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Why do some teams thrive under pressure while others unravel?

Former professional rugby player and founder of 101st Will Fraser joins Dr Amanda Potter and Angela Malik to explore the psychology behind team resilience, psychological safety and high performance.

Will challenges the idea that resilient teams are simply made up of resilient individuals. Instead, resilience is built through a team's ability to solve problems together under pressure and that depends on clarity, shared understanding and creating an environment where people feel safe to question, challenge and admit, “I don't understand.”

Together, they explore the hidden assumptions that can quietly derail even experienced teams, including the curse of knowledge, expertise reversal and the tapping mistake. They discuss why people nod along when they're actually confused, how individual incentives can undermine teamwork, and why leaders may be too quick to blame someone's competence when performance slips.

You'll discover practical ways to:

• Build greater clarity and shared understanding
• Create psychological safety and encourage people to speak up
• Spot assumptions before they become costly mistakes
• Challenge misunderstandings without creating blame
• Build more resilient, cohesive and high-performing teams

If you lead, develop or work within a team, this conversation will leave you with one deceptively simple question:

Just because it's obvious to you, does everyone else really understand it?

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

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For the 100th episode of The Chief Psychology Officer Podcast, Dr Amanda Potter is joined by cohosts Caitlin Cooper, Angela Malik and Kristian Lees-Bell to revisit some of the conversations, ideas and research that have shaped the podcast so far.

Across the episode, they return to discussions on psychological safety, cognitive diversity, resilience, decision-making, human judgement, connection and the changing world of work. Taking time to reflect on how those ideas have evolved and what they mean for organisations today.

The episode features clips and reflections from conversations with:

• Martin Bromley OBE, on human factors, error and just organisations
• Professor Adrian Furnham, on psychological safety and unheard voices
• John Cooper, on connection and performance
• Mark Herbert, on decisiveness, clarity and pace
• Adam Smith, on the inner critic and the language we use with ourselves

We also revisit episodes featuring Figen Murray OBE, Simon Rogerson and Lucy Becque as each host reflects on the conversations that have stayed with them most.

A special episode looking back at what we have learned, how some of that thinking has evolved, and the questions that feel most important for organisations now.

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

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What really gets in the way of good decision making?

In this final Best Bits episode, Angela Malik and Kristian Lees-Bell reflect on some of our most memorable conversations about decision making and human judgement.

Revisiting Dr Amanda Potter’s insights, alongside a conversation with Mark Herbert, the episode explores the psychology and neuroscience behind the choices we make, and what better decision making looks like for leaders and teams.

Together they unpack why we procrastinate, how fear of failure and sunk cost can keep us stuck, and how brain chemistry, pressure and our emotional state influence the decisions we make.

In essence, this episode explores what better decision making means for leaders and teams. From choosing clarity over speed and understanding different decision styles, to knowing when to change course and how our choices affect those around us.

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