Emma Canter 
Creating an environment where people feel they belong in their workplace isn’t a new idea. When people feel like part of something bigger the benefits are seen at every level of an organisation. But interestingly, I’m repeatedly noticing a subtle shift within teams with groupwork overtaking individual coaching as the desired intervention.
In this episode, I reflect on something sparked by my son’s athlete review and how the four part athlete development model mirrors the gaps we often leave in our own leadership growth.
We are brilliant at focusing on skills, outcomes and delivery, but far less disciplined when it comes to the mental and emotional fitness that actually keeps us performing well.
When we talk about HR burnout, the conversation almost always falls into the category of wellbeing. We speak about overwhelm, exhaustion, emotional labour and stress.
This episode starts with a moment at Twickenham that completely caught me off guard and ended up teaching me more about leadership than I expected.
I was there to enjoy the Rugby match, not to learn a lesson, but what happened in those first few minutes made me stop and think about expectations, assumptions and how easy it is to react before you truly understand what is going on. It reminded me how important it is, especially in a new environment, to observe first and act later.
In this episode, I wanted to open up a conversation that has been pressing on my mind for months.
So many HR leaders are running on empty, holding the emotional weight of organisations while feeling they have nowhere safe to take their own challenges.
When People Management published its recent piece, Does HR Need a Helping Hand?, my first reaction was simple. Of course HR needs support, the data is unambiguous, the pressures are increasing, and the emotional load on people professionals is heavier than ever.
In this episode, I sit down with consultant, coach and author Steve Hearsum to talk about the uncomfortable realities of leadership, change and why there really isn’t a “fix it fast” solution for complex problems.
We dig into his book There’s No Silver Bullet and explore why the need for certainty often stops leaders from doing the deeper, inner work that actually matters.
We all like to think our values are clear. That we know what we stand for. That when the heat’s on, we’ll act in a way that aligns with those beliefs.
But in leadership, being aligned with our values isn’t just about what we prove in the moments of calm, it often comes down to what we reveal in the moments of tension.
This week, I want to speak directly to the CEOs and managing directors out there – and honestly, to anyone leading a business.
How often do you check in on your HR leader? Not just on their workload, but on their wellbeing? HR carries an invisible weight that so often goes unseen. They hold space for everyone else through restructures, grievances and endless waves of organisational change, but rarely have a space to process their own emotional load.
I’m talking about what it really means to lead from within – starting with who you are, what you stand for, and the values that shape your decisions.
I share the story of how a misalignment between my personal values and my corporate role pushed me to make one of the biggest pivots of my life, and how clarity on my values became the foundation of my leadership.