In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, host Andy Goram sits down with award-winning HR leader and author, Debra Corey, to uncover the damaging leadership behaviours that hold bosses—and their teams—back. Drawing from her latest book, Bad Bosses Ruin Lives, Debra explains how even well-intentioned leaders can exhibit bad leadership behaviours without realizing it, leading to disengagement, frustration, and poor performance.

Discover how key behaviours such as micromanagement, avoidance, and lack of appreciation can damage team morale and productivity. Debra also introduces the "Three A's" framework—Awareness, Acceptance, and Action—to help leaders recognize and correct these harmful habits, ultimately fostering better leadership development. If you’ve ever questioned whether your leadership style might be holding your team back, this episode is for you.

Tune in to learn actionable steps to becoming a better leader, fostering trust, and creating a positive workplace culture where employees can thrive. Don’t miss this insightful conversation about leadership development and the steps needed to break free from bad boss behaviours!

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• Well-intentioned leaders can still unknowingly cause harm
• The 10 Bad Boss Behaviours are more common than you think
• Awareness, acceptance and intentional action are the keys to rectifying bad boss behaviour
• Trust and empathy are foundational elements of great leadership

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:01:10 - What Makes A Bad Boss? 00:05:06 - The Disconnect Between Leadership Intention And Impact 00:07:32 - Common Bad Boss Behaviours. What Leaders Often Overlook 00:10:17 - How Leadership Development Can Prevent Bad Boss Behaviours 00:12:27 - Why Awareness & Acceptance Are Key To Leadership Improvement 00:18:56 - The Most Common Bad Boss Behaviours 00:24:40 - The 10 Bad Boss Types 00:31.25 - The Role Of Empathy & Compassion In Leadership 00:43:09 - The Importance Of Trust In Leadership 00:45:36 - How To Take Action To Be A Better Leader

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Andy Goram sits down with Kristina Vaneva, author of Beyond Employee Engagement, to explore how businesses can go beyond traditional employee engagement strategies to build lifelong employee advocates. Kristina shares actionable insights on how to create an effective employee advocate programme that seamlessly integrates into every stage of the employee journey—from onboarding to career development and beyond.

Discover the benefits of empowering your team to become authentic employee advocates and how a well-structured employee advocacy program can boost brand loyalty and trust. Learn the steps to build a program that works, the challenges you'll face, and the long-term impact advocacy can have on both your company and your employees. If you're looking to strengthen your employee engagement efforts and foster genuine loyalty, this episode is packed with valuable tips that can transform your approach.

Tune in to learn how to create a culture where your people don’t just work for you—they work with you, promoting your brand long after they’ve moved on.

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• True employee advocacy is rooted in genuine employee engagement
• Successful employee advocacy requires more than just goodwill
• For an employee advocate programme to thrive, leaders must actively buy in and commit to it
• Employee advocacy doesn’t have to end when employees leave the company

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:01:10 - What is Employee Advocacy? Why Does It Matter? 00:08:23 - The Benefits of Employee Advocate Programmes for Businesses 00:09:04 - How to Build an Effective Employee Advocate Programme 00:25:11 - Employee Engagement and Its Role in Advocacy 00:35:41 - Challenges in Building an Employee Advocate Programme 00:28:26 - Long-Term Benefits of Employee Advocates After They Leave 00:44:41 - Sticky Notes & Close

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Andy Goram sits down with leadership expert Sammy Burt to discuss the transformative concept of being leaderful. Moving beyond traditional leadership roles and titles, Sammy introduces a fresh perspective on leaderful leadership, where the focus shifts to the experience and impact leaders have on others, rather than just the authority they hold.

Together, Andy and Sammy explore the challenges of accidental leadership, the importance of self-awareness, and how to foster a human-centered leadership approach. They dive into the differences between leadership and management, uncover the power of curiosity, and discuss the emotional and relational connections crucial in effective leadership today.

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• What it means to be leaderful
• The important impact of self-awareness in leadership
• How to build human-centered leadership practices
• Why curiosity is a fundamental part of leadership development

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:10 - What Does It Mean to Be Leaderful? 00:09:40 - The Challenges of Traditional Leadership Roles 00:13:28 - Leadership Is More Than a Title: It's About Impact 00:16:26 - The Impact of Poorly Defined Leadership in Organizations 00:26:49 - Leadership vs Management: Why Managing People Is a Myth 00:28:26 - Building Human-Centered Leadership Practices 00:34:33 - Navigating the Post-COVID Shift in Leadership Expectations 00:42:00 - The Importance of Curiosity In Leadership Development 00:45:02 - How To Foster A Leaderful Culture In Your Organisation

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Andy Goram sits down with Nick Court, founder and CEO of The People Experience Hub, to tackle a bold question: "Are we measuring employee engagement all wrong?" As organisations pour time and resources into engagement surveys and scores, Nick challenges the effectiveness of these traditional methods and suggests that we’ve been missing the mark.

Andy and Nick dive deep into the flaws of current engagement measurement practices, exploring why chasing numbers might actually be detracting from what truly drives a thriving workplace. Nick introduces the PX3 model, a revolutionary approach that goes beyond surface-level metrics to uncover the real factors that influence employee experience and retention.

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• Traditional employee engagement metrics are flawed. It's more nuanced.
• Effective employee engagement measurement should know, "What makes an employee engaged here."
• The Px3 Think Feel Do model goes beyond a score and uncovers what needs focus and why
• Internal benchmarks are far more valuable than external comparisons.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:10 - Is chasing employee engagement scores leading us astray? 00:06:11 - What does true employee engagement look like in your organisation? 00:09:07 - The dangers of focusing solely on engagement scores 00:14:04 - Why a singular engagement metric may be misleading 00:17:51 - Rethinking net promoter scores for employee engagement 00:23:14 - Introducing the Px3 model - a new approach to measuring employee experience 00:28:56 - Why outcomes matter more than engagement scores 00:35:18 - Predictive analytics are the future of employee engagement measurement 00:41:24 - The case for internal benchmarks over external comparisons 00:42:53 - How to create a culture where employees thrive

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

In this episode of Sticky from the Inside, host Andy Goram sits down with leadership coach and visionary, Dan Tocchini to explore the transformative power of vision, resilience, and authentic connections in leadership and company culture. Dan shares profound insights on how embracing discomfort and facing personal and professional "exile" can lead to deeper wisdom, stronger relationships, and extraordinary success.

Discover why a strong vision is the cornerstone of effective leadership and how it can free you from being held hostage by past failures or current circumstances. Learn how to cultivate resilience and stay committed to your goals, even in the face of adversity, and why authentic connections are forged in the toughest of times.

If you're looking to transform your approach to leadership and company culture, this episode is packed with actionable advice and thought-provoking concepts that will inspire you to lead with purpose, overcome challenges, and create lasting impact.

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• How to turn discomfort into a powerful tool for personal and professional growth.
• The role of vision in freeing leaders from the constraints of history and circumstance.
• Why resilience and commitment are crucial for achieving extraordinary results.
• The importance of facing reality head-on to unlock new opportunities for success.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:10 - Introduction to Sticky from the Inside 00:03:14 - Dan Tocchini on Transforming Leadership and Company Culture 00:06:15 - The Role of Philosophy in Leadership Development 00:09:57 - Phenomenology and Neuroscience: Understanding Leadership Behaviour 00:12:24 - How Vision Shapes Leadership and Company Success 00:19:38 - Embracing Discomfort for Personal and Professional Growth 00:26:54 - The Importance of Resilience and Commitment in Leadership 00:33:13 - Leading Through Crisis: Lessons from Personal Tragedy 00:39:00 - Overcoming Exile in Business Leadership 00:44:04 - Authentic Connections and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership 0000:46:40 - Key Takeaways: Mastering Leadership and Creating Impact

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Why don't more organisations treat building an effective culture, like a strategic, commercial imperative? You still hear comments like, "We'll get to this culture stuff when we've weathered this storm." Frankly, I think that's nuts. Not everyone thinks that way though. In this episode, Andy Goram talks to Dan Dowman from Anthem, who believes that "culture is the only differentiator that really matters" because competitors can catch up with everything else. This conversation covers how culture, employee engagement and leadership directly affect the bottom line, and offers up practical advice on how to get the culture your organisation needs, not just put up with the one it has.

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• How to develop an organizational culture that drives bottom line performance.
• Why culture is the only differentiator that matters.
• How to intentionally build the culture your organisation needs to be successful.
• What the leader's role is in building that culture.

• The hidden costs of negative behaviour.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:10 - Introduction to Sticky from the Inside 00:01:32 - The importance of culture in today's world 00:03:01 - Making culture a strategic priority 00:10:06 - Pitfalls of productivity optimisation 00:14:02 - Disconnect in organisational values 00:15:03 - Developing practical values for businesses 00:16:22 - Personalising company values 00:21:39 - Importance of company culture 00:25:42 - Culture as a competitive advantage 00:26:40 - Overcoming Resistance to Change 00:28:35 - The cost of workplace drama 00:29:10 - The cost of poor culture 00:32:18 - Addressing cultural decay 00:35:01 - Honesty and integrity in setting company culture 00:37:57 - The model of collective fluency 00:42:33 - Practical culture transformation 00:44:01 - Sticky Notes 00:46:27 - Conclusion and Farewell

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

In a special show to mark 100 episodes, Andy Goram looks back at the 99 previous conversations and picks a collection of standout moments that either particularly resonated, made him think, filled his heart or have stuck with him. The compilation of clips covers a range of employee engagement and workplace culture-linked topics including Purpose, Significance, Leadership, The Changing Workplace, Trust, Burnout, Commerciality, Compassion and Deep Listening.

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• The difference between the meaning of work and the meaning in work
• The requirements for productive self-managed teams
• How to create employee commitment at work
• The connection between employee engagement and burnout
• How to blend commercial and compassionate skills in developing leaders
• The 3 secret numbers to turn you into a deep listener

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:10 - Introduction to Sticky From The Inside 00:01:18 - Looking back at 100 episodes 00:03:33 - Zach Mercurio: The meaning in work 00:07:44 - Work: A paycheck or more? 00:10:44 - Perry Timms: The changing workforce 00:14:18 - Agency comes with responsibility 00:16:36 - Evangelising leaders 00:18:22 - Joe Mull: Commitment at work 00:22:09 - Employalty: The nine dimensions of employee commitment 00:25:33 - What's at the core of employee engagement? 00:27:23 - Emma Bridger: The darker side of employee engagement 00:31:40 - Can you link employee engagement to results? 00:34:47 - Barrie Robinson: Creating great experiences 00:36:50 - Leadership characteristics 00:42:00 - Oscar Trimboli: 3 numbers behind deep listening 00:44:29 - The difference with deep listeners 00:47:38 - Podcast Close

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Get the full transcript of the episode here

Despite the focus, energy and money spent on employee engagement, many companies have struggled to move the dial. The growth in hybrid and remote working has exacerbated the situation too. Though there are organisations out there bucking the trend. One such place is NAHL Group. Andy Goram chats to Marcus Lamont, Group People Officer, about how they have reversed this trend. Marcus reveals the not-so-secret sauce to their success is a focus on the often forgotten group in an organisation - the line managers. Marcus shares the deeply practical ways they have increased their engagement and productivity while repositioning the business and moving to a 70% hybrid and remote model.

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• Unlock the key to reinvigorating your team's passion and commitment in a changing work environment.
• The secrets to leading, inspiring and motivating your line managers to do the same with their teams.
• How to build trust in hybrid and remote working environments.
• The power of soft-skill focused team manager training programmes.

• How to build, grow and maintain an enabling, positive culture no matter where people are located.

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The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:10 - Introduction to Sticky from the Inside 00:01:12 - Employee Engagement Challenges 00:03:50 - The Power of Team Managers 00:04:37 - Marcus Lamont's Background 00:07:19 - Transformation at NAHL Group 00:15:08 - Focusing on Team Leaders for Business Improvement 00:16:45 - Overlooked Group of Managers 00:21:27 - Challenges Faced by Team Managers 00:23:49 - The Pathway to Leadership Program 00:26:40 - Overcoming Resistance to Change 00:29:04 - The Power of Little Marginal Gains 00:31:08 - The Silver Bullet: Team Leaders 00:33:47 - Building Trust within the Organization 00:36:48 - Empowerment and Accountability 00:40:14 - Navigating Remote and Hybrid Work 00:43:19 - Importance of Maintaining Relationships 00:43:59 - Pitfalls of Remote and Hybrid Work 00:44:58 - Human Needs in the Workplace 00:45:26 - Three Pearls of Wisdom 00:47:20 - Conclusion and Farewell

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Get the full transcript of the episode here