321. Is HR the Loneliest Job in the Building? With Tom Emery

HR leaders spend all day surrounded by people. So why does it often feel like the loneliest job in the building?

In this episode, Tom Emery, former Chief People Officer at a top City of London wealth manager, 20-year corporate HR veteran (ex-HSBC), and founder of HEX Talent & Development, joins Al and Leanne to pull back the curtain on the reality of HR leadership.

Tom shares his powerful "Vet Analogy" for HR: just like veterinarians enter the profession out of love for animals only to see them at their illest, weakest, or most aggressive, HR leaders enter the role because they love people, only to be brought in when people are backed into a corner.

Together, they dive deep into how HR leaders can step out of the isolated "police officer" role and step into the room as true strategic drivers, how senior leaders can build psychological safety by simply asking for help, and why learning to disagree well is the missing ingredient in high-performing C-suites.

🎧 What We Cover in This Episode

The Vet Analogy: Why HR professionals frequently meet employees at their lowest points—and how to handle the emotional toll.

Breaking Out of the "Outside Looking In" Trap: How HR leaders can build true credibility with the board, C-suite, and CFOs by becoming commercial explorers.

The Art of Disagreeing Well: Why storming and surfacing productive conflict is essential for high-performing, psychologically safe teams.

Modelling Psychological Safety: Why asking for help as a senior leader increases trust rather than weakening authority.

Humanising Workplace Change in the Age of AI: Navigating digital transformation, layoffs, and organisational shifts without losing the human touch.

Setting Boundaries & Sitting in the Discomfort: Learning to accept that you can't fix every outcome or make everyone happy.

⚡ Top 3 Takeaways

Get curious about the business, not just the people: The HR leaders who get taken seriously understand how the company actually makes money and manages cost levers as deeply as the CFO does.

Build safety by asking for help yourself: Admitting you don't have all the answers isn't a sign of weakness—it's the fastest way for senior leaders to model and build trust.

You can't fix every outcome: Chasing 100% approval or trying to solve every hard moment will lead straight to burnout. Sometimes the job is just sitting with someone in a difficult moment, not solving it for them.

More from Tom:

Website: https://www.hex-development.com/

Book (People, People): Claim a free UK copy at https://www.hex-development.com/ (or available globally on Amazon)

Podcast (Beyond Potential): https://beyondpotential.podbean.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomemery-b8809818/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomemeryhex/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tomemeryhex

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HEX-development

📬 Connect with Al & Leanne – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/truthlieswork – Al Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisisalelliott – Leanne Elliott: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meetleanne – Email: [email protected] – Book a call: https://savvycal.com/meetleanne/chat

Mental health support UK & ROI — Samaritans Call 116 123 or visit https://www.samaritans.org UK — Mind Call 0300 123 3393 or visit https://www.mind.org.uk US — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 or visit https://988lifeline.org Australia — Lifeline Call 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au Global helplines https://findahelpline.com

🎧 Truth, Lies & Work is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.