The Frameworks of Human Meaning
Leadership comes with plenty of frameworks. Circles, colours and grids have their place, but they only matter when they help people act well together. That’s what I set out to explore with Richard Hoyle on The Whole Leader Podcast: how leadership moves from diagrams on paper to something lived and meaningful.
Richard’s path spans the Army, corporate sales, the early years of the Insights Discovery model, and long-standing work in stress management and Buddhist teaching. We spoke about what he saw, the choices he made, and the reasons behind them.
Sandhurst: when the model has to work
At Sandhurst, Richard learned John Adair’s model of task, team and individual. It’s simple to sketch; harder to hold when the stakes rise. I asked when that difference became obvious.
He described a night as a tank commander. Four tanks under his command; his own crew working tight to conditions. The tank rolled onto its side and began to sink into a bog. Getting through it depended on training done earlier, roles understood, and the crew’s judgement in the moment. Orders alone weren’t enough. People had to know what to do and be trusted to do it.
That’s where a framework stops being a picture. It becomes a way of working because people use it together, under pressure.
Canon: persuasion or service?
After seventeen years in uniform, Richard joined Canon. A friend joked that sales meant persuading people to buy what they didn’t need. Richard took the opposite view: help people make a sound decision; don’t use tricks. If they don’t need it, they won’t buy it—and if you push, the relationship breaks anyway.
I asked how that stance showed up when he moved into sales leadership. He set aims plainly, held regional meetings so people knew how the business was doing, and spent time with individuals to separate performance theatre from what was actually happening in their pipeline. Not grandstanding—useful talk that lets people do good work.
The link back to the Army was clear: train people well, be open with them, and rely on them.
Insights Discovery: Jung beneath the colours
Later, Richard joined Insights as the Discovery product was forming. Many of us know the colours—red, yellow, green, blue. He pointed me to the foundation: keep it close to Jung. No add-ons. If Jung didn’t write it, it didn’t go in. The colour language made it accessible; the system behind it produced profiles that people found strikingly personal.
He credits Andy Lothian Sr. and the team for those choices. The value wasn’t in colours as labels; it was in giving people a shared way to talk about differences without turning them into fights. That’s where collaboration starts to improve.
Three themes that carried through
As we talked, three themes kept surfacing. They link the Army, sales, Jungian psychology and his Buddhist practice into one thread: enjoyment, purpose, easing stress.
Enjoyment that turns into learning
Richard prefers team experiences that people enjoy. But enjoyment on its own isn’t the end point—it’s the opening. What matters is the reflection that follows. Who took which approach? What helped? What got in the way? What will we try differently next time?
I often use the phrase “serious play.” Richard didn’t use that language, but he described the same move: when we stop treating work as performance and bring some lightness back in, learning returns.
Purpose that lifts the task
Richard showed how naming purpose changes the feel of work. A lab team moved from “we analyse slides” to “we’re finding a cure for cancer.” During COVID, Army logistics wasn’t “moving gowns and masks” but “helping NHS staff feel safe.”
When purpose is described plainly and precisely, people see why their part matters. Decisions improve because they’re tested against that why. It isn’t romanticising; it’s being exact about contribution.
Easing stress and creating space
Richard’s work in stress management ties to his Buddhist teaching. People experience pressure differently—by role, preference and values—so one answer won’t fit all. Leaders help when they notice the individual and remove needless friction.
He added another layer: stress grows when attention stays locked on self. It eases when attention moves outward—towards the team, the work, and the people the work serves. In day-to-day terms that looks like benevolence: acting in your people’s interests, being straight about expectations, and setting work up so success is possible.
This links to another story he told: a Japanese manager who described his job as “to sit by the window.” Not avoidance—time to notice, join dots, and let ideas form. When stress is constant and every minute is spoken for, that space disappears. When stress is managed well, people start to find time to think again.
Why he continues — and what that tells us
I asked Richard why he still does this work. The answer is visible in how he works now.
He runs sessions that people enjoy and learn from. He helps teams name their purpose precisely so effort lines up with something that matters. He teaches practices that lower stress and move attention outward. He works with his son, Marcus, and invites challenge at the table.
That mix—enjoyment, purpose, and easing stress—sets him up to keep going with energy and care.
Closing thought
Our conversation showed how frameworks only matter when they connect with people. Enjoyment leads to learning when reflection follows. Purpose, named precisely, gives work its meaning. And when stress is managed, people regain space to think.
That’s when leadership moves beyond the page into something human.