A lot of people leaders are exhausted right now.
They’re holding the line on performance…
trying to keep their teams engaged…
and making hard calls under pressure.
And in the middle of all that, one thing gets pushed to the bottom of the list: Joy.
Not the “happy all the time” kind of joy.
Not “good vibes only.”
But joy as an operating system — the thing that stabilizes how you lead, how you respond, and how you treat people when work gets messy.
Because when a leader runs on urgency, fear, or control…
the team can feel it.
And it costs you: trust, creativity, psychological safety, retention… and eventually, results.
My special guest today is Sheryl Raphael Whitaker, and she’s simplifying how to be a joy-centered people leader. Sheryl is a leadership transformation expert and best-selling author of It Starts with Joy: The Inner Shift that Changes Everything. She helps leaders and teams move from overload and disconnection into clarity, authenticity, and steady leadership — through her JoyShift™ method and the idea that “Joy is your COO.”
Here’s how.
My special guest today is Sheryl Raphael Whitaker and she’s simplifying how to be a joy-centered people leader.
We tackle and simplify all aspects of it, including:
- That when you believe “Joy is an operating system” and “Joy is your COO,” what that really means and the real cost to a team when a leader runs on urgency, fear, or control instead.
- The most common signs a people leader is not joy-centered (even if they’re high-performing) versus someone who truly is.
- How to use the JoyAudit — and a couple of questions a manager can ask themselves to get clarity in under 10 minutes.
- A step-by-step, simplified walkthrough of the JoyShift Method: Joy Aware, Joy Embraced, Joy Committed, Joy in Motion — and one simple action you can take this week for each step.
- And if joy is the operating system, how it changes the most important people-leader moments: feedback, conflict, decision-making under pressure, and building trust — with a couple “before vs. after” examples you can picture immediately.
Q: Are you ready to learn how to be a joy-centered people leader? If yes, this one is for you.
It’s time to #DoTheThing!
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<What’s catching my eye this week>
- 3 hours of (free) focus music for deep concentration - Quiet Quest - Study Music
- Hire Mary Baird, PHR to help you run a 30-day Employee Experience Accelerator to listen better to your workforce, rebuild trust in your senior leadership and improve culture at work - The Simplifiers
- 50 powerful questions to help you reflect - The Institute of You
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My challenge for you this week:
How are you going to take what you’ve learned in today’s episode and take action by becoming a joy-centered people leader? What’s one thing you’ll do differently? Share it with me, privately or publicly. Snap a photo of you doing the thing, and send me a DM over on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thesimplifiers) for added accountability and support!
Links, books and apps mentioned:
Resource: Find Sheryl Raphael Whitaker, ICF-ACC on LinkedIn - click here
Resource: State of the Global Workplace 2025 Report - Gallup
Book: It Starts with Joy: The Inner Shift that changes Everything - Sheryl Raphael Whitaker
Live Show: It Starts with Joy - LIVE - catch it every Wednesday at 8:30am ET on YouTube - Sheryl Raphael Whitaker
Book: All the Cool Girls Get Fired: How to Let Go of Being Let Go and Come Back on Top - Laura Brown & Kristina O’Neill
Podcast: How to practice empathy without burning out, featuring Joseph Cope - The Simplifiers Podcast
Podcast: How to be a better leader (guided visualization) - The Simplifiers Podcast
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About Sheryl Raphael Whitaker:
Sheryl Raphael Whitaker - She is a Leadership Transformation Expert and best-selling author of It Starts with Joy: The Inner Shift that Changes Everything. As Founder & CEO of EdenAnthony LLC, she helps executives, teams, organizations, and growth-minded individuals move from disconnection and overload to clarity, authenticity, and unshakeable joy through her JoyShift™ method, the It Starts with Joy framework, and her leadership philosophy, Joy is my COO™.
She is the host of It Starts with Joy — LIVE, a weekly live show exploring the human side of leadership through candid conversation and real-world insight.
Sheryl’s conviction that leadership begins with protecting joy started when she was six, after a teacher wrongly accused her of breaking a purple crayon and dismissed her classmates’ defense. As the only child in class who looked like her, bused into the district with her sister, the moment was more than a false accusation—it was a mark of being “less than.” That early experience, explored in It Starts with Joy, became a touchstone for her work helping leaders safeguard the dignity and humanity of those they lead.
Her corporate journey includes senior leadership roles at State Farm, AutoOne Insurance, AIG, and USAA, where she led enterprise learning transformation for 37,000+ employees. In 2024, after more than three decades in corporate leadership, she declared herself a corporate escapee and launched EdenAnthony LLC—named in honor of her late father—as a space where leaders could align performance with joy and integrity.
She lives with her husband, Dwayne, and their pup, Bella and is the keynote speaker for TEDx Southlake, 2026!
Where Sheryl hangs out online:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheryl-raphael-whitaker/
Website: https://www.edenanthonyelitetalent.com/
Sheryl’s vote for the perfect guest on The Simplifiers Podcast:
Jacqueline Langlois - She is the Founder of Gen D Consulting and has over 15 years of experience in the agricultural and life science industries. She started Gen D Consulting to provide consulting and coaching services, primarily for clients in agriculture and life sciences. Having lived in several countries, she brings cultural intelligence and diverse experience into her work. Her mission is to help leaders and teams turn “digital chaos into clarity” by focusing on connection, confidence, and communication.
