The Mindtools L&D Podcast

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...

Collaboration is a vital skill across many fields and disciplines. But effective collaboration is about much more than just working together. In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Paula are joined by Fraser Mcdonald, Head of Collaboration at Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) and Deputy Director of the Data for Children Collaborative, to discuss: why collaboration is imp...

Whether it comes to facilitating workshops, designing learning experiences, or developing campaign assets, L&D practitioners are increasingly expected to bring creativity to their roles. But how do you do this if you don't have a creative background, or if you don't think of yourself as a 'creative person'? In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Gemma are joined by Kenny...

Often on this podcast we've spoken about how AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are enhancing our capabilities. But do they also come at a cost? In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross Stevenson from Steal These Thoughts joins Ross G and Dr Gent to discuss: the relationship between tasks and skills; whether we are over-relying on AI; the long-term impact of AI use on crit...

What are the benefits of podcasts for learning? How does L&D respond to people leaving the profession? Should we get rid of email? In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross G is joined by Anna and Ross D to answer your questions! During the discussion, Ross D referenced our post ' If your podcast isn't available on mobile, does it make a sound? ', and Cal Newport's  Deep Work . R...

What drives your delegation decisions? Is it what's best for the business? Is it what's best for your team member? Is it what's best for you? In this week's edition of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross G, Ross D and Dr Anna discuss: Why managers sometimes delegate tasks that they know are too difficult How the organization's culture shapes those decisions How to help managers delegate better. The...

Many organizations treat 'inclusion' and 'wellbeing' as separate issues, but Dr Serena Huang - author of  The Inclusion Equation  - argues that the two are intrinsically linked. And, that data is how you can make better decisions about how to make a positive impact on both. In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Serena joins Ross G and Dr Anna to discuss: Why these two areas are in...

We might think that what makes our team culture great (or awful) is different from what supports our learning and development. Are they so different, though?   In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Gemma are joined by L&D professional turned Culture Manager , Lois Ratcliff e to discuss:   what 'culture' is and how it gets measured;   what it takes to have a good feedback...

Digital learning content offers a scalable, always-on   option   to help your people build their skills and overcome workplace challenges. But often these libraries get dusty, bogged down by out-of-date content with little relevance, or hidden away in a dark corner of the intranet where no one can find them.   So   in this episode of   The Mindtools L&D Podcast ,   Virgin Money's Martin Ritchie, D...

Most organizations offer some kind of content library to help their people develop. But how much content is too much? How do you give your people choice, without overloading them? In this week's episode of  The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross G and Ross D are joined by Rosemary Hoskins (formerly of AstraZeneca), to discuss: Why are extensive content libraries a problem (as well as a solution) for org...

Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence once again topped the results of Donald Taylor's Global Sentiment Survey. Almost every other option on the survey lost vote-share this year, with the exception of the 'value trio ' . So, what do these findings tell us about the state of L&D, and how the profession is evolving?   In t his week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Don joined Ross D and Ros...

It's 'Bring Your Paper to Work' day at Mindtools Towers, as Ross G, Ross D and Dr Anna each take turns to share an academic study that they think has key insights for L&D professionals. We discuss: The impact of AI on critical thinking, as investigated in: Lee, H. P. H., Sarkar, A., Tankelevitch, L., Drosos, I., Rintel, S., Banks, R., & Wilson, N. (2025).  The Impact of Generative AI on Critical T...

The World Economic Forum's recent 'Future of Jobs' report positioned 'AI and big data' and 'technological literacy' as skills that will become increasingly important over the next five years. But what do these skills look like in practice? What do we mean when we talk about 'AI literacy'?   In t his week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Anna are joined by Erica Werneman Root, le...

In last week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , we explored sales enablement from the perspective of sales and marketing teams. But where do product teams fit in? Beyond building products, what role do these teams play in generating revenue?   For the second instalment in our two-part series on sales enablement , Ross D and Lara are once again joined by Darren Bezani , Chief Salecologist at...

All sales training is sales enablement, but not all sales enablement is sales training.   In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross Dickie and Lara are joined by Darren Be zani , Chief Salecologist at Salecology , to discuss:   what 'sales enablement' means, and why it's intentionally broader in scope than sales training;    what sales enablement is designed to achieve, beyond inc...

Those of who work in learning and development like to think we're in the business of behavior change . But w e often don't have an in-depth understanding of what current behaviors are , or how to change them.   In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross Garner is joined by Ross Dickie and Dr Anna Barnett to discuss:   methods for understanding behavior ;   digital learning methods...

The National Trust is Europe's largest conservation charity, established 130 years ago to look after the UK's nature, beauty and history . Its leaders have diverse areas of focus, from protecting woodland to managing properties – and even running a gold mine!   In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast , Ross G and Ross D find out just how the Trust develops these leaders, with Developme...