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What got you here,
won't get you there

We define what great leadership looks like at your next stage, and build the system that gets you there.

Experience across
Coinbase Twilio Procore OneTrust YETI Vrbo Delivery Hero Redfin Expedia Group VMware

"If you don't define what great looks like, someone else will."

Ash Panjwani
Ash Panjwani
Founder, wrkhappy

Who is wrkhappy for?

Systems & Strategy

Founders & CEOs

You've outgrown the team that got you here. Your company is scaling through other people's judgment now... and you're not sure everyone knows what good looks like.

People & Culture

CPOs & Heads of People

You need a leadership standard, not another engagement survey. The kind your board can see and your managers can actually run.

Portfolio & Growth

VC & PE Partners

Your portfolio's leadership bar is uneven, and it shows up in the numbers. We set the standard at the companies that need it, and hand your founders a system they own.

We're called when

Your strategy isn't translating into execution.
The org isn't moving, and nobody can say if it's a people problem or a leadership one.
A reorg, funding round, or leadership change just happened.
The team needs a new standard, and nobody has written it down yet.
You've invested in managers and can't show it's working.
The training is done. The behavior didn't change.
Your best managers are thriving and your worst are coasting.
That gap quietly resets the bar for what's tolerated.
You're leading in the AI era with no updated picture of great.
Your managers run blended teams of people and AI now. The definition of a great leader hasn't caught up.
Culture that made you special when you were smaller isn't scaling.
What worked at 80 people is fraying at 400. The standard never got codified.

These are different symptoms, but with one root cause. The company outgrew its definition of great leadership and it hasn't been rewritten... yet.

The gap has a price tag

20-25%
Productivity lost when leadership expectations are unclear
Gallup
2-4x
Salary cost to replace a high performer lost to poor leadership
Work Institute
30-40%
Longer ramp times when role expectations aren't defined
BambooHR

These costs compound. You'll catch them in slower decisions and high performers opting out.

Book a Call Find your gaps →

How We Work

Set the Standard

Define what great leadership looks like here. We interview your leaders, read the current state, and codify the behaviors that define great at every level.

Best for:

A team that needs a clear, codified leadership standard to build on.

What you get:
  • The Leadership Blueprint, defined for every level with the behaviors you can actually see
  • Role clarity at each leadership level
  • Executive readout
Timeline: 3-5 weeks
$30K
Build the System

Wire the standard into the decisions that already happen. How you hire, how you promote, how your leaders operate.

Best for:

Companies ready to make the standard the operating reality.

What you get:
  • Everything in Set the Standard
  • Hiring rubric and interview guides, by level
  • Promotion criteria aligned to the standard
  • Leadership operating rhythms
  • Rollout plan with adoption metrics
Timeline: 8-12 weeks
Starting at $65K
Bridge the Gap

Build the capability to live it. The development and coaching that closes the gap, grounded in the standard. Standalone, or the natural next step after Build.

Best for:

Companies rolling the standard out across the whole org, with the depth and team to do it at scale.

What you get:
  • Leadership and manager development program
  • Leader onboarding and assimilation kit
  • Coaching framework
  • Train-the-trainer materials, so your team owns it
  • AI-era leadership: coaching the parts you can't automate... vision, hard feedback, and showing up as someone people want to follow
Timeline: Scoped to you
Custom proposal
Advisory

A senior thought partner for the hardest leadership and people challenges. Whether that's a key hire, a team that isn't performing, or an org design you need an outside perspective on.

Executive Forums

Designed and run by wrkhappy. Whether it's a CEO summit for your portfolio, a leadership offsite, or a keynote that sets the tone for the room.

Ash Panjwani, founder of wrkhappy
Built by an operator, not a consultant

wrkhappy is led by Ash Panjwani, who built leadership infrastructure inside companies scaling from 1,000 to 20,000+ employees at Twilio, VMware, OneTrust, and Procore. She has sat in the calibration rooms and built the leadership blueprints, through hypergrowth, acquisitions, and IPO prep.

Featured in Forbes for the EQ-based leadership system she built at Procore. She builds it, and leaves you the keys.

More about Ash →

Frequently Asked Questions

What size companies do you work with?

Scaling companies from 50 to 500+ employees, typically Series A through D. The common thread isn't size, it's the moment: you've outgrown your current leadership standard and need one that scales with you.

What are the actual deliverables?

Every engagement starts with understanding your specific gaps. Deliverables range from leadership blueprints and competency frameworks to hiring toolkits, promotion criteria, and development programs. You walk away with documents and systems you own and can run without us.

We already have a People team. Why would we need wrkhappy?

Your People team is running the day-to-day. wrkhappy builds the leadership standard they operate on. We define what great looks like, wire it into hiring and promotion, and hand it over. Most of our clients have strong People leaders who bring us in for the build, not the operations.

What if we don't have a People team yet?

That's common, especially at earlier stages. We build the standard and train whoever will own it going forward, whether that's a future People hire, your ops lead, or your leadership team directly. For companies that need ongoing support, Advisory gives you a senior leadership voice without the full-time hire.

What does a typical engagement look like?

It starts with a 30-minute conversation to understand what's happening and where it hurts. Within a week, we come back with a point of view, a recommended scope, and a clear timeline with investment. Work typically begins 2-4 weeks from the first call. Depending on the scope, engagements range from Set the Standard to a full Bridge the Gap build.

How involved does our leadership team need to be?

Enough to make it stick. We typically need executive sponsorship and access to 2-3 key stakeholders for discovery. Beyond that, we do the build. Leadership reviews and approves at milestones, but we're not asking for hours of their time every week.

Do you only do long-term engagements?

No. Set the Standard is a focused engagement with a clear output. Some companies need that and nothing else. Others want ongoing partnership through Advisory. We scope to what you actually need.

How is this different from a big consulting firm?

We build and leave you the keys. No 40-slide decks. No $500K retainers. You get a leadership standard you own and can run without us.

Can we start small?

Yes. Many engagements start with Set the Standard, or a single Advisory conversation. If there's a fit, we scope from there.

Case Study

From 60% to 87% engagement, pre-IPO

How a scaling cybersecurity company set its leadership standard, lifted engagement 27 points, and walked into its IPO with a system its own team now runs.

Read the full story →

Set the standard your next stage requires

A 30-minute call. We'll tell you where your leadership gaps are and whether we can help. No deck, no pitch.