What's the REAL secret to being a great boss, according to People & Culture experts?

The answer's simpler and more boring than you might think...but rarely done well in practice!

HR expert and and author Roland Grootenboer (Google, Blendle, "Het boek waarvan je baas niet wil dat je het leest") joins us to break down the '3 beautiful basics' leaders need to help their people thrive: Clarity, Consistency and Empathy.

When leaders get those basics right, everything else, from performance to engagement to wellbeing follows more naturally.

Listen now to learn how!

What you'll learn in this episode:

• What separates 'good' bosses from 'great' ones?

• Empathy: how to make it a competitive advantage, and why it doesn't just mean being 'soft'

• Assume good intent: how distrust poisons culture
• The importance of boundaries: You are not your employee's therapist

• Why lack of clarity causes resentment and keeps you stuck

• The hard truth about leadership: the boring basics are the most important

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:02 - About today's topic and guest

02:08 - Empathy: why & how to do it better

05:47 - Empathy = key to engagement

08:45 - Radical candor: Good empathy is not being 'soft'!

11:12 - Bridging the People vs Business needs gap

14:14 - Don't scar on the first cut

16:08 - Underperformance: a system or person issue?

19:31 - Consistency & boundaries: Managers are not therapists!

24:57 - Clarity: The importance of clear expectations

28:58 - Adapting leadership styles to context

35:01 - Final takeaways

Useful resources mentioned in this episode

• Harvard Business Review study on Empathy: https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader
• Kim Scott's 'Radical Candor' model: https://kimmalonescott.medium.com/what-is-radical-candor-learn-the-basic-principles-in-6-minutes-50391b3ad76a