We've never had more workplace wellbeing initiatives. More employee assistance programmes. More mindfulness apps. More resilience training. More engagement surveys. And yet burnout remains stubbornly high, stress-related absence continues to rise, and employees seem more exhausted than ever.

So what's really going on?

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram is joined by workplace wellness and organisational culture expert Andria Barrett to explore why the answer may have less to do with individual resilience and more to do with how modern work is designed.

Together they unpack the hidden causes of workplace exhaustion, why burnout is becoming harder to spot, the role leaders play in creating healthier environments, and why genuine human connection remains one of the most powerful drivers of performance and wellbeing.

They also explore the opportunities and anxieties surrounding AI, and why technology should help people reclaim time rather than simply increase workloads.

If you've ever wondered why people seem to be working harder than ever but feeling less energised than before, this conversation offers a timely and practical perspective.

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The key moments in this episode are:

0:01:11 – Why are so many people exhausted at work?

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

In Part 2 of this special conversation on The Art Of Trust Building, Dr Dennis Reina and Dr Michelle Reina move from awareness into action. If trust matters more than ever, how do we actually build it?

In this episode, Dennis and Michelle unpack their practical 3Cs framework for trust-building:

Together, we explore:

This conversation is practical, actionable, and full of immediately usable insight for leaders, teams, and organisations.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00 — Returning To The Conversation And Why Part 2 Gets Practical

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Trust affects everything. How we lead. How we communicate. How we collaborate. How safe people feel to contribute. And ultimately, how organisations perform.

Yet despite its importance, most organisations still leave trust to chance.

In this first part of a special two-part conversation, I speak with Dr Dennis Reina and Dr Michelle Reina, pioneers in the field of workplace trust and authors of The Art Of Trust Building, to explore why trust has become one of the defining leadership challenges of our time.

Together, we unpack:

This conversation is thoughtful, practical, deeply human and shows why trust is more relevant than ever.

And in Part 2, which follows, we move into the practical frameworks and behaviours that help leaders intentionally build and repair trust at work.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:11 — Why Trust Shapes How We Live, Work And Connect

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

What if creating a culture of ownership had nothing to do with your organisation and everything to do with you?

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram is joined by Greg Hawks to challenge one of the biggest assumptions in workplace culture today, that ownership is something leaders create and employees receive.

Greg flips that thinking on its head.

This conversation explores why ownership isn’t a corporate initiative, a leadership tactic, or something written into a job description. It’s a personal choice. One that shapes how we respond to challenges, how we engage with others, and ultimately, how fulfilling our work feels.

Together, Andy and Greg unpack:

If you’ve ever felt frustrated, disengaged, or like work is something that happens to you, this episode offers a powerful reframe. Because creating a culture of ownership doesn’t start with leadership. It starts with a choice.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:01:11 – Should Employees Really Care Like Owners?

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Most of us don’t set out to become leaders.

We get good at something. We get recognised. Then one day, we’re handed a team and expected to just… figure it out. That’s the reality behind the term accidental manager, and according to today’s guest, it’s where the vast majority of leadership journeys begin.

In this episode, Andy sits down with Dawn Stallwood, corporate lawyer, advisor, and author of Beautiful Leadership, to explore what really happens when capable people are promoted into leadership roles without the preparation or support they need.

This isn’t about blaming leaders. It’s about understanding the system that creates them.

Dawn shares her own experience of stepping into leadership feeling ill-equipped, the pressure and self-doubt that follows, and why so many well-meaning leaders end up struggling in silence.

But more importantly, she offers a way forward. Together, they explore how leadership can shift from something we fall into… to something we intentionally choose to take on. From firefighting and self-doubt to clarity, capability, and impact.

And at the heart of that shift is Dawn’s Beautiful Leadership framework, a practical, human approach to leading with intention, courage, and purpose.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:01:11 – Why most of us become accidental managers

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

What if the biggest thing standing between you and success… is you?

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram is joined by performance psychology student and author Adrian Kelly to explore The Success Complex. The hidden biases, blind spots, and behaviours that shape how we define, pursue, and sometimes even avoid success.

From the illusion of external achievement to the quiet dissatisfaction many high performers feel, Adrian challenges the idea that success is something we can measure from the outside. Instead, he reveals how deeply personal it really is and how often we get in our own way without even realising it.

Together, Andy and Adrian unpack the psychological traps that hold us back, including anchoring bias, the myth of IQ as potential, and our reluctance to reflect on past performance. They also explore why motivation is so often misunderstood and what actually helps people move forward.

Through powerful stories including a remarkable lesson from the origins of Top Gun this episode brings performance psychology to life in a practical, relatable way.

If you’ve ever chased success but still felt something was missing… this conversation might just change how you think about it.

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The key moments in this episode are:

0:01:10 – Rethinking success: pressure, comparison, and hidden cost

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Why does employee engagement still feel so hard?

Despite decades of focus, surveys, and initiatives, the data tells us something uncomfortable: engagement isn’t improving. In fact, in many places, it’s getting worse. So what are we missing?

In this episode, Andy Goram is joined by Tom Krieglstein, creator of Dance Floor Theory. A brilliantly simple, yet deeply insightful way of understanding how people actually engage at work.

Tom’s model reframes engagement as something fundamentally human. Not a metric to track, or a programme to roll out, but a dynamic social experience. One where people exist at different levels of engagement, just like a dance floor. And where leaders need to meet them where they are, not where they wish they were.

From tackling disengaged “Negative Nellies” to creating momentum through connection, Tom shares practical, actionable ways to build workplaces people actually want to be part of.

If you’ve ever wondered why engagement feels so complex and how to make it simpler, more human, and more effective, this conversation is for you.

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The key moments in this episode are:

0:01:11 – Why employee engagement still isn’t improving

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

What does global leadership really mean?

Is it simply about managing teams in different countries? Or is it something deeper; the ability to understand cultural nuance, adapt communication, and create an environment where people from very different contexts can contribute their best work?

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram speaks with global leadership coach Crispin Thompson, founder of The Leadership Studio. With more than 25 years of experience working in multinational organisations, Crispin shares what it really takes to lead effectively across cultures, time zones, and languages.

From avoiding the tokenism trap in global teams to understanding why communication can easily be misinterpreted across cultures, this conversation explores the hidden complexities of leading internationally.

Crispin explains why global leadership always starts with listening, how cultural intelligence helps leaders navigate nuance, and why the best leaders focus on creating environments where every voice genuinely matters.

If your teams span borders, languages, and cultures, this episode offers practical insights into how leadership can truly travel.

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The key moments in this episode are:

0:01:10 – What does global leadership really mean?

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

We all get stuck. Even smart, capable, high-performing people.

Not because we lack ideas or intelligence, but because pressure narrows our thinking. When stress kicks in, our survival brain takes over. And while that part of the brain is brilliant at keeping us alive, it’s not always great at helping us succeed.

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram sits down with Mitch Weisburgh, creator of the Mind Shifting method, to explore what really happens when we slip into reactive, limbic-mode thinking and how to deliberately move back into a calmer, more resourceful state.

Mitch breaks down the difference between the survival brain and the higher-order, prefrontal cortex. He explains why certainty can be a warning sign, how stress hormones shut down curiosity and empathy, and what we can do in the moment to shift from reaction to response.

This isn’t about mindset hacks. It’s about understanding your own operating system and learning how to stop your brain sabotaging your success.

If you care about personal growth, fulfilling work, and staying resourceful under pressure, this one’s for you.

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The key moments in this episode are:

0:01:16 – Why smart people still get stuck

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Did remote and hybrid working really break your culture, or did they simply expose what was already fragile?

In this episode, Andy Goram sits down with Ellie Holbert, founder of Impact Advisory Services, to challenge one of the most common narratives in modern leadership. When teams went remote or hybrid and performance dipped, trust wobbled and misunderstandings grew, many leaders blamed distance. But Ellie argues something far more uncomfortable: remote didn’t create dysfunction, it revealed it .

Together they explore the neuroscience of ambiguity, why unclear systems trigger threat responses in the brain, and how leaders often misinterpret perfectly human reactions as performance problems. You’ll hear why a lack of clarity around roles and “definition of done” drives behaviours that frustrate leaders and what to do instead .

Most powerfully, Ellie shares a case study where addressing simple team fundamentals transformed performance from a 2.4 to a 4.8 team health score in eight weeks, delivering zero regrettable turnover, a critical project six months early, and a 45x return on investment.

This isn’t an episode about remote versus office. It’s about clarity versus assumption. Systems versus personalities.

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The key moments in this episode are:

0:01:11 – Did Remote and Hybrid Break Culture?

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Get the full transcript of the episode here