The Sticky From The Inside Podcast

Integrity. Innovation. Excellence. Collaboration. Sound familiar?

Company values can be powerful, but too often they're just a collection of impressive-sounding words that tell employees very little about what actually matters. So what makes a value useful? How do you turn a belief into behaviour? And what happens when someone important doesn't live up to it?

Andy Goram is joined by Hope Collins, founder of Hope Collins Advisory and creator of The Commitments, to explore why organisational values so often fail to influence everyday decisions and behaviour. They discuss the case for distinctive values, the difference between aspirations and commitments, and why the real test of any organisation's beliefs comes when somebody crosses the line. Including the top performer who delivers the numbers but damages the culture, and the senior leader who expects accountability from everybody else.

If your organisation has values, this conversation might make you question what they're actually doing for you.

Key Takeaways

Values should help you make decisions, not just make statements. If they don't influence the choices an organisation makes, particularly difficult ones, their practical value is questionable.

Clarity makes behaviour easier to challenge. Explicit commitments reduce the room for competing interpretations and help people understand what is expected.

Your biggest performers don't get a free pass. The credibility of a commitment is tested when somebody delivering strong commercial results behaves in ways the organisation says are unacceptable.

Accountability must travel in both directions. Leaders need to demonstrate that they can acknowledge their own mistakes and accept constructive challenge, rather than simply demand better behaviour from others.

Key Moments
The key moments in this episode are:

00:00 Welcome to Sticky From The Inside
01:11 Why Company Values Frustrate Me
05:25 Would You Admit That Profit Really Matters?
08:31 Should Values Describe Who We Are or Who We Want to Be?
11:57 Where Do Meaningful Values Come From?
16:40 The Problem With Assuming We All Mean the Same Thing
19:10 From Good Intentions to Real Commitments
23:27 Why Not Just Do Values Better?
29:39 Where Do You Draw the Line?
30:11 Does Your Biggest Performer Get a Free Pass?
33:58 Can Accountability Really Travel Upwards?
39:26 How Do You Stop Values Becoming Another Failed Launch?
41:22 Hope's Three Sticky Notes
42:39 Progress, Not Perfection

Join The Conversation

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Visit Andy's website Bizjuicer.comhere
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Useful Links
Follow Hope on LinkedIn
Full Episode Transcript

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Who’s choosing the state you’re in?

When the ground moved beneath Deri Llewellyn-Davies on Everest, his response drew on years of practice. In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram explores what that experience can teach us about how we respond to pressure, and how much of our everyday state we leave to habit, technology and other people’s demands.

Deri introduces Ultra States and the six states explored in the conversation: flow, focus, peak, recovery, reboot and connection. Together, they examine how to regain agency in manageable steps, prepare for what a situation needs and make space to transition between tasks.

They also explore why purpose gives our choices direction, why recovery belongs in the performance plan, and how leaders influence the conditions in which their teams can exercise choice.

Key Takeaways

Recognise the hijack. Notice when demands, distractions and unhelpful habits are determining how you show up.

Reclaim your agency. Start small: protect part of your morning, reclaim time for focused work, or bring deliberate intent to a conversation.

Choose your state, practise the shift. Consider what the next situation needs, then build your ability to access that state rather than carrying the previous one forward.

Give your choices purpose, and your performance recovery. Let what matters guide your effort, and build in the recovery that helps you remain able to focus, perform and connect.

Key Moments
The key moments in this episode are:

00:00 Welcome to Sticky From The Inside
01:10 When the plan disappears and the state takes over
03:49 Meet Der Llewellyn-Davies
04:49 When the mountain moved
09:18 What training makes possible
12:07 Bringing pressure into the boardroom
15:09 What state are we actually in
18:57 The state that enters the room with you
21:25 More than one way to perform
24:45 Why recovery belongs in the plan
28:15 Being there and being present
30:39 How the gaps disappeared
36:33 Taking your agency back
38:47 What does the next moment need
40:59 Learning to shift between states
43:46 Giving your choices purpose
48:21 Purpose agency and recovery
49:43 Exploring Ultra States further

Join The Conversation

Follow Andy Goram on LinkedIn
Visit Andy's website Bizjuicer.comhere
Listen to Sticky From The Inside on YouTube
Follow Sticky From The Inside on Instagram
Follow Sticky From The Inside on X
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Check out the Bizjuicer blog

Useful Links
Follow Deri on LinkedIn
Visit ultra-states.com
Full Episode Transcript

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Employment law is changing. But the bigger question is whether your leadership is ready.

The biggest changes to UK employment law in a generation are placing greater responsibility on organisations to manage people fairly, consistently and confidently. But while many businesses are busy reviewing contracts and updating policies, are they asking the most important question of all?

Have we equipped our managers to lead?

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram is joined by Aliya Vigor-Robertson, Founder of JourneyHR, to explore why the new legislation isn't simply an HR issue, it's a leadership capability challenge.

Together they discuss what the Employment Rights reforms mean in practice, why poor management has always been expensive (and is about to become even more so), and why investing in managers may now be one of the smartest commercial decisions an organisation can make.

The conversation goes far beyond legal compliance, exploring why performance management should never begin when things go wrong, the difference between being nice and being kind, and why HR can advise, but managers must lead.

Whether you're a CEO, HR professional, business owner or line manager, this episode offers practical insight into building workplaces where people perform, grow and thrive.

Key Takeaways

The law isn't creating a leadership problem. It's exposing one. The new legislation simply raises the consequences of poor management that many organisations have tolerated for years.

Compliance doesn't create capability. Policies matter, but it's confident, capable managers who build trust, handle difficult conversations and create high-performing teams.

HR can advise. Managers must lead. HR provides the framework, but every day-to-day conversation that shapes culture belongs to leaders and managers.

Clarity is kindness when it arrives early enough to make a difference. The earlier managers tackle difficult conversations with honesty and care, the more likely they are to help people improve rather than create bigger problems later.

Key Moments
The key moments in this episode are:

01:38 – If Every Management Decision Went to Tribunal, How Confident Would You Be?
05:37 – HR’s Real Role: Turning Employment Law Into Good People Practice
08:04 – Employment Law Is Catching Up With Good Employers
09:13 – The Big Changes: Six-Month Protection and Uncapped Awards
15:07 – This Isn’t a Policy Exercise. It’s a Behavioural One
15:58 – Why Managers Now Need to Manage Properly From Day One
19:34 – Performance Management Isn’t Just for When Things Go Wrong
22:21 – HR Can Build the Rails. Managers Have to Drive the Train
24:09 – Kind, Not Nice: Why Avoiding the Conversation Helps Nobody
27:06 – Why Do We Still Treat Management Like an Intuitive Skill?
28:43 – The Cost of Poor Management Just Got Much More Real
34:36 – Why Leadership Development Can’t Be a Two-Day Fix
38:17 – Behaviour Only Matters When It’s Linked to Business Performance
39:49 – The Human Cost of Handling Workplace Complaints Badly
42:29 – Sticky Notes: Audit Behaviour, Act Earlier and Treat Management as a Profession

Join The Conversation

Follow Andy Goram on LinkedIn
Visit Andy's website Bizjuicer.comhere
Listen to Sticky From The Inside on YouTube
Follow Sticky From The Inside on Instagram
Follow Sticky From The Inside on X
Follow Sticky From The Inside on Facebook
Check out the Bizjuicer blog

Useful Links
Follow Aliya Vigor-Robertson on LinkedIn
Visit journeyhr.com
Full Episode Transcript

Get the full episode transcript

Why can good leadership go bad when we already know so much about what works?

In this episode, Andy Goram is joined by psychotherapist and leadership researcher Dr Amar Dhall to explore what happens when leadership, power, pressure and human psychology collide.

Amar introduces a powerful distinction between capability, what a leader is able to do, and capacity, their ability to access those capabilities when it really matters. From there, Andy and Amar explore why behaviours that once made us successful can become overplayed, why leaders can become increasingly certain under stress, and how genuine care can tip into the Superhero or Rescuer role.

They also discuss the hidden effects of power, why technical expertise doesn't automatically translate into relational leadership, and Amar's memorable proposition that leadership is like dancing: you can know everything about the steps and still struggle on the dance floor.

The conversation finishes with practical reflections on curiosity, self-awareness and the possibility that the next stage of your leadership might require less effort rather than more.

Key Takeaways

Good leadership can fail when capacity drops. Knowing how to coach, delegate or create safety is not the same as being able to access those behaviours when pressure is high.

Your strengths can become liabilities through overuse. Responsibility can become over-carrying, confidence can harden into certainty, and helping can become Rescuing.

Power changes the room, even when your intentions are good. Leaders need to recognise that challenge feels different when one person holds more authority, status and consequence than the other.

The next step may require less, not more. More effort, more control and more knowledge are not always the answer; reflection, curiosity and the ability to let go can be part of mature leadership.

Key Moments
The key moments in this episode are:

01:11 – Why Do We Still See So Much Shitty Leadership?
04:53 – Capability vs Capacity: Knowing Isn't the Same as Accessing
06:23 – When Responsibility Becomes Over-Responsibility
08:31 – How Our Strengths Can Turn Into Their Opposites
11:57 – Why Stress Can Make Certainty Feel So Convincing
13:34 – What Does Power Actually Do to Us?
18:46 – When Accumulating More Becomes the Leadership Trap
21:13 – When Leaders Learn to Use Pressure as Fuel
27:02 – The Superhero Reflex: When Helping Becomes Rescuing
31:55 – Leadership Is Like Dancing: Why Knowledge Isn't Enough
36:44 – Power, Challenge and the Illusion of an Open Culture
40:39 – From Knowing Better to Doing Better: Curiosity, Reflection and Sticky Notes

Join The Conversation

Find Andy Goram on LinkedIn here
Listen to the Podcast on YouTube here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Follow the Podcast on Facebook here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Get a free consultation with Andy here
Check out the Bizjuicer blog here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Follow Amar Dhall on LinkedIn here
Find Amar's website here
Follow Amar on Facebook here
Follow Amar on Instagram here
Take Amar's Pressure Assessment here
Full Episode Transcript

Get the full transcript of the episode here

What if some of the effort you're putting into being a “good leader” is actually making leadership harder?

In this episode of Sticky From The Inside, Andy Goram talks with former RAF pilot, executive coach and Free to Lead author Will Steel about leadership identity, pressure, internal narratives and the mental capacity leaders can lose when they're busy trying to be who they think they're supposed to be.

Drawing on stories from Will's childhood, RAF officer training, flying career and coaching work, the conversation explores why “be yourself” may be good advice but is much harder than it sounds, particularly when old beliefs, external expectations and the voice in your own head all feel completely real.

They also explore what happens under pressure, how separating circumstances from interpretation can create greater choice, and why becoming free to lead may require both self-awareness and discipline.

A conversation about who you're being, what's driving it, and whether it's leaving enough capacity to lead what's actually in front of you.

Key Takeaways

Your leadership identity can consume capacity. The more energy you spend managing how you lead, the less you have for what's in front of you.

“Be yourself” is harder than it sounds. Old beliefs, expectations and internal narratives can shape who you're being without you realising it.

Pressure can make interpretation feel like fact. Separating what's happening from the story in your head creates more room to choose your response.

Freedom to lead takes practice. Self-awareness isn't a one-off insight; noticing what's running you and choosing differently is an ongoing discipline.

Key Moments
The key moments in this episode are:

01:11 – Could the Leader You're Trying to Be Be Getting in the Way?
03:09 – From RAF Pilot to Transformational Coach
06:38 – What Happened and What Did You Make It Mean?
10:09 – When Hidden Beliefs Become the Lid on Growth
12:53 – What Does It Actually Mean to Be a Leader?
16:11 – What Changed When Will Stopped Trying to Fit the Leadership Mould?
18:03 – Why Leadership Needs Spare Capacity
20:23 – Are Your Thoughts, Feelings and Identity Really “You”?
25:40 – Creating a Context That Changes How You Meet the Moment
30:25 – What Is Pressure Actually Doing to Us?
33:21 – From Overwhelm to What's Actually in Front of You
38:32 – Free to Lead: Clearing Space to Choose Who You're Being
41:21 – Sticky Notes: Schedule It, Do What You Said and Choose the Context

Join The Conversation

Find Andy Goram on LinkedIn here
Listen to the Podcast on YouTube here
Follow the Podcast on Instagram here
Follow the Podcast on Twitter here
Follow the Podcast on Facebook here
Check out the Bizjuicer website here
Get a free consultation with Andy here
Check out the Bizjuicer blog here
Download the podcast here
Useful Links
Follow Will Steel on LinkedIn here
Find Will's website here
Full Episode Transcript

Get the full transcript of the episode here