Success Without Joy: The Leadership Happiness Reframe

What this episode covers

Sharissa Sebastian Depen joins Mike to unpack a leadership problem that hides in plain sight: why high achievers can have the title, salary, and influence—and still feel stressed, stuck, or unfulfilled. Drawing from her coaching work and her own career turning point, Sharissa argues that workplace happiness starts with alignment: knowing who you are, what you value, and why the next step actually matters. A key reality frames the conversation: we spend over 90,000 hours of our lives at work, so misalignment becomes chronic stress, not a passing inconvenience. They talk through how to pressure-test your calendar with an 80/20 lens, why “achievement” can become a trap (“it will get better when…”), and how culture influences happiness—especially what’s in your control vs. what isn’t. Mike shares a concrete management example from Agile sprints: finishing early earned his team time off, and he kept the same team for five years. What you’ll learn: How to define success in a way that includes happiness How to spot values misalignment before burnout Why support systems, beliefs, and gratitude change how you lead day to day

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