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Ep 191: When leadership development goes wrong

My Pocket Psych

Release Date: 07/30/2025

Ep 198: Self-care for leaders (and everyone else!) show art Ep 198: Self-care for leaders (and everyone else!)

My Pocket Psych

In this episode, Richard is joined by colleague and fellow psychologist Ross McIntosh for a discussion about the importance of self-care for leaders. Given the tough roles leaders occupy, maintaining a focus on their wellbeing is key. Richard and Ross look at common misunderstandings about self-care and why it's not all glasses of wine in luxurious bubble baths! They also explain its relevance of leadership effectiveness, why it's so hard to consider our future selves, and how self-care is different to coping. Join us for our next episode, when we'll build on these concepts and explain how to...

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My Pocket Psych

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Ep 194: How to get the most from your leadership development programme show art Ep 194: How to get the most from your leadership development programme

My Pocket Psych

And we're back! After a break to enjoy my summer holiday in Japan, My Pocket Psych is back with a focus on how to get the most from your involvement in a leadership development programme.  We look at the importance of four key factors: mindset, engagement, reflection and application. These include your own thoughts and beliefs about development, the extent to which you get 'stuck in' to the programme, how you reflect on your development journey and how you put what you've learnt into practice. This epsiode is part of our Sustainable Leadership series and you can find out more about this...

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Ep 193: Taking my own medicine show art Ep 193: Taking my own medicine

My Pocket Psych

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Ep 192: Threats to leaders' wellbeing show art Ep 192: Threats to leaders' wellbeing

My Pocket Psych

In this episode, I take a look at some of the ways leaders' wellbeing is challenged. Stressors from the role of leadership, the culture of the organisation and from within the leader him/herself can combine to make the job much more difficult than it needs to be.  I look at some of the sources of these difficulties and explore one in particular: the various ways that business travel can erode leaders' wellbeing.  This is part of our series on 'Sustainable Leadership' and you can find all the resources that support it on our website at worklifepsych.com/sustainableleadership 

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Ep 191: When leadership development goes wrong show art Ep 191: When leadership development goes wrong

My Pocket Psych

In this episode, as part of our Sustainable Leadership series, Richard explores some of the many ways that leadership development activities can fail to deliver.  While it's often one of the most important people development investments an organisation can make, the results can fall of short of expectations for a variety of reasons. From a lack of evidence, over-reliance on fads, and use of 'motivational speakers', through to avoiding any kind of evaluation. Let us know what you think about the leadership development you've experienced, or have been responsible for - we love to hear from...

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Ep 190: Burnout - recognition and recovery show art Ep 190: Burnout - recognition and recovery

My Pocket Psych

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Ep 189: Burnout - signs and symptoms with Dr. Richard Duggins show art Ep 189: Burnout - signs and symptoms with Dr. Richard Duggins

My Pocket Psych

In this episode of our 'Sustainable Leadership' series, we explore the antithesis of sustainable work: professional burnout.  Richard is joined by Dr. Richard Duggins, consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist, who is known as the 'Doctor's Doctor' due to his work with physicians experiencing burnout in the NHS. His recent book 'Burnout-free working' explores the topic in detail, demystifying burnout and explaining how recovery is possible.  In this first part of a two-part interview, we establish what burnout actually is, explore the 'burnout cliff' concept, learn about the role...

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More Episodes

In this episode, as part of our Sustainable Leadership series, Richard explores some of the many ways that leadership development activities can fail to deliver. 

While it's often one of the most important people development investments an organisation can make, the results can fall of short of expectations for a variety of reasons. From a lack of evidence, over-reliance on fads, and use of 'motivational speakers', through to avoiding any kind of evaluation.

Let us know what you think about the leadership development you've experienced, or have been responsible for - we love to hear from listeners. Email us your questions and reflections at 'podcast at worklifepsych dot com'.

Thanks for listening!

Resources for this episode