How to ensure your 2026 HR priorities are business-led
This guide explores how to build your 2026 priorities by starting with what keeps your business leaders awake at night – not with HR’s favourite frameworks.
Hiring executive leaders in the US: What foreign companies need to know
If you’re organisation is looking to break into the US market, securing a strong leadership team in America is essential. Without external recruitment support, you risk making a bad hire and delaying your expansion. Thomas Lore from Pact and Partners highlights the complexities of hiring US executives and how a smart search partner can help you navigate the confusing world of compliance, pay and employer rules.
Restoration strategies for those who really need it: A guide to finding rest in the age of exhaustion
Too drained to even think about rest? Executive and leadership coach Karen Liebenguth presents four neuroscience-backed strategies for finding restoration when you need it most – from tiny daily habits that rebalance your nervous system to culture-shifting practices that make rest a non-negotiable.
2025 in review: Did the HR pros get it right?
At the start of 2025, we asked 10 people and culture experts to share their work predictions for the year ahead. With December almost here, they’ve returned to assess their forecasts and reflect on how the world of work has changed – for better or worse – over the past year.
A new People and Culture Function for 2026: In conversation with David Liddle, The TCM Group
Is your HR function stuck in a cycle of risk mitigation and retribution? David Liddle, CEO of The TCM Group, argues it’s time for a radical shift. In this Culture Pioneers conversation, he reveals how transforming HR into a strategic People and Culture function can unlock high performance and make you the trusted partner your organisation needs.
Polymorphic organisations: The next evolution of people-centric design
What if your company could shift shape as quickly as the world around it? Here, Perry Timms and Kirsten Buck of PTHR introduce the polymorphic organisation – a living system that adapts to multiple forms based on context – and why HR’s role must evolve from maintaining order to orchestrating continuous transformation.
The perfect storm: Middle-aged men, AI disruption and mental health
Men aged 45–49 have the highest suicide rate in the UK, and many now watch AI tools replicate expertise they spent decades building – all while shouldering peak financial pressures. Thom Dennis, CEO of Serenity in Leadership, explains why generic wellbeing initiatives aren’t working, and what you need to do differently this Movember.
Autonomy vs authority: Finding the balance that works
How much freedom should you give your team, and when do they need clear direction? Too much control stifles creativity and breeds resentment. Too little structure leaves people floundering. Internationally renowned conflict specialist Jane Gunn explores what happens when organisations sway too far in one direction – and shows you how to get the balance right for your team.
Black History Month: Polite inclusion at work is keeping people comfortable
As Black History Month celebrations draw to a close, what does your organisation do next? Put the work into designing real inclusion, or shut down the campaign until next year and maintain an air of ‘polite inclusion’? Judith Germain of The Maverick Paradox invites you to reflect honestly on your organisation’s approach, and offers strategies for redesigning systems that merely present an illusion of progress.
How to drive culture change when your boss doesn’t want to
Senior leaders now widely recognise the strategic value of workplace culture. But not all bosses embrace the challenge of changing a problematic one. Ella Overshott, Director of Pecan Partnership, outlines the reasons why so many resist or ignore the problem, and how you can overcome (or divert) their defiance.
Are we really facing a leadership crisis. Or is Gen Z simply changing the rules?
Rather than rejecting leadership, Gen Z is reshaping it, argues Barbara Matthews, Chief People Officer at Remote. Here, she challenges outdated models and pushes companies to reimagine leadership as flexible, authentic, and aligned with values.
The games at play in your company’s culture – and how to stop them
Since Eric Berne’s groundbreaking book Games People Play, leaders are more aware of the unconscious dynamics that influence the way people work together. In today’s context of hybrid working, multi-cultural teams and AI, are games still at play? If so, how do we spot them and what can we do about them? Ella Overshott, Partner at Pecan Partnership, examines these questions below.
Rethink performance: How overdone strengths cause teams to fail
The usual narrative on performance fails to account for the contexts in which people work, and results in unnecessary conflict and blame. Quentin Millington of Marble Brook looks beyond ‘development areas’ toward ‘overdone strengths’, to reveal how HR can shift the conversation for the benefit of all.
The QUIET Listening Framework: Talk less to achieve more
We’re conditioned to think influence comes from pushing our views. By choosing to be QUIET, we can transform the way that we lead.
Age discrimination or a polarising world? Four ways to tackle distrust and misinformation at work
A recent survey shows 90% of older workers experience workplace ageism, but other research reveals fear of discrimination spans all demographics. The real culprit? Growing societal polarisation, warns Blaire Palmer, CEO of That People Thing. Here, she outlines how to tackle this through transparency, bias awareness, and fostering cross-generational collaboration.
Interview: How Tesla’s former DEI director, Kristen Kavanaugh, chose courage over fear
Courageous leadership isn’t about saving the day. It’s about taking small steps to stand up for your beliefs, when retreating would be easier. In an interview with HRZone, Kristen Kavanaugh, former DEI director of Tesla, reveals her journey to resilience, her proudest moments at the automotive company, and how courageous leaders can respond to corporate pullbacks from DEI.
Five psychological safety challenges for hybrid workplaces
Building psychological safety is a complex venture for any organisation. But the very nature of hybrid work makes it even more difficult to foster. Here, Jacqueline Towers of Hubstar presents five common barriers to speak-up cultures in hybrid settings – and how to remove these through small changes to everyday behaviours.
Beyond the strategy deck: How HR can turn sustainability promises into action
Your sustainability strategy looks impressive, but are your people systems actually delivering change? Professor Matthew Gitsham from Hult International Business School explores the critical disconnect between organisational promises and performance – and shows you exactly how HR can bridge that gap through culture, capability, and leadership transformation.
Return to office: How not to upset almost everyone
With return-to-office (RTO) mandates back in the news, Quentin Millington of Marble Brook explains why there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy for where to work. Here, he outlines eight questions HR leaders can pose to their organisations to encourage meaningful thinking, rapid decisions and practical action.
The science behind what makes or breaks a team
Teams don’t fail because they lack talent – they fail because of invisible choices made every day. From the split-second decision to speak up or stay silent, to whether someone steps forward or holds back. Here, Perry Timms and Kirsten Buck of PTHR reveal the science behind what really drives team success.