Episode recap: Joyful Leadership with Debby Schlesinger-Hellman

In the third instalment of our Special Episodes -series, we are joined by Andrew’s business partner, Debby Schlesinger-Hellman, to discuss the topic of joy and leadership in business. Debby has a background in coaching, mentoring and building teams, and she is currently interested in bringing her knowledge along with the new learnings to advance more joy to both individuals as well as to teams in business. During Debbie’s time developing leaders, she has found that people are searching for more belonging and a sense of purpose in their everyday life, including the workplace. And with this knowledge, Debbie is passionate about helping others find a path to that more joy-filled life, looking to have a positive impact on many.

Passion for teaching about the power of joy

Debby’s relationship with joy has been an ongoing journey for about 15 to 20 years. She is a very joyful and happy person, but around 10 years ago she noticed that staying joyful takes work and a conscious effort. She started reading up on joy and incorporating it into her life, and eventually her learnings started to take effect on her family and workplace as well. Today she’s passionate about spreading joy and helping others who are struggling with joy, as well as making the world a better place.

“I think there’s so much to be said for the power of joy.”

Debby emphasizes that joy is a discipline, a muscle that we have to build – not just a superficial, fleeting moment. She is passionate about teaching more people about the power of joy and encouraging and empowering them to search for joy in their lives, and believes that by doing that, the world will be in a much better way.

More room for joy in business

Debby and Andrew talk about the McKinsey report, in which they discuss the great attrition. 51% of people that left their jobs did so because they didn’t feel a sense of belonging, or being valued at their place of work. More than 60% of people were also willing to leave their job without another job lined up, and offering more money wasn’t going to keep the employees. Debby highlights the responsibility of managers to make the people of the company the top priority. If employees aren’t being heard, cared for and they don’t feel belonging, they are already one foot out the door.

Leaders incorporating the joy principles into their leading, and helping employees with their sense of belonging, purpose and wellbeing, is an important aspect of fighting the great attrition and will provide people with a fulfilling experience that makes them want to come to work. Research also shows that if the people at a company feel inspired, empowered and cared for, they will encourage everyone else in the team to do the same. This effect will also positively affect business results.

“A significant proportion of your problems will go away as a business leader, if you can create a joyful environment for your people.”

Educate, inspire and empower as a leader

Now, how are leaders able to bring in more joy into their organisations? Debby says it’s all about educating, sharing, inspiring and then empowering. The materials and tools that her and Andrew have developed over the years help you and your team to build the joy discipline within themselves, and the outcomes have been great. Research shows that the most successful businesses have leaders who are genuinely interested in their people. Incorporating these learnings positively correlates with the success of the business – everybody wins.

To find out more about Debby’s work, please visit her LinkedIn here. If you want to listen to the full podcast episode, you can find it here or on your preferred podcast platform by searching The Art and Science of Joy. Remember to subscribe to the podcast for more episodes on Joy Superpowers, and inspiration for you to start living a more joyful life!

Further reading

60by60

A transformative journey about seizing the moment and celebrating life’s precious experiences   60by60 I turned 59 today and I’m beyond...

Help non-profit organizations with their fundraising

 

Are you involved in a non-profit organization? A charity, club or association for example? Do you know someone who is?

 

Is that organization interested in raising more funds?

 

The EQJOY card game is a fantastic product for a fundraising campaign.

 

 

Help us find EQJOY Brand Ambassadors

 

Do you know someone famous? Do you know someone who does? Do you think that famous person would like to positively impact children’s mental health by giving them the gift of emotional intelligence and have their personal brand associated with EQJOY?

 

Or…

 

Do you work for a sports team or know someone who does? Do you think that team could be interested in having that brand associated with EQJOY and with empowering children to develop their EQ?

 

Or…

 

Do you work for a company which owns a well-known brand or know someone who does? Do you think the company could be interested in having that brand associated with EQJOY and with empowering children to develop their EQ?

 

If so, click on the button below, tell us who you know and let’s discuss how to make this happen.

 

 

Help us empower even more kids develop their EQ


Are you, or do you know well, any of the following:

 

 

  • A parent of a 6 to 9 year old struggling with their emotions

  • A primary school teacher

  • A middle school teacher

  • A sports psychologist

  • A decision-maker at a museum

 

If so, are you, or do you think they would be, interested in participating in our R&D work and thereby help us bring the gift of emotional intelligence to even more children?

 

If so, click on the button below to find out more about how to get involved with EQJOY’s R&D projects.

 

 

Empower children’s EQ development

 

I ask you to donate to our charity EQJOY Co.

 


EQJOY is on a mission to empower children to develop their emotional intelligence through play. Find out more about EQJOY
here.

 


Your donations will be used to:

 

  • Give children in need packs of the EQJOY card game for free

  • Fund research and development of new EQ development tools

 


There are two paths to donations. For larger donations, click on the Champion Donor button below to find out more about the options. For smaller donations, click on the Donate Now button.

 

Help us spread joy to even more people


Through the Year of Joy community, we have a proven track record of empowering people to harvest more joy in their lives, especially those people struggling to find joy.

 

I ask you to help us give the gift of joy to people by inviting them to join the Year of Joy community to which we are currently offering free membership.

 

Share the link below with the people you know who could do with more joy in their lives.

 

DISCOVER THE JOYS OF BEING A MEMBER OF THE YEAR OF JOY COMMUNITY AND JOIN

 

 

It just might be the biggest gift you give them this year!


If you would like to invite a lot of people, you might be interested in being an official Year of Joy invite partner. Click on the button below to find out more.

 

 

Participate in an Insights Business Impact workshop for free

 

This gift is a special gift to my peers in the market research and insights sector. A sector which has given me so many gifts over the years. 

 

If you work in the sector, or are interested in doing so, I’m offering you the opportunity to participate in one of six free workshops I’ll be running on the topic of the ROI of Insights.

 

During this 3-hour workshop you’ll discover how to measure and demonstrate the business impact of Insights. 

 

You will leave the workshop with a clear understanding of how to measure the value Insights is contributing to the business, as well as how to craft a compelling story to demonstrate that value.

 

Participate in a Discover Your Recipe for Joy workshop for free

 

I’m offering you the opportunity to participate in one of six free workshops I’ll be running. 

 

During this 3-hour workshop you’ll discover the drivers of and the barriers to joy. You’ll be guided on a journey to craft your own Recipe for Joy and will leave the workshop with a plan for taking the next steps on your path to harvesting more joy in your life.

 

Receive a free Joy Superpower webinar for your organization

 

I’m giving away 24 Joy Superpower webinars for free.  

 

During the webinar I will share how through the Year of Joy initiative we were able to significantly boost people’s joy levels and I will lead the webinar attendees on a journey to discover how they can build their own joy muscles as well as bring more joy to the lives of others.