Leadership Launchpad

On this week’s episode of Making Better, we talk with Kristin Torrance, an Immersive Learning Engineer who focuses on applying learning sciences, instructional design, and data science practices to create effective learning experiences. In this episode we discuss the current state of XR technology, the situations it is best suited to, and how learning teams should think about using Virtual Reality...

Ann Rollins is going to shed light on an important aspect of learning content development: copyright and protected content. With the prevalence of information at our fingertips, it's easy to fall into the trap of using content without permission, but Ann is here to help us navigate the dos and don'ts of content usage. She'll explain the potential pitfalls of misusing copyrighted content and offer...

Matthew Meyers is a seasoned leadership development expert with over two decades of experience, having worked with renowned organizations such as T Mobile, Frontier Airlines, Crocs, and even TikTok. Our discussion with Matthew revolves around the importance of clear thinking, self-reflection, and questioning the information we encounter in various aspects of life, including personal decisions, bus...

Matthew Daniel is the Senior Principal of Talent Strategy at Guild and has had an impressive career working with Fortune 500 companies and startups. In this episode, we dive into Matthew's experiences at the Department of Defense and the lessons that can be learned from their talent development strategies. We'll also explore the importance of investing in employees, integrating talent development...

Welcome back to another episode of "Making Better"! In today's episode, we have a very special guest, Al Dea, a talent and leadership development consultant and facilitator. Join our host, Matt Gjertsen, as they dive deep into the ever-evolving world of work and how organizations can create conditions for collaboration between humans and non-humans, such as AI and technology. Al shares valuable in...

It is often said that training can help with three things, knowledge, skills, and mindsets. When you look at the training industry, I would say that about 90 percent of what we create is focused on knowledge, about 10 percent is behavior, and basically nothing focuses on mindset, at least as far as I can see. That is why I wanted to talk today with Heli Nehama Ozery. Heli is the founder and CEO of...

In today's episode, we have a special guest, Dr. Heidi Kirby, a renowned learning and development professional with a wide range of experience in various industries. Heidi is the co-founder of Useful Stuff, a website and newsletter dedicated to providing helpful resources for L&D professionals. She is also the host of the Block Podcast, focusing on building learning and organizational culture....

In today's episode of the Making Better we talk with Eric Girard, the CEO of Girard Training Solutions. Eric has over 30 years of experience in improving the performance of managers and specializes in helping new managers successfully transition into their new role. In this episode, Eric shares his expertise on empathy, mindset shifts, and the challenges faced by new managers in the 2020s. Stay tu...

Our guest today is Dr. Alaina Szlachta, an expert in data-enablement systems for small businesses to show outcomes and impact of their learning programs. She is the founder and creator of Measurement Made Easy, a community of practice which uses micro-learning, mentorship, and real case studies to create simpler solutions to common measurement and evaluation challenges. Alaina is also the author o...

Welcome to a bonus episode of the Making Better podcast! In this episode, we have the pleasure of continuing our conversation with Kristi Oliva, a program manager at Amazon. In our previous discussion, Kristi shared her inspiring journey of transitioning into learning development and the valuable insights she gained along the way. Today, we delve deeper into her story, exploring the challenges she...

In this bonus conversation with Russell Sweep, we dive into the challenges and growth of learning and development professionals. Russell reflects on his own career journey and shares how he overcame major obstacles, including the need for self-improvement and navigating a lack of support. Russell also discusses the importance of networking, giving back to the community, and finding a balance betwe...

Garima Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Artha Learning. After our initial conversation a few weeks ago about integrating ChatGPT with Storyline, she stuck around to talk a bit about her journey from the software world into learning and where she is hoping to go from here. I hope you enjoy.

Our guest today is Kristi Oliva, Learning Program Manager at Amazon.. Kristi, like many in the L&D field, started as a teacher in formal education. She made the move over to corporate learning and development and is now a Program Manager at Amazon. Since many people in the talent development space come from education, I wanted to sit down and chat with her about how she made that transition an...

Keri is the Director of Talent Development at Mission Cloud. We talked to her a few weeks ago about how they launch learning initiatives faster at Mission. After that discussion, she stuck around a bit to talk about her career journey and how she approaches improvement in her own life.

Today I am talking to Russel Sweep, Content Development Manager for Goodwill Industries International. Russell made the move from higher education into corporate instructional design and has had to work with teams on merging learning theory with the practical realities of instructional design. That merger is always a big topic in our industry which is why I wanted to have him on today.

Today I am talking to Garima Gupta, the Founder and CEO of the award-winning Learning design firm Artha Learning. Garima brings over 18 years of diverse experience to the field of Learning & Development and is passionate about the intersection of technology and education. Currently, she is doing some amazing work integrating ChatGPT into Storyline courses which more people need to know about....

Today I am talking to David Rudd. David is a communication advisor to private and public sector leaders. He co-owns Rudd Resources with his wife, Kimberley. The firm centers equity in its services, which are aimed at uplifting and informing audiences, especially those in underrepresented or underserved groups. After the recent Supreme Court decisions on Affirmative Action, I was really excited to...

Today I am talking to Sean Adams, the Head of Sales and Partnership at Iorad. As I have been focusing on growing my business, I have had to learn a lot about sales. More and more, I am finding that learning teams could learn a lot from sales teams about how to get buy-in on learning initiatives. So that is what I want to talk to Sean about today. Want more tips on effective training? Sign-up for o...

Today I am talking to Keri Barnett-Howell, the Director of Talent Development at Mission Cloud where she leads employee growth initiatives and strategies to help every Mission team member achieve their professional goals. She has created training and development programs for all career levels, with a particular focus on early career and career transitions. With her experience building the talent t...

Today I am talking to Stephanie Bertmer, the Head of Learning and Development at Pinterest. Steph is an expert at dealing with change, change of leadership, change of direction, she has seen it all. Since change is something we all deal with, I thought it would be great to have Steph on to discuss how she deals with change, especially when leading an L&D team. If you are looking for regular tr...

Today I am talking to Destery Hildenbrand, a XR Solutions Architect at Intellezy. I recently met Destery at a planning event for ATD’s Tech Knowledge conference where I heard him talking about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. As a huge fan of the potential for these technologies in training, I thought now would be a great time to learn more. Are you trying to get more impact out of your empl...

Today I am talking to Ashley Chang, Learning Operations Manager at Pinterest. I knew Ashley when she was the Learning & Technology Manager at Virgin Orbit, a role she took on after being a Stress Engineer at Boeing. Not sure what a Stress Engineer is? Truthfully, I am not sure either, which is exactly why I wanted to have this discussion. Today, she is going to share some of the engineering le...

Today I am talking to Sarah Carroll, a seasoned L&D professional who brings over a decade of experience cultivated in 3 countries. Throughout her career, Sarah has continuously found herself in the building out stages of both organizations and teams. As such, she has gained valuable insights into how to optimize and scale procedures in order to best deliver impactful learning experiences. Toda...

Today we are talking to Zach Ledford, owner of ELJUN LLC, a Veteran Owned Small Business that focuses on creating data integration solutions that bolster productivity, reduce cost, and decrease risk. Incorrect people data is the biggest challenge I have faced when implementing learning strategies, so I wanted to have him on to discuss. Want more tips on effective training? Sign-up for our weekly n...

Today we are talking to Loren Sanders, who is the author of the book Empathy Is Not a Weakness and a long time Learning and Development professional. In L&D, we talk a lot about developing others, but not so much about developing ourselves. I know Loren has a lot to say on this topic so I wanted to have her on. Want more tips on effective training? Sign-up for our weekly newsletter Making Bett...