Bit Famous in the media

Senior meetings often seem productive at first. People agree, nod along, and it feels like everyone is on the same page. But once the meeting ends, nothing actually changes. In this HR Zone article, I look at why so many senior meetings end with agreement but no real action. The problem usually isn’t a lack of intelligence or good intentions. Instead, leaders often get stuck in habits that keep discussions polite, passive, and going in circles. Updates take the place of decisions. Data stands in for judgment. Questions are used to score points instead of helping the work move forward. This matters to HR because when leaders don’t act, frustration spreads throughout the company. If people don’t see strategy turning into real action, engagement falls and the familiar “all talk, no action” culture starts to take hold. I offer five practical ways to break this cycle: shape agendas around questions…

Can you teach self-belief? Penny Haslam’s answer is a firm yes, but not by handing people a motivational mug and hoping for the best. In this article for Training Journal, Penny challenges the idea that confidence is something you either have or you don’t. Confidence moves. It rises and falls depending on the meeting, the audience, the feedback and whether your inner critic has decided to do a full PowerPoint presentation in your head. Penny opens with a personal story from her BBC days, when a senior manager’s brutal comment knocked her self-belief sideways. It sparked a long-standing interest in how confidence works at work, why it disappears and how people can rebuild it when it takes a hit. The article then shares research carried out with Northumbria University’s Organisational Psychology Department into Penny’s 90-minute Building Workplace Confidence session. The results showed measurable gains, including a 12% increase in confidence,…

When a senior outsider walks into a big leadership job, people don’t always roll out the bunting. In this article for People Management, Penny Haslam looks at Matt Brittin’s move from Google EMEA to the top job at the BBC and asks a useful question: how can organisations help an external leader land well? Penny brings two perspectives to the piece. She is a former BBC business journalist, so she knows how protective people can feel about the Beeb. She has also coached Google leaders, so she understands why Brittin’s commercial and tech background could bring real value. That mix is the heart of the article. Outsiders can see things insiders have stopped noticing. They can ask awkward questions, challenge habits and make bold decisions. But they can also trigger folded arms, rolling eyes and a quiet chorus of “what do they know about us?” Penny argues that this is…