The Mindtools L&D Podcast

Working in L&D, we spend a lot of time focusing on the development of others. But how much time do we spend thinking about our own development? This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Ross Garner and Owen Ferguson are joined by Lightbulb Moment's Jo Cook to discuss:  the benefits of formal training for L&D professionals the value of experience over expertise how people working in L&D can support e...

Learning Technologies is one of the biggest industry conferences in the L&D calendar. But what did we learn from attending? This week on The Good Practice Podcast, Nicola Boyle, James McLuckie and Gemma Towersey discuss their highlights and key takeaways from the conference. In the episode we discuss: Personalisation The ethics of AI Getting back to the basics of learning design Show notes The Goo...

For many organisations, the workplace is no longer local. Technology has helped create a global talent market, where the primary job requirements are a computer and a stable internet connection. There are obvious benefits to this, but what does it mean for L&D? How do you deliver a consistent experience to a multilingual, multicultural workforce, spread across different regions? This week on the G...

What are some of the L&D challenges faced by the not-for-profit sector? And how do they overcome these challenges on restricted budgets?   This week on The Good Practice Podcast, Nicola Boyle and James McLuckie are joined by Cat Kernohan, Head of L&D at Oxfam, and Kate Kellaway Moore, Head of Talent and Resourcing at Oxfam to discuss.   In this episode you'll find out: How Oxfam deliver their L&D...

This week, we're taking a break from our usual format to bring you some exciting news! Tune in to hear CEO Peter Casebow speak to regular hosts Ross Garner, Nicola Boyle and Ross Dickie about what's changing. You can also check out our new website at emeraldworks.com Or get in touch on Twitter @Emerald_Works .

The LPI recently surveyed learning leaders, asking them to name their toughest workplace challenges. The results? Creating a learning culture, developing the workforce of the future, digital transformation and digital learning, leadership and management development, and self-directed learning. This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, Owen and Ross G are joined by LPI CEO Ed Monk to discuss what thes...

Can learning and development ever adopt the same rigour as clinical research? And how should we judge the usefulness of existing research? This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and Owen welcome return guest Mirjam Neelen to discuss her new book (co-written with Paul A. Kirschner):  Evidence-informed learning design We discuss: the problems with research into learning the mis-use of terms l...

This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, it's the return of our much beloved Christmas episode! This year, GoodPractice guardian angels Nicola, Owen, Ross G and Ross D share their favourite clips from the past year in an effort to help Bedford Falls' own George Bailey rediscover his love of learning and development. We discuss: the L&D community behaviour change remote working learning analytics and...

What do the Ancient Greeks, Viking warriors and World War II munition factories have to tell us about modern learning and development? More than you might think! On this week's episode of The GoodPractice Podcast, Michelle Parry-Slater joins Ross G and Owen to explore lessons from the history of L&D. We discuss: how modern L&D developed the benefits of exploring our history evolution vs revolution...

What should we know about the people we don't? Through a series of thematically related anecdotes, this is the question Malcolm Gladwell sets out to answer in his latest book, Talking to Strangers.  On this week's episode of the GoodPractice Podcast, Ross D is joined by Owen, Ross G and Nicola for the first in a series of bimonthly 'bookclub' episodes. We discuss:  our general impressions of the b...

In this special video episode of The GoodPractice Podcast, we're at eLN Connect 2019, the annual e-Learning Network conference for developers and instructional designers. We discuss: our instructional design mistakes relationships between clients and vendors good and bad applications for virtual reality problems with the traditional conference format. As well as the usual 30-minute audio cut, we'v...

At face value, FC Barcelona look like any other top-tier football club. They've got an army of devoted fans, deep pockets and a roster of world-class players. So what sets them apart from the competition? According to Damian Hughes, the answer is culture.  This week on the podcast, Damian joins Ross D, Owen and Stewart to discuss his latest book,  The Barcelona Way.  They cover:  how FC Barcelona...

How do we achieve work-life balance? Is there even such a thing? And should we treat 'work' and 'life' as two separate entities or are they more integrated than we would like to believe? This week return guest Stephanie Hubka, world traveller and managing partner at Protos Learning, joins Nicola Boyle and James McLuckie to discuss. We talk about: How taking time off can improve our performance at...

Back in Episode 150, the CIPD's Andy Lancaster told us he was writing a book. Now that he's written that book,  Driving Performance Through Learning , we thought we'd invite him back to chat about it.  This week on the podcast, Andy joins Ross D and Owen to discuss everything you always wanted to know about learning* (*but were afraid to ask). We cover: the changing role of L&D professionals the i...

How do you challenge your colleagues and clients to think deeply about the problems they bring to you, and how can you gain the credibility to help solve those problems? This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by author and performance consultant Nigel Harrison to find out. We discuss: what performance consulting is how it differs from traditional approaches to HR and L&D...

How effective are we at separating the 'messenger' from the 'message'? Do we truly listen to what people have to say, or are we overly focused on how they say it and who they are? These are the questions up for discussion on this week's GoodPractice Podcast, as Nicola, Ross G and Cat are joined by Joseph Marks, co-author of  Messengers . In this episode, we discuss: the difference between 'hard' a...

The humble course was once the go-to solution for learning and development teams across the world, but in recent years it has suffered from a damaged reputation. This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, we discuss whether traditional formal learning has a role in the modern workplace. And, if so, when? To dig into this topic, Ross G and James are joined by author and learning designer Patti Shank. I...

For many of us, working life is based around five days of energy depletion, followed by two days of recharging. But does it have to be this way?  This week on the podcast, Ross D, Nicola and Peter are joined by guest Perry Timms to discuss:  what the title 'Chief Energy Officer' means how to manage our own energy levels how we can design more energy-giving jobs If you'd like to get in touch with u...

Not quite L&D, not quite HR, OD sits somewhere in between (or perhaps above?) the two. But what does 'organisation development' actually mean, and what skills do you need to do the job effectively?  This week on the podcast, Ross D and Ross G are joined by return guests Julie Drybrough and David D'Souza to discuss:  how OD differs from L&D and HR the skills of a successful OD practitioner the exte...

We know that in a lot of organisations, learning and development still means training, and training still means classroom. How do we overcome resistance to the alternatives? Should we overcome that resistance? On this week's episode of The GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by Camden Council's Tom Spencer and Sarah Sedley. We discuss: the challenges of delivering learning for a diver...

We all like to think our decisions are based on a methodical appraisal of the available evidence. But how do we know what 'good evidence' looks like in the context of L&D?  This week on the podcast, Ross D, Nicola and Owen are joined by Rob Briner, Professor of Organizational Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, to discuss evidence-based practice.  In this episode, we cover:  the meaning...

We've often talked on this show about how few people actively seek out a career in learning and development. So, how exactly did we end up here?  This week on the podcast, Ross D, Ross G and James are joined by Richard Dawson of Virgin Trains and Jilly Julian of Horwich Farrelly to share their origin stories.  We discuss: our professional backgrounds the challenges of getting started in L&D the qu...

This week the GoodPractice team visited Turing Fest 2019, one of Europe's top tech conferences, to learn about product development, leadership, marketing - and skateboards. Ross G, Ross D and Owen are joined by podcast newcomers Jade Stewart and Tracey McDonald to share their reflections. We discuss: how marketing techniques can optimise your L&D output the importance of seeking user feedback the...

  This week on The GoodPractice Podcast, it's the return of our L&D book bag. Nicola Boyle and Ross G are joined by Owen and James to share insights from the books that we think are a must-read for L&D professionals. We discuss: Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield The Accidental Instructional Designer by Cammy Bean Ho...

The modern office, based largely on a 'factory' model, is constantly being re-organised in a bid to optimise output. But how far have cubicles, hot desks and pods been effective? What principles should guide these design choices? On this week's GoodPractice Podcast, Ross G, Ross D and Owen are joined by author and workplace designer Neil Usher. We discuss: factors to consider when designing an eff...