Monday May 25, 2026

E25 - Stop helping people - with Lorna Bains

This week, Dean Corbett and Sue O’Callaghan are joined by leadership consultant and former CPO Lorna Baines for one of the most honest conversations we’ve had yet about leadership, HR and organisational reality. Together, we explore:

  • Why “helpful HR” may actually be holding the profession back
  • The difference between being nice and being kind
  • Why psychological safety is not the absence of difficult conversations
  • Leadership ego, narcissism and organisational dysfunction
  • Why most leadership development programmes fail
  • The power of facilitation over hero leadership
  • Collective leadership and “Total Football”
  • HR’s role as truth teller, coach and systems thinker
  • The loneliness of HR work
  • Imposter syndrome, anxiety and corporate survival
  • AI, uncertainty and the future capability requirements of HR
  • Why culture is far more than values on a mug

A deeply human conversation about leadership, courage, honesty and what modern people work now demands from all of us. Topics include leadership, culture, organisational systems, psychological safety, AI, HR strategy, facilitation, emotional intelligence, business transformation and the future of people leadership.

As she says, Lorna is available on LinkedIn.

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