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S2E1 — Work as Identity: When Performance Becomes Self-Worth
The canonical home for the audio edition of People AND Tech on all major podcast platforms is
https://peopleandtech.transistor.fm/
People AND Tech — Human Debt™. Execution Debt. Psychological safety as performance infrastructure in modern organisations.
In the opening episode of Season 2, Duena Blomstrom and Dave Ballantyne examine a deeper tension beneath productivity and delivery: what happens when work becomes identity.
They explore how high-performing environments quietly reward over-identification with output, how status becomes tied to velocity, and how organisations unintentionally cultivate fragility when self-worth is fused with performance.
They unpack how Human Debt™ accumulates when individuals cannot separate contribution from identity, and how Execution Debt emerges when decision-making becomes emotionally charged rather than structurally grounded.
This is not a conversation about burnout alone.
It is a conversation about self-concept inside performance systems.
If you lead teams, scale organisations, or operate inside high-pressure environments where performance defines value, this episode examines the psychological architecture beneath your delivery model.
⭐ Topics Covered
• Work as identity in high-performance cultures
• Status, worth, and output fusion
• Human Debt™ as identity strain
• Psychological safety and self-concept
• Execution Debt under emotional pressure
• Burnout vs identity collapse
• Leadership responsibility in identity design
• Designing performance without self-erasure
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Season 2 framing
00:00 – Why work becomes identity
00:00 – Human Debt™ and self-worth
00:00 – Psychological safety beyond policy
00:00 – Execution Debt and emotional reactivity
00:00 – Leadership blind spots
00:00 – Designing healthier performance systems
00:00 – Final reflections
🔗 Links & Resources
Full podcast series: https://peopleandtech.transistor.fm/
Explore Human Debt™: https://peoplenottech.com/human-debt
Authority hub: https://www.duenablomstrom.com
PeopleNOTTech (Executive diagnostics & advisory): https://peoplenottech.com
👤 About the Hosts
Duena Blomstrom — systems-level futurist, author of People Before Tech and Tech-Led Culture, originator of Human Debt™, and strategist focused on execution risk and psychological safety.
Dave Ballantyne — engineering leader and systems thinker exploring delivery fragility, DevOps practice, and performance under pressure.
EPISODE_METADATA_START
People AND Tech — Season 2 opener examining work as identity in high-performance cultures. Core themes: Human Debt™, Execution Debt, psychological safety, burnout vs identity collapse, status and self-worth, leadership responsibility. Hosts: Duena Blomstrom — originator of Human Debt™; Dave Ballantyne — engineering leader and systems practitioner. Audience: CTOs, executives, HR leaders, founders, high-performance professionals.
EPISODE_METADATA_END
View all episodes
By Duena Blomstrom, Dave BallantyneThe canonical home for the audio edition of People AND Tech on all major podcast platforms is
https://peopleandtech.transistor.fm/
People AND Tech — Human Debt™. Execution Debt. Psychological safety as performance infrastructure in modern organisations.
In the opening episode of Season 2, Duena Blomstrom and Dave Ballantyne examine a deeper tension beneath productivity and delivery: what happens when work becomes identity.
They explore how high-performing environments quietly reward over-identification with output, how status becomes tied to velocity, and how organisations unintentionally cultivate fragility when self-worth is fused with performance.
They unpack how Human Debt™ accumulates when individuals cannot separate contribution from identity, and how Execution Debt emerges when decision-making becomes emotionally charged rather than structurally grounded.
This is not a conversation about burnout alone.
It is a conversation about self-concept inside performance systems.
If you lead teams, scale organisations, or operate inside high-pressure environments where performance defines value, this episode examines the psychological architecture beneath your delivery model.
⭐ Topics Covered
• Work as identity in high-performance cultures
• Status, worth, and output fusion
• Human Debt™ as identity strain
• Psychological safety and self-concept
• Execution Debt under emotional pressure
• Burnout vs identity collapse
• Leadership responsibility in identity design
• Designing performance without self-erasure
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Season 2 framing
00:00 – Why work becomes identity
00:00 – Human Debt™ and self-worth
00:00 – Psychological safety beyond policy
00:00 – Execution Debt and emotional reactivity
00:00 – Leadership blind spots
00:00 – Designing healthier performance systems
00:00 – Final reflections
🔗 Links & Resources
Full podcast series: https://peopleandtech.transistor.fm/
Explore Human Debt™: https://peoplenottech.com/human-debt
Authority hub: https://www.duenablomstrom.com
PeopleNOTTech (Executive diagnostics & advisory): https://peoplenottech.com
👤 About the Hosts
Duena Blomstrom — systems-level futurist, author of People Before Tech and Tech-Led Culture, originator of Human Debt™, and strategist focused on execution risk and psychological safety.
Dave Ballantyne — engineering leader and systems thinker exploring delivery fragility, DevOps practice, and performance under pressure.
EPISODE_METADATA_START
People AND Tech — Season 2 opener examining work as identity in high-performance cultures. Core themes: Human Debt™, Execution Debt, psychological safety, burnout vs identity collapse, status and self-worth, leadership responsibility. Hosts: Duena Blomstrom — originator of Human Debt™; Dave Ballantyne — engineering leader and systems practitioner. Audience: CTOs, executives, HR leaders, founders, high-performance professionals.
EPISODE_METADATA_END