Episodes

  • Can Anyone Become a Great Leader?

    Can Anyone Become a Great Leader?
    Dec 22 2025
    Why is it that someone brilliant in their role can suddenly struggle the moment they step into leadership? It’s one of the most common – and painful – challenges in business. As we said in episode one, people can only be as good as the person above them, and today we dig into what that really means. In this episode, Tommy explores a question every founder, manager and HR leader eventually faces:Can anyone become a great leader… and if not, what do you do? Drawing on research from Gallup, SHL, Daniel Goleman and Aon Hewitt, plus decades of real-world people-leadership experience, this conversation unpacks why leadership isn’t a title, a promotion or a straight career ladder. It’s a responsibility — and not everyone is wired the same way. You’ll also learn how to assess leadership readiness, how to spot genuine potential, what to do when someone isn’t suited to managing people, and how to create a culture where both leaders and technical experts can thrive. Connect with us: Tommy Sim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommysim/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/injecthrYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@injecthrInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/inject.hr/What You’ll Learn in This Episode1. Why great employees don’t automatically make great leaders Promotions often reward technical brilliance, not people capability. It’s a trap most businesses fall into — and it creates confusion, disengagement and frustration on both sides. 2. The three respected leadership frameworks Tommy breaks down SHL, Daniel Goleman and Gallup to show the consistent attributes that make leadership effective:Vision, communication, influence and disciplined follow-through. 3. The Leadership Mirror: Seven questions to diagnose leadership behaviour A powerful self-assessment tool for founders and managers to evaluate whether someone is genuinely suited to people leadership. 4. The Leadership Potential Checklist A second lens to spot whether someone has the raw traits needed for leadership — even if they’re not demonstrating them yet. 5. What to do when someone struggles in a leadership role From timing conversations to creating psychological safety, Tommy shares a human-centred approach for exploring role clarity without shame or fear. 6. Why technical leadership can be a powerful alternative pathway Not everyone should lead people — and that’s not only okay, it can unlock even greater value inside a business. 7. The uncomfortable mirror every leader must hold up Culture, clarity and consistency start at the top. Your example shapes everyone below you. Key Takeaways Promoting top performers into leadership is common — but the skills rarely translate.Around 70% of team engagement is shaped directly by the manager.Leadership suitability can be assessed with simple A/B questions covering communication, vision, trust, awareness and consistency.Some people have strong leadership potential but lack capability or confidence — training and environment matter.Others are better suited to technical leadership, where impact comes from mastery, not managing people.Poor leadership affects engagement, profit, retention and performance — the data is overwhelmingly clear.Hard conversations about role fit can unlock career clarity rather than failure.Leadership development always begins with you, not the people below you. Research Mentioned Gallup: 70% of employee engagement is influenced by the direct manager.Aon Hewitt: High-engagement companies show 50% higher shareholder return, 33% lower turnover, and higher operating profit.SHL, Goleman, Gallup frameworks: Consistent themes around vision, communication, influence and disciplined execution. Leadership development, people management, how to be a great leader, promoting employees, leadership potential, Gallup leadership data, SHL leadership model, Daniel Goleman leadership styles, technical leadership, employee engagement, team performance, management coaching, leadership frameworks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    19 mins
  • You can’t logic your way through leadership & business

    You can’t logic your way through leadership & business
    Dec 5 2025
    In this episode, Tommy Sim, Managing Director of Inject HR, breaks down The People Principle, a practical framework that explains how human success drives business performance. He unpacks the paradoxes of modern leadership, why logic alone fails to change behaviours, and why so many businesses stay stuck despite hiring more people, adding perks or launching new initiatives. You’ll hear a powerful case study about a fictitious company, Harbour and Finch, a business with a great reputation but exhausted founders. The story shows that leaders can work hard and try new things, but without alignment between people and business strategy, nothing changes. The business stays busy but isn’t growing. Tommy then reveals how leaders can shift from firefighting to creating progress by putting into practice the six layers of an aligned people system. The episode finishes with a short and practical reflection exercise to help you identify your highest value activities and whether these align with what your business needs. Connect with us: Tommy Sim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommysim/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/injecthr YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@injecthr Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/inject.hr/ What You’ll Learn Why leadership advice often contradicts itself• The paradoxes of empowering people while maintaining standards• Why logical solutions fail when dealing with human behaviour• The three pillars of the People Principle• How misaligned systems cause 94 percent of people problems• A step-by-step breakdown of the six drivers of human-centred business performance• A practical reflection exercise that instantly reveals where performance is leaking Key Moments1. Why Leadership Feels Confusing Tommy explains why so much leadership advice clashes, creating confusion for both new and experienced leaders. Empower people but never let standards slip. Be transparent but not too transparent. Hire slowly but move quickly. These paradoxes create noise that distracts leaders from what actually works. 2. Introducing The People Principle The People Principle centres on the idea that human success drives business success, but only when leaders know what really enables people to perform at their best. Tommy challenges the myth that people alone are a company’s greatest asset. Instead, it's the system around those people that determines success or stagnation. 3. The Harbour & Finch Case Study A fictitious architectural lighting company becomes the lens for understanding why businesses struggle even when they hire more people or add more programs. Misaligned hiring, confused leadership pathways, underperformance, and unsustainable firefighting create burnout and declining results. Incentives, pay rises and perks fail because the system itself is broken. 4. The Three Pillars of the People Principle Real success requires an integrated approach over time, not scattered initiatives.Logic alone does not shift human behaviour.Your people strategy must align to your business strategy. 5. The Six Layers of an Effective People System Tommy unpacks the six components that create long-term business performance:• Strategy • Capabilities • Structure • People • Leadership • CultureHarbour and Finch turned their business around by aligning each layer toward one strategic goal: premium design with faster turnaround. 6. Why Most People Problems Are Actually System Problems Ninety-four percent of performance issues come from the system, not the individual. Misalignment creates friction, wastes energy and forces leaders into constant firefighting. When capability aligns with strategy, growth compounds and momentum becomes sustainable. 7. A Practical Exercise on High-Value Activities Tommy guides listeners through an audit of the top four to seven tasks that truly drive performance. Leaders often spend their time doing low-value work, fixing mistakes or stepping into other roles, which drains energy and restricts growth. Identifying the gap between what you do and what you should do can transform performance quickly. Ask yourself:• Where are you trying to logic your way out of a people problem?• Which systems in your business are working against each other?• What high-value work should you be doing more of, and what’s stopping you? Connect & Subscribe If you enjoyed this episode, follow and subscribe to Lead to Grow.Please leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help more leaders find this show. Watch the full episode on YouTube.Search: Lead to Grow with Inject and subscribe so you never miss an episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins