Your team's fine.
Work's just busy.
Stressful sometimes.
A client is about to walk but no one’s noticed, or your profit’s been static 3 years running, or no one responded to your scintillating staff survey, your partner’s leaving, or they just seem stressed for no apparent reason all the damn time.
You’re strong; you power on.
The cost of average.
Lack-lustre leadership and a graveyard culture is revealed in various metrics. At worst it can lead to reputational damage, loss of clients and ultimately the downfall of your business.
1 in 3 sick days are for emotional reasons. Whether due to work stress or home stress, employee absence can be necessary but too much does not usually make the heart grow fonder.
75% of executives seriously considered quitting their jobs for better well-being support. A record 622 CEOs left their positions during Q1 2024. Losing their knowledge, experience and perhaps clients that leave with them... priceless?
From griping at the tea point, quiet rebellions, to formal grievances and disciplinaries, discontent costs businesses. 30% of employers saw grievances increase in 2023. The reasons:
Bullying or harassment(67%)
Relationships with managers (54%)
Relationships with colleagues (49%)
In our experience...
"Culture is absolutely the essence of
all business success or failure."
- Vernon Dennis, Head of Insolvency,
Howard Kennedy LLP.
And yet...
"Over 80% of business leaders show fatigue, low motivation, mood swings, and sleep difficulties" - BUPA
EnquireInvest in your people for...
Thriving individuals
For the first time in my life I’m sleeping through the night. And I owe it all to my therapist. Thank you Circle Line for what you do.
— Dave, 38, Director.
Cohesive teams
After one Circle Line session, a line manager described how it had transformed a relationship she had, because they now have a shared language and so understand how each other work and thrive.
— Charley Young MBE, Founder of The Girls Network
Satisfied clients
There is a strong statistical link between employee well-being reported on Glassdoor and customer satisfaction. A happier workforce is clearly associated with companies’ ability to deliver better customer satisfaction - particularly in industries with the closest contact between workers and customers. If you want to build a customer-first strategy, building high employee morale is a necessary (though not sufficient) precondition.
— Harvard Business Review
Positive culture
We’re now regularly talking openly about mindset, it’s becoming part of our culture. The Circle Line know how to connect and talk to our people. They normalise the subject and ensure we see real uptake and benefit from our investment.”“Before The Circle Line, we’d never had a partner like them. We have an EAP but it's not personal or going to impact our internal culture. Whereas The Circle Line is visible and human. Whether it’s with a webinar on team dynamics or extending support to an employee’s wife having a tough time after childbirth, The Circle Line team are always there.
— Gary West CEO, CitySprint
Big impact
Motivating by money alone only takes you so far. It’s a sense of purpose that drives teams to their fullest potential, personally and in society at large: We believe that business can play a big role in creating a better, fairer society – by making the most of its greatest asset, its people, and working with others to stimulate change at scale.
— Simon Milton Pulse Brands
Sustainable profit
We performed tremendously well throughout the pandemic, successfully raising our Series B funding. More importantly, we’ve seen employee engagement stay consistently high and not encountered significant staff attrition. While we can’t attribute all of this to our People Program, I’m certain that the strong foundations we’ve put in place have helped massively.
— Alex Duell VP People, Cutover
"There's no magic formula for great company culture. The key is just to treat your staff how you would like to be treated."
- Richard Branson.
Our specialisms
City law firms
Highly pressured environments with a sharp focus on billable hours and iron deadlines mean teams need to be robust, cohesive and high performing.
Scale-ups
Young companies can be volatile and need extra nurturing. 65% of startups fail because of issues between co-founders. We can help.
People who trust us
Gary West
CEO CitySprint
"We’re now regularly talking openly about mindset, it’s becoming part of our culture. The Circle Line know how to connect and talk to our people. They normalise the subject and ensure we see real uptake and benefit from our investment."
Richard Martin
Founder, The Mindful Business Charter
"I recently read The Circle Line's focus on the legal sector and knew at once that these were people who would be enriching and create a space where I would want to be and learn in."
Filipe Martins
VP People, Cutover
"Pip, Will and The Circle Line team of therapists have become “part of the furniture” and take-up is extremely high at 27%. We found The Circle Line offer a much more proactive and engaging approach that superseded the faceless and less engaging nature of an EAP."
Gary West
CEO CitySprint
"We’re now regularly talking openly about mindset, it’s becoming part of our culture. The Circle Line know how to connect and talk to our people. They normalise the subject and ensure we see real uptake and benefit from our investment."
Richard Martin
Founder, The Mindful Business Charter
"I recently read The Circle Line's focus on the legal sector and knew at once that these were people who would be enriching and create a space where I would want to be and learn in."
Filipe Martins
VP People, Cutover
"Pip, Will and The Circle Line team of therapists have become “part of the furniture” and take-up is extremely high at 27%. We found The Circle Line offer a much more proactive and engaging approach that superseded the faceless and less engaging nature of an EAP."
Craft your membership...
Becoming a member of The Circle Line makes you part of a special community of progressive companies. Customising your membership gives you focus and flexibility.
What’s your goal?
Boards and People teams usually come to us for one of these reasons...
1- Boost working relationships
Clients who come, and come back. Colleagues who soar, and stay. It takes connection, open communication and authenticity.
Your bespoke package
1:1 Development
1:1 Leadership Development
1:1 Executive Therapy
Personality profiling & 12 Tools
Mediation
Crisis Response
Sessions rated 9/10
Experiential Training
Leadership Retreat
Culture Pod
Group Workshops
Team Away Day
Mandatory manager training
52% of employees engage with our work
Educate & Engage
Engagement programme
Culture Pod
Personality profiling & 12 Tools
Webinars
The Circle Line magazine
86% of employees return for more
Our Expertise
Philippa Richardson
Founder & Transactional Analyst Psychotherapist
“I think there comes a time in most of our lives where we need something more; support, a change, some answers. Whether you're here for help in your personal life or with managing clients, delegating or leading, the quality of your interactions will influence the quality of your life. Master the art of the transaction and the world is your oyster. ”
Transactional Analysis ("TA") is psychology's best kept secret. I discovered it when I was a head of marketing and, as an analytical ex-lawyer, it immediately appealed. What I discovered changed my life.
Our 12 Tools for Life
TA is your own personal 360 review. It gives you a framework of tools, or models, to understand and improve your relationships and internal processes, revealing the patterns that limit you.
It's one of the cornerstones of modern psychology. Empirically-developed over 70 years, becoming internationally recognised.
There are only 900 Transactional Analysts in the UK (the TA qualification takes 3-5 years).
The Circle Line has the only digital TA platform in the world, where I’ve distilled the canon of decades of work into 12 Tools.
Research shows TA works (see here).
Will Daniel-Braham
Leadership Coach & Transactional Analysis Psychotherapist
"I have over 25 years of experience delivering training and developing leaders and CEO's from start-ups to large organisations. I’ve worked in the private, public and voluntary sectors with leaders from HSBC, Ernst & Young, Stella McCartney, Morgan Stanley to UNICEF and the Fire Brigade.
I also featured as a coach in Channel 4 documentary, 'Ballet Changed my Life' supporting the development of a group of marginalised young people to perform Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet, alongside Birmingham Royal Ballet.
I'm a go-getter, love technology and have been instrumental in the development of small start ups and larger SME’s through coaching, training and the development of staff, managers and leaders."
Thoughts from the front line...
Psychology at work
City law firms are some of the highest pressure, highest earning organisations on the planet. So they offer lots of cultural insights for any high performance company.
Luck of a saint
Emma Heal, MD of booming new brand Lucky Saint, explores the role of timing, connection and humility in business.
In the Financial Times
The founder of The Circle Line talks to the Financial Times about businesses embracing psychology at work.
Psychology at work
City law firms are some of the highest pressure, highest earning organisations on the planet. So they offer lots of cultural insights for any high performance company.
Luck of a saint
Emma Heal, MD of booming new brand Lucky Saint, explores the role of timing, connection and humility in business.
In the Financial Times
The founder of The Circle Line talks to the Financial Times about businesses embracing psychology at work.