PODCAST · business
Your 12 minute HR lesson
by Dr Damian Treanor, Pragmatic HRM
Need to know more to be a great HR professional? Want to know more about managing people? Are people problems like complex calculus to you? These short lessons help you think about get the best out of your people, and be the best you can be.This content does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, please consult a qualified professional. © 2025 Auburn Chambers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Episodes
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Turning toxics
An employment relationship can turn toxic; can we bring it back?
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Watercooler 4: saying the wrong thing
Lucy and I discuss the manager's greatest fear- saying the wrong thing, which once said, can't be unsaid.
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Learning to do is hard
Why knowing is easy, doing is harder.
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Watercooler episode: settlements
Lucy and I chat about when and how to try and amicably settle.
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Corporate star signs
It sounds right, it feels like good data, but can it be relied upon?
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Starting well
There's nothing better than a good start, or more specifically, there's nothing worse than a bad start.
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The autonomy agreement
Everyone wants autonomy in their job, managers want confidence in their reports, but we rarely openly discuss this. So how are these agreements reached?
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Watercooler- When to jump in
Managers can jump in- fix, solve, answer, take over. But when? Find Jason at https://www.jasonbiggs.nz/ Find Damian at https://www.pragmatichrm.nz/
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The lost art of listening (part 2)
Listening is such an important skill, we need to do more on this.
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Money illusion
I look at the cognitive bias that makes us instinctively see a bigger number as better, even when it's real value hasn't improved. For HR professionals, understanding this can help explain why the same pay increase can be received very differently depending on inflation and the cost of living.
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Watercooler: Should managers be liked?
This is a water-cooler chat with my guest, Jason Biggs. This week, we talk about whether, when, and when not, managers should try to be liked.
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Spinning plates
A good way to understand what managers are juggling (and what they do to cope)
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HR as PR
Let's rethink the mode we defaulted into.
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Letters to fish
Why do fish need letters? Because they are in a new pond. The rules for the old pond don't work here, so we spell it out to them. And now they know.
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Odd couples
Why do different people work together? Why Kevin Hart and the Rock? Mark Wahlberg and Will Farrell? Laurel and Hardie? Jackic Chan and Chris Tucker/Owen Wilson? Magic comes from contrast- so let's over-analyse why.
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Handling banter
Everyone loves a chat and loves a joke, and many like a bit of spice on their humour. But how much is too much, too ribald, too spicy? How do we keep the humour without reducing everything to bland?
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The grandma test
How should we treat people? How do you want others to treat - not you- but those you protect the most.
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The double spenders of good work
How to handle past glory livers, the laurel resters, the coasters of wins. What to do about people who keep spend the same good credit again and again.
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Schrodinger's Representative
The employee is bringing someone with them. Who are they, and what type of person will they be? This episode we talk about the unknown variable of the representative.
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Offering settlements
"How about.... instead of this process.... we talk about a deal". Legally, this can be hard, or maybe easy. BUT- laws aside, it's a pandora's box, you can't walk it back and pretend you didn't say that. It's tricky, so let's talk it through.
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Redemption Arcs
In chapters, we talked about how people have history, old chapters. In this question, we talk about whether someone can turn over a new leaf?
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Hanlon's Razor
The greatest rule of thumb for explaining why people do they they shouldn't. People are dumb before they are cruel. Curious? have a listen.
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Fortnight
In Taylor Swift's song Fortnight, did her character also commit infidelity? Or am I reading too much in? Suburban boredom and frustrated love is not a standard pop music topic, but Taylor did it anyway, which is worth respectful consideration. In this episode, I talk about how "The most powerful...
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I would prefer not
This episode explores the philosophical idea that most people work not because they are deeply engaged, but because employment is a practical exchange. Drawing on a concept popularised by Slavoj Žižek—"I would prefer not to"—the discussion argues that the opposite of engagement is often not...
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Ambushes
Workplace ambushes occur when managers bring employees into conversations or investigations without adequately informing them of the issues being discussed, leaving them surprised and unprepared. While there can be a temptation to catch people off guard in the hope of getting more candid answers,...
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Chapters
This episode explores whether a person’s past should define their future, particularly in workplace decisions involving criminal convictions and trust. Using the idea of “chapters of life,” it examines how time, growth, maturity, and the nature of past behaviour shape whether someone has…
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Playing with Jacks
This episode explores “advanced ER” — situations where employers must sometimes act despite limited evidence. Using a World War II analogy about German U-boats misreading Allied tactics, it examines disciplinary strategy, anticipating responses, and why waiting for perfect proof can leave harmful...
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Popping personal bubbles of reality
How employees can create personal “versions of reality” in workplace conflicts, particularly around performance and conduct issues. Drawing parallels with broader social narratives and online echo chambers, it argues people sometimes shape facts around preferred beliefs instead of evidence. We...
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Avoiding lose-lose situations
This article examines “lose-lose” situations in workplaces through the lens of tragedy and difficult decision-making. Drawing on Romeo + Juliet, it argues that damaging employment outcomes often arise when people harden their positions and leave no room for compromise. Leaders may not control...
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Heating up & cooling down others
We explore the importance of managing conflict before it escalates. Using the extraordinary restraint shown by Vasili Arkhipov and Stanislav Petrov during the Cold War, it highlights the power of choosing the right action over the expected one. The lesson for the workplace is clear—conflict is...
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Limp norms
This episode explores the often-overlooked role of workplace norms—those unwritten rules that sit between formal law and policy. Using the example of raising your voice at work, it highlights how expectations vary in rigidity and enforcement, and how HR professionals must constantly judge when to...
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Thinking about others
People care more about what they think is important than what you think should matter to them. In HR, the mistake is prioritising internal initiatives before solving the problems the business actually cares about.
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Go to the mountain
The concept of “management by walking around” encourages leaders to leave their offices and spend time observing and engaging with people on the floor. OFor HR, the goal is slightly different: being visible and accessible so managers can raise issues early before they escalate into bigger…
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Anticipating employee strategies
In disciplinary situations where an employer raises concerns about misconduct, employees typically respond in one of three ways: “kiss the ring,” “fight the fight,” or “split the difference.” Ultimately, disciplinary decisions are less about punishment and more about whether the employer can...
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Body cams
Police body-cam footage shows how trained officers manage conflict by calmly asserting authority, clearly outlining expectations, and signposting consequences. They also show us how poor management of situations can lead to escalation that no one wins from. The lesson for workplaces: restore…
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4 to the floor
“Stick to message” is a powerful leadership skill, especially in conflict. It prevents conversations being derailed by “whatabout” arguments and keeps accountability clear. But control without listening fails. Like a four-on-the-floor drumbeat, leaders must be steady and consistent — then pause…
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Fear of outside our control
Why do managers (and HR) often feel anxious when dealing with union representatives or others from outside of the workplace, or outside their control? Are we used to only having to listen to our own voices, our own priorities, our own version of the truth?
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Moving problems
Like the “found family” trope from films, workplaces are where people form new gangs, new groups, new familites. But sometimes......the piece explores a common HR dilemma: when someone isn’t working out, are we helping them find the right fit, or simply moving the problem?
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Squeaky wheels
Using the parable of the prodigal son, we explore the workplace dynamic of “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” The younger son demands his inheritance early, squanders it, yet is welcomed back and celebrated by his father, while the dutiful older brother feels the deep injustice of being...
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Calm, hard, Words
This episode of the 12 Minute HR Podcast uses Tim Minchin’s song Come Home (Cardinal Pell) to explore how difficult truths can be delivered calmly and effectively without emotional padding or aggression.
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Special Episode: AI: Spade or Subcontractor?
We’re living through a step change with AI, much like when platforms such as Facebook suddenly became universal after years of quiet development. The key issue isn’t the technology itself but how we use it: AI can be a powerful tool — like upgrading from a shovel to a digger — that makes us…
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Why emails are bad
Email is not true communication — it is only evidence that something was sent. We use examples from history and communication theory, the talk explains that communication only occurs when the idea in the sender’s mind is clearly understood in the receiver’s mind, which email alone cannot…
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The lost art of listening
This lesson explores why listening is a complex but essential skill at work, arguing that many people struggle either because they’re distracted or because they listen with an agenda rather than to understand. It frames listening as an “art” rather than a formula and offers a practical model—X +…
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Lax to strict
This episode explores why moving people from a period of lax rules to stricter expectations is one of the hardest challenges in people management. Using analogies from war and the film Inception, the host explains that real change doesn’t come from coercion but from internalisation—getting…
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Simple Solutions Suck
This episode argues against “sugary” learning in HR and leadership—catchy slogans and simplistic insights that feel good but don’t actually change behaviour. Using stand-up comedy as a metaphor, we contrasts cheap, stereotype-driven laughs with the kind of complex, nuanced thinking that takes…
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Magic words
I explore the idea of “magic words” — phrases we treat as if they instantly change a situation — and why leaders shouldn’t fall for them. Drawing on fantasy stories where magic requires rules, triggers, and consequences, I explain how certain workplace words like please, sorry, and work-life...
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Riding shotgun on risky decisions
This episode delivers a practical HR lesson on decision-making, arguing that HR’s role is not to make decisions but to ensure decisions are made well by identifying risks and variables. It distinguishes bad decisions from risky ones, explaining that a bad decision is not simply one with a poor...
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Flawed mentors
This week we talk about the “flawed mentor” — that Gandalf/Dumbledore/Merlin figure who guides us… until the moment their limitations show us it’s time to grow up and step out on our own. Then we flip that archetype onto real-world management. Why do the models that help new managers eventually...
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P&C or HR?
This episode examines how hype often outpaces reality in business, using WeWork, Bodega Boxes, and Theranos as examples of ideas that generated enormous buzz but couldn’t deliver on their promises, then applies Gartner’s hype cycle to show how new concepts move from excitement to disappointment...
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I can't explain fast car
In this episode, I weave together a story about two five-year-olds, Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car, and the Dunning–Kruger effect to explore why some people feel and understand things they can’t yet explain—and why, in the workplace, we so often mistake confidence for competence. From the beauty of a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Need to know more to be a great HR professional? Want to know more about managing people? Are people problems like complex calculus to you? These short lessons help you think about get the best out of your people, and be the best you can be.This content does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, please consult a qualified professional. © 2025 Auburn Chambers Ltd. All rights reserved.
HOSTED BY
Dr Damian Treanor, Pragmatic HRM
CATEGORIES
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Need to know more to be a great HR professional? Want to know more about managing people? Are people problems like complex calculus to you? These short lessons help you think about get the best out of your people, and be the best you can be.This content does not constitute legal advice. For advice...
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Your 12 minute HR lesson is created and hosted by Dr Damian Treanor, Pragmatic HRM.
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