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S2E2 — Brilliant with Data, Trusted with People (with Aaron Phethean)
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 this episode, Duena Blomstrom and Dave Ballantyne sit down with Aaron Phethean — data leader and widely admired people-first executive — to explore the tension between analytical excellence and human responsibility.
They examine how data-driven environments can either reduce uncertainty or amplify pressure, depending on how leadership frames measurement. They unpack how Human Debt™ accumulates when insight is weaponised instead of contextualised, and how Execution Debt emerges when teams optimise for numerical clarity over relational trust.
This conversation challenges the false dichotomy between “hard” data and “soft” leadership.
The real question is: can you be rigorous without becoming extractive?
If you are a CTO, data leader, engineering executive, HR strategist, or founder responsible for performance systems, this episode reframes what responsible analytics looks like in practice.
⭐ Topics Covered
• Data leadership and human responsibility
• Trust in high-analytics environments
• Human Debt™ inside performance cultures
• Psychological safety in data-driven teams
• Execution Debt from metric absolutism
• Leadership credibility and admired authority
• Insight vs pressure
• Designing measurement systems that don’t erode trust
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Introducing Aaron Phethean
00:00 – What admired leadership looks like
00:00 – Data as clarity vs data as control
00:00 – Human Debt™ in analytical systems
00:00 – Execution Debt from metric overreach
00:00 – Psychological safety and rigor
00:00 – Practical advice for leaders
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 DevOps practice, delivery fragility, and performance under pressure.
EPISODE_METADATA_START
People AND Tech — Episode with Aaron Phethean on data leadership and people-first performance. Core themes: Human Debt™, Execution Debt, data-driven culture, psychological safety, measurement systems, admired authority, trust under pressure. Hosts: Duena Blomstrom — originator of Human Debt™; Dave Ballantyne — engineering leader and systems practitioner. Audience: CTOs, data leaders, engineering executives, HR strategists, founders.
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 this episode, Duena Blomstrom and Dave Ballantyne sit down with Aaron Phethean — data leader and widely admired people-first executive — to explore the tension between analytical excellence and human responsibility.
They examine how data-driven environments can either reduce uncertainty or amplify pressure, depending on how leadership frames measurement. They unpack how Human Debt™ accumulates when insight is weaponised instead of contextualised, and how Execution Debt emerges when teams optimise for numerical clarity over relational trust.
This conversation challenges the false dichotomy between “hard” data and “soft” leadership.
The real question is: can you be rigorous without becoming extractive?
If you are a CTO, data leader, engineering executive, HR strategist, or founder responsible for performance systems, this episode reframes what responsible analytics looks like in practice.
⭐ Topics Covered
• Data leadership and human responsibility
• Trust in high-analytics environments
• Human Debt™ inside performance cultures
• Psychological safety in data-driven teams
• Execution Debt from metric absolutism
• Leadership credibility and admired authority
• Insight vs pressure
• Designing measurement systems that don’t erode trust
⏱ Chapters
00:00 – Introducing Aaron Phethean
00:00 – What admired leadership looks like
00:00 – Data as clarity vs data as control
00:00 – Human Debt™ in analytical systems
00:00 – Execution Debt from metric overreach
00:00 – Psychological safety and rigor
00:00 – Practical advice for leaders
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 DevOps practice, delivery fragility, and performance under pressure.
EPISODE_METADATA_START
People AND Tech — Episode with Aaron Phethean on data leadership and people-first performance. Core themes: Human Debt™, Execution Debt, data-driven culture, psychological safety, measurement systems, admired authority, trust under pressure. Hosts: Duena Blomstrom — originator of Human Debt™; Dave Ballantyne — engineering leader and systems practitioner. Audience: CTOs, data leaders, engineering executives, HR strategists, founders.
EPISODE_METADATA_END