Is Your Learning Program Just a Nicely Packaged Illusion?
Release Date: 06/09/2025
From Order Takers to Strategic Partners: The Mindset Shift L&D Needs Now
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
We’ve all been guilty of celebrating the wrong data—hours of training delivered, high NPS scores, without asking if it actually changed anything. In this episode, Vanessa Alzate takes a hard look at how organizations define success, why L&D can’t do it alone, and why executive sponsorship is critical to lasting change. You’ll hear: The “green smoothie” problem with vanity metrics Why culture change must start at the top (and bottom) How middle management can derail your evaluation efforts What L&D pros must ask themselves about their role in the future It’s time...
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The Catalyst Year: Inside the New Kirkpatrick
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
Season 4 kicks off with a candid solo from Vanessa Alzate as she reflects on the last two years since acquiring Kirkpatrick Partners. Hear the behind-the-scenes story of building a company through personal sacrifice, the release of her new book Building a Culture of Evaluation: The New Kirkpatrick Model for Performance and Innovation, and why this isn’t just another year—it’s the catalyst. From designing a new kind of summit experience to launching next-gen tools like Bigfoot and trevato, Vanessa lays out the vision for transforming how organizations evaluate, learn, and lead. In this...
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Proving Impact, Building Culture: Champions of the Kirkpatrick Four Levels®
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
In the season finale of the Kirkpatrick Podcast, Vanessa brings together three dynamic leaders who are proving every day that learning doesn’t matter unless it makes a difference. Join Veronica Soria, Genevieve Nystrom, and Deana Brown, practitioners and champions of the Kirkpatrick Four Levels® (aka the Kirkpatrick Model), as they share how they’ve built evaluation into the DNA of their organization. Whether you’re leading training in the military, higher education, or global consulting, this episode offers real-world strategies for showing impact, shifting culture, and leading with...
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The Great Reset: Dr. Nigel Paine on Learning, Leadership, and Thriving Through Disruption
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
Vanessa welcomes Dr. Nigel Paine, a global thought leader in organizational learning and author of The Great Reset, to the Kirkpatrick Podcast. Together, they unpack what it truly means to lead in a world of constant disruption. Nigel reflects on the dual forces that shaped his career—technology and adult learning—and why AI is not just a tool but an essential collaborator for the future of work. They explore how organizations must pivot beyond individual performance metrics to create systems that empower entire teams and embrace change. Vanessa also shares how Kirkpatrick Partners is...
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Why Emotional Intelligence Matters in Learning Design
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
In this uniquely personal episode of the Kirkpatrick Podcast, Vanessa shares her reflections after hosting a very special pair of guests: her two young daughters, Giselle and Gianna, for Bring Your Kid to Work Day. What started as a fun, spontaneous activity quickly turned into a powerful conversation about what learning really looks like—free from jargon, metrics, and formality. What her children expressed, without realizing it, was a masterclass in emotional intelligence, behavior change, and human-centered performance. Why does this matter? Because emotional intelligence—the ability to...
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Is Your Learning Program Just a Nicely Packaged Illusion?
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
AI is revolutionizing everything—but one thing it won’t fix is our unwillingness to hear the truth. In this episode, Vanessa shares a powerful reflection sparked by OpenAI rolling back its “too agreeable” model—and how this parallels the fear many organizations have about evaluating their work. Are we more interested in being reassured than being right? 📌 In this episode: Why some execs fear evaluation—and how it’s holding them back How agreeable AI mirrors the L&D world’s dependence on surface metrics Emerging AI tools that can finally make Level 3 measurement...
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The Playbook for Turning Training into Business Wins
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
In this high-energy episode, Vanessa takes an unexpected turn into the NFL Draft—and lands directly in the heart of organizational performance. What do first-round draft picks and workplace learning have in common? More than you think. 🔍 You'll discover: Why elite athletes and top-performing employees both need systems, not just training How learning solutions should fit the culture and capability of your organization A step-by-step analogy to help senior leaders see that one training is never enough Why great onboarding is your competitive advantage—and how Tom Brady proves it ...
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What Beyoncé, Branding, and Behavior Change Have in Common: Unlocking Lessons from Pop Culture to Boost Learning Impact and Organizational Value
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
This episode of The Kirkpatrick Podcast takes an unexpected—and powerful—turn into the world of pop culture. Vanessa dives into Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour and draws sharp, practical parallels between world-class performance branding and what it takes to build a high-impact learning department. You’ll walk away with: ✅ Fresh perspective on how brand reputation shapes learner behavior ✅ How to create emotional buy-in before training even begins ✅ Why perceived relevance must be tested—not assumed ✅ What concerts can teach us about Level 3 behavior change Whether you’re a...
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Kirkpatrick (Alzate) Kids Take Over: Out of the Mouths of Vanessa's Babies (and Future CEOs)
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
It’s Bring Your Kids to Work Day—and Vanessa brought her most honest coworkers yet: her daughters, Gianna and Giselle! In this heartwarming and hilarious episode, the Kirkpatrick Kids take over the mic to explore what their mom actually does for a living. From peanut butter and jelly training plans to genius microlearning ideas and calling out work-from-home culture, this episode is filled with laughs, wisdom, and more insight than you’d expect from a couple of future entrepreneurs. 🎧 Tune in to hear: What kids really think training and evaluation means Adorable (and surprisingly...
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Why Training Fails: The Real Issue Behind Performance Problems in Your Organization
The Kirkpatrick Podcast
In today’s spicy episode, Vanessa drops a bold truth: the real issue behind training failures is often the performance environment, not the training itself. With her birthday month in full swing, Vanessa shares why so many training programs set up for failure and how to ensure the right systems and environments are in place for true success. Key topics covered: What constitutes a performance environment and why it matters The impact of manager support, peer support, and organizational culture on training success Why we need to stop blaming training when the root cause lies...
info_outlineAI is revolutionizing everything—but one thing it won’t fix is our unwillingness to hear the truth.
In this episode, Vanessa shares a powerful reflection sparked by OpenAI rolling back its “too agreeable” model—and how this parallels the fear many organizations have about evaluating their work. Are we more interested in being reassured than being right?
📌 In this episode:
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Why some execs fear evaluation—and how it’s holding them back
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How agreeable AI mirrors the L&D world’s dependence on surface metrics
-
Emerging AI tools that can finally make Level 3 measurement doable
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A new Kirkpatrick offering to help you integrate AI and evaluation responsibly
🎧 Listen to this wake-up call for learning leaders—and what to do next.
Learn more about the Kirkpatrick Model
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