#136 How do you Want your Team to Feel this Week? A new Lens on Leadership with Cara Cunniff.

2025-05-05

The Power of Emotional Culture at Work Hosts, Rebecca Jenkins and Callum Jenkins are joined by Cara Cunniff, a former British Army Psychological Operations Officer, turned emotional culture consultant. We explore how leaders can create high-performing teams by focusing on emotions, not just actions. Drawing from her military background in psychological operations, Cara shares powerful insights into how emotions influence behaviour, both on the battlefield and in the boardroom. We unpack how organisations can co-create emotional cultures, why some leaders resist emotional awareness, and how to spot disengagement before it becomes d...

The Power of Emotional Culture at Work

Hosts, Rebecca Jenkins and Callum Jenkins are joined by Cara Cunniff, a former British Army Psychological Operations Officer, turned emotional culture consultant. We explore how leaders can create high-performing teams by focusing on emotions, not just actions.

Drawing from her military background in psychological operations, Cara shares powerful insights into how emotions influence behaviour, both on the battlefield and in the boardroom.

We unpack how organisations can co-create emotional cultures, why some leaders resist emotional awareness, and how to spot disengagement before it becomes damaging.

Whether you lead a startup or a large organisation, this episode is full of practical tools and leadership questions you can apply immediately to build stronger, more connected teams.

Key Topics Covered:

What emotional culture really means and why it’s your hidden performance driver
Signs your team is disengaged and what to do about it
The Vs” of workplace emotions: Visible, Valued and Validated
Mapping a “Feeling Journey” for organisational change
Why leaders must ask: How do I want people to feel in my presence?
How to create psychologically safe spaces for honest conversations
Practical steps to start embedding emotional culture in your team
Hybrid & remote teams: how to enhance connection remotely

Cara’s Top 2 Practical Tips for Leaders:

Reflect on how you want your people to feel this week, then do one thing to move the needle toward that emotion.
Remember: Leadership isn’t what you do, it’s how you make people feel.

Connect with Cara Cunniff on LinkedIn

LinkedIn: Cara Cunniff

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Connect with the hosts Callum Jenkins and Rebecca Jenkins.

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Connect with the show hosts below.

Callum Jenkins

https://www.linkedin.com/in/callumjenkins/

Rebecca Jenkins

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccajenkins-rjen/

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