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).