Continuing our theme of the importance of Sustainable Leadership, this episode is a little bit different.

Earlier this month, I facilitated a webinar with my good friend and collaborator Dr. Rachael Skews. It was the first of our new series of free monthly webinars on the topic of Sustainable leadership - and I'll put a link to the booking site so you can see the details of the remaining sessions.

The focus of our session was making the case for boosting psychological flexibility in leaders. I explained what we mean by sustainable leadership, Rachael introduced the concept of psychological flexibility, and then we looked at how it can address some of the many challenges leaders can face at work. We wrap up with exploring some of the ways leaders can cultivate these important skills.

And while we have a lovely video recording of the webinar live on our YouTube channel, I know lots of you prefer to access this kind of information via audio, as you go for a walk or a run, do the housework, or navigate your daily commute. So here's a slightly edited copy of the audio from last week.

As always, get in touch with your questions, comments and feedback by email via podcast@worklifepsych.com

Thanks for listening!

Resources for this episode

• The video recording of this webinar: https://youtu.be/QeGSpYbeguY
• Download the slides that accompany this webinar here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Why-leaders-need-to-be-psychologically-flexible-slides.pdf
• You can find all the resources that accompany this series at our dedicated page: https://www.worklifepsych.com/SustainableLeadership
• Download our free white paper on Sustainable Leadership here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Sustainable_Leadership_whitepaper.pdf
• We’re also running a series of free leadership-focused webinars over the next few months. You can find out more and reserve your place by visiting our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sustainable-leadership-4167563
• Finally, you can learn all about Psychological Flexibility by visiting our resources page here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/PsychologicalFlexibility

This episode is the first in a new series where we'll unpack all aspects of leadership, leadership development and the wellbeing and performance of leaders.

In this episode, Richard is joined by Dr. Wayne Mullen, an experienced leadership development expert, to set the scene, outline our rationale for focusing on leadership, and explore some of the ways leadership can go wrong.

In the coming episodes, we're going to look at topics like the role of coaching in leadership development, the importance of leaders' mental health at work, and why resilience just isn't enough.

We hope you'll join us on the journey

Resources for this episode

You can find all the resources that accompany this series at our dedicated page: https://www.worklifepsych.com/SustainableLeadership

We're also running a series of free leadership-focused webinars over the next few months. You can find out more and reserve your place by visiting our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/sustainable-leadership-4167563

Details of our 'Considering Coaching?' webinars can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/considering-coaching-4113743

You can find Wayne's blog post about intentional leadership here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/sustainable-leadership-leading-on-purpose/

In this episode, we wrap up our 'Thriving at Work' focus on wellbeing by asking a simple question: when it comes to improving your health and wellbeing, have you considered actually doing less?

So much of the advice we get about our wellbeing implies the need to do more of something: new foods, new diets, new exercises, new methods and approaches. But if we look at the root causes of so much of our pain and ill health, it stems from over-consumption, over-exertion and overwhelm.

If you're clear on what matters, focus on moving in that direction, being more intentional along the way. Small things, done with consistency, can have a wonderfully positive impact on our wellbeing. Far more so than any fitness or diet fad.

Take a moment to identify what responsibilities and project you can set down, what tasks you can leave undone, and what demands you've placed on yourself you can shrug off.

As always, thanks for listening!

Resources for this episode

You can find our 'Thriving at Work' hub here: https://www.worklifepsych.com/thriving

Find out all about our approach to wellbeing at work: https://www.worklifepsych.com/wellbeing