About the lecture
Why do knowledgeable employees sometimes remain silent, even when speaking up could prevent mistakes, improve decisions or protect their organisation? Why do leaders who claim to value openness sometimes become defensive when challenged?
In his inaugural lecture, Professor Psychogios will draw on more than two decades of research in employee voice and silence, strategic human resource management, relational leadership and organisational neuroscience.
He will explore how employees’ decisions to speak are shaped by trust, hierarchy, psychological safety and the brain’s sensitivity to social threat, belonging and uncertainty.
Crucially, he will argue that encouraging employees to speak is only the beginning.
Organisations must also develop the capability to receive, interpret and act upon what they hear. Leadership behaviour, and HR practices collectively determine whether employee voice becomes meaningful organisational learning – or disappears into a “managerial black hole”.
Combining research evidence with practical examples, he will consider how leaders can better regulate defensive reactions, respond constructively to uncomfortable messages and create workplaces in which people feel both safe and motivated to contribute.
Ultimately, he will argue that successful organisations are not simply those that give employees a voice, but those that genuinely know how to practice H.E.A.R. (Human safety – Engaged leadership – Architecture for voice – Responsive learning).
About the lecturer
Professor Alexandros Psychogios completed his BSc in Political Science and Public Administration and MSc in Public Policy and Public Finance at the University of Athens. He achieved his MA in Services Management at the University of York and PhD in Industrial and Business Studies at the University of Warwick.
His academic career spans more than two decades and includes senior academic and leadership positions at the universities of Sheffield, Hull and Birmingham City. He is a Visiting Professor at ALBA Graduate Business School (Greece) and Hochschule Bremerhaven (Germany). He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Hult Leadership Lab (UK) and a Research Associate at South-Eastern European Research Centre (Greece).
The focus of his interdisciplinary research is strategic and international HRM, employee voice and silence, leadership, organisational neuroscience, trust and feedback. He has published extensively in leading academic journals and is the author of several books.
He has a wide range of experience in consultancy projects, and his work combines theoretical rigour with practical relevance for leaders, employees and organisations.
In August 2020, the Academy of Management awarded him with the Benedictine University Award for Outstanding Research Work on Ethical Issues in Consulting.
For further information on this lecture, please contact the Events team.
