Breaking Down Emotional Culture Barriers: Lessons from Anna Clayton

This powerful statement set the tone for our first Elephant Rider Speaker Series event of 2025. What a way to kick off the year—diving deep into emotions at work and The Emotional Culture Deck! We had the pleasure of being joined by Anna Clayton, a seasoned ECD Certified Consultant and learning and development specialist. Anna shared her journey of embedding emotional culture practices in male-dominated industries, drawing on her experiences working with organisations like Goodstart Early Learning and Inghams in Australia.

Five Key Lessons from Anna's Talk

1. Men are just as emotional as women
Anna's work in farming, manufacturing, and frontline leadership has revealed a simple but critical insight: men experience emotions just as deeply as women. However, societal norms often limit their permission to express them. Recognising and addressing this reality is key to fostering emotionally intelligent workplaces.

2. Bring curiosity and empathy. Always.
Anna stressed the importance of approaching every interaction with curiosity and empathy. Creating psychological safety starts with understanding, listening, and making space for real emotions without judgment.

3. Be like Lumière.
Inspired by the charismatic candelabra from Beauty and the Beast, Anna encourages facilitators and leaders to be welcoming hosts. Small gestures—from rearranging a room layout to offering coffee—can shape an environment where people feel comfortable sharing and learning.

4. 'Dickheads' don’t cause your emotions.
A standout moment from Anna's session was her perspective on emotional responsibility. While difficult people may trigger certain feelings, they don’t cause them. Understanding and owning our emotional responses is a critical step in emotional leadership.

5. Get good at coaching.
Anna highlighted the power of coaching in emotional culture work. By asking the right questions and guiding individuals to deeper self-awareness, leaders can create lasting change in their teams and organisations.

Highlights from the Session

Anna's Journey with The Emotional Culture Deck
Anna shared how The ECD transformed both her personal and professional life. She spoke about using the deck to help individuals develop emotional granularity, navigate challenges, and reshape workplace cultures.

Lessons from Male-Dominated Industries
She provided insights from her work in farming, manufacturing, and leadership roles, reinforcing the importance of breaking down emotional barriers in these environments.

Real Challenges, Real Vulnerability
Anna shared stories of workshop participants revealing deep and sometimes uncomfortable truths. Her approach—anchored in curiosity and empathy—helped create spaces for open and honest conversations.

Being Like Lumière
Anna illustrated the importance of thoughtful hosting, ensuring that workshop participants feel welcomed and at ease. These small but intentional acts contribute to a successful and engaging learning experience.

Practical Tools and Strategies
She introduced frameworks for understanding emotions and taking accountability for feelings and behaviours. She also reinforced the value of developing coaching skills to better navigate emotional dynamics in workshops and leadership settings.

Key Takeaway

Anna’s heartfelt session reinforced that emotional culture isn’t just about tools or frameworks—it’s about creating environments where people feel safe to be vulnerable and seen. Her belief that everyone is navigating their own personal challenges resonated deeply. The emphasis on curiosity, empathy, and kindness as leadership essentials left us inspired and equipped with practical strategies to foster emotional connections in even the most unexpected environments.

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