A couple of weeks ago, we had the honour of sitting down with Dr James Gross as part of our Emotions At Work Learning Series. For those who may not know, Dr Gross is one of the most recognised and influential emotion scientists of our time. His work has shaped how people across psychology, leadership, education and culture understand and work with emotions.

It was one of those conversations that lingers long after it ends. We left feeling grateful, curious, and more convinced than ever that emotional work is the real work. Below are some of the ideas that stood out most, and why they matter for anyone who wants to lead, relate or build culture with intention.

Who is Professor James Gross?

Dr Gross is a professor at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab. He’s most widely known for developing the Process Model of Emotion Regulation. This framework breaks down the different ways we can regulate our emotions. Not just by controlling our reactions, but b...

Why it’s time to flip the script on how we lead change, and how to start.

When most organisations face change, they respond with strategy.
Plans. Timelines. Frameworks. Comms packs.

But very few ask the more human questions:

• How do we want our people to feel during this change?

• What emotions might get in the way?

• How can we shape the emotional culture so change sticks?

We’ve been taught that leading change is about logic, planning, and managing resistance.
But change doesn’t start in the mind. It starts in the heart.

Here’s the truth

Emotions Matter More Than Models.
You can’t lead change if you ignore emotion. 

It’s not a soft skill. It’s the essential skill.

We built the Emotional Change Strategy Course because we saw a gap.
Leaders everywhere were asking how to make change less painful, more honest, and more human.

They didn’t need another model.
They needed the language and tools to lead emotionally. Not just tactically.

What the Course Teaches You

This ...

How one team used The ECD to lead people through change, and what it means for every leader.

When organisations face big change, the default response is usually strategic.

Plans. Timelines. Communications frameworks.

But one bold team in a major New Zealand government agency tried something different.

They made emotion the centre of their change strategy. nNot a side note.

In partnership with riders&elephants and Professor Michael Parke from Wharton Business School, this team used The Emotional Culture Deck Change Programme to support over 4,000 employees through a high-stakes consultation.

The results speak for themselves:

•  +7.3% increase in engagement
• +10.3% stronger emotional support from leaders
• +20.7% improvement in emotional awareness
• 94% of employees felt their leader promoted wellbeing
• 0 reports of burnout

They didn’t follow a traditional change playbook. They flipped it.

This white paper tells the story, and why emotional culture is now essential for leading c...

We now have 10 official Local Elephant Rider Chapters in cities across the globe, and it’s all thanks to the generosity and leadership of our incredible Chapter Leads, who host in-person meetups to help keep our global community feeling close, connected and inspired.

When you complete one of our ECD Specialist Courses, you become a Certified Practitioner and officially earn the title of Elephant Rider. You keep that title for life.

After your 90 days of course community access, even if you choose not to become a paid member, you’re still an Elephant Rider — and you’re always welcome at any of our local Chapter Meetups. These gatherings are a place to come together, swap stories, share learnings, reflect on emotions at work, and simply stay connected.

Here’s a look at our Q1 2025 Local Chapter Meetups and the amazing people who made them happen:

•  WELLINGTON, New Zealand – hosted by Andrea Hancox & Kristin Murray (Mar 18)
• NELSON-TASMAN, New Zealand– hosted by Cathie Gould (Mar 17)
...

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 ...

Most workplaces focus on strategy, systems, and goals—but what about emotions? How people feel at work shapes everything—from how they show up, collaborate, and lead, to whether they stay or leave.

If you’ve ever wanted to create more emotionally aware, connected, and high-performing teams, this course will show you how.

We’re opening the doors to the next Emotional Culture Crafting Masterclass, and we’d love to have you join us.

What This Course is Really About 

This isn’t just another online course where you watch a few videos and move on. This is hands-on, interactive learning, designed to help you:

• Facilitate real conversations with The Emotional Culture Deck—helping teams map out the emotions that drive their culture.
• Turn emotions into action by designing team behaviours, rituals, and ways to track culture over time.
• Lead with confidence in emotional conversations—learning how to guide teams through both the good and the uncomfortable.
• Apply what you learn straight away...

Most leaders focus on what people think and do at work—but what about how they feel?

Emotional culture plays a powerful role in shaping performance, engagement, and team dynamics. Yet, it’s often overlooked in favour of strategy, process, and intellectual values. But research shows that when organisations consciously craft their emotional culture, they create workplaces where people thrive.

That’s why we’ve created our latest Insight Guide.

Emotional Culture Crafting: How Emotional Culture Shapes Performance and Engagement 

This guide explores:

• Why emotional culture matters for performance, engagement, and well-being
• The common reasons leaders overlook emotional culture (and how to overcome them)
• Practical steps to craft emotional culture with intention 

It’s a must-read for leaders, HR professionals, and consultants looking to create more emotionally intelligent, high-performing workplaces.

Download the guide now and start crafting your emotional culture with intention. 

Nine Months of Growth, Learning, and Courage – Welcome Our New Certified Consultants

After nine months of learning, experimenting, and pushing themselves in new ways, we’ve got 10 incredible new ECD Certified Consultants to celebrate!

A huge congratulations to: 

• Safura Atan, Malaysia
• Daniël Corsen, Curacao
• Marie-Claire Mclachlan, South Africa
• Rita Prates, Portugal
• Silvina Layani, Switzerland
• Sarah Dena, United Kingdom
• Claire McKie, Australia
• Amie Myrick, United States 
• Nike Lawal, United Kingdom
• Sonali Kumarakulasinghe, United Kingdom

This wasn’t just about learning a tool—it was about stepping up as leaders, embracing the messy, human side of work, and challenging the way organisations think about emotions. Along the way, they’ve had breakthroughs, doubts, lightbulb moments, and plenty of real-world experience bringing emotional culture to life in workplaces, teams, and leadership.

Now, they’re taking everything they’ve learned and putting it into action—helping lead...

As organisations continue to recognise the power of emotions in leadership, culture, and change, more leaders are turning to The Emotional Culture Deck to shape the way they work. This year, ECD Certified Consultants are delivering specialist courses around the world, helping individuals and teams bring emotion-led leadership into their workplaces.

These in-person courses offer hands-on experiences, guiding participants through proven frameworks and interactive activities and tools that deepen emotional awareness, improve team connection, and drive meaningful change. Whether you are looking to explore Emotional Leadership, Emotional Change Strategy, or Stakeholder Engagement, these courses provide a practical way to build emotional intelligence in leadership.

 → Click here to see all our upcoming In-person ECD Specialist Courses delivered by ECD Certified Consultants

Each course is led by an officially endorsed ECD Certified Consultant, bringing deep expertise in emotional culture a...

Leadership is evolving. In a world of constant change, uncertainty, and complexity, the most effective leaders are not just those who strategise and execute well—but those who understand and manage emotions, both in themselves and in their teams. Our latest report, Emotional Leadership: The Future of Leadership – Why Emotions Matter More Than Ever, explores why emotions are the missing link in leadership development and how leaders can harness them to build stronger, more connected, and higher-performing teams.

Our research, in collaboration with the Wharton School of Business and Professor Michael Parke, reinforces what we’ve long believed: emotional leadership isn’t a ‘soft skill’—it’s a critical capability that drives engagement, trust, and performance. Findings from the study show that leaders who intentionally foster emotional support increase team resilience, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction. The data is clear—when leaders prioritise emotional culture, they create env...