THRIVE.

Years ago, Arianna Huffington’s Thrive made its quiet way onto my bookshelf. I remember admiring its premise—challenging the idea that success could be measured only by money and power—but life at the time, in all its velocity, didn’t leave much room to live those insights.

A change of roles in the corporate world, close family bereavements (yes, multiple) and the pandemic swept me along over the last few years until finally I was able to re-evaluate things, including the way I work and I stepped into the world of self-employment.  Being self-employed is not for the fainthearted and in many respects the easier thing to have done would be to stay in the corporate world, with paid annual leave and stable income.  However, it had started to not feel like enough.

I am married to a high school teacher with a school age daughter which has meant, that for years, I would spend my summers working while they took extended trips to visit family in Spain or interesting family days out at home together.

Self-employment brings flexibility and part of the reframe I am making is that I can work from anywhere, so what’s stopping from doing that? 

So this summer, we packed our bags for a month of blending work and life under the Spanish sun and something told me it was time to pull Thrive back off the shelf.

And I’m so glad I did.

Re-reading Thrive here in Spain— has not only returned me to its content, but has also acted as a strong reminder of aiming for a different way of being.

The Third Metric: A New Compass for Leadership

At its core, Thrive proposes a Third Metric of success beyond wealth and achievement. This Third Metric is built on:

• Well-being: physical and mental nourishment.

• Wisdom: the capacity to make choices aligned with deeper values.

• Wonder: awe, gratitude, presence.

• Giving: empathy, generosity, and service.

For leaders, this isn’t just a personal wellness manifesto—it’s a strategic reorientation. Thrive insists that companies and cultures anchored in these values don’t just produce more human outcomes… they produce better outcomes.

“We are not human doings; we are human beings.”
— Thrive

Third Metric in Action: Leadership Lessons

Here are five key shifts leaders can make to live and lead from this new paradigm:

1. Embed Well-being Into the Culture

• Lead by example—no after-hours emails, holidays honoured and boundaries respected.

2. Make Wisdom a Strategic Asset

• Build in time for reflection:  team debriefs circles, meaningful one to ones.

• Encourage thoughtful, collaborative decision-making over speedy leader led instructions

Leadership reflection prompt:
What decision did you rush this week that needed more space to breathe?

3. Bring Wonder Into the Workplace

• Start meetings with a moment of awe—an image, a short story, a meaningful quote.

• Host walking meetings or invite storytelling into your team culture.

This Spanish phrase seems appropriate: “La vida no se mide por las veces que respiras, sino por los momentos que te dejan sin aliento.”
Life isn’t measured by how many breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.

4. Celebrate developing others as a KPI

• Build peer-recognition conversations into your culture.

• Create mentoring and reverse mentoring programmes.

Personal and Professional Reflection prompt -
Where did I choose to lift someone else this week, rather than lift my own profile?

5. Redefine Success—Visibly

• Publicly value presence, emotional intelligence, and ethical choices—not just the bottom line.

• Encourage your team to define what a meaningful week looks like (hint: it’s not just completed checklists).

Reflection Questions for the Conscious Leader

Whether you’re running a team or re-centring as a self-employed business leader, take a moment with these prompts:

• What part of my leadership has been on autopilot that I now want to reclaim?

• If wonder were a leadership competency, how would I score?

• What example am I setting for boundaries, balance, and bravery?

• Am I defining success by outcomes or by alignment with my values?

• Where can I lead with more compassion, and less control?

Living and working in Spain this month has felt like an ongoing seminar on how to thrive.

On days that I am consciously blending work into my day, I set aside specific times of the day to work and specific times of the day to be fully present with my family.

Before we headed here, someone said to me, “ I wonder if it will change how you work when you get home?”   This thought keeps running round my head.  I think she was on to something.  My focus has been recalibrated and learning to consciously set boundaries is enabling me to lead myself from the inside out.

Success isn't something we grind toward—it’s something we wake up to, slowly and deliberately. So here’s to leading like it matters. To thriving without burning out. And to maybe taking a little Spanish sunlight back home with us, wherever that may be.