The Mindtools L&D Podcast
The Mindtools L&D Podcast is a must-listen for anyone involved in Learning and Development or Human Resources. The weekly show features regular appearances from the Mindtools team plus special guests to get right to the heart of issues affecting the L&D and HR communities. From learning needs analysis and evidence-based practice through to the impact of technology on work and hot topics at industry conferences, you'll get critical insights into the world of work, performance and learning.
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476 — Christmas Special: Die Hard on an LMS
12/23/2025
476 — Christmas Special: Die Hard on an LMS
Yippee-ki-yay, Christmas Turkeys! In our final episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast for 2025, the gang are climbing to the top of Nakatomi Plaza: foiling a criminal plot and solving L&D challenges as we go. We answer: What rule exists at work that, if broken, would have the biggest impact on performance? (Tony) What should L&D pros be stealing to maximise their impact this Christmas? (Heinrich) What advice would you give an L&D professional as they plan for 2026? (Marco) What do we need to let go of in L&D? (Hans Gruber) During the discussion, Gemma referenced play at work and . Ross G discussed Sir Dave Brailsford's insistence that members of Team GB Cycling . Ross D referenced , and . We also discussed some industry reports from and . And JD Dillon's , inspired by the film It's a Wonderful Life. If you've listened to this episode (always our lowest performing of the year), thank you! You can find out more about Mindtools Kineo at . There, you'll also find our back catalogue of nearly 500 episodes. That's the Christmas entertainment sorted! And if you like the show, you'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at See you next year, and thanks for listening! Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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475 — Is self-directed learning a myth?
12/16/2025
475 — Is self-directed learning a myth?
The promise of self-directed learning is that employees will take charge of their own development, if we only create the environment for them to do so. But does this actually happen? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Mindtools Kineo Head of Product Daniel Potter joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss self-directed learning, with a focus on: what self-directed learning journeys look like how motivation is different for mandatory vs self-directed learning how our approach to learning design needs to align with learner motivation. During the discussion, Gemma referenced . In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed the . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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474 — So long 2025, what's hot for 2026?
12/10/2025
474 — So long 2025, what's hot for 2026?
What a year it was! In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, HowNow's Nelson Sivalingam joins Ross G and Ross D to reflect on 2025 and look to emerging trends in 2026. We discuss: AI (obviously) and how it's evolving the rise of instructor-led training how market consolidation is changing the choice of suppliers for L&D leaders. During the discussion, Ross G referenced a number of new stories: We also discussed Don Taylor's , Don's report written with Eglė Vinauskaitė, and Hemsley Fraser's . Finally, Ross G referenced the '' of AI products. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared an example of . Nelson discussed Gmail's new '' tool. And Ross G discussed the process of making a teaser trailer for his novel, Centauri's Shadow. You can . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. And for more from HowNow, visit . Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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473 — Learning at LV=
12/02/2025
473 — Learning at LV=
How do you run an organization-wide learning function with just two people? At LV=, that's the main focus for Talent, Learning and Development Partner Rob Foster. This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Rob joins Claire and Ross G to discuss: how building relationships throughout the organization helps support induction, mentoring and reverse mentoring programs how internal champions expand the impact of digital resources (like Mindtools!) advice for teams working on a similarly small scale. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed the structure of Taylor Swift's ''. For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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472 — Delivering business value
11/25/2025
472 — Delivering business value
The L&D industry has always talked about 'business value' as an elusive concept. Now, a new book from Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers, The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value, articulates what that looks like in practice. This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, they join Ross D and Dr Anna to discuss: how L&D teams can transition through different stages of maturity the role of data in shaping business value the role of community and where to find it in the post-Twitter world. The book, , is available now from Kogan Page. For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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471 — A long-term view on learning
11/18/2025
471 — A long-term view on learning
In many organizations, not least within L&D, urgent and important short-term challenges often crowd out the bigger picture. So, how do we step back and take the long view? In this week's episode, Ross D and Claire are joined by Nina Bressler, founder of Reimagined Value, to discuss: Nina's background and what she means by the term 'societal learning' How to work with business stakeholders to help them decide what to focus on How to measure the impact of long-term initiatives. To find out more about Nina's work, check out . In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D mentioned the article from the Stat Significant newsletter. For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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470 — AI in L&D: The Race for Impact
11/11/2025
470 — AI in L&D: The Race for Impact
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, Donald Taylor and Eglė Vinauskaitė have released four reports exploring L&D's use of AI. In this week's episode, Don joins Ross D to discuss the latest report — AI in L&D: The Race for Impact. We cover: What's changed over the last three years, and why we're at an inflection point How L&D's use of AI has slowly matured over time, evolving into more sophisticated use cases A vision for the future of L&D, beyond content-creation. You can download a copy of the full report . In 'What I Learned This Week', Don recommended the book . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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469 — How businesses can hold on to their best people
11/04/2025
469 — How businesses can hold on to their best people
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&D industry. You can pick up a copy of Targeting Turnover . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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468 — What can L&D learn from product management? (Rebroadcast)
10/28/2025
468 — What can L&D learn from product management? (Rebroadcast)
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 management what 'the product' is in L&D - is it L&D itself? For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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467 — Decisions, decisions, decisions... by AI?
10/21/2025
467 — Decisions, decisions, decisions... by AI?
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 cons of using AI to help us make decisions How we might use AI to make more effective decisions. In 'What I Learned This Week', Anna recommended using the '' app to plan your outdoor adventures. Ross introduced us to Quipu. You can read about this cluster of universes in EarthSky's article ''. To read all of our reports, visit For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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466 — What L&D should (and shouldn't) be doing with AI
10/14/2025
466 — What L&D should (and shouldn't) be doing with AI
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 learning content; why Heidi believes outsourcing development to AI is a mistake; what L&D could or should be using AI for, if not content generation. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross mentioned the website . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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465 — The business impact of play at work
10/07/2025
465 — The business impact of play at work
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 work how to encourage play when your organization won't tolerate it. You can find out more about Cas and her book Playfulness at . You can also see her in the Netflix series Abstract: The Art of Design. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed peculiar experiments involving moths, via . For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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464 — Order taker to strategic business partner
09/30/2025
464 — Order taker to strategic business partner
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: What keeps us stuck in an order taker role? What are the foundations of great strategic business partnering? What might a move into this new role look like? You can find out more about Jess, her work and book on her website. In What I Learned This Week, Gemma mentioned the . Sadly we don't have a photo of Ross on a horse. For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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463 — The empathy problem: Balancing emotion in decision-making
09/23/2025
463 — The empathy problem: Balancing emotion in decision-making
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 series. We discuss: Whether managers are more inclined to delegate difficult tasks than those they think will be achieved Why too much empathy is a problem in decision-making How to build emotionally intelligent managers. During the discussion, Anna referenced the following papers: Maas, V. S., & Shi, B. (2023). ‘’. Management Accounting Research, 60, 100851. Kaiser, R. B. (2024). ''. Consulting Psychology Journal. To read all of our reports, visit For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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462 — Umbrage over troubled water: Disputing last week's episode
09/15/2025
462 — Umbrage over troubled water: Disputing last week's episode
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 leads (directly) to business impact To find out how Mindtools can help you measure the business impact of your learning, despite what Dr Anna says, Ross D also discussed Dr Will Thalheimer's . In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D recommended the podcast. For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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461 — It takes a village: Isolating training's impact
09/09/2025
461 — It takes a village: Isolating training's impact
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 about Kevin's work at For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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460 — The irony of L&D: When do we develop ourselves?
09/02/2025
460 — The irony of L&D: When do we develop ourselves?
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 development how to build this habit among your team the extent to which AI makes personal development existential for L&D professionals. To find out more about David, find him . There you'll also find his article, ''. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G discussed ''. David discussed Josh Cavalier's guidance on . For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: (who it turns out works every second Friday)
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459 — OHLs over OKRs: A new approach to goal-setting
08/25/2025
459 — OHLs over OKRs: A new approach to goal-setting
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 way: Objectives, Hypotheses, and Learnings (OHLs). In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Radhika joins Gemma and Ross Garner to discuss: Why OKRs so often fail How OHLs prioritize a puzzle-solving mindset How to ensure OHLs don't lead to analysis paralysis Radhika offers an OHL toolkit at: In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G discussed 'parasocial relationships'. Gemma discussed an article from The Guardian on . For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. For more from Radhika, including her last book Radical Product Thinking, see . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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458 — What do you bench(mark)?
08/19/2025
458 — What do you bench(mark)?
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 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 Podcast, David joins us to explore: Why David developed his maturity model, and what makes it different The limitations of self-assessment-based models What practitioners can expect to get out of benchmarking How L&D teams can move up the levels of the model and increase their maturity. You can find out more about The L&D Maturity Model . You can find the Learning & Development Podcast, 'wherever you get your podcasts'. In 'What I Learned This Week', Anna explained the history of '', following her holiday in the Dolomites. David talked about '' in butterflies. And Ross dropped a fresh new about his son, AKA Lil Dribs. For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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457 — Evaluation or justification?
08/12/2025
457 — Evaluation or justification?
Now for something completely different! A couple of weeks ago, Carl Akintola wrote a provocative guest post for , 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, Carl takes over hosting duties, and runs Ross G and Ross D through the scenario he outlined in the newsletter. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D mentioned , an episode of the Decoder Ring podcast. Ross G described the so-called ''. And Carl confused the Rosses with a maths problem, based on the ''. For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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456 — Building tolerance in the workplace
08/05/2025
456 — Building tolerance in the workplace
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 Gemma to examine the skill of tolerance. We discuss: What tolerance means The benefits of being tolerant How to be tolerant, particularly towards differences in behaviour or opinions that we find tricky. To find out about Liggy's Bitesize Book Series, visit her . In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross mentioned Anthropic's experiment that revealed Claude's . Gemma spoke about the startling dimensions of the . For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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455 — The case (for some people) to go back to the office
07/29/2025
455 — The case (for some people) to go back to the office
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 employee perspective The challenges of returning to office post-pandemic, and why mandates alone often don't work The role of managers in implementing remote, hybrid or in-office models The implications of different working models for learning and development. You can find out more about In Praise of the Office . In 'What I Learned This Week', Claire mentioned , which shows output of Veo 3, the latest version of Google's AI video generator. The paper Peter mentioned was by Michael Gibbs et al. For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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454 — Designing learning experiences that feel authentic
07/22/2025
454 — Designing learning experiences that feel authentic
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 Claire to discuss: What 'authenticity' looks like in the context of learning design Why it's important, and how to design with authenticity in mind How Mindtools and Kineo have achieved this in practice. During the episode, Ross D referenced , exploring the growing association of the em dash with AI-generated content. In 'What I Learned This Week', Claire talked about her enlightening visit to the . Matt explained the history of the . And Ross D recommended the episode of 99% Invisible. For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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453 — What's your e-learning P(doom)?
07/15/2025
453 — What's your e-learning P(doom)?
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-pocalypse How the work of learning designers might change over the coming years The risks L&D needs to consider as they incoporate AI tools into their practice. During the episode, Ross D mentioned a recent edition of The L&D Dispatch, . For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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452 — Pity the frontline manager
07/08/2025
452 — Pity the frontline manager
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 insights from his upcoming book on the role of frontline managers. We discuss: The pressures faced by frontline managers How to help these managers feel confident in their roles How AI chat bots and digital communities can help managers respond to daily challenges. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Anna discussed the impact of . JD discussed the . Ross shared how to spot a suspicious statistic, via . For more from JD, check out his website , , and . For more from us, including details of our upcoming app (soon!) visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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451 — Upskilling your managers on AI tools
07/01/2025
451 — Upskilling your managers on AI tools
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 your organization bans AI tools. Log in to now to subscribe to the Skill Bite and try it for yourself! In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Claire recommended '', from the Search Engine podcast. Ross discussed the latest exciting news from the world of . For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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450 — AI and the Future of Content (Assemble You crossover episode)
06/24/2025
450 — AI and the Future of Content (Assemble You crossover episode)
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 Learning Designer of the Year. He’s also a long-time podcast host and co-author of the L&D Dispatch newsletter. Paul is Head of Content at Mindtools, an executive coach, and an expert in leadership and organisational psychology with a track record in leading hybrid learning teams at global organisations. In this episode, Ross and Paul unpack how AI is reshaping what we create, how we design learning experiences, and the skills L&D professionals need to thrive in this new landscape. They share their reflections on: Why content creation jobs are shifting—not disappearing How AI can free up time to focus on behaviour change and learning design The continued importance of authentic human connection in digital learning Practical ways to integrate AI into workflows without compromising quality How L&D can defend against “internet slop” with trustworthy, research-backed content Ross and Paul give thoughtful, grounded insights into what AI means for learning teams today—and why embracing it with optimism and intentionality is the smart move. If you’re navigating the shift to AI-enhanced learning design, this is a must-listen episode. Duolingo AI Revolution: Connect with them on LinkedIn Ross: Paul: To find out more about the performance support available for leaders and managers, from Mindtools, visit . And, good news! You can now add to your subscription.
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449 — Performance support is back, baby! (Assemble You crossover episode)
06/17/2025
449 — Performance support is back, baby! (Assemble You crossover episode)
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, 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: What makes great performance support? What conditions make performance support effective? What role does AI play in all this? To find out more about the performance support available for leaders and managers, from Mindtools, visit . And, good news! You can now add to your subscription.During this episode, Ross G discussed and the . Paul discussed . Ross also discussed the book , and our 2016 report '' (which I was able to find and put on Dropbox). We also discussed the World Economic Forum's '' report. And in 'What I Learned This Week', Paul recommended the book , and Adam recommended . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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448 — Encouraging teams to adopt AI
06/10/2025
448 — Encouraging teams to adopt AI
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: how L&D is thinking and talking about AI; what L&D can do to support AI integration; how to measure the impact of AI. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Dr Anna told us about the extraordinary relationship between wasps and figs. Listen to the podcast to find out more. Gemma spoke about journalling and the work of Nichole Sachs. More on this on her website. For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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447 — Hard science, soft skills: L&D in the space sector
06/03/2025
447 — Hard science, soft skills: L&D in the space sector
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 Learned This Week’, Ross reminisced about playing a Sega game called Mickey Mania. Take a look at the . For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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