In this episode of HR Unfiltered, Dean and Sue sit down with Ian Redmond from Explore Training to talk about something HR rarely names clearly enough: What it takes to manage clients well, especially when the work is complex, emotional, and commercially exposed.
This isn’t about “stakeholder management” as a training slide title. It’s about psychology, boundaries, trust, contracting, and courage, and what happens when HR, L&D, and consultants get those wrong (or right). Ian brings decades of experience working with demanding clients, senior leaders, and messy organisational realities and we unpack the human skills behind effective client relationships that sustain long-term impact. What we discuss:
Client management is relational work;
Contracting: the bit everyone rushes (and pays for later);
Boundaries does not equate to being difficult;
Trust, challenge, and authentic, adult relationships;
Commercial realism (without losing your authenticity).
If you’d like to contact us, please do so at www.sopeople.co.uk or hiya@sopeople.co.uk. The disruptive energiser, Ian, is available at www.exploretraining.co.uk or on his LinkedIn profile - Ian Redmond, Explore Training!
