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What really makes the difference when leadership gets difficult?

Not when the plan is working. Not when the numbers look good. But when the pressure rises, the situation is unclear, and other people are looking to you for direction.

Peter Davies has spent decades in senior leadership roles across DHL, SN Brussels Airlines, Air Malta and other complex organisations. Looking back, he has come to a conclusion that challenges the way many leaders think about performance:

The soft determines the hard

In this episode of Leading People, Gerry Murray explores what Peter has learned about leading people when judgement matters, trust is tested, and easy answers are in short supply.

It’s a conversation shaped by experience rather than theory, with stories from a career spent making difficult calls, leading through change and working across very different cultures.

And as AI becomes more embedded in the way organisations operate, one question becomes even more important:

What should leaders be careful not to lose?

If you lead people, influence decisions or carry responsibility when the answer isn’t obvious, this episode is for you.

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What if the problem with workplace learning isn’t a lack of content, courses or technology?

What if we’re still confusing access to information with actual learning?

In this episode of Leading People, Gerry Murray welcomes Stella Collins back to explore how people really learn at work and what organisations need to do differently if they want learning to translate into better performance.

Stella’s new book, The Learning Organization, challenges some familiar assumptions about training, self-directed learning and the role of L&D.

Together, Gerry and Stella explore what helps learning stick, why self-directed learning is more than giving people access to a platform, how managers shape the learning environment, and what AI may change about how people develop skills and expertise.

They also discuss the changing role of trainers, the neuroscience behind effective learning, and why measuring attendance and completions may tell us far less than we think.

If you lead people, design learning, manage change or simply want to help others grow more effectively, this conversation will give you plenty to reflect on.

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Visit Stella's Website

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AI is getting faster, smarter and more capable.

But are we asking it to solve the right problems?

In this episode of Leading People, Gerry Murray welcomes Chris Soderquist back to explore what he calls Systemic Intelligence and why it may matter more than ever in an AI-driven world.

Chris argues that many of the challenges leaders face are not really standalone problems at all. They sit inside wider systems, shaped by relationships, feedback loops, assumptions and mental models that are often invisible until we learn how to see them. 

Together, Gerry and Chris explore why organisations can end up having to solve the same problems over and over again, why intelligent people can become trapped by the models that once made them successful, and what happens when powerful technology is applied without enough understanding of the system around it.

Along the way, they use examples from everyday life, business, public health and AI to make systems thinking practical and accessible.

If you lead people, make decisions, work with AI, or simply want to improve the quality of your thinking in a more complex world, this episode will give you plenty to reflect on.

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Why do some people seem to command attention before they’ve really said anything, while others struggle to make an impact even when they know their material?

They may have attended all the usual communication and presentation courses, but somehow something is still not quite working.

In this summer reflection episode of Leading People, Gerry Murray revisits the wisdom and advice of two former guests, Kate Walker Miles and Caroline Goyder, both of whom originally trained in the theatre.

Together, they explore why presence is less about polish or performance and much more about how we actually show up.

From voice, body and breath to intention, emotional state and gravitas, Kate and Caroline offer practical insights into why people experience us before they fully process our words.

And what they reveal is encouraging: creating more presence when you enter a room, whether physical or online, may be easier than you think.

If you lead meetings, give presentations, influence others or simply want your communication to land more effectively, this episode is for you.

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What happens inside us doesn’t just stay inside us.

Our beliefs, emotions, assumptions and internal state all influence how other people experience us — often before we have said very much at all.

In this short reflection episode, Gerry Murray revisits two earlier Leading People conversations with Julia Carden, Alan Briskin and Mary Gelinas.

Together, they explore why self-awareness is never just an individual matter, how our presence shapes the atmosphere around us, and why leading others begins with paying closer attention to what we ourselves are bringing into the room.

From the idea that “who you are is how you lead,” to the subtle ways our inner state affects conversations, relationships and the wider field, this episode offers a timely invitation to pause and reflect.

Before your next meeting, conversation or difficult moment, pause and consider:

What happens when you walk into the room?

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What happens when organisations move faster, adopt smarter tools, and still keep running into the same problems?

In this short reflection episode, Gerry Murray revisits two earlier Leading People conversations — with Chris Soderquist and Angela Montgomery — to explore why better tools do not remove the need for better thinking.

From repeated problems and firefighting, to silos, outdated management habits, and the danger of automating what isn’t working, this episode is a timely reminder that leadership in a complex world still depends on judgment, perspective, and systemic awareness.

If you care about leadership, decision-making, learning, change, or the hidden cost of solving the wrong problem, this episode is for you.

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What if the biggest risk in AI-driven hiring is not what it helps you find — but what it filters out before a human ever gets involved?

In this episode, Gerry Murray talks to investigative journalist and author Hilke Schellmann about what happens when black-box AI tools start shaping high-stakes workplace decisions.

Hilke’s book, The Algorithm, exposed how AI was already being used to assess, rank, and filter people in hiring and employment. In this conversation, she shares some of the strange, troubling, and very human stories behind that work — and why leaders, HR teams, and hiring managers may need to ask much harder questions before trusting these systems.

Together, Gerry and Hilke explore bias, false objectivity, weak oversight, and the growing gap between the promises made about AI in hiring and the reality many candidates may actually face.

If talent decisions matter in your world, this episode is well worth your time.

Or, if you’re a job seeker, you might be alarmed at what’s really going on.

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Why does so much training still fail to change behaviour — even when the content is good, the facilitator is strong, and the intentions are right? 

In this episode, Gerry Murray talks to learning expert, Fergal Connolly, about one of the most persistent and costly problems in workplace learning: 

The gap between training delivered and behaviour changed. 

Fergal argues that the issue often starts long before the session itself. If the environment around the learner is working against application, even well-designed training may struggle to make a difference.

That has major implications for L&D, for line managers, and for leaders trying to decide where learning investment is really going.

Together, Gerry and Fergal explore why training is so often asked to solve the wrong problem, what better transfer design looks like, and why the future of L&D may depend less on creating faster content and more on understanding what actually helps people apply what they learn. 

If you care about leadership, learning, performance, or whether development really leads to change, this one is worth your time.

Fergal also shares a special offer for listeners during the episode. 

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What if one of the most powerful ways people learn at work is also one of the most overlooked?

In this conversation, Gerry Murray talks to Andy Lancaster about why learning communities deserve far more attention from leaders than they usually get — not as a nice extra, but as a serious way to build confidence, capability, and innovation at work.

Andy’s new book, Organisational Learning Communities, explores why people often learn best with and through other people — and why that may matter even more in a world of AI, fragmented working lives, and increasing pressure to do more with less.

Together, Gerry and Andy explore what makes learning communities work, why some never quite get off the ground, and what leaders may be missing when they treat learning as an individual activity rather than a shared one. 

If you care about learning, leadership, culture, or how people actually grow at work, there’s a lot in this one to think about.

Andy also shares a special listener offer during the episode.

Curious?

Connect with Andy on LinkedIn

Buy Organisational Learning Communities

Visit Andy's Website

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What if the thing holding you and your organisation back isn't a market problem, a resource problem, or even a people problem — but a thinking problem you can't yet see?

This week's guest, Angela Montgomery, has spent three decades helping leaders discover exactly that. As author of The Human Constraint and co-founder of Intelligent Management, she brings together the work of W. Edwards Deming and Eliyahu Goldratt into a practical framework for leading in complexity.

In this conversation, Angela and Gerry explore what it means to run an organisation as a living system, why the assumptions we don't question become the constraints we can't escape — and what it actually takes to think differently as a leader.

And, you could be one of 10 lucky listeners who will receive a special offer from Angela. Details in the conversation.

Curious?

Connect with Angela on LinkedIn

Visit Angela's website

Buy The Human Constraint

Enjoyed this episode? The Leading People Community is where these conversations continue to flourish. 

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