From Purpose to Impact: The Leadership of Giving Back, with Dr Michael Josephson MBE
Some conversations stay with you long after they end. My conversation with Dr Michael Josephson MBE is one of them.
Michael is a charity campaigner, successful businessman and mental health awareness advocate. He has raised over £12 million for children's charities, much of it in Manchester, the city he made his home. I was introduced to Michael by Kate Lowe, a former guest on the podcast, and from our very first conversation I knew his story needed to be heard more widely.
Please note before you listen: this episode includes Michael's account of a suicide attempt and of childhood abuse. Do listen with care, and if any of it touches something in you, please reach out to someone. In the UK, Samaritans are available on 116 123, day and night.
Who is Dr Michael Josephson MBE?
Michael's childhood was marked by trauma. His mother died when he was young, and the people who were meant to care for him did not. As he says, he had to find his own way in life and start again.
In 1998, in a very low place, Michael survived a suicide attempt. He spent months in hospital, was told he might never walk again, and underwent multiple operations. What changed everything was noticing that people cared. Two women he knew through business sent boxes of gifts to the hospital every single week, thanking the nurses for looking after him. In his own words: "At that point I realised, why do people really care about me? Now it's time I can make a difference and help other people."
That realisation became a life's work. Michael chaired the Childline Ball Committee in his early twenties and grew it from £7,000 a year to over £1 million annually for the NSPCC. In 2015 he founded the Michael Josephson Ball, which now raises over £1.1 million net each year for children's charities. From sponsoring a sensory room at the Seashell Trust to a £100,000 gift that helped complete the MediCinema appeal for Manchester's hospitals, his focus is always the same: real, visible, sustained impact for children and young people.
What does the leadership of giving back look like?
Three threads run through our conversation.
The first is turning lived experience into purpose. Michael's giving is rooted in his own story. He describes his work as giving childhood back to children, and his legacy as the lives he has helped to change.
The second is that philanthropy is far more than money. Michael is clear that everybody has something to give: time, ideas, introductions, energy, presence. As he puts it, "Philanthropy is not just about giving money; it's your time."
The third is community. Michael is careful about the charities he supports, meeting the CEO, the chair and the board, and asking direct questions before he commits. And he is honest about his concern for the next generation of philanthropy, and his hope that more leaders will step forward.
Michael's three encouragements to leaders
As every guest does, Michael closes with three encouragements:
Use your platform with purpose. Whatever level of influence you have, use it to open doors, raise awareness and create opportunity for others.
Start with what you can do now. Do not wait for the perfect moment or the biggest gesture. Start with one cause, one action, one introduction, one commitment.
Make generosity practical. Good intentions matter, but impact comes from action. Ask what is needed, bring people together, and stay close to the difference your support makes.
And woven through it all, the message Michael most wants you to hear: never suffer in silence. It's always good to talk.
Listen to the episode
You can listen to From Purpose to Impact: The Leadership of Giving Back wherever you get your podcasts, or on YouTube.
You can find Michael on LinkedIn as Dr Michael Josephson MBE, on Instagram, and his website.
If this conversation has resonated with you, I would love to tell you more about Collaboration Equation, the leadership framework Lucy Kidd and I created together. Built on Curiosity, Care and Courage, it gives leaders and their teams going through change a practical, relational way forward. Get in touch directly to find out more.