Truth, Lies and Work

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Truth, Lies and Work episodes

March 25LIVE! Are we entering the 'Great Career Reset?', with Che Ugwuala, Kelly Garthwaite and Erica Breuer
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioral science meets workplace culture. Part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

Over the past few years, the world of work has shifted. Layoffs are rising, AI is reshaping industries, and career paths that once felt like solid ground now feel uncertain. But beyond the headlines, something quieter is happening: professionals everywhere are questioning whether the careers they’ve built actually align with who they are today.
In this special LinkedIn Live panel discussion, hosts Al & Leanne Elliott are joined by three industry experts to explore whether we are seeing a temporary reaction to economic uncertainty or a deeper, structural shift in how we think about our professional lives.
🎙️ Meet the Panel
Che Ugwuala: Global Lead for Android Marketing Strategy at Google and LinkedIn creator exploring ambition and the realities of modern professional life.
Connect with Che: https://www.linkedin.com/in/che-ugwuala-mba-1749ab21/

Kelly Garthwaite: Former Red Bull Media House leader turned founder and co-host of The Naked Room podcast.
Connect with Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-garthwaite/

Erica Breuer: Creative and go-to-market strategist working at the intersection of culture, creativity, and strategy.
Connect with Erica: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericabreuer/
🔥 Key Themes Explored
The Identity Crisis: For many, work is tied closely to identity. What happens when the job you built your life around no longer fits?

Stability vs. Purpose: Is "purposeful work" a realistic goal for everyone, or have we over-romanticized the idea of a dream career?

The Reality of Reinvention: What does a major career shift actually look like in practice, beyond the "idealized" version?

The Role of Leaders: How can managers support teams through career uncertainty without overstepping or pretending to have all the answers?

The Future of Work: Is the "Great Career Re-evaluation" a temporary blip or the new normal?
📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com
1 hr 13 min
March 24286. The 'Cockroaches of HR', interview hacks and return-to-office Dilemmas. PLUS! Should you hire for culture fit?
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week we’re deconstructing the "cockroaches of the employment world," exploring a new AI tool that helps you nail your next interview, and digging into the data to see if hiring for "culture fit" is actually a good idea.

🔥 Stories Covered
1. The $75 Lunch That Beats Any Exit Interview
Headhunter Nick Corcodilos calls exit interviews the "cockroaches" of the employment world—they serve little purpose, yet they never die. Because departing employees often fear burning bridges, they give safe, generic answers.
The Alternative: Wait six months after an employee leaves and invite them to a casual lunch.

The Benefit: Time changes the dynamic. Former employees are more objective and willing to provide grounded feedback for the price of a meal.

Source: Inc. Magazine - https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/the-75-lunch-that-beats-any-exit-interview/91319277
2. Stop Guessing, Start Coaching: HowToJob & Interviewly
Al explores HowToJob, an all-in-one platform built by HR veteran Milo Sevelj to help candidates navigate a brutal job market.
Interviewly: A standout feature that generates role-specific interview questions and provides structured feedback on your recorded answers.

The Impact: It moves beyond practicing in a mirror by giving candidates real-time data on what landed and what didn't.

Connect with Milo Sevelj: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milosevelj/
3. The Power of Intergenerational Teams
New research suggests that age diversity isn't just something to "manage"—it’s a competitive advantage.
The Findings: Older workers feel more employable and capable when they regularly interact and share knowledge with younger colleagues.

The Key: It’s not just about sitting next to each other; it’s about a two-way flow of experience and new skills.

Source: Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology - https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joop.70061?af=R

🧠 Truth or Lie: You Should Hire for Culture Fit
Around 80% of employers prioritize "culture fit," but Leanne digs into the evidence to see if it actually predicts success.
The Truth: Fit does predict job satisfaction (19%) and organizational commitment (26%).

The Lie: It is one of the weakest predictors of actual job performance, accounting for less than 1% of the variance.

The Verdict: "Culture fit" is often a subjective "airport test" that lets bias in the back door. Instead, look for "Culture Add."

💬 Workplace Surgery
This week, we tackle three tough listener dilemmas:
The Policy Trap: How do you enforce a 5-day return-to-office mandate when you don’t believe in it yourself?

The Complicity Crisis: If your employer treats you well but treats others poorly, are you complicit by staying?

Scaling Culture: How do you move from "being the culture" to building a culture that works without you as the team grows?

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Listen to all the shows here: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork
53 min
March 19285. "I built OfficeVibe & here's why most HR Tech doesn't work," with Jeffrey Fermin
Fifteen years ago, Jeffrey Fermin co-founded OfficeVibe, one of the world's first employee pulse survey platforms. Since then, the HR tech market has exploded with over 200 similar tools, yet global employee disengagement remains stubbornly high.
In this very honest episode, Jeffrey joins Al and Leanne to explain why the industry he helped create hasn't solved the problem it promised to fix. We dive into the "subscription economy" traps of HR Tech, the rise of "job hugging" in 2025/26, and why your fancy engagement dashboard might actually be making things worse.

🔥 What we cover this week:
The "Vitamin" vs. "Painkiller" Problem: Why most engagement tools only show you the problem but provide no help in actually fixing it.

The Ethics of AI in HR: How AI should act as an "amplifier, not a replacement" for human relations by removing manual tasks and surfacing contextual themes.

Job Hugging: Why employees are clinging to roles out of fear in the current market, and why this is actually the best time for employers to double down on culture.

Stop Building for the Dashboard: Jeffrey’s biggest regret from his early startup days and why we need to stop building for HR metrics and start building for the employee experience.

The Difference Between Engagement & Relations: How to distinguish between general culture "vibes" and serious employee safety or compliance issues that require platforms like AllVoices.
🎙️ Guest Information
Jeffrey Fermin is the Head of Demand Generation at AllVoices and the host of the People First podcast. He is a pioneer in the people analytics space and a vocal advocate for ethical, actionable HR technology.
Email: [email protected]

Website: www.allvoices.co

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jfermin

Social Media (IG, TikTok, Youtube, Threads): @fermintalkswork

Podcast (YouTube): People First Podcast

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

🧠 Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines — https://findahelpline.com

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.
47 min
March 17284. Corporate Bullshit, new-collar jobs and interview red flags. PLUS! Are Morning People More Successful?
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, we’re diving into the "Corporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale," exploring why a university degree might be holding your hiring back, and debunking the toxic productivity of the 3:50 AM wake-up call.

🔥 Stories Covered
1. The Science of "Corporate Bullshit"
Leanne introduces the Corporate Bullshit Receptivity Scale, a real psychological study from Cornell University.
The Definition: "Corporate Bullshit" is defined as semantically empty jargon used in a functionally misleading way.

The Finding: Research shows that people who find vague, jargon-heavy statements profound often score lower on analytical thinking and decision-making.

The Impact: In the workplace, rewarding this language leads to worse decisions and a culture of performance over substance.
2. The Rise of "New-Collar" Jobs
Al explores a term coined by the former CEO of IBM: New-Collar jobs.
Skills over Degrees: These are highly skilled, well-paid roles in AI, cybersecurity, and tech that don't require a traditional university degree.

The Stats: It's predicted that 60% of new jobs created between 2020 and 2030 will be "new-collar."

The Barrier: Despite the talent shortage, 60% of employers still reject candidates with the right skills simply because they lack a degree.
3. Would You Walk Out of a Messy Interview?
A viral Reddit story sparks a debate on candidate experience.
The Red Flag: A senior professional ended their application process after a recruiter failed to show up for the first interview and was late for the second.

The Lesson: Your hiring process is a direct signal of your company culture. If communication is messy before day one, candidates assume it’s messy on the inside.

🧠 Truth or Lie: Are Morning People More Successful?
Is the 5:00 AM (or 3:50 AM!) alarm truly the secret to success, or are we just glorifying sleep deprivation?
The Truth: Studies show "Larks" often earn 4-5% more than "Owls" and perform better in school.

The Lie: This isn't because morning people are more disciplined. It’s because the world (schools and 9-5 offices) is built for their biology.

The Cost: Forcing an "Owl" into a "Lark" schedule leads to Social Jetlag, higher cortisol levels, and increased risk of depression.

💬 Workplace Surgery
This week, we tackle three listener dilemmas:
The "Silent" Meeting: How do you handle it when the same two people dominate every conversation? Leanne shares tips on balancing participation without it feeling forced.
Check out our deep dive on meetings here: What if meetings were the best part of your day?

The Overwhelmed Founder: Transitioning from "doing the work" to "leading others."

The Toxic High-Performer: What to do when your top talent is quietly damaging team morale.
📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com
55 min
March 12283. How Google and Netflix design engagement surveys that actually work, with Bill Yost
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.
This week, we are joined by Bill Yost, a People Analytics powerhouse who has operated at the very highest levels of data-driven culture. Bill spent four years running Googlegeist, Google’s legendary annual survey that consistently achieved a staggering 90% response rate. Now leading analytics at Netflix, Bill joins Al and Leanne to explain why your employee engagement survey is likely failing—and how to fix it.
In this episode, Bill pulls back the curtain on the "snake eating itself"—the cycle of performative surveying that destroys employee trust—and shares the exact framework used by tech giants to turn data into genuine organizational change.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:
The "Goodwill Account": Why asking for feedback without the intention to act is a withdrawal from a bank account you can’t afford to drain.

Confidential vs. Anonymous: The "taboo" of anonymity and why confidential surveys are the gold standard for identifying specific team issues without compromising trust.

Closing the Loop: How Google built an entire new department based on survey feedback, and why you must "close the loop" loudly to maintain engagement.

The Art of the Dashboard: Distinguishing between data "curation" for executives and "exploration" for analysts to avoid the misery of a bad dashboard.

The Return-to-Office Bias: How leaders use their own "personal lens" to interpret messy data to fit their existing biases.
📚 About Bill Yost
Connect with Bill for the best spreadsheet humor and blunt data truths:
– Website: www.billyost.net
– Website: www.billyost.com
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/ (Look for the pirate flag 🏴‍☠️)

Special Offer: If you are in the US and want to try some incredible cookies, visit https://cookiesworthsharon.com/ and use the code TLW for 15% off (valid for two months from the release of this episode).

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

🧠 Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind: Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com
Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.
54 min
March 10282. No Tech Bros Allowed, The Death of Coworking and Managing Zero Ambition. PLUS! Can we really multitask?
Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.
In this episode: We explore why "Brand Well-being" is the new secret to a 47% ROI, why a Silicon Valley startup is banning "tech bros" in favour of over-50s, and why the coworking dream is being replaced by the "proworking" revolution. Plus, we debunk the multitasking myth and solve your workplace dilemmas.

🔥 This Week in Work: The News Round-Up
Brand Well-being: The Competitive Advantage
Is your brand just a logo, or a healthy ecosystem? Leanne introduces "Brand Well-being"—the idea that success depends on the health of employees, internal culture, and customers. With research showing a 47% ROI on well-being programmes and the Work Wellbeing 100 outperforming the market, we ask: why is this still treated as an optional extra?
Fast Company Article: https://www.fastcompany.com/91474208/what-is-brand-well-being-and-can-it-give-you-a-competitive-advantage-leadership-brands-well-being

The Silicon Valley "Anti-Tech-Bro" Shift
Startup Snowcap Compute is flipping the script by hiring a team with an average age of over 50. In a hardware industry where one mistake costs nine months of progress, CEO Mike Lafferty argues that "veteran" skepticism beats "youthful" trust in models. We discuss why deep experience is becoming a primary competitive advantage.
Inc Article: https://www.inc.com/kevin-haynes/tech-bros-need-not-apply-a-silicon-valley-hiring-twist/91313738

The Death of Coworking & The Rise of "Proworking"
Is the "Bromad" era over? Al explores why serious professionals are quietly leaving open-plan coworking spaces. As home becomes the default for many, the office must offer something better: quiet, privacy, and "proworking" spaces that offer a door that actually shuts.
Forbes Article: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2025/12/15/the-private-office-revival-why-professionals-are-quietly-leaving-coworking-behind/
🧠 Truth or Lie: Can Some People Genuinely Multitask?
We put the "supertasker" under the microscope. While 2.5% of the population might handle heavy cognitive loads more efficiently, for the other 97.5% of us, multitasking is just expensive "task switching." We also look at how AI isn't making us better at juggling—it’s just taking some of the balls out of the air for us.

🏥 The Workplace Surgery
The "Zero Ambition" Contributor: Is it a problem if a top performer just wants to do their job and go home?

Leading Hard Conversations: Advice for HR pros and managers on staying neutral when things get emotional.

Podcast ROI: Is starting a business podcast in 2026 a smart growth strategy or a vanity project?
📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com
56 min
March 05281. "I was the adult at Facebook", with FB's #57 employee & author Tom LeNoble
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

This week, we are joined by the "adult in the room" from the early days of Facebook, Tom LeNoble. Tom has led in boardrooms and fought for his life in hospital rooms, surviving multiple life-threatening illnesses. From shaping growth at Facebook (META), Walmart.com, Palm (HP), and MCI (Verizon) to now serving as CEO of the Academy for Coaching Excellence and a leadership coach with Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Global Impact, Tom helps others navigate adversity with courage and clarity.

In his best-selling book, My Life in Business Suits, Hospital Gowns, and High Heels, Tom shares unflinching lessons on risk, resilience, and reinvention.

🔥 What we cover in this episode:
The Early Days of Facebook: What it was like interviewing with a 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg in a tiny office above a Chinese restaurant.

The Secret Struggle: How Tom managed a high-octane Silicon Valley career while being given six months to live—three separate times.

Leading Through Crisis: The philosophy of laying off 100 people (and eventually himself) with dignity and a "head held high" approach.

The Philanthropic Mindset: Why philanthropy isn't about the size of the check, but the intention behind a simple "hello."

The Story of Rita Dayworth: Reclaiming all parts of your identity, from executive suits to high heels.

📚 About Tom LeNoble
Tom’s book is available on Amazon, and you can learn more by visiting www.tomlenoble.com. Follow @lenoble.tom on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

You can also reach out to Tom directly at [email protected].

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott

Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

Email: [email protected]

Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

🧠 Mental health support+1
UK & ROI — Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org

UK — Mind: Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk

US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org

Australia — Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au

Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.
50 min
March 03280. Jack Dorsey’s A.I. Gamble, Friction-maxxing and The 10:47 PM Email. PLUS: Are Leaders Born or Made?
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture, brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.
This week, we explore why "friction" might be the secret to better judgment, the brutal reality of AI-driven layoffs at Block, and why your boss's 10:47 PM emails are exhausting your entire team. Plus, we dig into the science of whether leadership is written in your DNA.

🔥 Stories Covered
1. The Rise of "Friction-maxxing"
Leanne introduces a new term: friction-maxxing. Inspired by reporting in the Financial Times, this movement sees workers deliberately choosing slower, more effortful ways of working—like handwriting notes or reading full documents instead of AI summaries—to combat "cognitive atrophy" and build nuanced judgment.
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/fd5e65df-83c7-42f3-9658-377c99df42d1

2. Jack Dorsey’s AI Gamble
Al discusses the recent layoffs at Block (formerly Square/Twitter), where CEO Jack Dorsey cut 4,000 jobs—40% of the workforce—and explicitly blamed AI productivity gains. We debate whether this "rip the plaster off" honesty is refreshing or a dangerous precedent for the future of work.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/27/block-ai-layoffs-jack-dorsey

3. The Climate of Constant Connectivity
New research in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology reveals that when leaders use smartphones for work after hours, they create a shared "climate of constant connectivity". This doesn't just annoy individuals; it leads to collective emotional exhaustion across the entire team.
Source: https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/joop.70067

🧠 Truth or Lie: Are Leaders Born or Made?
We tackle the "Great Man" theory of leadership. While studies of identical twins show that between 37% and 59% of leadership style variation can be linked to genetics, that still leaves more than half the equation down to environment, experience, and development.
The Verdict: It’s a Lie—leadership is not a genetic script; it is a practicable skill shaped by opportunity and self-awareness.

💬 Workplace Surgery
This week, we answer three tough listener questions:
The Nepotism Trap: How do you push back when a senior leader pressures you to hire their less-qualified relative?

The Vanishing Spark: What do you do when "star" employees suddenly settle for "just fine" without being dramatic about "quiet quitting"?

The Transparency Gap: Your manager is telling the CEO a project is "on track" when you know it's failing. Do you speak up or stay complicit?
📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork
– Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott
– Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines
https://findahelpline.com
Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Find out more at: https://www.hubspot.com/podcast-network
52 min
February 26279. The Leadership Assessment Tool we're ALL using wrong, with Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Juliette Alban-Metcalfe
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets organisational culture.
In the corporate world, we are obsessed with personality. We use DISC, Myers-Briggs, and Enneagrams to "colour-code" our colleagues and predict who will be a great leader. But what if we’ve been looking at the wrong data?
In this episode, we sit down with Juliette Alban-Metcalfe, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and CEO of Real World Group. Juliette is at the forefront of leadership research, building on the groundbreaking work of her mother, Professor Beverly Alimo-Metcalfe.
Juliette argues that personality only explains a tiny fraction of leadership success. Instead, the real "magic sauce" is behaviour—the specific, observable actions that leaders take to engage their teams and foster success.
In this episode, we discuss:
Personality vs. Behaviour: Why what you do matters infinitely more than who you are according to your personality test results.

The "Accidental Manager" Trap: Why founders and technical experts often struggle to transition into leadership and how 360-degree feedback can bridge the gap.

Predictive Validity: The science behind why leadership behaviours can predict up to 60% of a team's motivation and fulfilment.

Psychological Safety: How to use assessments to build trust and development rather than fear and judgement.

Actionable Advice for Leaders: Two simple things every leader can do today to immediately improve team engagement.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re "not a natural leader" or if you're an HR professional frustrated with the lack of ROI from personality workshops, this episode is a masterclass in the science of what actually works.

🔗 Connect with Juliette
– LinkedIn: Juliette Alban-Metcalfe
– Website: Real World Group

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne
– LinkedIn: Truth, Lies & Work
– Al Elliott: LinkedIn
– Leanne Elliott: LinkedIn
– Email: [email protected]
– Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

🧠 Mental Health Support
UK & ROI — Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind: Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global Helplines — https://findahelpline.com

Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.
46 min
February 24278. Gen-Z Office trends, unlimited holiday leave and silent disengagement. PLUS! Do people really leave managers, not jobs?
Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture.
This week, we explore the "silent disengagement" trend, the surprising truth about Gen Z and the office, and the psychological reason why the end of a project feels harder than the beginning. Plus, we settle the ultimate workplace debate: do people leave managers or jobs?

Stories Covered
1. The Rise of "Silent Disengagement"
Is office culture dying, or is it just getting quieter? We look at silent disengagement, where employees do the work but mentally pull back, speaking less in meetings and avoiding new projects. Leanne argues this isn't a new remote work problem, but a long-standing issue of employees not feeling valued or challenged.
Source: Silent Disengagement: The work trend explained
2. Gen Z: Leading the Charge Back to the Office?
Forget the lazy stereotypes. New data suggests Gen Z is actually leading the return to the office for social connection and development. We share the story of a 24-year-old commuting four hours a day just to be in the room. It turns out, different life stages need different work models—and flexibility increases engagement for everyone.

3. Why the "Last Stretch" Feels the Hardest
Ever noticed how the final 10% of a project feels more draining than the first 90%? A new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology explains that fatigue heightens as we become more aware of the effort we've already invested. The fix? Zoom out and frame the task as part of a bigger goal.
Read the paper: More done, more drained (Zeng et al., 2025)

BPS Digest: How to get through the last push

Truth or Lie: Do people really leave managers, not jobs?
It is one of the most common beliefs in business: "People don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers." Leanne digs into the research from Gallup, McKinsey, and Facebook to find the truth. While poor leadership dramatically increases the odds of someone quitting, we reveal the other factors that actually drive the Great Resignation.

Workplace Surgery
This week, we tackle three tough questions from our listeners:
Unlimited Holiday: Is it a brilliant trust-building exercise or a recipe for anxiety and "leavism"?

Lifting Morale: How do you rebuild energy in a team that is flat after a draining year of changes and stress?

The "30-Second" Interview: What do you do when you know a candidate isn't right within seconds of meeting them?

Connect with Al & Leanne
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork

Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott

Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

Email: [email protected]

Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support
UK & ROI — Samaritans: Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org
UK — Mind: Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk
US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org
Australia — Lifeline: Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au
Global helplines: https://findahelpline.com

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54 min