The Mindtools L&D Podcast

In this episode, we're delving into research focused on emotional wellbeing at work. Conducted by the Emotion at Work team, we discuss the findings and what they mean for how we can support and boost our mental health. Gemma T and Nahdia are joined by Phil Wilcox of Emotion at Work to discuss: the research aims and methodology  the results and insights what we can do to support our own and others'...

Back in Episode 244, Ross G, Owen, Carrie and Gent discussed the value of benchmarking, as we prepared to launch the Learning Performance Benchmark. A few months on, we thought it would be worth hearing what benchmarking looks like in practice. In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Gent are joined by James Hampton from Seasalt Cornwall to discuss: the insights Seasalt Co...

In some ways, sales enablement has the ultimate success metric - increased sales! So why is sales training so often a 'hard sell' for L&D? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Owen are joined by Anderson Hirst, Consulting Director at Kojo Academy, to discuss: the difference between sales training and sales enablement why sales training is so often seen as distinct from...

As a concept, spaced repetition has been around for decades. Yet in many organisations, learning is seen in terms of one-off interventions, delivered through a classroom or an LMS. In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Gemma are joined by Sarah Mercier, CEO of Learning Ninjas, to discuss: what spaced learning is, and how to design for it what good spaced practice looks l...

New business models, an increasingly hybrid workforce and the need for constant adaptability are changing what it means to be a learning professional. In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G meets the eLearning Network's Joan Keevil and Dr Hannah Gore to explore their research into the skills we need to professionalise. We discuss: how the world of work is changing personal an...

Why are boundaries important? How do you set them? And what impact does hybird working have on how we interact with one another? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G meets Executive Coach Emma Langton to discuss: what 'boundaries' are how to set boundaries at work why the pandemic has made boundaries more important than ever. Show notes Ross referenced Erving Goffman's theory of the per...

This week on the podcast, Ross D, Owen and Ross G are taking another rummage through their L&D book bag. They discuss: Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Naked Statistics by Charles Wheelan Think Again by Adam Grant The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins 13 Minutes to the Moon, a podcast presented by Kevin Fong   How to Write One Song  by Jeff Tweedy These books are available from all go...

Published in 2003, Michael Lewis' Moneyball charts efforts by the Oakland Athletics baseball team to use analytics and statistical methods to assemble a competitive team on a comparatively small budget. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G, Owen, Ross D and Nahdia share their thoughts on the book and it's relevance to L&D and HR professionals. We discuss: how General Manager Billy Beane...

Creativity in online learning, agile learning frameworks, the role of HR, and business ethics are just some of the topics we tackle on this week's show as we answer questions from the audience. Mark Baker asked: Do you think as face-to-face trainers move into more virtual learning, is there a risk that they lose creativity in their learning experiences? Shilpa Nimbalkar asked: How can L&D experts...

Creating videos for training purposes is easy; launch a smartphone camera app and hit record. Creating effective pieces of drama that allow viewers to make their own meaning through compelling storylines and characters is not so easy. However, it is a skill that learning designers can study and put into practice. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma T and Ross G are joined by Tom Hickmor...

The pandemic has been both a trigger and an opportunity for reflection and ultimately, change. We've had to forget, or "unlearn" our old ways. This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma T and Ross D are joined by Mark Gilroy to discuss: what 'unlearning' is the link between unlearning and curiosity how we can help each other to "unlearn" effectively. Show notes Mark recommended the followi...

What is organisational learning? Is it the same thing as people in organisations learning? And how does it overlap with learning culture? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Nahdia are joined by Nigel Paine to discuss: what 'organisational learning' actually means the difference between organisations that learn and individuals that learn the role L&D can play in supporting orga...

'What did you think of the trainer' and 'How was the lunch?' These are two questions we  won't  be asking today, as we get stuck into effective learner surveys. Ross G and Owen are joined by Gent Ahmetaj, Head of Research at Mind Tools for Business, to discuss: the problem with traditional learner surveys the features of an academically robust survey issues with this approach and how to resolve th...

Over the last two years, L&D has been forced to adapt to rapid, unprecedented change. As learning leaders find new ways of supporting their organizations, is now the perfect time for them to rethink their learning strategy? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, the two Rosses are joined by Michelle Ockers to discuss: what we mean when we talk about 'organizational learning strategy' what a...

'Jobs To Be Done' (JTBD) is a framework that can be used to define consumer needs and identify how to meet them. In this week's Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by aNewSpring's Ger Driesen to explore how this can be applied to learning design. We discuss: what 'Jobs To Be Done' is examples of Jobs To Be Done how to apply this framework to your learning design challenges. Show not...

We tend to assume that, faced with the same problem on separate occasions, professionals will typically arrive at the same judgements — doctors will make the same diagnoses, mortgage lenders will set the same rates, judges will hand down the same sentences. But is professional judgement really as reliable as we think it is? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, the team discuss Noise: A Fla...

It's been 17 months since we last spoke to authors Mark Britz and James Tyer. Since then, the world has shut down - on multiple occasions - and many of us have been working from home on a long-term basis. In this context, how do we make organizations 'social by design'? Ross G and Owen are joined once again by Mark and James to debate. We discuss: the impact that Covid-19 has had on their earlier...

Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on L&D, super-charging existing trends and forcing learning leaders to re-evaluate pre-pandemic practices. More than a year into 'the new normal', how have perceptions changed within the profession? This week on the The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D is joined by Gent Ahmetaj and Nahdia Khan to discuss our 2021 L&D Benchmark Report. We discuss: the history of the...

Lots of organisations use survey tools to listen to employees, or capture 'employee voice'. But then we hear that no action is taken, or leadership teams don't know what to do with the results. Is there a better approach? On this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen speak to James Anderson and Donna Hamilton from employee listening platform Peachy Mondays. We discuss:  why employ...

Animations can be beautiful and mesmerising pieces of art. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma talks to Selina Wagner, Creative Director at Ping Creates, and Ross Garner about how we can use this art form to create impactful learning experiences.  We discuss: when and where animations can become an effective part of a learning solution the process of designing and creating animations ho...

In the final of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Gemma Paterson and Danny Seals about product management. This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management? Find the full episode in your podcast feed. Show notes Danny commented that Spotify don't use the Spotify Model. He was referencing this post: ag...

In the second of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Sukh Pabial about product management. This interview was recorded for the episode:  250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management? Find the full episode in your podcast feed. Show notes Sukh wrote about the role of a product manager in L&D at: pabial.wordpress.com/2020/01/30/the-role-of-a-pro...

In the first of three bonus episodes to celebrate our 250th show, Ross G talks to Myles Runham about product management. This interview was recorded for the episode: 250 — Documentary Special: What can L&D learn from product management? Find the full episode in your podcast feed. Show notes Myles has written extensively on product management on his blog, at:  mylesrunham.com/tag/product-management...

We're trying something new! For five years, The Mind Tools L&D Podcast (formerly The Good Practice Podcast) has enjoyed a conversational format. Today, for this anniversary special, we thought we'd try emulating the documentary-style podcasts we love: This American Life ,  Freakonomics and  Radiolab . So this week we're asking: What can L&D learn from product management? We're speaking to independ...

Back in mid-March we spoke to Emerald Works' CEO John Yates and Frontline Pedagogy Lead, Laura Watkin, about their experience of starting senior roles remotely. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma talks to freshly recruited team members from the same organisations - Emerald Works team member, David Sharkey and People Coordinator at Front, Simi Manik - on their remote onboard experiences...