The Mindtools L&D Podcast

In his book Targeting Turnover , Dick Finnegan argues that, as the global population ages and more people enter retirement, it is imperative for organizations to retain the talent they already have. In this week's episode, Dick joins Claire and Cammy to discuss: Why turnover is a problem for businesses  The strategies organizations can deploy to reduce turnover  The impact this might have on the L...

Hello listeners! No new episode this week, but we wanted to take the opportunity to revisit our 2021 'documentary special' on product management.  It took a lot more work than our usual roundtable format, but we think it paid off. ;) To make this episode, we spoke to Myles Runham, Sukh Pabial, Danny Seals, and Gemma Paterson, discussing: what product management is what L&D can learn from product m...

When Dr Anna Barnett, Ross Garner and Ross Dickie discussed the role of empathy in decision-making in Episode 463, they started to ponder the role that AI plays in our decisions.  In this week's episode, Ross Garner, Anna and Gemma return to the topic of smart decisions to continue that conversation. We discuss: The impact AI is having on our decisions and decision-making processes The pros and co...

According to Donald Taylor and Egle Vinauskaitė's recent AI in L&D: The Race for Impact report, 'creating learning content' and 'learning design tasks' remain the primary use cases for AI in learning and development. But should they be? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , L&D consultant Heidi Kirby joins Ross D and Claire to discuss: the obvious appeal of using AI to scale learni...

All children play but, over time, that instinct goes away. We don't lose it, we don't forget. Instead, we get taught to stop. For author and toy designer Cas Holman, that's a problem. With a very real impact on business performance. In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Cas joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss: how traditional workplaces surpress play the business benefits of play at...

Why does L&D so often feel like the drive-thru window of requests—'one leadership program, hold the ROI please'? As L&D professionals, it's not who we understand ourselves to be. So how can we flip the script so that we're seen and treated as strategic business partners? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , we're joined by Jess Almlie, author of "Order taker no more!" We discuss:...

Decision-making is a key aspect of being a manager, and a complex mix of skills, experiences, judgments and instincts. So how do you help your managers make smarter decisions at work? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , our own Dr Anna Barnett reveals insights from our new report 'The empathy problem: Balancing emotion in decision-making', part of our Building Better Managers ser...

Last week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast , L&D Detective Kevin M Yates joined Ross D and Dr Anna to talk about isolating the impact of training at work. When listening back, Ross G took umbrage at some of the claims made by his Mindtools colleagues and so, this week, we re-litigate! We discuss: Are control groups really worth it? How else can you measure impact? Why Dr Anna thinks learning NEVER lea...

Is it up to the humble L&D pro to change people's behavior at work? Or is it up to everyone? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , return guest Kevin M. Yates (aka The L&D Detective) speaks to Anna and Ross D about: How to isolate the impact of training at work What other factors influence performance How L&D pros can demonstrate the value of their roles. You can find out more abou...

As learning and development professionals, we spend most of our days thinking about how we help others build their skills. But how many of us neglect our own development while doing so? It's what L&D advisor, writer and speaker David Kelly calls 'The Irony of L&D', and in this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , David joins Ross G and Claire to discuss: how to make time for personal deve...

Objectives and Key Results have long been a staple of the working world. You set a stretch objective, define the results that will tell you if the objective has been met, and scaffold throughout the organization. Then what? Often, nothing happens. The OKRs were too vague. In extreme cases, the worst happens: people bend the rules to hit aggressive targets. For author Radhika Dutt, there is another...

Here at Mindtools Towers, we're no strangers to benchmarking in L&D. We've regularly mentioned our Learning Performance Benchmark over the years, and we dedicated an entire episode to 'The value of benchmarking' back in 2021.  So, naturally, we were intrigued when David James released the 'L&D Maturity Model', and wanted to invite him onto the show to discuss it. This week on  The Mindtools L&D Po...

Now for something completely different! A couple of weeks ago, Carl Akintola wrote a provocative guest post for The L&D Dispatch , challenging L&D practitioners to interogate their motives for measuring learning impact. Are they in it purely for the sake of evaluation and continuous improvement? Or are they merely trying to justify their own existence? This week on  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Car...

We know that surrounding ourselves with diverse people at work brings variety in expertise, opinions and ways of working, which can boost creativity and productivity. Sometimes those differences however, can be challenging. How can we make the most of difference?   This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast ,  Liggy Webb, author of Tolerance: How to respect and accept differences  joins Ross G and Gem...

In their new book,  In Praise of the Office , Wharton professor Peter Cappelli and workplace strategist Ranya Nehmeh argue that 'the case for in-office work has never been stronger'. This week on  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Peter and Ranya join Ross D and Claire to explain why they believe this to be true. We discuss:  The benefits and downsides to in-office work, both from an employer and employ...

If we want to motivate learners to engage with an experience, it stands to reason that we need to present that experience in a way feels authentic and relatable to them. But what are the limits to authenticity in the workplace? And are some of the conventions of learning design at odds with authentic communication? This week on  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Kineo's Matt Mella joins Ross D and Clair...

If you spend any time scrolling LinkedIn, attending L&D conferences, or listening to industry podcasts, it might seem like AI is about to usher in the end of e-learning as we know it. But is e-learning really dying, or is it just evolving? This week on  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Kineo's Cammy Bean joins Ross D and Ross G to discuss: The probability that AI will bring about the e-learning-pocalyp...

Frontline managers have to support decisions they didn't make, translate organizational goals into actions, identify meaningful opportunities for people to develop, remember to acknowledge successes, regulate their emotions, and resolve team conflicts. And they're usually 19-years-old. This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast , one of our favourite guests - JD Dillon - returns to the show to share i...

Exciting news at Mindtools Towers this week, as we launch our first 'Expert Skill Bite' course with Dr Markus Bernhardt, available now to all Mindtools Content Hub users!  To share more about what the course covers, and how it builds capability over time, Markus joined Ross G and Claire to discuss: Why a 'big top-down AI strategy' is never coming How to help managers build AI skills What to do if...

This week, we're handing the reigns of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast over to our friends at Assemble You. Including the show notes! In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Ross Garner and Paul Buller of Mindtools to explore one of the most pressing topics in L&D today: the role of AI in content creation and the future of learning. Ross is Chief Learning Officer at Mindtools and a former Lear...

Remember 'performance support'? Amid all the talk of AI, adaptive learning, and skills, it's kind of been forgotten. But not by us! Or by respondents to Don Taylor's  Global Sentiment Survey , who ranked it 11th hottest trend this year (up two from last year). In the first of a two-part series of crossover episodes with our partner Assemble You, Ross G and Paul are joined by Adam Lacey to discuss:...

Should we be adopting AI more into our day to day lives? How can L&D professionals move beyond reactive training on specific tools to cultivate a continuous learning mindset in team members ?   In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Gemma and Dr Anna are joined by to Head of L & D at Newsquest Media Group, Mel Cooley to explore L& D's relationship with AI.   We discuss:   h ow L&D i...

Armed with a STEM qualification or two, you might think technical brilliance is all one needs to succeed in the space sector. Is this the case though? In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Anna are joined by Victoria Craig to discuss: the importance of 'soft' skills in a 'hard' science environment; sector-specific skills gaps; how L&D can bridge these gaps. In 'What I L...

Effective marketers have an uncanny way of know ing what we want and convincing us to  click 'Like ',  add to Checkout and in under 20 seconds,   buy the ir thing. Clever. Meanwhile, over in L&D, we find it more difficult to motivate someone to take action or change their behaviour . S o , what does marketing do that we d on't ?     In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross G is...

Having the opportunity to set up a new team can be both exciting and daunting. Where would you start when it's an L&D team?   In this week's episode of  The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Head of People Development Daneille Ware speaks to Gemma and Ross about her approach to creating an L&D team from scratch. We discuss:     ·         The triggers for creating a new or evolved L&D department ·         H...