Happier At Work: Leadership, Culture, Performance

Who supports the mental health of leaders in your workplace?
In the latest episode of the Happier at Work podcast, Aoife O'Brien welcomes back organisational psychologist and leadership mental health expert Melissa Doman. This honest and eye-opening conversation explores why it’s crucial to support not just employees, but leaders as well. Melissa reveals how leaders are often expected to have it all figured out and endlessly support others, while their own mental health needs are overlooked. Drawing on research and her forthcoming book "Cornered Office," Melissa explains the hidden pressures leaders face, the human cost of dehumanising leadership roles, and tangible strategies to help leaders show up authentically at work.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
The myth that leaders naturally have better mental health and don’t need support is untrue and harmful.
How workplace systems and society often perpetuate the idea that leaders should be strong, have all the answers, and not show weakness.
The SCARF model (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness), and how it helps leaders and employees identify workplace triggers and address unmet needs.
Practical coping methods for leaders, including emotional awareness, open communication, appropriate boundary-setting, and knowing when to seek external support.

Related Topics Covered:
Power Dynamics at Work, Stereotypes, Boundaries at Work

Connect with Aoife O’Brien | Host of Happier at Work®:
Website
LinkedIn
YouTube

Connect with Melissa Doman | Organisational psychologist and leadership mental health expert:
Website
LinkedIn

Related Episodes You’ll Love:
Episode 242: Transforming Mental Health Conversations at Work with Melissa Doman

About Happier at Work®
Happier at Work® is the podcast for business leaders who want to create meaningful, human-centric workplaces. Hosted by Aoife O’Brien, the show explores leadership, career clarity, imposter syndrome, workplace culture, and employee engagement — helping you and your team thrive.
If you enjoy podcasts like WorkLife with Adam Grant, The Happiness Lab, or Squiggly Careers, you’ll love Happier at Work®.
Join Aoife O’Brien for weekly insights on leadership, workplace culture, career clarity, imposter syndrome, and creating work that works for you.
Editing by Amanda Fitzgerald.

Website:...

Have you ever thought:
“I’m successful on paper… but I don’t feel fulfilled.”
You’ve got the senior title.
The salary is strong.
People respect you.
And yet something feels… off.
In this Listener Question episode of the Happier at Work podcast, Aoife O’Brien explores why external career success doesn’t always translate into internal fulfilment — and what to do about it.
If you’re a mid-career or senior leader, particularly in a commercial or client-facing role, this episode will help you understand the hidden drivers behind career dissatisfaction — even when everything “looks good” from the outside.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
In just five minutes, Aoife breaks down the four key areas that determine whether your success feels meaningful:
1️⃣ Values Alignment
Are you building your career around what genuinely matters to you — or someone else’s definition of success?
2️⃣ Psychological Needs & Drivers
Are your core needs (autonomy, connection, competence, recognition, challenge) being met in your current role?
3️⃣ Strengths & Zone of Genius
Are you using your natural strengths daily — or mainly operating in areas that drain your energy?
4️⃣ Environment & Culture Fit
Has your organisation evolved in a different direction to you?
Who This Episode Is For
This episode is especially relevant if you are:
A senior leader questioning your next move
A high performer feeling unexpectedly flat
A commercial or client-facing leader navigating growth and pressure
Considering whether to change role, redefine success, or redesign your current one

You don’t necessarily need a new job. But you may need greater alignment.
Key Questions to Reflect On
Where is there a gap between what I value and what my work rewards?
Which of my core needs are consistently unmet?
When was the last time I felt energised at work — and what was I doing?

Fulfilment isn’t about achieving more.
It’s about aligning more deeply.
Share Your Thoughts
This episode is part of the Listener Question format.
If you’d like Aoife to answer your question in a future episode, email:
[email protected]
(Names are never shared without permission.)
Help Shape Future Episodes
If you haven’t already, please take two minutes to complete the Happier at Work Listener Survey. Your input directly shapes future episodes and topics.
👉 Complete the survey here:
https://happieratwork.ie/survey
About the Happier at Work Podcast
Hosted by Aoife O’Brien, workplace culture strategist and author of Thriving Talent, the Happier at Work podcast explores leadership, engagement, performance, psychological safety, and career fulfilment for ambitious professionals in global organisations.
New episodes every week.

Are you searching for the secret to truly motivating your team?
In this solo episode of the Happier at Work podcast, Aoife O'Brien dives deep into what drives genuine motivation in today’s workplace. Building on previous discussions about workplace culture and psychological safety, Aoife unpacks the "drivers" pillar from her soon-to-be-released Thriving Talent framework. Drawing from research, personal experience, and practical examples, she explores the universal psychological needs we all share, the unique motivators that can vary from person to person, and the derailers that can sabotage engagement and performance, even when money is on the table.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
The three universal psychological needs based on self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness
Why motivation is not a one-size-fits-all solution
The importance of understanding the individual needs and frustrations of your team
Why striking a "Goldilocks" balance in autonomy and challenge is crucial

Related Topics Covered:
Psychological Safety, Work-life Balance, Autonomy at Work
Connect with Aoife O’Brien | Host of Happier at Work®:
Website
LinkedIn
YouTube

Related Episodes You’ll Love:
Episode 279: Trust & High Performance at Work
Episode 149: Discovering your motive mindset with Kelly Mackin

About Happier at Work®
Happier at Work® is the podcast for business leaders who want to create meaningful, human-centric workplaces. Hosted by Aoife O’Brien, the show explores leadership, career clarity, imposter syndrome, workplace culture, and employee engagement — helping you and your team thrive.
If you enjoy podcasts like WorkLife with Adam Grant, The Happiness Lab, or Squiggly Careers, you’ll love Happier at Work®.
Editing by Amanda Fitzgerald.

Website: https://happieratwork.ie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappierAtWorkHQ
Mentioned in this episode:
Thriving Talent book
Book

Most leaders say they want learning.
Most organisations reward certainty.
In this bonus episode, Aoife translates one of the most easily-missed tensions from her conversation with Amy Edmondson: psychological safety doesn’t fail because leaders don’t care, it fails because leaders underestimate how strongly the system nudges people towards silence, agreement, and self-protection.
This isn’t about being “nice”, creating comfort, or running better meetings.
It’s about what your operating model reinforces under pressure:
targets that reward low ambition
performance systems that breed impression management
hierarchy that makes dissent feel like risk
speed that crowds out sense-making

If you’re not hearing dissent, uncertainty, or bad news, it’s not because it isn’t there. It’s because it’s being managed — often for you.
Where might your system be rewarding agreement while you’re asking for learning?
Stop asking “Do people feel safe?” and start asking: “What does our system make risky and who pays the price for speaking the truth?”
Connect with Aoife O’Brien | Host of Happier at Work®:
Website
LinkedIn
YouTube

Connect with Amy Edmondson | World-renowned Expert in Psychological Safety:
Website
LinkedIn

Related Episodes You’ll Love:
Episode 240: Meaningful Work Through Simplification with Lisa Bodell

About Happier at Work
Happier at Work is the podcast for business leaders who want to create meaningful, human-centric workplaces. Hosted by Aoife O’Brien, the show explores leadership, career clarity, imposter syndrome, workplace culture, and employee engagement — helping you and your team thrive.
If you enjoy podcasts like WorkLife with Adam Grant, The Happiness Lab, or Squiggly Careers, you’ll love Happier at Work.
Join Aoife O’Brien for weekly insights on leadership, workplace culture, career clarity, imposter syndrome, and creating work that works for you.
Editing by Amanda Fitzgerald.

Website: https://happieratwork.ie LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoifemobrien/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappierAtWorkHQ

Are you creating the right conditions for your team to learn and thrive?
In this episode of the Happier at Work podcast, Aoife O'Brien is joined by world-renowned expert in psychological safety, Amy Edmondson. Together, they dive deep into what psychological safety truly means in the workplace, why it is essential for organisational learning, innovation, and effective teamwork, and how leaders can practically build it within their teams. Drawing on decades of research, Amy shares actionable strategies, common pitfalls, and the foundational role of conversation, candor, and curiosity in creating environments where people feel safe to speak up, share dissenting views, and take interpersonal risks for the benefit of collective excellence.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
Why impression management, hierarchy, and the pressure to “know it all” can undermine curiosity, learning, and innovation.
The impact of a lack of psychological safety at work.
How to test for psychological safety at work, and the signs to watch out for.
The importance of continuous, learning-oriented feedback conversations, and why they are more effective than annual subjective evaluations.

Related Topics Covered:
Collaboration at Work, Feedback, Setting Boundaries

Connect with Aoife O’Brien | Host of Happier at Work®:
Website
LinkedIn
YouTube

Connect with Amy Edmondson | World-renowned Expert in Psychological Safety:
Website
LinkedIn

Related Episodes You’ll Love:
Episode 66: Workplace psychological Safety with Susan Ní Chriodáin
Episode 68: Embracing the gentle art of humble inquiry with Edgar and Peter Schein

About Happier at Work®
Happier at Work® is the podcast for business leaders who want to create meaningful, human-centric workplaces. Hosted by Aoife O’Brien, the show explores leadership, career clarity, imposter syndrome, workplace culture, and employee engagement — helping you and your team thrive.
If you enjoy podcasts like WorkLife with Adam Grant, The Happiness Lab, or Squiggly Careers, you’ll love Happier at Work®.
Join Aoife O’Brien for weekly insights on leadership, workplace culture, career clarity, imposter syndrome, and creating work that works for...