24 Mar 2025

🎙️  Des Penny

Stop the blame game and the sport of Leadership Bashing!

In this powerful and passionate episode, Des Penny gets fired up — and for good reason.

Tired of the relentless negativity swirling around leadership on social media, Des calls out the rising trend of “leadership bashing” and the damaging culture of blame that’s taking hold in many workplaces. Drawing from over 45 years of hands-on experience in leadership development, he offers a bold and unapologetic defence of leaders who are showing up every day, doing their best, often with little recognition or support.

This is not a sugar-coated pep talk. It’s a raw, real, and necessary conversation about responsibility — both for those leading and those being led. Des challenges listeners to shift their focus, speak up for the good, and stop letting the loudest critics dictate the narrative.

Whether you’re in a leadership role or part of a team, this episode will make you reflect, reassess, and hopefully, recommit to building healthier workplace cultures where respect, accountability, and hope take centre stage.

This one’s for the leaders who care, and the teams who need them.

🎧 Listen now, and if it hits home — share it, post something positive about a leader who’s impacted you, and help flip the script.

Let’s bring leadership back — and let’s grow together.

Des Penny

Co-CEO - Founder / Director Innovation, Growth & Strategy / Director of North East Region - Proteus Leadership