is looking at to ‘fix’ a cultural problem.  Obviously, this is a lot of pressure and can be extremely stressful. In this podcast Annisha Taylor, who is group head of equality, diversity and inclusion at Ofcom, talks candidly about this pressure she experienced in former roles and - crucially - how she responded to it. While undoubtedly stressful at the time, she reflects on these moments in this podcast and actually concludes that they have been pivotal in her career progression because she learnt so much from them. She generously shares exactly what in this chat. 00:00 Introduction to the Leaders Podcast 00:35 This Week's Challenge: Navigating DEI Crises 01:37 Guest Introduction: Anisha Taylor 01:58 Facing the DEI Challenge: Anisha's Experience 04:58 Lessons Learned and Advice for DEI Professionals 09:00 Implementing Lasting Changes in DEI 11:25 The Need for Proper Resourcing in DEI 12:35 The Challenge of Communication in Organizations 12:50 The Role of EDI Leaders 13:16 Understanding Different Perspectives 13:38 Navigating Senior Management 15:31 Building Relationships with Senior Leaders 16:55 Embedding EDI into Organisational Fabric 18:58 The Alien Question: Pitching for Wellbeing 21:25 Final Thoughts and Takeaways

    23 min
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Got a workplace culture challenge you just can’t crack? Or an employee health and wellbeing problem that seems messy and overwhelming? But you really want to make a difference to individuals thriving at work? You’re not alone, even though we know it may sometimes feel like it working in this field. This is the show where ambitious professionals share real stories, real mistakes and real solutions to the toughest culture and wellbeing problems. Think of it like your own personal agony aunt. Let’s make a difference, together :)

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