Lead with Thanks

In this episode, Thankbox Co-Founder Tsvetelina Hinova sits down with Sarah McVanel, a global recognition expert, professional speaker, and founder of Greatness Magnified with over 25 years of experience in HR. Together they explore why appreciation isn’t a “nice to have” at work,  but a fundamental human need with serious business consequences. Sarah makes a compelling case for recognition as a s...

In this episode, Thankbox Co-Founder Tsvetelina Hinova sits down with Vicki Yang, a fractional Head of HR with over 20 years of experience spanning startups, nonprofits, and major tech companies including Google and Looker, to explore one of the most underrated levers in building a thriving company: appreciation. Vicki makes a compelling case for why appreciation needs to be woven into every proce...

In this episode, Thankbox Co-Founder Tsvetelina Hinova sits down with Toby Kheng, Co-Founder of Freeformers, to unpack one deceptively simple idea: why saying “thank you” at work is so rare, and why that’s a problem. Drawing on his experience redesigning employee experiences, Toby explains how many organisations treat appreciation as a checkbox exercise e.g. generic perks, vouchers, or gamified re...

In this special episode, Host Tsvetelina Hinova is joined by globally recognised HR thinker Perry Timms to unpack their newly launched co-authored STAY Report - and why it’s set to change how we think, talk about, and apply appreciation at work. Together, they explore a simple but overlooked truth: You don’t have a choice about appreciation, you’re sending signals either way. We cover: Why organis...

In this episode, Tsvetelina Hinova sits down with David Liddle - a leading voice in people, culture, and leadership transformation. With over 25 years of experience, David shares why appreciation is not a “soft” concept, but a critical driver of performance, connection, and meaningful work. They explore why many organisations still struggle to take appreciation seriously -often relying on legacy s...

In this episode of Lead With Thanks, Thankbox Co-Founder Tsvetelina Hinova sits down with Vikki Gledhill, a seasoned Reward leader with over 20 years’ experience shaping how organisations recognise, support, and celebrate their people. Now Head of Reward & Pensions at Yorkshire Water  Vikki brings a career’s worth of wisdom from major organisations, including Cox Automotive, Manchester Airport...

What fun! In this lively conversation, Tsvetelina Hinova speaks with Debra Corey, six-time author and Chief Pay It Forward Officer at Step it UP HR, about the significance of appreciation in the workplace.  Debra shares her extensive experience in HR and the various phases of her career, and they discuss how understanding individual preferences and cultural considerations can enhance recognition p...

Matthew Phelan is a co-founder of The Happiness Index, a two-time author on workplace happiness ('Freedom to be happy' and 'The Happiness Index') and podcast host, Matt champions positive organisational cultures.  A sought-after keynote speaker, including TEDx, Matt travels globally, sharing data-driven insights on how culture fuels business success. In this conversation, Tsvet...

In this episode, Tsvetelina had the absolute pleasure of chatting to Dawn Smedley from WorkBuzz and host of The Culture Whisperer Podcast.  A former “Appreciatologist” Dawn has spent 16 years in culture and employee engagement, championing the small things that make the biggest difference.  Dawn is passionate about helping organisations move beyond surveys to truly listen, understand, and act on w...

WOW, Lead with Thanks is off with a bang!  Our first guest is the brilliant Amanda Arrowsmith , CPO at Royal British Legion, formerly at the CIPD, and she brings honesty, energy and passion by the bucket load! Amanda has spent over 25 years in senior HR and transformation roles, putting people at the heart of transformation. She’s also the founder of Sisterhood of Women, which supports women to gr...