• When Politics Walk Into Work: Managing Ideological Tensions
    Apr 22 2025
    The social and political landscape is getting more complicated and divided—things like Trump, Gaza, climate change, and so-called wokeism are just a few examples. And all that tension is spilling into the workplace. With misinformation spreading fast, people stuck in their own online bubbles, and fading trust in traditional institutions, employees are showing up with all kinds of different—and often conflicting—opinions. For employers and HR teams, this growing divide makes it harder to keep things running smoothly and respectfully. It’s tougher to encourage open, honest conversations, and disagreements can escalate quickly, leading to conflict, disengagement, or even people leaving. If it's not handled well, it can seriously mess with team dynamics, hurt productivity, and damage the overall culture. Joining Lucy on this week’s episode to discuss these issues and to offer her insights is Edel Holliday-Quinn - the Chief Leadership Psychologist and founder of the Centre for Leadership Psychology. Edel shares her tips for encouraging ‘courageous conversations’ that welcome diverse perspectives and balancing empathy with action.

    Chapters

    (00:03) Navigating Workplace Polarization and Authenticity

    (14:24) Building Psychological Safety for Diversity

    (20:57) Navigating DEI Challenges in Organizations

    Contact Edel https://www.linkedin.com/in/edel-quinn/

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    31 mins
  • Leadership development reinvented: Moving beyond traditional training
    Apr 8 2025

    Tired of the same old leadership development strategies? Join Lucy Adams and Karen Moran as they challenge the status quo. Promoting top performers into leadership roles without considering their people skills is a recipe for disaster. Discover why the "superhero" leader model is outdated and doesn't work for modern organizations.

    Revitalize your leadership training with insights from industry leaders like Salesforce, SAP, Standard Charter, and Nestle. These companies are transforming leadership development by replacing complex competency frameworks with clear, actionable goals. Discover how to create inclusive, personalized, and effective leadership development that drives high-performance and engagement. Learn from real-world examples and practical tips to build a leadership development approach that works!

    Chapters

    (00:03) Reimagining Leadership Development Strategies

    (06:34) Moving Beyond Traditional Leadership Training

    (20:11) Expanding Leadership Development Opportunities

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Check out Disruptive Leaders https://disruptive-leaders.com/

    Take our diagnostic to discover your leadership skills https://disruptivehr.typeform.com/leadersquiz

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    35 mins
  • Gen Z and the 'snowflake' myth
    Mar 25 2025

    It seems as though there’s a news article every day about how the younger generation lack the resilience or work ethic of their parents. There’s even a nickname to sum up this apparent lack of discipline and disregard for the demands of the workplace - the so-called Snowflake generation. Do younger people present problems for employers in terms of laziness or being too fragile? Or is it just a myth?

    With nearly 25 years of experience in secondary education, our guest Alex Atherton provides invaluable insights into the resilience and work ethic of today's youth, offering a fresh perspective on whether the perception of Gen Z as fragile and lazy is a stereotype or reality.

    Join us as we explore the evolving landscape of the Gen Z workforce, examining the challenges and solutions for both employers and employees. We highlight strategies for attracting and retaining young talent by fostering authenticity, transparency, and aligning company culture with the aspirations of Gen Z employees and examine the benefits and strategies for a diverse generational workforce.

    Contact Alex info@alexatherton.com

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    38 mins
  • Can AI Solve Recruitment’s Biggest Challenges? HMRC Says Yes!
    Mar 11 2025

    There doesn’t seem to be any area of HR that isn’t impacted by AI. Whether it’s personalised learning experiences or employee benefits, accessible employee survey tools, enhanced data and analytics or simply the automation of transactions, most HR teams are having to get to grips with the potential of AI.

    In this episode, we’re joined by Andy Headworth, Deputy Director of Talent Acquisition at HMRC, to discuss the impact of AI in HR, and more specifically in recruitment.

    Andy’s team, who were early adopters of AI, have been experimenting with emerging technologies to help hiring managers make more informed decisions for the last two years. He explains how AI-driven tools have streamlined the recruitment process, using talent insights and addressing common pain points faced by hiring managers.

    With AI fast becoming a creative collaborator rather than just a search engine, we discuss the challenges and strategies of introducing AI in a traditionally cautious sector, and the importance of supportive leadership whilst fostering curiosity.

    This episode is a must listen for anyone who is AI-curious in HR or recruitment roles. Contact Andy https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyheadworth/

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    33 mins
  • Is it the end for DEI?
    Feb 25 2025

    Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - or DEI as it’s known - has had a rough ride lately. Legal challenges, political pressure, and polarized public opinion have resulted in many big brand names stepping back from their DEI commitments. Does this mean the end for DEI? To discuss this and to offer a more optimistic view, Lucy is joined by her co-founder at Disruptive HR, Karen Moran.

    They debate whether the recent rolling back on DEI commitments from US corporations are a necessary pragmatism or cynical opportunism. Or whether this could even mean a welcome reset for DEI strategies.

    Lucy and Karen explore the problems with the way DEI has been delivered in recent years and how this has potentially led to DEI becoming, ironically, quite alienating for many people. They question the impact of the compliance-focused approach to DEI and provide examples of alternative strategies from more progressive companies, including using nudges and AI to check and avoid bias. Finally, they look at how companies are using more human language and focusing on helping managers and their teams have great conversations as a way of ensuring DEI can actually be more inclusive!

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

    Inclusion Nudges by Tina Nielsen and Lisa Keplinski https://inclusion-nudges.org/

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    22 mins
  • Lessons in how to lead engineers from Google
    Feb 11 2025

    Whenever we ask HR professionals about the biggest barriers to innovative people practices, they almost always mention leaders and managers - and this is particularly true in sectors such as engineering and technology. They tell us that, because engineers respond well to process, they struggle to move away from bureaucratic, people processes in favour of more fluid and agile approaches. In this episode, we’re going to prove that engineers can absolutely make great people managers - and hear what HR can do to work with them more effectively.

    The guest on this episode of HR Disrupted is Kiranbir Sodhia, a Senior Staff Engineering Manager at Google. Kiranbir shares his personal journey from an individual contributor to a people leader at industry giants like Microsoft and Google, candidly reflecting on early mistakes such as micromanaging and the vital role of formal leadership training. We discuss the growing trend of offering career paths for engineers that do not require transitioning into management, highlighting the value of individual contributors and the importance of HR in supporting managers who might not have initially aspired to those roles. Kiranbir's insights shed light on the challenges and opportunities of transforming engineers into effective people managers in a process-driven environment.

    (00:03) Leadership Development in Engineering and Technology

    (16:03) Effective Onboarding in Tech and Engineering

    (21:25) HR and Engineering Manager Relationships

    Kiranbir Sodhia https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiranbir/

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    29 mins
  • Rethinking Retirement: Embracing Age Diversity and Career Transitions
    Jan 28 2025

    Hear from Victoria Tomlinson, CEO and founder of NextUp, to explore the concept of "unretirement" and the evolving landscape of age diversity in the workforce. In this episode we challenge the outdated perceptions of older workers, particularly in light of a recent controversial post from a global recruitment company which labelled workers over 55 as being ‘in decline’! Together, we confront these stereotypes and discuss the importance of shifting societal and corporate attitudes towards ageing. Victoria shares her inspiring journey and the role lifelong learning and reinvention have played in her career, offering a compelling case for continuous growth and contribution beyond traditional retirement.

    We explore the option of embracing intergenerational workforce diversity, rather than seeing it as a problem and rethinking age diversity in employment. The discussion highlights the responsibilities of both employers and older workers in fostering inclusive workplaces that leverage the skills and experiences of all ages. Together, we advocate for a holistic approach to employee well-being that extends beyond traditional retirement, ensuring continuous learning and purpose for all.

    Chapters

    (00:03) - Navigating Unretirement and Career Transitions

    (12:11) - Professional Transition Workshops for Women

    (15:33) - Embracing Intergenerational Workforce Diversity

    (24:20) - Rethinking Age Diversity in Employment

    Next-Up https://www.next-up.com/

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    35 mins
  • Leadership and culture at Netflix
    Jan 14 2025

    In 2009 Netflix caused a huge stir in the HR and tech worlds with their 125 page slide deck that set out a new way of leading people. Whilst many companies have now adopted their concepts such as ‘freedom with accountability’, the rejection of the idea that businesses are a family, and the so-called Keeper Test, Netflix were the first major corporation to introduce them. In this episode, Kenny Temowo, a senior member of the Leadership Culture & Talent Development team at Netflix, describes the on-going impact of these pioneering principles.

    Kenny describes the role of creativity within organizational culture and the importance of an environment that encourages risk-taking and playfulness. We look at how to combine alignment with company-wide approaches with meeting the needs of local teams. And we explore Netflix's distinctive leadership seminars, which foster leadership excellence through engaging stories, poetry, and articles. This approach encourages leaders to navigate real-world challenges without traditional learning objectives, creating an immersive experience that empowers leaders to find solutions collectively.

    As an added bonus, we discuss our shared love for British Blue Shorthair cats! Whether you're an HR enthusiast, a leader, or a cat lover, this episode has something for everyone!

    Chapters

    (00:03) - Innovative HR Strategies at Netflix

    (13:50) - Fostering Creativity in Organizational Culture

    (26:55) - Leadership Seminars and Peer Learning

    (39:03) - Feline Friends

    Kenny Temowo

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennytemowo/

    Disruptive HR

    Website: www.disruptivehr.com

    Join the Disruptive HR Club https://disruptivehr.com/welcome-to-the-future-of-hr/

    Email: hello@disruptivehr.com

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    40 mins