Shows / The People Navigator ®
The People Navigator ®
Avoid Hiring and Holding on to Horrible People.
I'm Cathy Doherty, The People Navigator®.
Most people problems weren't caused today. They were building quietly long before anyone called them a problem.
Behaviour leaves clues.
This podcast explores the behaviours, patterns, decisions and warning signs that shape working life, helping you recognise what you're really dealing with before people problems become business problems.
🎙️ The Compass explores hiring, leadership, accountability and…
Episodes
- The People Navigator ®
The Cost of Drift
A blacksmith rejects a horseshoe that looks perfectly finished. The apprentice can't see the problem. You probably wouldn't either. But the blacksmith…
- The People Navigator ®
The Assumptions We Inherit
Beside Mosuo communities near Lugu Lake in southwest China, a different story about power, leadership and authority has existed for generations. And unlike…
- The People Navigator ®
Allowed and Possible
Thousands of years ago, women in Ancient Egypt could own property, enter contracts and appear in court in their own name. The rights existed. The permission…
- The People Navigator ®
Control Looks Sensible
Control often looks like good leadership. Until it doesn't. Drawing on lessons from Irish Brehon Law, this episode explores the difference between control and…
- The People Navigator ®
You Think This Is New
Most people problems weren't caused today. From a settlement five thousand years ago to a modern workplace, the same questions keep appearing: Who can be…
The People Navigator ®Show Up. Deliver. Repeat: Trust That Scales with Scott Bewley
When pressure rises, trust isn’t built by big speeches — it’s built by consistent delivery. In this episode, tech‑transformation leader Scott Bewley shares a…
The People Navigator ®Confidence Loves Evidence: Rebuilding Self‑Trust with Amanda Barr
When a hire goes wrong or a PMT (Predatory, Manipulative, Toxic) employee rattles the place, the first casualty is often your trust in yourself. In this…
The People Navigator ®Why "Computer Says No" Isn't the End: Navigating Financial Complexity with Benny McClure
Benny McClure specialises in the cases that don't fit neatly into a box. While many in the financial industry look for the "easy wins" and quick commissions…
The People Navigator ®The Most Important Word in Business (It isn't Profit) with Martin Gilchrist
Martin Gilchrist is famously "everywhere" in the Northern Ireland business scene. But behind the networking energy is a deep philosophy on trust, grounded in a…
The People Navigator ®"Do What You Say You Will Do": No-BS Leadership with Stuart Lunn
Stuart describes himself as a "solid bag of crazy," but when you strip away the humour, you find a leader with one non-negotiable rule: DWYSYWD (Do What You…
The People Navigator ®The Medusa Dynamic: Are You Creating Monsters?
Medusa wasn't born a monster. She was made one. In Ovid’s version of the myth, Medusa was a priestess punished for being the victim of a powerful god…
The People Navigator ®Are You "Visionary" or Just a Chaos Magnet? (The Odysseus Trap)
History calls him a genius strategist. I call him a Chaos Magnet. We all love the leader who can put out a fire, but we rarely ask the most important question…
The People Navigator ®The Icarus Trap: 3 Leadership Tools to Build Trust (Not Blame)
We are moving into the realm of mythology with this one, but with a very practical business application. The story of Icarus is often used to warn against…
The People Navigator ®2-Minute SOS Meditation: From Panic to Calm
Sometimes, you don't even have five minutes. You might have just hung up the phone from a client crisis, or you are about to walk into a disciplinary meeting…
The People Navigator ®5-Minute Reset Meditation: Calm in the Chaos
Sometimes you don't even have ten minutes. You might be sitting in the car park before a difficult client meeting, or you might have just five minutes between…
The People Navigator ®10-Minute Morning Meditation: Start with Clarity
Being a leader in a small business is noisy. Between the constant "ping" of emails, the decisions waiting on your desk, and the general hard graft of managing…
The People Navigator ®How to Have Difficult Conversations (Without the Stress)
Almost 7 in 10 managers admit they avoid having difficult conversations—but playing the ‘ostrich’ doesn't make the problem go away. In fact, avoidance usually…
The People Navigator ®The High Price of Haste: 5 Hiring Mistakes to Avoid
A bad hire can cost your business up to three times the employee's salary—but for a small team, the cost to morale can be even higher. When you are under…
The People Navigator ®How to Run One-to-Ones Your Team Actually Wants to Attend
Most employees dread one-to-one meetings. They often feel like a tick-box exercise, a telling-off, or a waste of time that could be spent doing actual work. In…
The People Navigator ®5 Ways to Reward Your Team (Without Spending a Fortune)
Did you know that 82% of employees say recognition is more motivating than a pay rise? In a small business, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you…
- The People Navigator ®
How to Keep Staff (When You Can't Match Big Salaries)
Big companies might have deeper pockets, but they often have the agility of a supertanker. As a small business leader, you have a secret weapon that the…
- The People Navigator ®
Handling the ‘Overstepper’: When an Employee Thinks They’re the Boss
One in three managers in a small business report having a team member who oversteps their role. In a small team, boundaries are often naturally blurry—you…
- The People Navigator ®
Stop Losing New Hires: Onboarding for Retention (Not Just Paperwork)
Research shows that effective onboarding can improve employee retention by 82%, yet one in three small businesses admit they have no structured process at all…
- The People Navigator ®
Supporting Stressed Staff (Without Playing Counsellor)
In a small business, there is no place to hide. When one person is struggling, the ripple effect is felt by everyone—from the colleague covering their workload…
- The People Navigator ®
The Small Village Effect: Stopping Workplace Gossip
In the UK, workplace gossip costs businesses an average of 65 hours per employee every year. That is over a week and a half of lost productivity per person…
- The People Navigator ®
Fixing Chronic Lateness: When "Five Minutes" Costs You Days
Lateness costs businesses billions in lost productivity, but in a small team, the cost isn't just financial—it’s personal. When one person is chronically late…
- The People Navigator ®
Spotting the Rot: 5 Signs an Employee is Checked Out
Most employees give you signs before they hand in their notice—the trouble is, as a busy leader, it is easy to miss them until the desk is empty. Disengagement…
- The People Navigator ®
Managing Friends & Family (Without Ruining the Relationship)
Working with family or friends can be a dream or a disaster. While 70% of family businesses fail before reaching the second generation, it isn’t always a lack…
- The People Navigator ®
Making Staff Feel Seen (Without Blowing the Budget)
Your people won’t stay loyal if they feel invisible. Even in a tiny team, feeling undervalued is one of the top reasons employees leave—often more than pay. In…
- The People Navigator ®
How to Fix a Bad Attitude (Without the Dread)
Dealing with attitude is one of the hardest parts of being a boss. But if you don’t deal with it, you aren’t just setting that person up for failure; you are…
- The People Navigator ®
The Magic Money Tree: Motivating Your Team Without the Big Budget
In the world of small business, we often feel we can't compete with the "huge corporate tankers" and their deep pockets. But as any leader doing the hard graft…
- The People Navigator ®
Building Trust: Why Reliability is the Hard Graft of Leadership
Trust is the cornerstone of any high-performing team—and as a leader, how you show up can either strengthen or erode that trust. Employees who trust their…
- The People Navigator ®
Nipping Conflict in the Bud (Before it Bites)
Did you know that up to 80% of workplace conflict comes down to strained relationships rather than a lack of skill or poor work? In a small business, you don't…
- The People Navigator ®
Breaking the Silence: Getting Your Team to Actually Speak Up
If you feel like you’re the last person to know when something is going wrong, or if your "How are you?" is met with a standard "Fine," then this episode is…
- The People Navigator ®
Giving Feedback Without the Fallout (or the Offence)
Nearly seven in ten employees say they’d work harder if their efforts were truly appreciated, yet most leaders dread the "feedback conversation" . We often…
- The People Navigator ®
Shaping Your Culture (Without the Bean Bags)
Whether you’ve planned it or not, your business already has a culture. It is essentially your organisation's personality, and a good way to test its health is…