Most leaders believe they’re trustworthy.
But what if trust isn’t built the way you think?

In this episode, Martin Johnson unpacks the hidden mechanics behind trust and introduces a powerful framework: The Trust Equation.

We assume trust is about intention or likability. In reality, people are subconsciously scoring us on three things: credibility, reliability, and rapport.

From competence under pressure to consistency of behaviour and the role of vulnerability, this conversation reveals what truly strengthens trust inside teams.

Because trust isn’t built by what you mean.
It’s built by what people experience.

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Follow The People Performance Podcast for leadership, culture, and high-performance insights:

Instagram: @peopleperformancepodcast

TikTok: @peopleperformancepod

🎙️ Brought to you by T2 – The People Performance People

 Website: ⁠⁠www.trans2performance.com⁠⁠ 

LinkedIn: T2 – The People Performance People

 About the host, Martin Johnson:⁠⁠https://trans2performance.com/martin-johnson

Most of us believe we’re doing the right thing.
But what if everyone else thinks the same?

In this episode, Alex Mather and Spencer Locker explore a powerful leadership blind spot: we judge ourselves by our intentions, yet we judge others by their actions. That gap quietly drives conflict, erodes trust, and undermines psychological safety inside teams.

From emotional intelligence to behavioural triggers and psychometrics, this conversation unpacks how everyday leadership behaviours shape culture far more than leaders realise.

Because leadership isn’t judged by what you meant.
It’s judged by how your behaviour is experienced.

Discover more about psychometric tools here: https://trans2performance.com/psychometric-tools

https://trans2performance.com/leading-yourself

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Follow The People Performance Podcast for leadership, culture, and high-performance insights:

Instagram: @peopleperformancepodcast

TikTok: @peopleperformancepod

🎙️ Brought to you by T2 – The People Performance People

 Website: ⁠⁠www.trans2performance.com⁠⁠ 

LinkedIn: T2 – The People Performance People

 About the host, Martin Johnson:⁠⁠https://trans2performance.com/martin-johnson

Most organisations talk about peak performance. But what if that’s the wrong target entirely?

In this Leader Lounge episode of the People Performance Podcast, Martin Johnson breaks down the difference between peak, high, and optimal performance, and why chasing peak can quietly damage leaders and teams. Instead, Martin explores the concept of optimal performance: doing the best you can with the time, resources, and realities in front of you.

From navigating flow and drudgery to balancing supportive and assertive leadership, this episode offers a practical and refreshingly honest view of what sustainable performance actually looks like in the real world.

Because long-term success isn’t built on perfect conditions, it’s built on how you lead when conditions aren’t perfect.

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Follow The People Performance Podcast for leadership, culture, and high-performance insights:

Instagram: @peopleperformancepodcast

TikTok: @peopleperformancepod

🎙️ Brought to you by T2 – The People Performance People

 Website: ⁠⁠www.trans2performance.com⁠⁠ 

LinkedIn: T2 – The People Performance People

 About the host, Martin Johnson:⁠⁠https://trans2performance.com/martin-johnson

What does real leadership look like when everything is on the line?

In this episode of the People Performance Podcast, T2 founder Martin Johnson sits down with Neil Hudgell, founding partner of Hudgell Solicitors and Chairman of Hull KR, to explore leadership, culture, belief, and resilience at the highest level.

Neil shares his journey from a working-class upbringing in Hull to representing families affected by some of the UK’s most significant tragedies, including the Post Office Horizon scandal, Manchester Arena bombing, and Grenfell Tower disaster. He explains why relationships, integrity, and trust sit at the heart of effective leadership, whether in law, business, or elite sport. The conversation also dives deep into high-performance culture in professional sport, unpacking how Hull KR rebuilt belief, accountability, and identity on their journey to becoming treble winners. Neil reveals why winning starts with ethics and honesty, how leaders must sometimes step back to let others lead, and what it really takes to build a legacy rather than a one-season success.

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Follow The People Performance Podcast for leadership, culture, and high-performance insights:

Instagram: @peopleperformancepodcast
TikTok: @peopleperformancepod

🎙️ Brought to you by T2 – The People Performance People

 Website: www.trans2performance.com
 LinkedIn: T2 – The People Performance People

 About the host, Martin Johnson:
https://trans2performance.com/martin-johnson

In this episode James Cooper and Rich McCarthy discusses how to manage the biological and psychological factors that influence professional performance. The conversation centers on navigating high-pressure situations by understanding the brain's internal systems.

James brakes down the "Chimp Paradox" model by Dr. Steve Peters, which identifies three primary systems in the brain:

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  The Chimp (Limbic System): The emotional centre that reacts to feelings and is five times stronger and faster than the human brain.

  
  

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  The Human (Frontal Lobe): The logical side that handles facts, truths, and reasoning, but requires 60 to 90 seconds to fully engage in a situation.

  
  

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  The Computer: A background "hard drive" of memory that both the Chimp and Human pull from during various scenarios.

  
  

Since the "Chimp" cannot be controlled, only managed, James and Rich introduce the ABC technique to help the logical brain take over:

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  A - Acknowledge: Recognising the current situation and the emotions being felt.

  
  

• 
  

  B - Breathe: Bringing oxygen into the body to mitigate rising cortisol levels.

  
  

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  C - Control: Focusing on the "controllables" the specific elements within your ownership that can be changed to move forward.

  
  

The episode also explores three states of mind that dictate how we handle stress and control:

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  Neutral State: Operating in a comfort zone with low stress and high control.

  
  

• 
  

  Challenge State: A high-performance zone characterised by moderate-to-high stress but maintained high levels of control.

  
  

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  Threat State: A state of panic where stress is high and perceived control is low, often leading to a "flight" response.

  
  

The hosts conclude by emphasising the "Transition Zone" the fork in the road where individuals must choose to use awareness, communication, and reflection to move toward a Challenge mindset rather than a Threat mindset.

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In this episode we welcome our new senior consultant Rich McCarthy.

In this episode Bernice and Rich dive into a fundamental truth about human potential and productivity. While we are often told that "you can do anything you put your mind to," we rarely discuss the vital caveat: you simply cannot do everything. 

They explore the boundary between ambition and overextension, discussing why high performance requires narrow focus rather than broad exhaustion. 

Join us as we unpack the philosophy of intentional performance and learn how to prioritise your "anything" so you don't lose yourself in "everything." 

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In this Leader Lounge episode, Martin Johnson, dives into the history and science of human behaviour. He explores the evolution of personality testing, from the early observations of Aristotle and Socrates to the foundational psychological work of Freud and Jung.

The discussion centres on OCEAN, also known as the Big Five personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. 

Martin breaks down what each trait means for your daily behaviours, explains how 50% of certain traits like neuroticism are genetically hardwired, and shares his own results to illustrate how self-awareness can help you develop better coping mechanisms for professional and personal growth.

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Welcome back Listeners! This 2026 first episode of the People Performance Podcast features  Scott Morrison and our newest T2 Senior Consultant, Alex Mather.

Scott and Alex discuss the importance of shifting focus to a human-centered approach in learning and development (L&D) for 2026. 

Alex, who has over 20 years in the L&D space , stresses that leaders should focus less on performance and more on the people, what motivates them and what they are trying to achieve.

The conversation offers actionable advice for leaders, especially at the start of the new year, to avoid burnout and sustain performance:

• Model the behaviour you want to see in your team, and take initiative to organise your own regular check-ins with your manager.

  
  

• Protect your space by blocking out non-negotiable reflection time, such as at least 30 minutes a week in your diary.

  
  

• Integrate L&D into the business as usual routine rather than treating it as a special, one-off event.

  
  

• Conduct regular team check-ins and build an environment of psychological safety to ensure honest engagement.

  
  

Alex shares that his purpose is to develop awareness in himself and others so they can be as effective and healthy as possible.

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In this episode of the People Performance Podcast, Martin Johnson, is joined by former Navy SEAL commander and author Rich Diviney. The discussion centres on human performance, focusing primarily on Rich's second book, Masters of Uncertainty, and related concepts.

The main topics covered include:

Uncertainty, Anxiety, and Fear: Martin and Rich discuss how humans deal with uncertain situations and pressure. Fear is hypothesised to be the combination of external uncertainty and internal anxiety. Anxiety is described as "fiction" because it is always focused on the future. They explore the neurological and evolutionary reasons for the fear response (the "lizard" or "chimp" brain taking over) and the goal of mastering oneself to "degrade fear" and perform effectively.

Moving Horizons (Duration, Pathway, Outcome): This technique is presented as a way to "buy down uncertainty". It involves taking a large, overwhelming situation and chunking it down into an immediate goal, creating a new, controllable Duration, Pathway, and Outcome (DPO). This process helps prevent feeling overwhelmed by the entire situation and gives the brain a reward (dopamine hit) for reaching the shortened horizon.

Optimal Performance: Martin and Rich argue against the societal pressure (often driven by social media) to be at "peak" performance all the time. Optimal performance is instead defined as doing the best you can with the time and resources available, which includes moments of high flow, "gutting it out," and even recovery.

Trust and The Attributes: The conversation briefly touches on Rich Diviney's first book, The Attributes, which profiles 41 human attributes. They discuss trust as being built on four factors: Competence, Consistency, Character, and Compassion. They also emphasise a leader's responsibility to model the desired behaviours first and reward them.

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In this episode of the People Performance Podcast, T2 consultants James Cooper and Spencer Locker, deep-dive into leadership styles based on the situational leadership model used by T2. 

The key takeaway is that effective leaders must be able to adapt and deploy the most appropriate leadership style for a given situation and the mindset of the person they are leading, rather than relying on a single, default style.

The six leadership styles discussed are:

• Visionary : Getting people behind the long-term dream or "flag on the hill". It sells the why without giving day-to-day steps. Deploying it inappropriately can be ineffective if people are missing strategy or need immediate answers.

  
  

• Amiable : Focuses on peace, harmony, and promoting trust within the team and environment (psychological safety). 

  
  

• Coaching : Utilising coach-like skills for development and improvement. It involves helping people find their own ways to address strengths and weaknesses. It is deployed when people are open to development but may not be performing as desired.

  
  

• Collaborative : Proactively bringing people together to be inclusive and involve them in decision-making, especially in newly established but knowledgeable teams. This style can establish a collaborative culture where the leader may eventually step back to be just the decision-maker.

  
  

• Pace Setting : Setting high standards and moving at pace, but only when appropriate and with competent people. It should not be mistaken for micromanaging; it is about providing high-quality intelligence and giving people the freedom to apply themselves. It is used to challenge and push people beyond competency to avoid complacency.

  
  

• Directive : Characterised by a lack of ambiguity and absolute clarity, not aggression or confrontation. It's a "call to action" and is appropriate in critical situations, like emergency services, where clear instructions are paramount. In a performance context, it gives a clear choice with consequences for growth or further conversation.

  
  

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