Ever felt like the exception? The only one in the room who looked, thought or grew up different?

Most of us have been taught that being different is something to manage: to tone down, work around or adapt. But what if the very thing you’re trying to suppress...is actually what makes you a better leader?

On this episode of the 7people Podcast, we’re joined by two guests on a mission to challenge society’s expectations of leadership - and redefining what’s possible when we embrace leading by our unique differences, instead of copying the mould.

• Ingeborg van Harten, founder of 7people

• Ingrid Tappin, leadership strategist, founder/CEO of Diverse Leaders in Tech and author of “Exceptionals”

Through relatable stories and learnings from their extensive professional leadership experience, they’ll unpack:

• The “Sameness Trap” in leadership, hiring and the age of AI - and its hidden business cost

• The “2 Lanes” of leadership: How to shift from “expected” to “exceptional”

• Using our “Origin Stories” to build more exceptional teams

• Identity Intelligence: the missing ‘puzzle piece’ and secret booster for high performance

• Why DEI without Identity misses the point

• How exceptional leaders turn difference into competitive advantage

Whether you’re a founder, manager or HR professional - or just anyone who’s ever felt like “the exception” - this episode will give you the recognition, inspiration and practical tools to embrace the power of your differences, and challenge what great leadership really looks like!

Chapters

00:00 Being the “exception”

06:04 The Sameness Trap & “7 vinkjes”

10:54 The cost of rewarding sameness

13:14 Lane 1 vs Lane 2 Leadership

16:52 Why exceptional leaders get overlooked

19:26 Lane 2 Leadership in practice

23:25 Identity Intelligence: Unlock your Origin Story

26:10 Identity: the missing piece in DEI

28:49 The secret performance booster

31:50 Applying Identity Intelligence in practice

34:27 Final takeaways

Learn more

🌐 www.7people.team

🌐 www.weareexceptionals.com

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingridtappin/

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingeborgvanharten/

📘Ingrid’s book “Exceptionals: How to turn identity into your greatest leadership advantage” is available now from all major Dutch bookstores, and online shipping across Europe: https://weareexceptionals.com/book

“Can you build us a high-performing team?”

It’s the #1 question People & Culture professionals get from leadership.

Short answer: HR can coach, enable and guide. But high performance starts with - and must be owned by - the team’s managers.

7people founder Ingeborg van Harten joins Flo to unpack what truly drives team performance - and why most organisations are measuring the wrong thing.

Some of the topics we cover:

• What factors really drive performance
• HR’s true role in performance management
• Performance vs Impact: Why most teams are measuring the wrong thing
• From forming to performing: Navigating (and accelerating) the stages of team development
• How leadership behaviour makes or breaks teams
• Why team culture is the type of behaviour you accept - good or bad
• How to handle underperformance - and the importance of having the difficult conversations early

Because business performance = people performance. And high-performing teams start with leaders who model and manage the right behaviours…with HR as the coach behind the coach.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Intro

00:27 Why Performance isn’t HR’s Responsibility

02:53 What Makes a High-Performing Team?

05:58 Team Performance vs Individual Impact

09:34 How to Measure Impact: Behaviour vs Output

11:17 Performance is Contextual

12:36 From Forming to Performing: Stages of Team Development

15:37 How to Handle Underperformance

20:17 HR’s Role: Coaching the Coaches

22:02 Clarity is Key: Define Performance Expectations

22:57 Managing Team Culture

25:41 Final Takeaways

LEARN MORE:

www.7people.team

What does it actually take to build a successful remote-first organisation - one that scales, performs, and stays connected across continents? 🌐

We sat down with Job van der Voort, CEO of Remote, the company helping thousands of organisations hire and operate globally without an office.

He shares the lessons, tips and actual practices Remote uses to build its own global culture, trust and performance across 50+ countries.

What you'll learn:

• Why most companies manage remote work wrong - and how to fix it

• The essential communication and ways of working rules to minimise miscommunications, Slack chaos and unnecessary meetings

• Practical tips for designing connection without an office

• Why culture is an “emergent property,” not something you enforce

• The real reason companies push return-to-office mandates (hint: it's more about trust than productivity)

• How Remote redesigned performance reviews to achieve 1800 reviews in 48 hours!

• Managing timezones, salaries and benefits across borders

Irresistible organizations aren't built by accident.

Whether you're a People leader, founder, HR professional or manager, this episode is your blueprint for building a remote team that performs and feels connected, wherever your employees sit.

Enjoyed the episode? Leave a show rating or let us know in the comments!

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro & today's guest

02:15 Can you 'create' remote culture?

04:41 Async-first principles

06:25 Remote's work communication rules (assume positive intent)

10:11 Managing the Slack chaos

12:18 1800 performance reviews in 48 hours?!

19:33 Why companies REALLY struggle with remote work

24:22 Job's top remote work priority

25:07 Top tips for building connection remotely

28:22 Managing comp & ben globally

Thank you Personio for making our podcast possible 💖