Leading People

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Most people think they know where their paycheck comes from — but the real answer might surprise you.

In this short episode, Gerry Murray shares a surprising pattern he’s seen in leadership workshops across sectors and industries. It’s a simple mindset shift that separates teams who truly add value… from those who don’t.

This episode just might change the way you think about your work — and the people who depend on it.

Curious?

🎧 Listen now and discover One Simple Thing every leader needs to remember.

Check out Team Leader Essentials

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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What really drives performance at work?

It’s a question many leaders and learning professionals wrestle with — and one that my guest, Paul Matthews, has spent decades exploring.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Paul challenges some of the most common assumptions about training and learning. Drawing on insights from his three books — on informal learning, capability building, and learning transfer — he explains why so many well-intentioned programmes fail to create real behaviour change, and what organisations must do differently.

We cover a wide range of topics, including:

• Why people learn best through activities, not content
• How capability depends on both the individual and the environment
• What your SatNav can teach you about turning learning into performance
• The link between diagnostics, performance consulting, and business outcomes
• How culture can “eat training for breakfast”, and often does
• Designing learning like an engineer: with purpose, precision, and clear success criteria
• Why AI is fast becoming “the world’s tutor” — and what that means for L&D and leaders
• Practical examples of organisations turning learning into sustained performance

Whether you’re a leader, an L&D professional, or simply someone curious about how people grow, this episode offers powerful insights into what actually helps people change behaviour — and what gets in the way.

🎧 Let’s have a listen

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn

Visit Paul's website

Check out his People Alchemy product

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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Every team has a weather system — and often, as a Leader, you’re the one creating it.

In this short Leading People episode of One Simple Thing, we explore how your presence as a leader can lift people up… or wear them down.

If your team’s energy and well-being aren’t where they should be, the solution might not be more perks, more processes, or more pressure.

It might be you.

Curious?

🎧 Listen in to discover one simple leadership move that can shift the climate for the better.

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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Could AI help us end conflict — at work, at home, or even at a global level?

In this episode, Gerry Murray talks with negotiation expert and author Simon Horton about his provocative new book, The End of Conflict.

We explore how AI is already influencing negotiation and collaboration, what it gets right (and wrong), and how a more symbiotic Human–AI relationship could change the way we resolve disagreements of every kind.

If you’re curious about the future of negotiation, the role of AI in reducing conflict, and what this means for leaders today, this conversation is worth your time.

Connect with Simon:

Website
LinkedIn 

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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Most people have a manager. Some even have great ones. But what if you could take more ownership of the relationship — and turn your boss into a genuine career ally?

This short One Simple Thing episode explores one powerful mindset shift that could change everything. 

Part of a series on how to be brilliant at the basics of leadership.

Curious?

🎧 Hit play and find out.

Check out the Team Leader Essentials programme

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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What if the key to thriving in the age of AI isn’t smarter technology — but a smarter relationship with your own brain?

In this episode of Leading People, Gerry Murray talks with Dr Jon Finn, founder of Tougher Minds and author of Train Your Brain for the AI Revolution.

Jon has spent more than two decades studying how the brain drives performance and wellbeing — and how we can train it to stay focused, energised, and adaptable in an AI-saturated world.

Together, Gerry and Jon explore:

• Why brain science, not algorithms, will define the next generation of leaders
• How Brain State Intelligence helps you shift from distraction to focus and flow
• The habits that protect attention, motivation, and mental energy
• Why your inner technology — your brain — is still your ultimate competitive edge

It’s a practical and hopeful conversation about leading yourself, staying human, and using AI without losing focus or purpose.

Curious?

🎧 Listen and discover how to train your brain for the AI era.

Connect with Jon on LinkedIn

Visit Tougher Minds Website

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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You just got promoted. Now what?

In this short, punchy episode, Gerry poses one essential question that every new (and not-so-new) leader needs to answer.

Because leadership isn’t just a new job…
…it’s a whole new identity.

Curious? 

Tap play to find out more.

Check out Team Leader Essentials and The Performance Accelerator here

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

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What happens when your entire world changes overnight?

In this profound and moving episode, Julie Brown shares how she found the strength to rebuild her life and leadership practice after the tragic loss of her husband and business partner, polar explorer Dixie Dansercoer.

Drawing on her new book, Discover Your Pivot: How Strong Leaders Can Adapt to Any Situation, Julie reveals how leaders can find stability in uncertainty — not by resisting change, but by learning how to pivot with purpose.

Together, we explore:

• Why pivoting is better than managing change
• How collaboration and teamwork sustain resilience
• Why strong leaders need a suitcase of options
• How to "innovate" grief and find meaning in adversity
• Why challenge is a privilege
• And why attention may be a leader’s most powerful skill

This conversation is about grief, resilience, and hope — and what it really means to lead when life takes an unexpected turn.

Curious?

🎧 Listen now

Connect with Julie on LinkedIn

Buy the book

Check out Julie's Website

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

Join the Leading People Community

Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn

Send us Fan Mail

It’s one thing to have a leadership title. It’s another thing to have people truly want to follow you. 

In this Leading People episode of One Simple Thing, Gerry Murray explores the difference and what you can do to close the gap. 

If you’re new to leadership or simply want to reconnect with the fundamentals, this 5-minute listen could be your reset moment.

Check out the Team Leader Essentials and Performance Accelerator programmes here

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

Join the Leading People Community

Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn

Send us Fan Mail

What does your body say about you when you walk into a room?

And how much of your leadership impact depends on something you can’t see — but everyone else can feel?

In this episode, Kate Walker Miles of RADA Business — a trusted advisor to senior executives and leadership teams — reveals how posture, breath, and voice shape credibility, confidence, and influence.

Drawing on her background in experimental psychology, acting, and behavioural coaching, Kate explains how to use your body as an ally in communication, especially when the stakes are high.

And in a unique five-minute guided exercise, she helps you experience what authentic presence feels like in real time — offering practical tools to:

• Ground yourself and manage nerves before high-stakes moments
• Use breath and alignment to project calm authority
• Speak with clarity and conviction 
• Reconnect with your physical presence to lead with impact

If you’ve ever wondered why some leaders hold the room while others disappear into it, this episode will help you understand — and change — what’s really going on.

A practical, engaging conversation that proves leadership isn’t just what you say — it’s how you show up.

Curious?

🎧 Listen now

🎥 Watch Kate’s humorous, yet provocative, talk The Secrets of Food Marketing — viewed over 9.2 million times on YouTube. 

Connect with Kate on LinkedIn

Visit the RADA Business website

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

Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously. 

Join the Leading People Community

Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn