Dr Michelle McQuaid is an author, workplace wellbeing strategist, and founder of The Good Girl Changemakers. With a PhD in Appreciative Inquiry and years of experience working at the intersection of wellbeing, leadership, and psychological safety, Michelle is shifting the conversation around how we care for ourselves and each other in professional spaces. Her work weaves together evidence-based wellbeing science with deeply human insight, helping individuals and organisations create cultures that are braver, kinder, and more sustainable.
In this conversation, Michelle and Megan explore the “good girl” conditioning many of us carry, the people-pleasing, perfectionism, and performance that can become deeply embedded in our sense of identity. Michelle shares how her curiosity in workplace wellbeing led her to recognise gendered patterns of resistance to change and why dismantling these internalised beliefs is crucial for personal and systemic transformation.
Together, they explore the power of self-compassion, the importance of unlearning, and how our schools and workplaces consider ways to enhance belonging. Michelle shares reflections from her own upbringing, how early messages about who she was “supposed to be” shaped her internal world, and what it has taken to return to her authentic self.
This episode is a gentle yet powerful invitation to reflect on the invisible rules we've been following and how these can limit our ability to show up fully for ourselves and for the young people in our lives. Michelle offers a compassionate, practical roadmap for parents, teachers, youth workers, and leaders who want to create more human-centred environments, where wellbeing is embedded in the culture. If we want young people to feel safe, seen, and supported, we need to start by doing that work within ourselves.
You can find Michelle's work on the Good Girl Changemakers here.
Host: Megan Corcoran, Wagtail Institute
Wagtail Institute empowers schools and complex settings to become trauma-informed wellbeing communities of practice where everyone can thrive. We work alongside leaders, educators, and practitioners to respond to wellbeing challenges, enhance trauma-informed practice, and navigate pathways to healing. If you would like to work with Megan, head to our website or send an email: [email protected]
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Music by Kabbilistic Village https://kabbalisticvillage.com/