316. Botsitting, Microsoft's Xbox Layoffs and Finance Burnout. PLUS! Does Growth Mindset Really Work? With Rob Briner

Is AI really making us more productive, or are we spending more time managing it than benefiting from it?

Should employees pay the price when leadership gets strategy wrong?

And is Growth Mindset really the performance booster it's often claimed to be?

This week on Truth, Lies & Work, Leanne introduces a brand new Word of the Week: Botsitting – the hidden work of feeding AI context, checking its answers and correcting its mistakes. Drawing on new research from Glean's Work AI Index, we explore why AI may be creating a new form of invisible labour that's leaving employees exhausted rather than empowered.

We also unpack Microsoft's decision to cut around 3,200 Xbox jobs after CEO Asha Sharma admitted the business had "lost focus", asking where accountability should lie when strategy fails. Plus, new UK research suggests many senior finance professionals are choosing better leadership, career opportunities and work-life balance over higher salaries, challenging long-held assumptions about what motivates top talent.

In Truth or Lie, Leanne is joined by Professor Rob Briner, one of the UK's leading experts in evidence-based management, to separate the science from the hype around Growth Mindset. Together they explore what the research actually says, why fashionable workplace ideas often outpace the evidence, and why organisations should focus less on finding the next big trend and more on understanding the problems they're trying to solve.

Finally, in Workplace Surgery, we answer your questions about rebuilding team energy, supporting employees who don't want promotion, and whether exit interviews really reveal why people leave.

Resources & Links

Lincolnshire's unusual place names:https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/strange-place-names-lincolnshire-list-438323

Rebecca Hinds' LinkedIn post:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rebecca-hinds_we-recently-published-our-first-work-ai-index-share-7478531898693066752-jv9u/

Glean Work AI Index:https://www.glean.com/work-ai-institute/reports/work-ai-index

HR Director:https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/remuneration/finance-candidates-no-longer-choosing-roles-salary-alone-report-finds/

Full Croft&Co Finance Professionals Report:

www.croftandco.com/report

Fortune:https://fortune.com/2026/07/06/exclusive-xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-job-cuts-studios-axed-layoffs/

More from Rob Briner

Rob Briner on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-briner/

Rob Briner’s Is That Really a Thing LinkedIn posts (including one on Growth Mindset):

https://tinyurl.com/2rzzzus3

Corporate Research Forum’s Work Psychology Network:

https://tinyurl.com/4s4pmz9e

Work Psychology Network report on behaviour change in organizations:

https://tinyurl.com/3p3rwerb

Connect with Truth, Lies & Work

– 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

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