Ep 93: Leadership, silence, and the hidden risks in organisations - with guest Margaret Heffernan

In this episode of Beyond Potential, Tom Emery and Tomas Mason are joined by author, professor and eminent philosopher Margaret Heffernan. Drawing on a career spanning the BBC, technology start-ups, academia and bestselling books, Margaret explores why capable people and successful organisations often miss or ignore the warning signs that are directly in front of them.

The conversation focuses on her influential book Wilful Blindness and unpacks the human behaviours that drive poor decision-making, organisational silence and ethical failure. Margaret explains how exhaustion, conformity, hierarchy and excessive competition can all reduce a leader’s ability to see clearly, and why speaking up in organisations is far rarer than most leaders assume.

She also shares practical ways leaders can design environments where people are more likely to challenge, think clearly and raise concerns early.

A powerful and practical discussion for anyone interested in leadership, culture and how organisations can avoid repeating the same avoidable mistakes.

Connect with Margaret:
Website: Margaret Heffernan
Substack: Available via www.mheffernan.com