Lucinda welcomes special guest Gary Cookson, an expert in leadership development and author of the upcoming book, The Squeezed Middle, to talk about the evolving and often invisible role of middle managers, who act as vital buffers and translators between senior strategy and frontline execution. 

They explore how modern shifts like hybrid work, AI integration, and a greater organisational focus on individual well-being have transformed the middle management profile from a process-driven role into one defined by "learnership," high emotional intelligence, and lateral influence.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"If you want to know the true value of a middle manager, get rid of them. See what doesn’t happen as a result, and see what does that they're not there to stop happening."

"Strategy becomes reality, plans become real... it's a very misunderstood and often quite intangible role."

"It’s never important to have all the right answers; it’s more important to have all the right questions."

"You can't expect people to just swim when you throw them in the water for the first time... if you throw somebody in the water for the first time and they drown, that's on you, not on them."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT GARY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garycookson/

Pre-order 'The Squeezed Middle': https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isbn/9783111713748/html

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda is in discussion with Roxanne Hobbs, founder of the Hobbs Consultancy, about the importance of leading with heart in the workplace. 

They look at how empathetic leadership can foster inclusive and high-performing cultures, and Roxanne shares her journey from the advertising industry to advocating for women in leadership, highlighting the significance of balancing empathy with accountability. 

They explore the complexities of modern leadership, emphasising the need for leaders to embrace both emotional intelligence and performance-driven strategies.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"I want people to lead with heart, but I can't possibly say that out loud in the workplace. And he said, why not?"

"If you're using fear to push people harder, there's only so far you can go with that before people will completely disengage."

"The strength lies in the “and”. It's about being empathetic first and holding you accountable."

"It's not something extra, it's not something that costs money, but it's how can people really just consider it."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda discusses the critical importance of employee communication with Sally Pritchett, CEO of Something Big, a creative communications agency. 

Sally shares her insights on the evolving landscape of workplace communication, the challenges of information overload and the changing expectations of employees who seek transparency and authenticity from their leaders. They also explore the significance of trust in organisations, the need for two-way dialogue rather than one-sided communication, and the role of HR in fostering a culture of engagement

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"We need to bring people on the journey. They don't just come because we gave them a job and we're paying them at the end of the month."

"I think the best thing [leaders] can do is to say, we don't have a crystal ball. We don't have the answers to what the future looks like."

"If you keep telling your kids to stop bickering, what you get is more bickering. Look at what is the main conversation going on in your business."

"Treating employees like adults is an absolute must, in my opinion. I think that's often where we fail."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Something Big - https://somethingbig.co.uk/our-story/

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT SALLY

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/somethingbig/

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda welcomes suicide prevention expert, Jessi Beyer, to discuss the critical yet often overlooked topic of suicide prevention in the workplace. 

Jessi shares her personal journey into this field, stemming from a life-changing experience in high school, and emphasises the importance of equipping non-mental health professionals, particularly HR practitioners, with the tools to recognise and respond to signs of distress among colleagues. The conversation also introduces the LIFE model—Listen, Inquire, Form a safety plan, and Eliminate lethal means—as a practical framework for supporting individuals in crisis.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"It's those people that are kind of those frontline supports, it's friends, it's family members, it's colleagues that are going to be the people that recognise suicidal ideation first." 

"If you can do those four things, you will be able to handle and de-escalate the vast majority of suicidal or mental health crises that you might encounter in your workplace." 

"One of the biggest risk factors for suicide is feeling like you don't have people around you." 

"If you can combine some of those statistics of like, it's here and it's costing us something, sometimes that's enough to change the tides in an organisation that doesn't think they need to care about mental health."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Jessi Beyer - https://jessibeyerinternational.com/

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT JESSI

Website: https://jessibeyerinternational.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda welcomes Tabbin Almond, author of "Bottling Up Trouble," to discuss the impact of alcohol in the workplace. 

As the holiday season approaches, they explore the cultural norms surrounding drinking, particularly in corporate settings, and the challenges faced by individuals struggling with alcohol use. Tabbin shares a personal journey to becoming alcohol-free and highlights the stigma that prevents many from seeking help.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"There's so much shame and stigma around having a problem with alcohol that they can't ask for help. They fear that if they say they've got a problem, they will be branded forevermore."

"The younger generation are much more aware of their mental health and proactive in looking after it. They understand that alcohol can never relieve depression or stress; it can only make them worse."

"We need to change the culture. We're encouraged to drink by society, but if someone gets into trouble, it's only the individual's fault."

"Think before automatically using alcohol to help people bond at work. Be more creative and ask, 'Isn't there something better we could do?'"

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT TABBIN

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-tabbin-almond/

Wine to Water Coaching - https://www.winetowatercoaching.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Stop treating compliance and HR as an administrative balancing act and find clarity. Join Lucinda on Compliance Culture as she explores why organisational culture is the key to embedding compliance in practice - moving beyond the just avoiding fines attitude to achieve better outcomes for customers, employees, and organisations.

This show is designed specifically for compliance professionals who want to explore trending topics like Consumer Duty and SMCR, but from a more human perspective. We'll be talking to industry experts and real-world professionals so you can relate, gain practical knowledge, and discover tools to make working in compliance easier and more impactful.

Important: The HR Uprising podcast isn't going anyway! We will continue as normal with the additional of this new show. Compliance culture is added content we just couldn't keep to ourselves, the conversations were too good not to share.

Search for Compliance Culture on your favourite podcast platform, subscribe and give us a rating today!

Find Us On

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Amazon Music

And Beyond...

Contact Methods

Actus -

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | X

The HR Uprising -

Join The HR Uprising LinkedIn Community

Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | X

Lucinda speaks with data protection expert Sarah Hodgkin-Bates about the critical overlap between HR and compliance, specifically regarding the handling of employee personal data. 

They examine the importance of setting a company culture of transparency and cooperation by properly managing data protection, and discuss the legal frameworks governing data (GDPR/Data Protection Act 2018), how to manage access to different types of employee records (e.g., payroll vs. disciplinary), and the challenges organisations face with complex areas like Subject Access Requests (SARs) and the proper retention of sensitive data.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"If you get your data protection right, you are creating a spirit of transparency and cooperation."

"A basic principle of data protection is to minimise access. So you would only give access to people that strictly need it for their job or role."

"Subject Access Requests... are usually raised because someone has a complaint or a grievance and they're looking to gather evidence or to create stress and hassle."

"If you are challenged by an employee, you must be able to give them an open and honest answer about how you're using your data and why you're using it."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT SARAH

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-hodgkin-bates-35a035177/

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda speaks with Kate Fletcher, founder of FutureX Leaders, about the evolving landscape of leadership and the emotional challenges leaders face today. 

They discuss the findings of recent research highlighting that a significant number of leaders feel pressured to perform rather than be their authentic selves, leading to emotional exhaustion, and highlight the importance of intentional leadership practices and the value of community in navigating the complexities of modern organisational life

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"90% of leaders feel the pressure to perform rather than actually show up as who they really are."

“What we need is a real shift towards much more human leadership... about adaptability, emotional fluency, psychological safety."

"Classroom-based leadership development just doesn't work. People need something frequent, regular, that's about the practice of leadership."

"If you are exhausted at work, then that actually feeds over into your home life as well."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT KATE

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katefletcher-ceo-mentor/

Substack - https://substack.com/@thekatefletcher

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda is joined by special guest Matthew Adam, to look at the concept of systemic psychotherapy, exploring how its principles, rooted in understanding the interconnected nature of relationships within a system, are highly relevant to organisational leadership. 

Using a 5x5 model framework—which balances five essential team functions against five common team dysfunctions—they examine the active, proactive process required to foster a healthy, high-performing organisational culture.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"Systemic psychotherapy is really about relationships. It's about how do we understand the interconnected nature of the elements that comprise a system and how they interact with each other."

“Dysfunction doesn't have to mean dysfunctional"

"Working on one particular area, you're positively impacting all of the others simultaneously."

"We sometimes have to define our structure so that not only are we addressing team dynamic, but we're also introducing agility and flexibility."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠Mastering Motivation with Rob Lion (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT MATTHEW

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-adam1/

5x5 Website - http://www.the5x5model.com/

For Consulting - http://www.systemicsolutionsconsulting.co.uk/

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Lucinda is joined by allyship expert Julie Kratz, who discusses her research on why people with power often disengage from conversations about diversity and inclusion, feeling either "threatened" or "irrelevant." 

Together they explore her latest book, which outlines a "use fear as fuel" strategy and introduces a framework for building allyship programs. Julie stresses that everyone has power and a social responsibility to champion inclusion, arguing that strong allyship is less about transactional "doing" and more about building meaningful relationships that lead to personal fulfilment, better team dynamics, and positive organisational change.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"The first step that I offer is really building your allyship why. Like why do you want to be helpful to other people?"

"Power's not bad, it's what you do with it that matters. And so don't you want to be on the good side of history, like don't you want to be the one that's standing up to social issues, even if it doesn't impact you?"

"The more you are look and act like the C-suite leader, that again is predominantly white male, the more you have proxy to power."

"Modelling plus storytelling. So I can model the behaviour, and you could be like, 'Yeah, that's great for Julie, but that doesn't really work for me and my style.' But what if I told you a story in addition to that, that you could kind of see yourself in?"

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠  

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠  

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠           

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT JULIE

Her LinkedIn- ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliekratz/⁠

The Next Pivot Point Website - ⁠https://www.nextpivotpoint.com/

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/