Truth, Lies and Work

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week we explore how to build a team that can disagree safely before things blow up, what to do when tension boils over, and how to create a culture of "tolerance by design."

We are joined by two guests who disagree on almost everything: Steve Baker (former Conservative minister, Brexit negotiator, and aerospace/software engineer) and Paul Dolan (Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and author). Despite their political differences, they teamed up during COVID lockdowns and founded The Provocation People, a consultancy helping organisations break out of groupthink.

What We Cover in This Episode

Why Silence is More Dangerous Than a Row
Companies like Kodak, Blockbuster, and HBOS fell victim to groupthink, proving that a quiet room where everyone nods along is actually a major red flag.

The Question Every Leader Should Ask
Steve shares the exact question he used to close meetings: "Has anything not been said because it would be inconvenient to me?"

How to Handle Dissent
Employees watch how you treat dissenters outside of meetings rather than inside them, making real-world follow-through essential.

Hiring for Culture Fit vs. Culture Challenge
Hiring for "culture fit" often leads to hiring for agreement, whereas leaders should focus on introducing true diversity of thought.

The EMBRACE Framework
Paul breaks down his 7-part checklist to design tolerance into your workplace culture—covering Environment, Mistakes, Bonding, Reason, Affect, Collection, and Exposure.

De-escalation & Psychology
Learn what happens to your physiology when conflict erupts, why managing your blood pressure comes first, and how to rebuild trust after a blowout.

Guest Links & Resources

Fighting for a Free Future (Steve Baker's Newsletter)
https://www.fightingforafreefuture.com/

Steve Baker on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebakerfrsa/

Beliefism by Paul Dolan
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beliefism-discriminate-against-disagree-difference/dp/0349128693/

Paul Dolan on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-dolan-a018691b/

The Provocation People
https://www.theprovocationpeople.com/

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: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– 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

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, we dive into viral interview etiquette, ultra-fast AI tools for work triage, workplace beekeeping, the science of first impressions, and answer your burning workplace surgery questions.

🚀 Special Announcement: Cornerstone Launch
Before we jump into the news, Al and Leanne share an exciting update about the launch of Cornerstone! Be sure to register your interest and join the waitlist via our Tally form:
• Register for Cornerstone: https://tally.so/r/BzDXKY

🔥 Stories covered

1. The "Iced Coffee War of 2026": Gen Z interview etiquette or arbitrary rules?
A viral TikTok from recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen sparks an international debate: is bringing an iced coffee to a job interview unprofessional, or does rejecting a candidate over a beverage highlight everything wrong with modern hiring? We break down the generational dynamics, power imbalances in hiring, and the psychological concept of "deflection of anxiety".
• Source: CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/25/iced-coffee-job-interview.html)

• TikTok original: @caitlinrecruiter (https://www.tiktok.com/@caitlinrecruiter/video/7686166507759455501)

2. Meet Jev: The ultra-fast "System 1" AI classifier
Unlike ChatGPT or Claude, Jev isn't a conversational chatbot or code generator. Co-created by a co-inventor of ChatGPT, Jev is an API-based tool designed specifically for fast, structured decision-making, triage, and noise reduction—handling inbox management, survey filtering, and real-time meeting prompts.
• Learn more & nerd out: Book a call with Al!

3. Is beekeeping the new employee wellbeing trend?
Forget webinars and gym memberships—employers are installing hives and sending staff to apiaries for "experiential depth" and connection to nature. We discuss whether hands-on wellbeing actually helps, or if it risks becoming another form of "forced fun" masking deeper workload issues.
• Source: HR Magazine (https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/news/is-beekeeping-the-latest-employee-wellbeing-trend)

🧠 Truth or Lie: Does it really take seven seconds to make a first impression?
From Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink to leadership experts, the idea of the seven-second rule is widely accepted. We examine the psychological research on speed versus accuracy—revealing how facial judgements occur in as little as 34 milliseconds, but why true accuracy actually takes about 60 seconds.

💬 Workplace Surgery
This week, we answer three listener questions:
• Replacing a legendary manager: How to step into a GM role and establish authority when taking over from a leader who has been there for decades.

• Mission vs. Manipulation: Where is the line between inspiring employees with purpose and using company mission to guilt them into overworking?

• Targeting low engagement: When one team in a survey scores drastically lower than the rest, is the manager automatically to blame?

📬 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: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– 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.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture.

In this episode, we are joined by employment solicitor advocate Roy Magara, founder of Magara Law, to uncover what every founder, manager, and HR leader needs to know about avoiding costly employment tribunals, building proper HR architecture, and handling workplace grievances before they blow up.

🔥 Topics covered in this episode

Prevention over cure: Why an employee handbook sitting on SharePoint is useless if nobody actually follows it when something goes wrong.

Contracts, policies and handbooks: Where founders should start when setting up their legal architecture as the team grows.

The first hour of a problem: Roy’s three-step framework (Preserve, Assess, Plan) to protect the business and safeguard documentation when a grievance is raised.

The drama of fabricated evidence: A wild real-life tribunal case where fake disciplinary minutes were exposed by a secret recording.

In-house resolution vs. calling in the lawyers: When you can resolve issues internally and the exact moment you need to pick up the phone to an employment lawyer.

Emerging employment risks: The rise of neurodiversity-related discrimination claims, upcoming legislative threshold changes, and AI interview tools gone wrong.

Tribunal vs. mediation vs. conciliation: The differences between these processes and why early workplace mediation can save you tens of thousands of pounds.

Guest Links
Roy Magara (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/roymagara/
Magara Law: https://www.magaralaw.co.uk/

📬 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: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– 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

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week, guest host Bill Yost joins Al and Leanne to dive into Meta’s management U-turn, whether purpose truly makes employees work harder, and how to navigate the modern job market and workplace surveys.

🔥 Stories covered

Meta asks employees to become managers again
Meta spent the past year stripping out middle management and pushing flatter, leaner teams. Now, it's asking some Applied AI employees to step back into management roles.
• Meta reassigned ~7,000 employees into its Applied AI division and is now asking former managers to opt back into management.
• The move reflects a tension between pushing ultra-lean, AI-driven org structures and the reality that coordination, coaching, and leadership are still needed.
• Is AI making managers obsolete, or does it make human judgment and leadership even more crucial?
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-asks-some-ai-employees-to-become-managers-again-2026-9

The Great Compliance: Workers back down in 2026
Recent survey data shows a shifting power dynamic between employers and workers.
• Only 7% of employees say they would quit over a mandatory RTO policy, down from 51% in 2025.
• 73% expect employers to expand surveillance tools to enforce accountability.
• As control tightens and job market fears linger, what happens to long-term trust and engagement?

Trolling AI interviewers
Candidate Graham Zip went viral on TikTok after introducing himself as "Chick Bongo" during an automated AI job screen, proving human humor and creativity are alive and well.

🧠 Truth or Lie: Does purpose make us work harder?

We put the popular claim that "purpose drives performance" to the test.
• The For case: Meta-analyses show meaningful work drives positive attitudes, organizational citizenship behaviors (going the extra mile), and overall performance.
• The Against case: Deep purpose can lead to the "dark side of meaningful work," where employers exploit worker commitment, leading to high burnout, compassion fatigue, and existential labor.
• The Verdict: True — with a warning! Purpose boosts effort, but it cannot replace fair pay, security, and well-being safeguards.

💬 Workplace Surgery with Bill Yost
• Are engagement surveys actually anonymous, and can honest feedback bite you?
• Has getting a tech interview completely changed, and what works now?
• Does posting consistently on LinkedIn still matter?

Connect with Bill Yost
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billyost/
Website: https://billyost.com/
Cookies Worth Sharon: https://cookiesworthsharon.com/

📬 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: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– 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.

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. Are personality tests like MBTI actually helping your organisation, or are they just workplace horoscopes with better branding?

In this Thursday episode, chartered occupational psychologist Leanne Elliott and business owner Al Elliott sit down with personality psychologist Nikita Mikhailov, co-author of Personality: A User's Guide, to uncover the truth about psychometrics at work.

From the dark history of early personality testing to why popular tools like MBTI refuse to die, Nikita shares why most off-the-shelf assessments only measure your own self-narrative, and how to actually use behavioural insights to build better teams.

Topics covered:

The "Self-Awareness Cake"
Why personality consists of multiple layers: what you like, what you do, how you react under stress, and who you aspire to be.

The Dark History & Origins of Psychometrics
How early testing was tied to eugenics, and how Myers-Briggs (MBTI) percolated through corporate America despite being 80+ years old.

Utilitarian Validity
Why "feral constructs" like MBTI and DISC remain popular even when academic evidence is thin—and the real value they bring to team dynamic conversations.

Psychopathy & Context at Work
Why a "psychopath" in your office might just be a nice person in a cutthroat, highly incentivized environment.

Rethinking Personality in Hiring
Why using off-the-shelf personality tests to hire salespeople can backfire, and why you should hire for the specific business problem instead.

Three Rules for Personality at Work
Embracing complementary strengths, leading with curiosity over assumptions, and understanding that real change takes time.

Guest Links
Nikita Mikhailov: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitamikhailov
Goodness of Psychology Ltd: https://goodnessofpsychology.com/
Psychometrics Market (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@PsychometricsMarket

Juliette Alban-Metcalfe Episode: https://truthliesandwork.com/guests/juliette-alban-metcalfe/

📬 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: hello@truthliesandwork.com
– 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