Truth, Lies and Work

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.

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

Truth, Lies & Work is proud to be part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

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

This week we’re diving into how AI is actually landing in the workplace — and what that means for managers, employees and the future of work.

Our guest is Andrew Palmer, host of Boss Class from The Economist and author of the Bartleby management column. In Season 3 of Boss Class, Andrew goes hands-on with AI — not just talking about it, but living with it, testing it and asking the questions leaders need to answer as the technology transforms jobs and organisations.

This episode isn’t about hype. It’s about what AI is actually good at today, what it’s still terrible at, and how leaders should think about deploying it in ways that help people — not replace them.

🔥 What you’ll learn

1) AI isn’t coming. It’s here.
Season 3 of Boss Class opens with Andrew trying generative AI tools in real work routines — even asking Claude to draft his management column — and discovering both the power and the weirdness that comes with using them.

2) AI reshapes roles, not just tasks
Rather than automating jobs wholesale, the most immediate workplace impact of AI is changing how work gets done — augmenting roles, compressing coordination and expanding what managers are responsible for.

3) Imperfect AI still delivers value
Some AI tools don’t get things right. But when used as thinking partners — critiquing ideas, suggesting alternatives, or helping leaders make sense of complexity — they make teams more productive and innovative.

4) Leaders need AI literacy, not just tech teams
AI affects strategy, priorities and people decisions — not just coding and automation. The organisations that thrive aren’t those that wait for perfect tech, but those that integrate AI intelligently into leadership and workflows.

5) Human judgement still matters
Far from making humans obsolete, AI highlights uniquely human strengths: judgment, nuance, people skills and context-aware decision-making.

🧠 Why this matters for work

AI is not just a tool — it’s a workforce multiplier. Leaders who understand how to harness AI can reshape productivity, culture and the role of managers in their organisations. Those who don’t risk falling behind as workplace expectations shift rapidly.

🔗 Resources & links

Season 3 of Boss Class asks crucial questions about responsibility, adoption and what we truly mean by progress — and this episode brings those questions directly into your workplace context.

Listen to Boss Class from The Economist — Season 3 launched January 2026 and explores AI, management and the future of work:https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/boss-class

Andrew Palmer’s work: search “Boss Class” on podcast platforms or visit The Economist’s podcast page:https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/boss-class

💬 Connect with the show

Website: https://truthliesandwork.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truth-lies-and-work
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthlieswork

Hosts
Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott/
Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne/

🧠 Mental health support

UK & ROI – Samaritans
Call 116 123 | http://www.samaritans.org

UK – Mind
Call 0300 123 3393 | https://www.mind.org.uk

US – Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 | https://988lifeline.org

Australia – Lifeline
Call 13 11 14 | https://www.lifeline.org.au

Global helplineshttps://findahelpline.com

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture. This week we explore career motivation, generative AI for leaders and the psychology of meaningful work. Plus we put Neuro-Linguistic Programming under the microscope and answer career questions from future business psychologists.

🔥 Stories covered

1. The rise of the “career comedown”motivation, engagement and the future of work.

Have you ever hit a major career milestone and felt underwhelmed?

Leanne introduces the term career comedown, coined by Stefanie Sword-Williams. It describes the emotional slump that can follow promotions, pay rises and career success. Many professionals report feeling bored, stuck or disconnected once they reach the goals they worked towards.

The research suggests three paths forward:
• Stick — reshape your current role
• Twist — change direction or reinvent your career
• Tap out — reduce how much work defines your identity

Source: https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/is-your-career-giving-you-the-ick/
Stefanie Sword-Williams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanieswordwilliams/

2. Generative AI becomes a leadership skill

These stories matter for leaders, founders and managers navigating

Google has launched a Generative AI Leader certification, signalling that AI literacy is becoming a core leadership capability.

The programme helps business leaders understand generative AI, identify opportunities and adopt AI responsibly. Leaders who lack AI literacy risk making strategic decisions without the full picture.

Learn more: https://cloud.google.com/learn/certification/generative-ai-leader

3. Hope is the emotion that creates meaning at work

New psychological research shows hope may be more important than happiness for creating a meaningful life.

Across six studies with more than 2,300 participants, researchers found hope strongly predicts meaning, motivation and wellbeing. Seeing progress, believing change is possible and having a future direction all boost engagement at work.

For leaders, clarity, visible progress and realistic optimism matter more than constant positivity.

🧠 Truth or Lie: Does NLP actually work?

This week we explore Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

While NLP training can boost confidence and communication skills, strong scientific evidence for its broader claims is limited. Many techniques overlap with established psychology, but NLP itself is not considered a robust evidence-based approach.

💬 Workplace Surgery – Special edition

This week’s questions come from The Business Psycho, a new platform launching for students and early-career professionals in business psychology.

We discuss:
• Breaking into business psychology
• The real people problems inside organisations
• Mistakes leaders make when trying to fix culture
• Future trends in workplace psychology

Follow The Business Psychohttps://www.linkedin.com/company/the-business-psycho/https://www.instagram.com/thebusinesspsycho.official

Connect with Truth, Lies & Work

Website: https://truthliesandwork.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truth-lies-and-work
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthlieswork

Hosts
Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott/
Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

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 helplineshttps://findahelpline.com

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

What happens when a small, tight-knit team suddenly starts to grow fast?

This week on Truth, Lies & Work, we’re joined by Steve Kemish to talk about the most uncomfortable phase of company growth. The moment when your business moves from a handful of people to a real organisation. Steve calls it the puberty of a company and if you have ever scaled a team, you will know exactly what he means.

Steve has grown a marketing agency from a small team into a business approaching 50 people. In this conversation, he shares what leaders rarely talk about when growth accelerates. The identity crisis, the culture wobble, the communication breakdowns and the leadership shifts that suddenly become unavoidable.

This episode is packed with practical advice for founders, leaders and managers navigating rapid growth.

Key Takeaways

Why growth changes everythingMany founders assume growth is purely positive. In reality, scaling introduces new complexity overnight. Communication becomes harder. Informal processes stop working. Leaders who once knew everything now have to learn to let go.

The “puberty phase” of organisationsSteve explains why the jump from around 13 to 20 employees is a major turning point. This is when businesses must move from instinct and intuition to structure and systems. Without that shift, chaos quickly follows.

The leadership identity shiftThe skills that help you start a business are not the same skills needed to scale one. Founders must evolve from doers into leaders, from decision-makers into decision-enablers.

Culture under pressureGrowth puts pressure on culture. New hires bring fresh perspectives, expectations and habits. Leaders must become intentional about culture rather than relying on “how things have always been.”

Communication becomes the biggest challengeAs teams grow, assumptions and informal conversations stop working. Leaders must learn to communicate clearly, consistently and at scale.

Why this episode matters

If you are hiring quickly, planning to scale or feeling the growing pains of expansion, this conversation offers a roadmap for navigating one of the most challenging phases of leadership.

Connect with Steve Kemish

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skemish/
Website: http://www.intermedia-global.com

Connect with the show

Follow Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott/Follow Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne

Email: [email protected]: https://truthliesandwork.com

Mental health resources

UK: https://www.mind.org.uk

UK Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org
US: https://988lifeline.org
International: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network – the audio destination for business professionals.