Performance Reviews are Trash with Blake Proberts

What helps us feel heard, understood and accepted—and how can we create that experience for someone else?In this episode of Authentic Ewe®, Penelope Aiken welcomes Linda Thackray, The Face & Body Interpreter, for a conversation about listening, self-awareness and the everyday interactions that help people feel safe to be their authentic selves.Linda shares her perspective on face and body interpretation, while together we explore how our attention, tone and presence shape the way we connect.We discuss:• Noticing changes in someone’s tone and body language, and opening a conversation about what they need.• Using a breath and a pause to become more present before responding.• Making space for quieter voices and welcoming different perspectives.• Supporting people by standing alongside them and asking what they need.• Recognising strengths, respecting individual differences and developing greater self-acceptance.Throughout the conversation, we connect these themes to HUMAN LENS®: understanding what we need to feel safe to be ourselves, and how we can LISTEN, EMPATHISE, NOTICE and SUPPORT others.Linda leaves us with a simple invitation: when you ask a question, be present and willing to hear the answer.A thoughtful episode for leaders, coaches and anyone wanting to build more honest, compassionate connections—at work and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does psychological safety actually feel like to a human being?In this episode, I’m joined by psychological safety expert Tom Geraghty for a fascinating conversation about what sits underneath one of the most widely used terms in today’s workplace.Tom challenges the idea that psychological safety can simply be measured as an organisation-wide score. We explore why two people in the same team, with the same leader, can experience work completely differently — and how power, past experiences, neurodiversity, socioeconomic background and context can all influence whether we feel safe to take interpersonal risks.We also explore the relationship between the individual and the system: how do we give people agency without accidentally making them responsible for an unsafe environment?Tom introduces ideas from Human and Organisational Performance, including local rationality, the sharp end and blunt end, and the gap between work-as-imagined and work-as-done. We discuss why people are often the solution rather than the problem, and why understanding the reality of work matters more than simply asking people to follow the process.And, importantly for HUMAN LENS®, we explore the relationship between psychological safety and authenticity. Tom shares why there may be more than one authentic version of ourselves, what it means when a workplace forces us to mask or adapt in ways that don’t feel comfortable, and the surprisingly simple thing leaders can do to help:Slow down.A thoughtful conversation about voice, needs, power, systems, human behaviour and creating workplaces where people can feel safe to be themselves.Tom Geraghty / Psych Safety: psychsafety.com Tom Geraghty’s own site: tomgeraghty.co.uk Authentic Ewe®: authenticewe.com HUMAN LENS®: HUMAN LENS® Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if psychological safety isn’t only something an organisation or leader gives you?In this episode of the Authentic Ewe® Podcast, Penelope Aiken is joined by psychologist, executive coach and bestselling author Dr Adam Dorsay to explore connection, meaning, strengths and a different way of thinking about psychological safety.Adam is the author of Super Psyched: Unleash the Power of the 4 Types of Connection and Live the Life You Love, which explores four areas of human connection: ourselves, other people, the world around us and something greater.Their conversation raises a question at the heart of the developing HUMAN LENS® methodology:Have we focused so heavily on what organisations and leaders should do to create psychological safety that we’ve overlooked the importance of helping individuals understand what they need, meet some of those needs for themselves, and communicate those needs to others?Penelope and Adam explore:why psychological safety is both environmental and internalthe importance of locus of control when circumstances around us feel unsafewhy people need different things in order to feel psychologically safethe relationship between safety, challenge and growthwhy psychological safety needs to be demonstrated and practised, not simply talked abouthow job crafting can create greater meaning and connection to workintrinsic motivation versus external rewardshow VIA Character Strengths can help people understand what matters to themwhy organisations may need to give people a “menu” of possibilities when asking what they need to feel safe, rather than expecting them to know immediatelyIt’s a conversation about giving people greater agency without removing the responsibility organisations and leaders have to create healthy, psychologically safe environments.And it provides an important piece of the research informing HUMAN LENS® — Authentic Ewe’s developing methodology for creating workplaces where people feel safe to be their authentic selves.Learn more about Dr Adam Dorsay:https://dradamdorsay.comExplore Super Psyched:https://dradamdorsay.com/super-psyched-book-page/Listen to Adam’s SuperPsyched podcast and learn more about his work:https://dradamdorsay.comExplore Authentic Ewe®:https://www.authenticewe.comListen to the Authentic Ewe® Podcast:https://shows.acast.com/authentic-ewe-podcastApple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/authentic-ewe-podcast/id1835334323Hosted by Penelope Aiken | Authentic Ewe®HUMAN is what people need. LENS is how we create it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special bonus episode of the Authentic Ewe® Podcast, Penelope Aiken asks Jeffrey Allen two questions at the heart of authenticity and psychological safety:What do you need to feel safe to be your authentic self?And what can you do to help someone else feel safe to be theirs?Jeffrey shares his perspective on self-judgment, unconditional love, compassion and the importance of creating space for other people to be who they are.His reflections offer a powerful reminder that feeling safe to be ourselves often starts with how we relate to ourselves — and how much judgment we bring into our relationships with others.This conversation also connects closely with the thinking behind HUMAN LENS® and its focus on understanding what people need to feel safe to be their authentic selves. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Authentic Ewe, Penelope Aiken is joined by Minette Norman, speaker, author and former tech executive, for a powerful conversation about what it really takes to create workplaces where people feel safe to be their authentic selves.Together, they explore Minette’s five plays for inclusive leadership: communicating courageously, mastering the art of listening, managing your reactions, embracing risk and failure, and designing inclusive rituals. Through the lens of psychological safety, authenticity and human-centred leadership, this conversation asks an important question: what changes when we remember that CEOs, leaders and employees are all human too?Penelope also introduces the HUMAN LENS™ as a way of thinking about the conditions people need in order to feel safe, valued and able to contribute fully at work.This episode is a reminder that leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about listening, staying open, being brave enough to get it wrong, and creating cultures where people can be honest, human and connected.In this episode, we explore:Why courageous communication matters in leadershipHow deep listening creates trust and psychological safetyWhy leaders need to manage their reactions, especially in hard momentsThe role of humour, humility and humanity at workHow risk, failure and inclusion are connectedWhy rituals matter in shaping cultureHow leaders can create workplaces where people feel safe to be their authentic selves Learn more about Minette Norman: https://www.minettenorman.com Connect with Minette on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minettenorman Explore The Psychological Safety Playbook: https://thepsychologicalsafetyplaybook.com/ Explore The Boldly Inclusive Leader: https://www.minettenorman.com/boldlyinclusiveleader Learn more about Authentic Ewe: https://www.authenticewe.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

n this episode of Authentic Ewe, Penelope speaks with Blake Proberts, founder of Acorn PLMS, about why organisational learning is broken and why performance reviews are often “trash”.Together they explore how capability frameworks, clearer role expectations and everyday coaching can turn learning and performance development into something more meaningful, human and useful.This conversation connects strongly with Authentic Ewe’s HUMAN LENS™ framework — showing how psychological safety is built through clarity, purpose, feedback and the everyday conversations that help people feel safe to be their authentic selves at work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Penelope speaks with Beth Rudden, CEO and co-founder of Bast AI and author of AI for the Rest of Us. Beth shares why there is an alternative to black-box AI, why wisdom matters when using AI, and how the best systems should augment humans rather than control them. Together, they explore explainable AI, bias, leadership, values, reciprocity, and why human connection still matters most in an increasingly technological world. A thoughtful conversation about clarity, kindness, power, and what responsible AI really looks like in practice.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Authentic Ewe, Penelope sits down with Dr David Hamilton to explore the powerful science behind kindness, leadership, and emotional contagion.Many workplaces still operate under the assumption that strong leadership means being tough, decisive, and emotionally distant. But what if the real strength of leadership lies somewhere else entirely?Drawing on his background in pharmaceutical research and neuroscience, David explains how our emotions quite literally spread through teams — and why the mood a leader brings into the room can shape everything from stress levels to performance and even organisational results. In this conversation, we explore:Why kindness is not weakness, but a biologically powerful leadership toolThe science of emotional contagion and how leaders set the emotional tone for teamsWhy kindness is actually the physiological opposite of stressHow empathy and connection improve retention, wellbeing and organisational performanceThe role of vulnerability and psychological safety in building high-performing teamsPractical ways leaders can start creating cultures people genuinely want to work inDavid also shares personal insights from his own journey researching the mind-body connection — including how posture, self-belief, and compassion influence not only our mindset but our biology.At its heart, this episode asks a simple but profound question:If leadership is contagious… what are you spreading? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What really drives conflict, silence, burnout, and sudden resignations at work?In this powerful conversation, Benjamin Fry unpacks the story of the nervous system and why so many workplace reactions have nothing to do with performance, capability, or attitude—and everything to do with unfinished threat responses stored in the body.Drawing on ideas from his book The Invisible Lion, Benjamin explains why humans overreact, underreact, freeze, fawn, or suddenly flee workplaces they once loved.Together, we explore:Why workplaces amplify nervous system dysregulation—especially where hierarchy existsThe difference between shutdown vs containment, and why “appropriate reactions” build trustHow boundaries are not about controlling others—but about caring for your own nervous systemWhy psychological safety isn’t about being “nice,” but about feeling safe enough to stay regulatedHow leaders can spot dysregulation in real time—and slow moments down before they escalateWhy listening is often more regulating than anything you can sayBenjamin also explains the origin of the Invisible Lion metaphor—why behaviour only makes sense when we understand the unseen context behind it—and how workplaces can stop leaving people alone with their lions.This episode is essential listening for leaders, HR, OD practitioners, and anyone who wants to build cultures where people don’t just perform—but feel safe enough to stay, speak, and be themselves.Explore Benjamin Fry’s work🌐 Website: https://benjaminfry.co.uk/🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-fry📘 The Invisible Lion (book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1910919246 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Authentic Ewe Podcast, I sit down with Dave Snowden, founder of The Cynefin Company. Dave challenges the mainstream view of psychological safety, framing it not as comfort but as a signal system that reveals risks, patterns, and trust gaps in complex organisations.We explore how leaders can use Cynefin, SenseMaker®, safe-to-fail experiments, and trios to navigate uncertainty and create authentic workplaces where people can thrive.Links: Cynefin resources | Cynefin framework | SenseMaker® subscription | Premium Membership | Dave Snowden on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.