Work's Not Working... Let's Fix It!

In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with entrepreneur, investor and author Dalton T. Sirmans to ask why employers searching for adaptable talent may be overlooking millions of refugees.

Refugees are usually discussed through the language of humanitarian crisis, politics and cost. Dalton argues that this can obscure another part of the story: people rebuilding their lives as employees, entrepreneurs, business owners and economic contributors.

Drawing on his research into forced displacement and his experience as an entrepreneur and impact investor, Dalton explores what he calls ‘the refugee advantage’: the resilience, adaptability, persistence and problem solving that can be developed or revealed when people have had to start again.

But this is not about romanticising displacement. Refugee status tells an employer very little on its own about someone’s ability to do a job. The bigger question is whether the way we recruit and assess people makes some forms of talent almost impossible to see.

Dalton shares the stories of refugee entrepreneurs who have built substantial businesses, Afghan helicopter mechanics whose skills translated into entirely different jobs and a US manufacturer that redesigned its training for workers who did not speak English – and saw production increase as a result.

Whether you’re an HR leader struggling with skills shortages, an employer looking beyond conventional recruitment channels or simply interested in how people rebuild their working lives, this episode asks us to look again at who we recognise as talent.

Key takeaways

• Refugees can disappear from employers’ view when unfamiliar qualifications, language and conventional recruitment criteria become barriers to recognising capability
• Adaptability, resilience and problem solving are characteristics employers frequently say they need. Dalton argues that displacement can reveal or sharpen these qualities
• Refugee entrepreneurship is significant. Dalton points to US research showing refugees are almost twice as likely to become entrepreneurs as native-born Americans and other immigrants
• Humanitarian framing has an unintended consequence. Seeing refugees primarily through vulnerability and need can make their economic contribution harder to recognise
• Better inclusion can improve the system for everyone. One manufacturer removed written language from training and used diagrams instead, opening jobs to non-English speakers and increasing production
• Being a refugee should neither qualify nor disqualify someone for a job. Employers need better ways to uncover what people can actually do
• Employers do not have to start alone. Refugee organisations, local colleges and other businesses can help them find talent and understand how to support people into work
• The private sector has a role in a displacement challenge that governments and humanitarian organisations cannot tackle on their own.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It Siân Harrington sits down with neuroscience-based executive coach and leadership strategist Bruna De Palo to challenge one of the biggest assumptions behind modern management: that people can think rationally, leave emotion at the door, absorb constant change and keep performing under chronic pressure.

For years leaders have been taught neat stories about the brain: rational versus emotional, left brain versus right brain, the fear centre that hijacks the meeting. But Bruna, author of The Brain Instruction Manual for Leaders, argues that much of this thinking is now out of date. The brain is not simply reacting to events. It is constantly predicting what might happen next and deciding where to spend its energy.

This changes how we understand resistance, disengagement, procrastination, burnout and silence in meetings. These behaviours may be less about poor attitude and more about a brain spending too much energy on protection.

Bruna introduces the idea of the brain as the CFO of the body budget, deciding whether energy goes into defence or into the thinking, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving organisations say they need most. She explains why tough leadership can appear to get results while quietly draining performance, why uncertainty is so costly and why leaders need to create the conditions for people’s brains to work well.

Whether you’re leading change, trying to build trust, dealing with burnout or wondering why your leadership development programme hasn’t shifted behaviour this episode offers a more accurate and practical way to understand people at work.

Key Takeaways

• Outdated brain myths are still shaping leadership, HR, wellbeing and change management.
• The brain’s primary job is survival, which means predicting danger and managing energy.
• Resistance, defensiveness and disengagement may be signs of protection rather than poor motivation.
• Tough leadership can get results, but often at a hidden cost to energy, trust and performance.
• Clarity, structure, predictability, transparency and coherence help reduce the energy people spend on threat.
• Leaders can use the SCARF model – status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness – to spot where people may feel unsafe.
• If we want better creativity, decision-making and collaboration, we need to stop wasting so much human energy on protection.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with Susie Thomson, chair-elect of the Professional Background Screening Association, to ask a question every young person, parent, careers adviser and employer should be thinking about: what happens when your digital identity becomes part of the hiring process?

Most young people know they need a CV. Fewer realise they may already have another one: the posts, comments, photographs, likes and online traces that create an impression before they ever walk into an interview.

And this matters now. Entry-level jobs are under pressure, AI is reshaping early-career work and competition for graduate and school-leaver roles is fierce. At the same time, social media screening is becoming a more common part of background checks, with employers looking for potential reputational, conduct and safeguarding risks.

Susie explains what social media screening actually involves, what employers are looking for and where the line sits between legitimate due diligence and unfair judgement. She also explores why context matters, how LinkedIn can help young people show curiosity and potential, and why schools, universities and employers need to do far more to explain the hidden rules of digital employability.

Whether you’re a student, graduate, parent, educator, HR leader or recruiter, this episode is a practical guide to understanding the digital footprint that may already be shaping someone’s chances of getting hired.

Key takeaways

• Social media screening is growing. Employers are increasingly using online checks as part of pre-employment screening, while informal searches by hiring managers still happen in the background.
• Your online presence can work for or against you. Employers may look for risk signals, but they may also see positive evidence of volunteering, industry interest, communication skills and curiosity.
• Context matters. A single post can be misleading if it is taken out of context, and good screening should be consistent, transparent and relevant to the role.
• Young people often do not know the rules. Many students, graduates and school leavers are unaware that their digital footprint may be part of the hiring process.
• LinkedIn is becoming part of employability. A good profile can help young people build networks, show interest in an industry and present themselves professionally without exaggerating.
• Digital identity is a social mobility issue. Young people with access to informed parents, relatives or schools may get advice others never receive.
• Employers need fair processes. Social media screening must avoid bias, protected characteristics and casual judgement by individual managers.

Listen to the full podcast to pick up other tips!

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
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• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with Tom Kegode – former People & Places Culture Transformation Lead at Lloyds Banking Group – to challenge one of the most overused ideas in corporate life: transformation.

Despite the slide decks, the roadmaps and the change programmes most organisations aren’t actually transforming. They’re stuck in cycles of exhaustion, over-promising and initiative-fatigue. Tom argues that the real fix lies somewhere very different: evolution.

Across his career – from innovation teams to workforce design to hybrid work strategy –Tom has learned that change doesn’t happen through grand programmes. It happens through curiosity, co-creation and short, sharp experiments that shift how people work in the real world. And sometimes it starts as simply as walking into an executive meeting in a green Adidas track top and a baseball cap – his signature signal of “friendly disruption” designed to open up new conversations. 

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the idea of “transformation” gives leaders false confidence
• How evolution reduces burnout, boosts wellbeing and creates psychological safety
• What Tom learned from redesigning Lloyds’ hybrid model – including why the first iteration didn’t work
• How “unboxing your week” helps people use office time intentionally
• Why learning cultures aren’t built through hours-tracking but through collective, experiential learning
• The real lever for culture change: co-creation, agency and protected learning time
• What Kenya’s young, optimistic workforce taught Tom about adaptability and the future of work
• Why curiosity is a muscle that anyone – at any stage – can build

Whether you’re leading a transformation programme, navigating hybrid work or simply trying to make change stick inside a large organisation, this episode offers practical insight into how work actually evolves and how leaders can make that evolution faster, healthier and more human.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with Steven D’Souza – award-winning educator, executive coach and senior partner at Korn Ferry – to explore a question few leaders dare to ask: what if the problem isn’t our systems or strategies… but ourselves?

Because as Steven explains, every leader carries a “shadow” – the unseen habits, fears and defences that quietly shape decisions, relationships and culture. When ignored, these shadows can derail even the smartest leaders. When understood, they can become a source of wisdom, empathy and real change.

Drawing on psychology, biology, culture and meaning, Steven reveals how our past shows up in the present – from childhood messages that still drive our behaviour, to toxic corporate patterns that reward overconfidence and silence feedback.

Together, we unpack:

• Why strength under stress so often becomes a weakness in disguise
• How organisational cultures create their own “blind spots” and ethical drift
• What leaders can do to confront their shadow and build healthier, more human workplaces.

Key Takeaways

• Every leader has a shadow – the part they suppress or deny – and it always shows up at work.
• Most derailment isn’t about incompetence but about unexamined patterns under stress.
• Toxic culture thrives when leaders reward results and ignore behaviour.
• Emotional literacy, self-awareness and courage to receive feedback are core leadership skills.
• The future of leadership isn’t perfection – it’s wholeness: knowing both your shadow and your light.

Whether you’re a CEO, manager or HR leader this episode will change how you think about leadership maturity and what it really means to be whole at work.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with Michael Moran, founder of 10Eighty, career coach, former CEO and author of Going Portfolio, to explore why the ‘job for life’ is over and what comes next.

Michael argues that clinging to one job as a source of security is no longer realistic and may even put us at risk. Instead, the future of work is portfolio: combining paid projects, community contribution and personal time to build freedom, purpose and resilience.

From redundancy to burnout, from generative AI to cost-of-living pressures, more of us are working in multiple ways to make careers add up. And yet most organisations remain slow to adapt, risking talent, innovation and wellbeing.

In this candid and practical episode Michael shares:

• Why job security is a myth today and how real security comes from designing your own path
• How portfolio careers are reshaping wellbeing, purpose and engagement at every stage of life
• The three practical steps you can take now to start building a sustainable multi-strand career.

Whether you’re an HR leader rethinking talent models, a manager considering your next move, or simply someone who feels one job isn’t giving you enough this episode will spark new thinking about what work can be.

💡 Key Takeaways

• The ‘job for life’ is gone. Portfolio careers are the rising alternative.
• Employers who ignore this trend risk losing top talent, innovation and agility.
• Security today comes from skills, networks and self-investment.
• Portfolio work can boost wellbeing but only with planning and discipline.
• Three essentials: plan ahead, invest in yourself and build your network.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with Farley Thomas, former global MD at HSBC, CEO coach and co-founder of leadership edtech firm Manageable, to flip the script on leadership.

What if the biggest lever for performance isn’t the CEO’s vision but the team manager’s next conversation?

Farley argues that while organisations obsess over strategy, status and C-suite charisma, they’re missing what really drives culture, engagement and results: everyday conversations. intentional, human dialogue.

In this refreshingly honest and practical episode Farley shares:

• Why “fetishising” top leaders blinds us to where the real action happens
• How undertrained managers quietly shape, or sabotage, engagement
• Why conversations are culture and how to make them count
• And how his five-part CLICK framework helps turn accidental managers into confident conversation leaders

Whether you’re a burned-out middle manager, a CEO wondering why change isn’t sticking or an HR leader tired of empty engagement plans this one will shift your lens and spark some powerful new thinking.

Key Takeaways

• Most performance doesn’t come from the top. It comes from how line managers lead daily conversations.
• The “fetishisation” of the C-suite is part of the problem. Status isn’t the same as influence.
• 80% of first-time managers get no training. This is not just a gap but a performance risk.
• Culture is just a series of conversations. It’s all about how people talk at work.
• The CLICK model is a simple but powerful tool: Connect, Landscape, Insight, Challenge, Key points.
• Exploration and curiosity are the missing muscles. Most managers jump to answers rather than better questions.
• Blanket mandates don’t fix hybrid work. The fix lies in team-level agency and better conversations.
• Conversations are becoming harder and more vital. In a world of Slack, AI and burnout the human touch matters more than ever.
• Packed with stories, practical tools and research-backed insights. A must-listen for people leaders at every level.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It!, Siân Harrington sits down with Prithwiraj Choudhury, professor at the London School of Economics and bestselling author of The World is Your Office, to challenge our most stubborn assumption: that work must happen in the office.

Raj has spent the past decade studying ‘work from anywhere”’ and the myths that stop companies from unlocking its full potential. And his research is clear: innovation doesn’t require water coolers, culture isn’t confined to cubicles and productivity doesn’t improve with proximity.

From the myth of hybrid to the rise of digital twins and personal AI bots, Raj offers bold ideas and practical tools for designing work around people, not places.

Whether you’re an HR leader making the case for flexibility, a manager grappling with hybrid or a CEO still clinging to office mandates, this episode will challenge your assumptions and expand your thinking.

Key Takeaways

• The return to office is often a disguised layoff strategy – with no proven productivity gains and high attrition costs.
• Hybrid isn’t a strategy, it’s often a lazy compromise. Most models ignore the power of monthly or quarterly in-person time. 
• Water cooler myths are wrong. Real innovation needs diverse collisions, not just random chats in the office.
• Work from anywhere boosts inclusion. Smaller towns, caregivers and introverts all benefit – when systems are well designed.
• Digital twins and AI bots are expanding the meaning of remote work. From hospitals to factories, even frontline roles can now be more flexible.
• Managers must evolve from monitors to leaders. Surveillance kills trust. Outcomes, not hours, are the real measure of performance.
• HR’s role is critical. From business case to experimentation, work from anywhere needs intentional design and not default settings.
• Packed with research, real-world case studies and practical tips – this episode is essential listening for anyone rethinking how work works.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It! Siân Harrington sits down with Harvard Business Review editor Kevin Evers, author of There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift, to explore what Taylor Swift can teach us about leadership, reinvention and making work actually work.

At first glance it might seem unlikely but Kevin argues that Swift is one of the most strategic thinkers in modern business. She’s mastered brand control, long-term trust and antifragile thinking in a way most organisations only talk about.

In an era where people feel disempowered, stuck in rigid systems and burnt out by constant change Swift’s playbook offers something rare: clarity, conviction and control.

From re-recording her music catalogue to turning setbacks into strategy, Swift’s approach holds powerful lessons for leaders navigating transformation, employee experience and brand loyalty.

Whether you’re a CEO, a people leader or someone questioning how to take back agency in your own career, this conversation will shift how you think about power, trust and the long game in work.

Key Takeaways:

• Reinvention only works if you protect the trust. Swift has changed her genre, aesthetic and tone – without losing her audience. Leaders should take note.
• Owning your story is the new power move. Swift didn’t fight for control – she built her own. That mindset shift applies far beyond the music industry.
• Employee experience needs obsession, not just intention. Swift’s fan loyalty is built through care, consistency and surprise. Most organisations are still stuck at comms plans and pulse surveys.
• Data can’t replace instinct. Swift’s biggest decisions weren’t based on algorithms – they were grounded in clear values and audience understanding.
• Resilience is overrated. Try antifragility. Swift doesn’t just survive hits – she grows stronger from them. That’s a model more leaders need to adopt.
• You can’t build long-term loyalty if you panic every quarter. Swift plays the long game. Business should too.

This episode is about more than Taylor Swift. It’s about taking bold, strategic ownership in a world of broken work models – and reminding ourselves that reinvention is a skill, not a risk.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
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• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
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In this episode of Work’s Not Working… Let’s Fix It! Siân Harrington sits down with Lord Mark Price – former managing director of Waitrose, deputy chair of the John Lewis Partnership, and now author of Happy Economics  – to ask a surprisingly radical question: What if the biggest untapped performance lever in business... is happiness?

In a world obsessed with efficiency, dashboards and productivity hacks, Mark argues that we’ve forgotten a simple truth: people do their best work when they feel good. And yet, too many companies still treat happiness like a perk, not a performance metric.

Drawing on over 40 years in business and a global dataset of over one million employees, Mark shares why the smartest organisations are putting happiness on the balance sheet – and what happens when they do.

Whether you’re a numbers-driven CEO, a disillusioned manager or an HR leader trying to make the case for culture, this episode offers sharp insights, real-world proof and a powerful reminder that everything in your P&L starts with your people.

Key Takeaways:

• Workplace happiness isn’t fluffy. It’s measurable, scalable and commercially essential. Mark explains how companies can use data to drive both wellbeing and performance.
• The UK is bottom of the G20 for both productivity and workplace happiness. That’s not a coincidence but a warning.
• “The answer’s not in the spreadsheet, it’s in your people.” Why obsessing over numbers while ignoring morale is costing companies more than they realise.
• Recognition, information, empowerment. The six science-backed drivers of workplace happiness and why most leaders are focusing on the wrong one.
• Middle management isn't the enemy. Why ripping out human connection in the name of tech is a fast track to disengagement.
• Gen Z isn’t entitled but reacting to a system that no longer serves them. And their refusal to tolerate bad management might just be a wake-up call for the rest of us.

Mark reminds us that building a happy workforce isn’t soft. It’s smart. It’s strategic. And it might just be the future of business.

Interested in insights about people leadership, HR and the future of work?
Seize and shape the future of work with The People Space, a leading digital HR magazine for forward-thinking leaders. We empower you to put people at the heart of work, navigating the evolving intersection of technology, business and human insight. Join us in building a future where people and machines collaborate for a more human-centric workplace

• Sign up for our free fortnightly newsletter on the future of work, human-centric organisations and people-first leadership
• Follow Siân on LinkedIn
• Are you an HR professional seeking to raise your profile? I can help!
• HR vendor or consultant? Check out how I can help you reach senior HR leaders.
• Follow The People Space on Facebook