Claim OwnershipThe Chief Psychology Officer
Subscribed: 72Played: 684
Subscribe
© 2025 The Chief Psychology Officer
Description
Exploring the topics of workplace psychology and conscious leadership. Amanda is an award-winning Chartered Psychologist, with vast amounts of experience in talent strategy, resilience, facilitation, development and executive coaching. A Fellow of the Association for Business Psychology and an Associate Fellow of the Division of Occupational Psychology within the British Psychological Society (BPS), Amanda is also a Chartered Scientist. Amanda is a founder CEO of Zircon and is an expert in leadership in crisis, resilience and has led a number of research papers on the subject; most recently Psychological Safety in 2022 and Resilience and Decision-making in 2020. With over 20 years’ experience on aligning businesses’ talent strategy with their organizational strategy and objectives, Amanda has had a significant impact on the talent and HR strategies of many global organizations, and on the lives of many significant and prominent leaders in industry. Dr Amanda Potter can be contacted on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amandapotterzircon www.theCPO.co.uk
87 Episodes
Reverse
Send us a text Complexity is rising, expectations are colliding, and the old playbook is running out of pages. We sit down with author and applied researcher Amy Walters Cohen to unpack the core idea behind her book Ruthlessly Caring to understand how leaders can deliver more value when they replace either-or choices with both-and mindsets that match today’s messy reality. We start by mapping the megatrends shaping work for example, ageing populations, climate pressure, AI, regulatory shifts...
Send us a text Resilience emerges from the most unthinkable circumstances in this powerful conversation with Figen Murray OBE, whose son Martyn was killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. What follows is an extraordinary story of transformation through grief, forgiveness, and purpose-driven advocacy. Figen shares the raw reality of how her life changed in "the split second it took for a suicide bomber to detonate a bomb" - not just losing her son, but also her identity as a psychotherap...
Send us a text Ever pushed yourself to work through illness or stayed late just to be present at work and be seen? Your brain might be paying a devastating price. Presenteeism, means showing up physically but functioning below capacity due to illness, injury, or simply staying longer than necessary. This costs UK businesses a staggering £100 billion annually. Yet unlike absenteeism, it remains largely unmeasured and unaddressed in most organisations. The neuroscience reveals why this matter...
Send us a text What if the 360 feedback you're receiving is more a reflection of human cognitive shortcuts than your actual performance? In this illuminating conversation, Dr. Amanda Potter—recently named Association of Business Psychologists Practitioner of the Year 2024—takes us behind the scenes of 360 assessments to reveal the hidden biases that distort results and undermine effectiveness. Our brains evolved to make quick judgements for survival, but these same mechanisms now create sign...
Send us a text Psychological Safety isn't merely a workplace buzzword—it's the foundation for innovation, authentic collaboration, and organizational success. In this compelling revisit to one of our most downloaded episodes, Dr. Amanda Potter and Psychologist Caitlin Cooper explore how our understanding of psychological safety has evolved dramatically since 2020. We dive deep into what psychological safety truly is, the sense of security to learn, contribute, take risks and challenge withou...
Send us a text Resolving workplace conflict requires more than good intentions—it demands psychological safety. In our latest episode, we explore this powerful intersection with Alex Myers, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist, coach, and mediator who's transforming how organisations handle workplace disputes. Alex shares her journey implementing psychological safety principles at Jewish Care, where the impact has been transformative. What began as executive leadership training has cascaded...
Send us a text What if everything you thought you knew about identifying potential in your team was based on flawed assumptions? In this thought-provoking conversation with Adam Wheelwright, Chief Technology Officer at IG Group, we challenge conventional wisdom around talent assessment and high-performance cultures. Drawing from his 30 years of experience in financial services and technology leadership, Adam reveals why the search for simplistic models of potential fundamentally misund...
Send us a text Episodes are available here https://www.thecpo.co.uk/ To follow Zircon on LinkedIn and to be first to hear about podcasts, publications and news, please like and follow us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/betalent-by-zircon/ To access the research white papers mentioned in this and other podcasts, please go to: https://www.betalent.com/research For more information about the BeTalent suite of tools and platform please contact: Hello@BeTalent.com
Send us a text What happens in your brain when faced with complex choices? The average person makes 35,000 decisions daily, from trivial selections to career-defining judgments – yet a shocking 99.5% of leaders have never received formal training in decision-making. Leadership coach Jon Bircher joins Dr. Amanda Potter to unpack the psychology and neuroscience behind effective decision-making at the executive level. With decades of leadership experience across industries, Bircher has develope...
Send us a text What happens when a major financial merger puts wellbeing at the heart of its transformation strategy? Lucy Becque, Group Chief People Officer at Coventry Building Society, reveals the powerful impact this approach has had as they navigate combining with the Co-operative Bank – doubling their workforce overnight and bringing together distinctly different organizational cultures. Lucy shares how focusing on resilience through deliberate "firebreaks" – pauses in the relentless p...
Send us a text Ever wondered why traditional competency models often gather dust while organisations continue struggling with talent development? The answer might lie in a more holistic approach called "blueprinting" - a framework that's transforming how forward-thinking companies like Haven approach leadership development. This eye-opening conversation with DeanO Giles, Head of Learning and Development at Haven, and Dr Amanda Potter, CEO of Zircon, reveals how blueprints differ fundamentall...
Send us a text Dr. Amanda Potter and guest Dr. Stewart Desson, CEO of Lumina Learning, explore the complex relationship between personality testing, neurodiversity, ethical assessment practices, and strengths-based approaches in the workplace. • The Big Five personality model (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) remains the most empirically validated framework for understanding personality • Both experts challenge traditional views of personality as static,...
Send us a text Have you ever been accused of "selective hearing" or caught zoning out during an important conversation? You’re not alone. Our brains constantly filter information, deciding what deserves attention, often without us realizing it. This episode unpacks selective listening; choosing what we focus on—versus selective hearing (unconscious filtering) and selective attention (our ability to stay focused despite distractions). These patterns shape workplace dynamics, often amplifying s...
Send us a text The battle to attract and retain high-quality early talent has never been more challenging. With 95% of organizations acknowledging that early career candidates quickly move on when expectations aren't met, understanding what truly drives these professionals has become crucial for business success. Dr. Amanda Potter, the Chief Psychology Officer sits down with Angela Malik to discuss groundbreaking research that challenges common assumptions about what early career talent want...
Send us a text In this episode, Rev. Mike Wright from Network Rail joins award-winning Business Psychologist Amanda Potter and co-host Caitlin Cooper to explore what makes high-performing teams thrive. We dive into Project Speed, a post-pandemic initiative that boosted efficiency and reduced costs, saving £1.5 billion! We also examine how cognitive diversity enhances problem-solving when the need to balance essential yet competing priorities is crucial to success. Additionally, we highlight t...
Send us a text What if your brain's craving for predictability is the real reason behind your stress? In our latest episode, we explore the complex emotions tied to change fatigue in our fast-paced world driven by relentless technological advancements. With AI reshaping the landscape and social media perpetually altering trends, the pressure to adapt can seem insurmountable. We unravel the psychological and physiological impacts of this constant flux, touching on how our intrinsic desire for ...
Send us a text Dr. Amanda Potter, Chartered Psychologist and CEO of Zircon BeTalent, and Jig Ramji, an experienced Chief Talent Officer, join us for a compelling discussion on the transformative power of big data in talent management. Listen as we unpack the parallels between sports analytics and organizational performance, revealing why data integration is as crucial to talent strategy as it is to financial success. Jig challenges the conventional belief that more data is inherently better, ...
Send us a text What if one small change could transform not only your life but also contribute positively to the world? Join us as Lou Kiwanuka shares her inspiring journey of embracing sustainable change, one step at a time. Starting with a personal commitment to make one change per month since January 2020, Lou's approach has led to profound personal growth and a shift from simply reducing negative impacts to actively pursuing positive contributions. Through her experiences, Lou illustrates...
Send us a text Unlock the secrets to creating a truly inclusive workplace with insights from Laura McLean, an HR and Talent leader at Santander. Tune in to discover how you can foster an environment where trust and innovation flourish, and employees feel empowered to bring their full selves to work. Laura, alongside Dr Amanda Potter, Chartered Psychologist and CEO of Zircon BeTalent, dissects the core elements of psychological safety, demonstrating their pivotal role in leadership development...
Send us a text Unlock the secrets to optimal sleep with Dr. Amanda Potter, a distinguished Psychologist and CEO of Zircon BeTalent, as she guides us through the intricate dance of our nightly rest. Discover how seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep can revolutionize your emotional well-being and sharpen your cognitive edge, enhancing creativity, problem-solving, and memory retention. Dr. Potter also sheds light on the substantial economic toll of sleep-related fatigue, underscoring the i...
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States