Human-Centred Leadership: Glen Ridgway’s Model for Thriving Workplaces

In a business environment often driven by targets and transformation, Glen Ridgway, chartered civil engineer, author and a director of Workplace Wellbeing Academy, believes that real success starts with people and a more human-centric approach to leadership.

Ridgway’s journey into workplace wellbeing is rooted in lived experience. A defining period in his early career led him to reflect more deeply on the realities people face at work, and more importantly, how rarely those realities are openly acknowledged. “When I talked about my experience, I understood that I wasn’t the only person in the room going through it,” he says. “That moment changed how I saw leadership and workplace wellbeing.”

With that thought in mind, Ridgway began to explore a more holistic approach to work and life that encompasses mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. “Wellbeing is not a singular concept,” he explains. “It is everything that shapes how a person feels, performs, and connects.” This philosophy, he says, was the inspiration for the Workplace Wellbeing Academy, a consultancy dedicated to embedding wellbeing into organizational culture.

“When your people are thriving, your business will thrive,” Ridgway says. For him, this is a strategic principle that requires consistent action. It is about aligning leadership intent with everyday behaviours, ensuring that wellbeing is an integral part of how a business operates.

And leadership, Ridgway emphasizes, must be truly human-centred. The Academy, according to him, brings this philosophy to life through a range of tailored services that engage every level of an organization. “What I have often seen in organisations is that managers get thrown into leadership roles without proper training or people skills. We give them those skills. From leadership training and consultancy to audits and digital resources, we provide it all,” he says.

One of the strengths of the Academy, in Glen’s view, is its network of specialists who address workplace wellbeing from multiple perspectives. “We have experts in workload management, organizational enablers, behavioural health and safety work, besides practitioners,” he remarks. “For instance, we have an expert titled ‘The Period Princess’, who educates organisations on women’s health and personal wellbeing. This way, we ensure the organisations receive both the strategic insight and the practical support that they need.”

Ridgway’s ideas of wellbeing are further distilled into his book, The Wellbeing Advantage: How caring for your people can power your business, which brings together 17 years of his learning into a structured framework, accessible to all. Built around 15 elements across three domains and spanning 17 chapters, the book offers a non-traditional guide for those who want to manage, lead, or grow.

Each chapter, Glen adds, concludes with practical prompts and actionable steps, encouraging leaders to engage directly with their teams. Ridgway sees this as essential to both personal and organizational development. “Your team will always give you the best insight into how you are doing,” he says. “If you are willing to listen, they will help you grow.” The book also includes a bonus chapter exploring how physical design influences workplace experience, reinforcing the connection between environment and wellbeing.

Ridgway believes that work and life is a mix and not a balance. “Balance suggests a perfect split,” he explains. “But life is not balanced. It is blended. It is a mix of everything. The goal is to find a mix that works for you as an individual and your organisation.”

Ridgway’s future goals are focused on helping organizations redefine what it truly means to value people. “Many businesses say people are their greatest asset,” he observes. “But the real question is, what are you doing to prove it?” For him, the answer lies in measurement and accountability. “Measure well-being and monitor all the other business metrics. If you measure wellbeing, the rest will follow.”

Through his work with the Workplace Wellbeing Academy and his book, Ridgway aims to popularise a more human approach to business. His vision, he says, is to enable organizations to grow in a way that is both sustainable and meaningful. As he puts it, “When people feel supported, valued, and understood, they do their best work. And that is what drives lasting success.”