Many people find themselves in roles that look great on paper but feel misaligned or unfulfilling in reality. In this week’s episode I’m joined by Angela Rixon, founder of The Centre for Meaningful Work and author of Meaning Over Purpose to explore what meaningful work really is, why so many of us lack it, and how both individuals and leaders can create more meaning at work day-to-day.

Angela shares the five pillars of meaningful work—from autonomy to impact—and we dive into simple, practical steps you can take if you’ve fallen out of love with your role. We also look at the powerful role managers play in helping others find meaning, and how meaning can protect us from burnout when it’s balanced in a healthy way.

We talk about:

• What meaning is and how it differs from purpose

• The five pillars of meaningful work

• Practical ways to create more meaning in your current role

• How leaders can build meaning within their teams

• Why meaning boosts engagement—and how it can sometimes lead to burnout

• A powerful real-life example of how autonomy transformed performance

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Work with Carla:

• 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – get support to help you get your voice heard at work and develop your career. Book a discovery call

About Angela Rixon

Angela Rixon is an award-winning leadership strategist, executive coach, and culture-transformation specialist with over 25 years’ experience spanning technology, professional services, and financial sectors. A former Partner at EY and Director at CGI and Mercer, she is recognised internationally for pioneering research and frameworks that close the Purpose-to-Meaning Gap™ enabling organisations to embed meaning into leadership, culture, and performance.

As Founder and CEO of The Centre for Meaningful Work Ltd, Angela helps CEOs and executive teams design human-centred cultures that perform. Her Amazon-bestselling book Meaning Over Purpose: The CEO’s Strategic Blueprint for Growth and Lasting Engagement (2025) combines behavioural science and applied positive psychology to redefine how leaders drive growth through meaning.

Angela’s work blends corporate rigour with psychological depth. An accredited executive coach (MSc, Distinction) and Fellow of the CIPD, she integrates Transactional Analysis, Adaptive Leadership, and Systems Thinking to help leaders achieve measurable business results while fostering inclusion, wellbeing, and authenticity. Clients describe her approach as “supportive, challenging, and transformative.”

A regular keynote speaker on meaningful work, inclusion, and the future of leadership, Angela is the creator of the Lead with Meaning™, Own Your Meaning™, and Meaning Metrics™ frameworks.

She lives in London with her partner Tony and believes that when work works for people, people work better, and organisations thrive.

Email: angela@angelarixon.com 

Website: thecentreformeaningfulwork.com 

LinkedIn:

Psychological safety is the foundation of every high-performing team—yet many leaders unintentionally undermine it without realising. This week my Impactful Teams Co-Founder Lara Cullen and I explore psychological safety, why comfort isn’t the goal, and the small (but powerful) leadership behaviours that create a culture where people feel safe to contribute, challenge and innovate.

💡 We talk about:

• What psychological safety really means
• The difference between psychological safety and trust
• Why mistakes aren’t a bad thing
• What destroys psychological safety
• Why comfort isn’t the goal

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Work with us:

• Impactful Teams Scorecard – It takes just 2 minutes to discover where your team is strong and where you might want to focus next. You’ll get personalised results—and for a limited time, you can also book a free 30-minute call to talk through them.
• Visit our new Impactful Teams website

Work with Carla:

• 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – get support to help you get your voice heard at work and develop your career. Book a discovery call

📢 If This Resonated…

Please share this episode with a fellow leader who needs to hear it.

Leave a review to support the show or reach out to me directly — I’d love to hear what landed most for you.

In this episode, I talk with Julia Middleton, founder of Women Emerging, about how women everywhere are redefining what it means to lead. Julia shares how her global “expeditions” help women discover their own authentic way of leading and introduces her Four E’s framework — Essence, Elements, Expression, and Energy.

We explore why traditional models of leadership don’t always fit women, how to lead in alignment with who you are, and the courage it takes to lead your way in systems not designed for you.

💡 We talk about:

• Why many women don’t relate to traditional leadership
• The Four E’s of authentic leadership
• How to find and lead from your true essence
• The power of energy in leadership
• How to trust yourself and lead your way

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

About Julia Middleton:

Founder Women Emerging

Julia Middleton is a best-selling author of “If that’s leading, I’m in”, "Leading beyond Authority" and "Cultural Intelligence" and the host of the Women Emerging podcast.

She is deeply committed to helping people from all backgrounds to lead and speaks regularly about leadership to audiences around the world.

In 2022, Julia launched an expedition of 24 women to find 'an approach to leading that resonated with women'. In 2024 she then founded Women Emerging. She now leads expeditions with women across the world using the 4Es methodology, discovered on the first expedition.

Prior to this Julia was Founder and Chief Executive of Common Purpose, which she grew to become one of the biggest leadership development organisations in the world.

Julia is also an Ambassador for the Aurora Prize based in Armenia, on the advisory councils of AUB in Lebanon, Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil and Synapse in Pakistan. She is also a board member of Equality Now globally.

Born in London and brought up in New York and Geneva, Julia was educated at French Lycées and graduated from the London School of Economics. She is married, with five children and seven grandchildren.

LISTEN TO JULIA’S TED TALK ON CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE

Julia’s books can be found here:

1. If that’s leading, I’m in

2. Beyond Authority: Leadership in a changing world

3. Cultural Intelligence: The competitive edge for leaders crossing boundaries:

CONNECT WITH JULIA ON LINKEDIN

Work with Carla:

• Impactful Teams Scorecard – Discover how your team measures up and how you can grow your team’s impact.
• 1:1 Leadership...