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To open Season 2 of Meaningful Conversations, Annyse is joined by Eleanor Allen, CEO of the World Flourishing Organization and founder of Catapult for Change, for a powerful, reflective conversation on leadership, audacity, and what it truly means to flourish at work.
Eleanor’s career spans Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and startups across more than 50 countries. She has held senior leadership roles at Arcadis, CH2M (now Jacobs), B Lab Global, and Water For People, and is a registered Professional Engineer and member of the National Academy of Engineering. Across every chapter of her work, a clear thread emerges: tackling big, complex, “wicked” problems through human-centred leadership.
In this episode, Eleanor chooses the Audacious card - a word that deeply reflects her life and leadership. From applying for the Audacious Project while at Water For People, to imagining nationwide water services in Rwanda, to her passion for ultra-distance cycling, Eleanor shares how audacity is where life feels most alive, connected, and purposeful.
Together, Annyse and Eleanor explore Eleanor’s current focus on human flourishing and why it may be one of the most important frontiers for leadership today. Drawing on insights from the Global Flourishing Study (a five-year study of over 200,000 people across 23 countries), Eleanor shares the six core elements people need to flourish: happiness, financial stability, purpose and meaning, character and virtue, mental and physical health, and strong social relationships, all of which can, and should, be supported at work.
The conversation also dives into:
- Why fear-based systems limit creativity, courage, and impact
- How perfectionism shows up in engineering and leadership cultures
- The importance of psychological safety, consistency, and intention in organizational transformation
- Why the water sector is uniquely positioned to lead the way in human flourishing
- How flourishing can spread — from individuals to teams to entire organizations
A central question we sit with throughout the episode:
What becomes possible when work is designed for flourishing instead of fear?
Because when people flourish, organizations do too.
🎧 Listen now and join us as we begin Season 2 with an audacious invitation to rethink leadership, work, and the future of the water sector.
Mentions in podcast:
- The Audacious Project - Housed at TED, The Audacious Project is a funding initiative that encourages the world’s greatest changemakers to dream bigger. We shape their ideas into viable multi-year plans and launch them to the world alongside visionary philanthropists.
- Water for People - Water For People exists to promote the development of high-quality drinking water and sanitation services, accessible to all, and sustained by strong communities, businesses, and governments.
- Ultra Cycling
- B-Lab - B Lab is the nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet.
- Global Flourishing Study - The Global Flourishing Study explores six domains valued across countries and cultures. The Secure Flourishing Index (SFI) measures these through targeted survey items, with the first five domains pursued for their own sake and financial stability providing the foundation. When financial stability is omitted, the measure becomes the Flourishing Index (FI), while contextual factors help understand environments where flourishing thrives.
- Gallup workplace study
