Your 12 minute HR lesson
Dr Damian Treanor, Pragmatic HRM
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S1E46 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…
S1E45 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…
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…
S1E43 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…
S1E42 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…
S1E41 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…
S1E40 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…
S1E39 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…
S1E35 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.”…
S1E37 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…
S1E36 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…
S1E35 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…
S1E34 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…
S1E33 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…
S1E32 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…
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…
S1E31 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…
S1E30 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…
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…
S2E28 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…
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Your 12 minute HR lesson has published 47 episodes since August 2025, covering topics in Business, Management.
Your 12 minute HR lesson is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 12m.
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