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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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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446 — Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro
05/27/2025
446 — Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro
Effective marketers have an uncanny way of knowing what we want and convincing us to click ‘Like’, add to Checkout and in under 20 seconds, buy their thing. Clever. Meanwhile, over in L&D, we find it more difficult to motivate someone to take action or change their behaviour. So, what does marketing do that we don’t? In this week’s episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross G is joined by Bianca Baumann and Mike Taylor, authors of Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro: Strategies to Ignite Learning. They discuss: The intersection of marketing and learning principles The techniques marketing professionals use to grab attention and nudge action How L&D can bring these strategies into their work You can find out more about Bianca and Mike on their 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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445 — Setting up a L&D team
05/21/2025
445 — Setting up a L&D team
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 · How to get started with quick wins · Using data to support decisions In ‘What I Learnt This Week’, Ross mentioned the two-part Star Wars related episodes of the Rewatchables called Gemma also talks about a podcast, but one with a very different tone. She listened to Dr Chatterjee speak to Erling Kagge about solitude 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. You can also . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on LinkedIn.
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444 — This game will make you a better collaborator
05/13/2025
444 — This game will make you a better collaborator
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 important when it comes to solving 'wicked problems'; how Mindtools worked with the EFI to develop a game that's designed to build collaboration skills; why a game was the right solution to this problem, and how it's being deployed within the EFI. To find out more about the work Fraser does, check out the and 's websites. In 'What I Learned This Week', Paula mentioned that she'd been digging into the surprisingly . Fraser recommended the website , which provides an eye-opening breakdown of what we're agreeing to when we use different websites and platforms. And Ross D talked about a of the 99% Invisible podcast, focusing on the relationship between architecture and tax codes. 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. You can also . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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443 — So, you've decided to be creative...
05/06/2025
443 — So, you've decided to be creative...
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 Temowo, Senior Director of Talent Acceleration at SharkNinja and host of the Inside the Art of Making podcast, to discuss: Kenny's career journey through the creative industries, into workplace learning, and back again; what it means to be 'creative', and how this applies in L&D; how to meet consumer-level creative expectations with L&D budgets; how to earn the permission to be creative at work. You can listen to Kenny's podcast, Inside the Art of Making, on . (Or wherever you get your podcasts.) In 'What I Learned This Week', Gemma mentioned by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Ross D gave a lukewarm review of the movie . 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. You can also . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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442 — Is AI making us dumber?
04/29/2025
442 — Is AI making us dumber?
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 critical thinking. During the discussion, Ross S discussed the recent in Beijing and the concept of . He also mentioned Apple's sometimes-hilarious . Gent discussed . The paper Gent discussed was: Gerlich, M. (2025). . Societies, 15(1), 6. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G shared how to interact with your smartphone screen. For more from Ross S, visit . 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. You can also . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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441 — Podcasts for learning and the end of email
04/21/2025
441 — Podcasts for learning and the end of email
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 '', and Cal Newport's . Ross G referenced the forecast. He also discussed (and ) Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke's recent edict on the use of AI. In 'What I Learned This Week', Anna discussed PowerPoint transitions, from . Ross D discussed his new (tidier) LinkedIn URL. . Ross G discussed the former residents of . 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. You can also . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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440 — Terrible task? Just delegate it!
04/15/2025
440 — Terrible task? Just delegate it!
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 paper we discussed throughout this podcast was: Maas, V. S., & Shi, B. (2023). . Management Accounting Research, 60, 100851. Ross G also referenced: Crossley, C. D., Cooper, C. D., & Wernsing, T. S. (2013). . Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(3), 540. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D discussed the concept of '', as reported on by The Atlantic. 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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439 — Leveraging data for inclusion and wellbeing
04/08/2025
439 — Leveraging data for inclusion and wellbeing
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 inseparable Why data in this space isn't as 'unmeasurable' as it seems Two approaches to data gathering that you can start using today. During the discussion, Dr Anna referenced on the bias they discovered in software used to predict future criminals. Ross referenced the work , around 'allyship'. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross discussed the origin of the term '', which he learned from podcast. Dr Serena's book, , is available now. 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. And to speak to our Insights team (including Dr Anna) about your learning measurement needs, just send her a note on LinkedIn or email Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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438 — Where culture and learning collide
04/01/2025
438 — Where culture and learning collide
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 Ratcliffe to discuss: what ‘culture’ is and how it gets measured; what it takes to have a good feedback culture; the features of a learning culture. Lois refers to the three layers of organisational culture proposed by Shein. To find out more about Shein, here’s one of our articles on In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Lois recommended The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells for a thought-provoking read with an AI theme. If you’re feeling time-poor, Gemma recommended the book 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. 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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437 — How to build engagement with your content libraries (Rebroadcast)
03/25/2025
437 — How to build engagement with your content libraries (Rebroadcast)
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, Digital Learning Manager, joins Ross Garner and Lara to share: How Virgin Money raise awareness of their Mind Tools content library; Techniques for promoting a proactive learning mindset; ‘Push’ vs ‘pull’ learning. During the discussion, Ross referenced a recent academic paper: Albarracín, D., Fayaz-Farkhad, B., & Granados Samayoa, J. A. (2024). . Nature Reviews Psychology, 1-16. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross discussed ‘pebbling’, as . For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, 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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436 — Content libraries: Less is more
03/18/2025
436 — Content libraries: Less is more
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 organizations? What mechanisms help people find the right content, at the right time? Does it matter if people like the content we provide? The article Rosemary wrote with Marc Zao-Sanders was ''. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D recommended the podcast, from Slate. G discussed the rise of ''. For more from us, visit . There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our , 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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435 — What will be hot in workplace L&D in 2025?
03/11/2025
435 — What will be hot in workplace L&D in 2025?
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 this week’s episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Don joined Ross D and Ross G for our annual breakdown of the survey’s results. We discuss: what the Global Sentiment Survey is (and what it isn’t); AI's unprecedented dominance of the survey, and the conclusions we can draw from this; the return of the ‘value trio’; the extent to which L&D’s perceived challenges align with perceived ‘hot’ topics. To read the full Global Sentiment Survey 2025 report, head to . In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross G recommended the '’ extension for Google Chrome. Ross D referenced Jared Cooney Horvath’s video . And Don mentioned the paper ‘’, from The Journal of Work-Applied Management. 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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434 — Cyborgs, centaurs and the role of choice infrastructure
03/04/2025
434 — Cyborgs, centaurs and the role of choice infrastructure
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). . How consultants who use AI act either as ‘cyborgs’ or ‘centaurs’ in: Dell'Acqua, F., McFowland III, E., Mollick, E. R., Lifshitz-Assaf, H., Kellogg, K., Rajendran, S., ... & Lakhani, K. R. (2023). . Harvard Business School Technology & Operations Mgt. Unit Working Paper, (24-013). Why we should go beyond 'choice architecture' to look at 'choice infrastructure' in: Schmidt, R. (2024). . Behavioural Public Policy, 8(3), 415-440. During the discussion, Anna referenced our previous podcast with Erica Werneman Root, She also mentioned a blog from Ralph Losey on . And we discussed Ross G's newsletter on . In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D discussed . Anna discussed whether women can run faster than men over ultralong distances, via . As a brief aside, apologies for the slightly worse audio on Ross G's track this episode. After 430+ episodes, he's still making mistakes. 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. Or email . Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:
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433 — What does ‘AI literacy’ look like in organizations?
02/25/2025
433 — What does ‘AI literacy’ look like in organizations?
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 this week’s episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Anna are joined by Erica Werneman Root, legal consultant and co-founder of Knowledge Bridge, to discuss: what ‘AI literacy’ means in different contexts; the compliance implications of building AI literacy in organizations; how L&D can help employees develop AI skills. To find out more about AI literacy, check out Erica’s . For examples of how organizations are building AI literacy programmes, explore the AI Office’s ‘’. The blog Anna mentioned was ‘’ In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Anna referenced , exploring the effects of AI on knowledge work. Ross D mentioned OpenAI’s new ‘’ tool. More trivially, he also shared Pierre Franey’s five-star recipe for . 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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432 — Sales enablement for product teams
02/18/2025
432 — Sales enablement for product teams
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 Salecology, to discuss: why it’s important to involve product teams in sales enablement; the behaviors we want product teams to demonstrate; how L&D can support this, beyond simply providing training. To learn more about Darren’s work, head to . In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Lara mentioned by Sarah J. Mass. Ross D recommended Warren Zanes’ book , exploring the making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. 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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431 — Sales enablement for sales and marketing teams
02/11/2025
431 — Sales enablement for sales and marketing teams
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 Bezani, 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 increased sales; the role of managers in sales enablement. To learn more about Darren’s work, head to . In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Lara recommended the episode of Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s Feel Better Live More podcast. Ross D discussed Ben Betts’ blog post 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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