FOUNDER DIARIES - Joe O’Mahoney on People-First Leadership, Mental Health, and Rebuilding a Life
Welcome back to Founder Diaries, a RecTalk podcast hosted by Nitin Sharma — founder of Rectools.io, the whole-of-market directory for recruitment tools. In today’s powerful and deeply human episode, Nitin sits down with Joe O’Mahoney — a people-focused Change Management Leader and Coach whose career spans E.ON, Hastings Direct, and Three Mobile, where he oversaw a £1.6bn portfolio ahead of the Vodafone merger. This conversation goes far beyond change frameworks and leadership theory. Joe opens up about: * The difference between managing tasks and leading people — and why most organisations still get this wrong * How culture, psychological safety, and empathy shape organisational performance * Why employee engagement surveys often fail and how AI-driven analysis is changing the game * Helping scale-ups bring their people along for the ride during high-velocity growth * The hidden emotional cost of change and how leaders can support teams through uncertainty * Joe’s personal 20-year struggle with mental health, misdiagnosis, manic episodes triggered by medication, and finally receiving a life-changing bipolar diagnosis * Losing everything and rebuilding from scratch — the moment he sat alone in an empty house and chose to stand back up * Fatherhood as his greatest achievement and how being present shapes his purpose * The lesson he learned too late: the power of truly listening This is one of the rawest, most honest conversations on Founder Diaries — a must-listen for anyone leading people, going through change, or navigating their own internal battles. ✨ Who This Episode Is For * Founders and leaders building and scaling teams * HR, change, and transformation professionals * Anyone interested in mental health, neurodiversity, and human behaviour * New managers learning the difference between leadership and management * Individuals navigating personal or professional change * Anyone who needs reminding that failure, struggle, and rebuilding are part of the journey 🔗 Connect with the guest Joe O’Mahoney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-omahoney/ Videre Coaching & Consulting: https://www.videreconsults.co.uk/ 🔗 Connect with the host Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ New episodes of RecTalk, plus Founder Diaries and Talking Talent, drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. New episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping every Thursday. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/ Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/
