The Mindtools L&D Podcast

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, mindtools.com/services/analyst-insights Ross D also discussed Dr Will Thalheimer's LTEM model. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D recommended the Hard Fork podcast. For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. 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 lddispatch.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Dr Anna Barnett Ross Garner  

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 kevinmyates.com For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. 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 lddispatch.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Dr Anna Barnett Kevin M Yates

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 on LinkedIn. There you'll also find his article, 'The Irony of L&D: We Often Forget Our Own Development'. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G discussed 'chimping'. David discussed Josh Cavalier's guidance on AI prompting with JSON. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Garner Claire Gibson (who it turns out works every second Friday) David Kelly

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: radicalproduct.com/toolkit In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G discussed 'parasocial relationships'. Gemma discussed an article from The Guardian on ways to have more 'fun' at work. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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 her website. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Gemma Towersey Ross Garner Radhika Dutt

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 'The value of benchmarking' 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 here. You can find the Learning & Development Podcast, 'wherever you get your podcasts'. In 'What I Learned This Week', Anna explained the history of 'via ferrata', following her holiday in the Dolomites. David talked about 'imaginal discs' in butterflies. And Ross dropped a fresh new AI-generated beat about his son, AKA Lil Dribs. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Dickie Dr Anna Barnett David James

Now for something completely different! A couple of weeks ago, Carl Akintola wrote a provocative guest post for The L&D Dispatch, 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 'The Bad-Mouthing of British Teeth', an episode of the Decoder Ring podcast. Ross G described the so-called 'Gen Z stare'. And Carl confused the Rosses with a maths problem, based on the 'Monty Hall problem'. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Dickie Ross Garner Carl Akintola

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 website.  In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross mentioned Anthropic's experiment that revealed Claude's inability to run a shop.   Gemma spoke about the startling dimensions of the Norwegian Fjords.  For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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:  Ross Garner  Gemma Towersey  Liggy Webb 

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 here. In 'What I Learned This Week', Claire mentioned Flow TV, which shows output of Veo 3, the latest version of Google's AI video generator. The paper Peter mentioned was 'Employee Innovation During Office Work, Work from Home and Hybrid Work' by Michael Gibbs et al. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Dickie Claire Gibson Peter Cappelli Ranya Nehmeh

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 a LinkedIn post from Matt, 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 Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft. Matt explained the history of the telegraphic address. And Ross D recommended the 'Food Deserts' episode of 99% Invisible. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Dickie Claire Gibson Matt Mella

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, 'The future is not now'. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Dickie Ross Garner Cammy Bean

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 the climate crisis on education. JD discussed the banana pose. Ross shared how to spot a suspicious statistic, via More or Less. For more from JD, check out his website frontlineplaybook.com, jdwroteabook.com, and axonify.com. For more from us, including details of our upcoming app (soon!) visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Garner Dr Anna Barnett JD Dillon

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 Mindtools.com now to subscribe to the Skill Bite and try it for yourself! In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Claire recommended 'How to stop being so phone addicted (without self-discipline or meditation)', from the Search Engine podcast. Ross discussed the latest exciting news from the world of Wordpress plugins. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Garner Dr Markus Bernhardt Claire Gibson

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: https://drphilippahardman.substack.com/p/duolingos-ai-revolution Connect with them on LinkedIn Ross: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-garner/ Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pbuller/ To find out more about the performance support available for leaders and managers, from Mindtools, visit mindtools.com. And, good news! You can now add Microsoft Shorts from Assemble You to your subscription.

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: 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 mindtools.com. And, good news! You can now add Microsoft Shorts from Assemble You to your subscription.During this episode, Ross G discussed extended cognition and the productivity paradox. Paul discussed Gloria Gery's definition of performance support. Ross also discussed the book Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro, and our 2016 report 'The Secret Learning Lives of Managers' (which I was able to find and put on Dropbox). We also discussed the World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs 2025' report. And in 'What I Learned This Week', Paul recommended the book Kill the Unicorn, and Adam recommended The Anxious Generation. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Garner Paul Buller Adam Lacey

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 Short Stuff: Figs @& Wasps podcast to find out more.  Gemma spoke about journalling and the work of Nichole Sachs. More on this on her JournalSpeak: BreakAwake website.   For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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:  Gemma Towersey Dr Anna Barnett  Mel Cooley 

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 game’s Wikipedia page. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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: Ross Garner Dr Anna Barnett Victoria Craig

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: trainlikeamarketer.com/    For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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:  Ross Garner  Bianca Baumann  Mike Taylor 

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 ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey, and Van Lathan.'   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 'Feel better, Live more'. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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 subscribe to our newsletter. Connect with our speakers   If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on LinkedIn.  Danielle Ware Ross Garner Gemma Towersey

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 Edinburgh Futures Institute and Data for Children Collaborative's websites. In 'What I Learned This Week', Paula mentioned that she'd been digging into the surprisingly wild history of papal conclaves. Fraser recommended the website ToS;DR, 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 recent episode of the 99% Invisible podcast, focusing on the relationship between architecture and tax codes. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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 subscribe to our newsletter. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Paula Hughes Fraser Mcdonald

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 Spotify. (Or wherever you get your podcasts.) In 'What I Learned This Week', Gemma mentioned The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Ross D gave a lukewarm review of the movie Field of Dreams. For more from us, visit mindtools.com. 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 subscribe to our newsletter. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Gemma Towersey Kenny Temowo