What place does love have in leadership and organisations?
Can love coexist with performance, accountability and business reality — or is it something modern workplaces have suppressed?
In this profound and deeply human conversation, Greg Suart speaks with leadership consultant, coach and researcher Helena Clayton about her award-winning inquiry into “Leading with Love” and why conversations about love may be among the most important conversations we can now have.
Helena Clayton is a leadership and organisational development consultant with more than 25 years’ experience across UK organisations including the UK Civil Service, Jaguar Land Rover, Ernst & Young and London Business School.
Formerly a director at Roffey Park Institute, Helena’s research explores the role of love, fear, vulnerability and human connection in leadership and organisational life.
Together, Greg and Helena explore:
• Why love is universally recognised but culturally suppressed
• The role of fear in organisational life • Love as a leadership practice rather than sentiment • Why vulnerability is often perceived as weakness
• The tension between humanity and extractive business culture
• Whether love may be fundamental to consciousness and reality itself
• How organisations might become more human, connected and alive.
This is not a sentimental conversation. It is a radical inquiry into the future of leadership, work and human flourishing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION about Helena Clayton
Her website: https://helenaclayton.co.uk 🔗
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helena-clayton-b245553/
SPONSORED BY: This Meta-Conscious Leaders podcast is sponsored by Ultimate Goal Ltd: Partners in Personal, Leadership & Business Growth, Developing Personal Mastery, Emotional Intelligence and Transcendent Leadership https://www.ultimategoal.co.uk ________________________________________
🔑 Key Themes • Leadership and love
• Fear in organisations
• Psychological safety
• Conscious leadership
• Vulnerability and creativity
• Organisational culture
• Meta-consciousness
• Human-centred business
• Emotional intelligence
• Spirituality and leadership
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⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 — When “love taps you on the shoulder”
00:41 — Introduction to Helena Clayton & the inquiry into love
02:21 — Why love in leadership was once taboo
04:10 — Personal development, healing & loveless workplaces
05:37 — Love as purpose, calling and shadow work
07:16 — “We are beings of love” & the state of the world
09:14 — What does “love” actually mean in leadership?
10:35 — The five forms of love identified in Helena’s research
13:38 — Vulnerability, creativity & “Acts of Love for Tough Times”
15:00 — Self-love, radical acceptance & loving kindness practice
17:34 — Love as a verb, presence and radiance
20:44 — Love as a wide-angled lens
21:16 — Is love the fabric of reality?
23:16 — Why love matters in organisations
25:05 — The Roffey Park research: 90% say love matters
27:53 — The business case for love
30:55 — What does a loving organisation look like?
33:06 — What creates unloving organisations?
36:10 — Love, capitalism & cultural suppression
38:31 — Why love threatens organisational norms
40:30 — Love, trauma & healing in organisations
41:25 — Emotional intelligence, empathy & masculinity
42:58 — Fear as the “water table” of organisations
44:12 — Fear, separation & consciousness
45:21 — “Love is universally recognised but culturally suppressed”
46:23 — Helena’s simple daily practice: “Is this loving?”
46:52 — Where to find Helena Clayton
47:40 — Greg’s reflections & closing thoughts
SPONSORED BY: This Meta-Conscious Leaders podcast is sponsored by Ultimate Goal Ltd: Partners in Personal, Leadership & Business Growth, Developing Personal Mastery, Emotional Intelligence and Transcendent Leadership https://www.ultimategoal.co.uk