The Learning & Development Podcast is a fortnightly topical podcast show for L&D professionals hosted by David James and presented by 360Learning.
In each episode David James discusses and debates topics affecting the profession alongside expert guests. David is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and a highly respected voice in the Learning & Development industry. With a focus on harnessing technology to drive impactful learning strategies, David is recognised as one of the top 10 global influencers in the L&D space. His expertise lies in helping organisations modernise their approach to workplace learning, ensuring measurable results and business alignment.
The Learning & Development Podcast has amassed over 500,000 downloads and ranks in the top 1% of podcasts globally. With nearly 30,000 LinkedIn followers, David continues to shape the conversation around L&D innovation and best practices, drawing on his deep experience, including his time as Director of Learning, Talent & Organisational Development at The Walt Disney Company.
The Learning & Development Podcast Live with Nick Shackleton-Jones and Kenny Temowo
Season 2 · Episode 41
Monday, August 19, 2024 • Duration 57:16
What do 146 L&D professionals care most about?
What are the killer stats L&D should know about right now?
Is ‘learning content’ really necessary?
What questions will be pulled from the cuddly toy’s posterior?
Find out the answers to all these questions and more in this very special live edition of The Learning & Development Podcast with guests Nick Shackleton-Jones and Kenny Temowo.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Understanding how to provide their organisation with greater value and impact is a big concern for L&D professionals.
75% of people said their work leader had more of an influence on their mental health than their life partner does.
Experiential training for leaders enables them to better understand how their behaviour and expectations impact those who work for them.
The fact that future generations look at work differently is having a huge impact on L&D.
When people are offered face-to-face training, they feel invested in.
Gamification isn´t working but simulations are.
If you can´t see a measurable change (ROI) the chances are you should not be doing it.
Content has to be carefully crafted to be relevant.
BEST MOMENTS
'I would make sure that we're really involving and holding accountable the leaders.'
'How do we help organizations manage stability, the sense of belonging and psychological safety that we need.'
'Content only matters to you if it's relevant somehow.'
Nick is a genuine thought-leader in Learning & Development, responsible for initiating shift from ‘courses to resources’ and for the affective context model of learning.
He began his professional life as a psychology lecturer and went on to lead learning functions at Siemens, BBC & BP. He’s now a consultant and author of ‘How People Learn’ (Kogan Page, May 2019) as well as winning several awards for people development strategy, innovation, and learning content, including the Learning & Performance Institute’s Award for Services to the Learning Industry, 2017.
Kenny Temowo leads Talent Management and Leadership Development for Netflix UK. He’s spent almost two decades in learning and education, working as a consultant with clients such as the BBC, Vodafone, and Rolls-Royce, as well as leading in-house L&D teams.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.
Enterprise-Wide Skills-Based Learning with Ryan Tracey
Season 2 · Episode 40
Monday, August 5, 2024 • Duration 40:57
L&D at enterprise scale is very difficult. To say the least. This is why so many start and end by ‘providing learning’ in the hope that some of it sticks and makes a difference. But the opposite to relying on hope is to stand for addressing skills gaps and holding yourself accountable to actually closing them. This is what Ryan has aimed to achieve in his roles and what he shares with us in this episode.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Lead from the front. Start with skill-based learning now.
Treat your skills-based framework as an organic document. Update it regularly.
AI is transforming skills-based learning. Ryan shares several real-world examples, during the podcast.
You need to complement what AI tells you with your own research and consultation and be specific about your business needs.
AI is great at giving you a foundation for discussion. You no longer sit down with a blank piece of paper.
AI frees up an incredible amount of time, enabling you to be far more effective.
Prioritise the skills that matter most, something many people still do not do.
Build out blended learning experiences.
At the end of the training session, provide a call to action that ensures that new skill is actually used.
Provide an independent validation of the skill.
Invite people who have applied that skill to demonstrate it and share how they have used it in their job.
Go where the positive energy is. Collaborate with managers who want your help and get them to share the results. The nay-sayers and those short on time will soon be asking for your help.
BEST MOMENTS
'Skill-based learning is not knowledge-based learning. So instead of focusing on what you know, it focuses on what you do.'
'AI is going to do a great job. But then you need to round that out with your own work.'
'Be dogged in identifying what that business metric is that this stakeholder, wishes to improve.'
L&D Leadership Today With Simon Gibson
Season 2 · Episode 31
Monday, April 1, 2024 • Duration 51:35
There’s often a huge difference between the rhetoric around L&D leadership and the reality. It’s not all about creating a Learning Culture and sailing a course to L&D nirvana. The reality is it’s a lot messier with a lot of hustle, winning some days and losing many more. In this episode, presented by 360Learning, Simon Gibson lifts the lid on his reality and how L&D leadership today is evolving and changing within these turbulent times.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Hiring people from diverse backgrounds and disciplines results in a more innovative and resilient team.
L&D is evolving fast, so there are some big skill gaps, e.g. data analysis.
Those professionals who can prove the positive impact they have had on the business are the most likely to get hired.
Get under the skin of what the managers you work for really need.
Getting managers together to discuss what challenges they face and how they overcome them is incredibly instructive for them and you. Discovery sessions are powerful.
Being clear about what you are trying to fix and staying focused on that is essential.
Analysis is essential, without it you cannot prove that you are actually closing the skills gap.
Consumption does not equal competence. If that knowledge is not retained and applied on the job, the training is useless.
BEST MOMENTS
'Theory is one thing, but show me how, show me when and what that meant. Build that body of evidence.'
'They're bound by restricted and empowered by the culture.'
'Go build that commercial muscle, go find out how things work, go find out how things are made.'
Accelerating 10 Years In Just 10 Weeks With Robb Sayers
Episode 49
Monday, August 3, 2020 • Duration 42:38
The consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have been dramatic and far-reaching. Many organisations and even industries have faced existential threats. But the situation has also provided L&D with huge opportunities. In this episode Robb Sayers explains how these opportunities have presented themselves to him and how he sees L&D progressing from here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Lockdown has allowed certain activities in development to be brought forward, with the aim of increasing engagement, and investment in skills and capabilities.
People aren’t always interested in how they learn. They simply want to learn. By improving their skills, they make their jobs easier and more intuitive.
It is our role in L&D, to look at the landscape as we return, and do our best to provide disruptive thinking. We must talk about the things that we do not wish to return to.
Fundamentally, onboarding should be condensed to two objectives:
To help someone feel as though they’re welcome and that they have joined the right organisation
To help that person achieve efficiency in their role at speed
The biggest learning we’ve all taken from 2020 is that the world can change in an instant. We will walk forward from this period with a greater ability to be ready for change.
BEST MOMENTS
‘We learn most when we’re muddling along’
‘If you change the context in which people operate, everything else changes’
‘People want the stuff that’s going to help them when they need it’
’The world around us has changed, and therefore you have to adapt'
Digital Learning & The 5Di Model With Peter Manniche-Riber
Episode 48
Monday, July 20, 2020 • Duration 50:33
Too many L&D teams still only expect their digital offering to supplement face-to-face and drive engagement as an end in itself. But that’s no longer enough. The opportunity now is to influence performance and therefore results. Peter Manniche-Riber challenges himself to do this and in this episode he shares the method he uses to have a different type of conversation with stakeholders and build solutions that make the difference.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Far too many people are still focused upon how learning and development can be restricted, limited and measured. The task ahead is to better educate stakeholders about true people development.
Many in the L&D sector are generally anxious about actually leaving our environments in order to find out what people need. But by doing so we can better identify solutions.
There is a shift from learning objectives to performance outcomes. We need to encourage discussion about what people should do differently and how we measure this, and what the impact is.
The future of development relies on listening to, and understanding, our people. We can do this by employing in-house analysis, to find out what people are talking about, praising and unhappy with.
BEST MOMENTS
‘My work is not a “tick the box” exercise. It’s about people. It’s about learning’
‘What do you want people to think, feel and do, on the other side of what it is you want to achieve?’
‘If you don’t know what people care about, then you don’t know what the solution is’
‘I haven’t come across one piece of effective e-learning that made a difference'
Having introduced Agile into River Island, Nebel is in the process of doing the same at her current organisation, Roche. Not just into the HR team, where she is Director of HR & Communications, but across the entire employee population. Learn from Nebel’s rich experience of succeeding with Agile in HR and L&D - with real examples - and how you can do the same.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Working in an agile space is about breaking things down incrementally, delivering at a pace that suits the business, iterating, and creating effective channels of communication so as to better encourage co-creation.
Checking in with your team is a founding principle of agile working, and one of the practices that encourages accountability, creativity in solutions, and the close-knit bonding of teams, no matter how remote they may be.
The pace of agile can sometime be daunting for those who have not experienced it. But businesses should always be evolving, and we must never limit progress based upon unfounded preconceptions.
Initial development is often so focused towards ensuring that someone can perform the breadth and depth of their new responsibilities, but making sure that we engender a feeling of excitement, creativity and comfort, is far more important in the initial phase.
Agile can be introduced to a cautious environment by introducing small elements at first, and then building upon these slowly. Focus on impactful solutions that will demonstrate effectiveness.
BEST MOMENTS
’There’s an element of discipline in the way you work with agile’
’The biggest impact that I’ve observed is how it brings people together’
‘Find the advocates and build your army’
‘Unless you listen to feedback, how can you ever know what the solution needs to be?’
‘Agile brings a level of curiosity'
VALUABLE RESOURC ES
The Learning And Development Podcast -
Opportunities For L&D From The Current Crisis With Ben Chambers
Episode 46
Tuesday, June 23, 2020 • Duration 26:56
The consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic have been immediate and far-reaching. L&D teams have had to move quickly to respond to very real, and very urgent needs. But what could this mean for our profession in the mid- to long-term? And to what extent are there opportunities for L&D?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
COVID’s effects have not just been on a business and economic scale, but also on a personal level. We have had to deal with issues pertaining to business, staff, and ourselves. The strain has been unprecedented.
There have been challenges, but also obvious benefits to the new way of working. It’s a case of capturing these benefits and ensuring that putting them into practice ensures we do not slip into less efficient ways of working.
Needs are emerging constantly, and prominently, for many workers, and they need to be swiftly addressed. These challenges need focussed, creative thinking, and rapid delivery.
There is a real opportunity for L&D professionals now to spend more time in discovery, to become more fluent in thinking in the same ways as data scientists, in order to deliver more targeted solutions.
It is incumbent upon us to provide inspiration, empowerment, and the agency to think more creatively in terms of identifying developmental needs.
BEST MOMENTS
’There’s no competitive advantage to be gained from COVID’
‘We’ve been able to move at pace and provide people with what’s needed’
‘Leading with digital solutions can meet people where they are’
‘Classroom solutions have been thrown at poorly-defined problems for far too long’
The Future Of Learning & Development With Serena Gonsalves-Fersch
Episode 45
Monday, June 8, 2020 • Duration 42:25
Serena Gonsalves-Fersch is conducting extensive research, as part of a doctorate, on the future of our profession.
In this episode, we explore Serena’s findings so far, how these findings map to Serena’s considerable experience and what the future of Learning & Development could mean for all of us.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
There are a remarkable number of opinions on what L&D should and could be doing. However, when you’re working in the sector, and beneath the expectations of internal stakeholders, the experience is radically different.
When you are in a startup or hyper-growth organisation, it requires a completely different approach and way of thinking when it comes to how we can best effect business change.
Learning is an ever-evolving pursuit, but so too is the methodology of learning itself. We cannot hope to advance our knowledge, if the practices do not evolve with us on a personal level.
We should never be afraid to experiment when it comes to learning. Even if we fail, we have learned a lesson.
Recognising the difference between an individual’s learning requirements and their personal attitudes and approaches, is key to discerning the real needs. By mislabelling a personal issue as a learning issue, essentially offer complicity.
BEST MOMENTS
‘It’s easier to start from the bottom up, and look at how we build’
‘In a smaller organisation, the critical path seems more obvious’
’The human race would not have survived if we were not constantly learning’
Organisations have moved quicker than they could have ever predicted in light of the current crisis, and L&D teams within these organisations have had to do the same.
Sarah Allen and her team at AXA UK are an example of how quickly things changed, and how swiftly an L&D team needed to respond in order to meet changing needs. So what did that mean - and what will it mean from here on out?
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The insurance industry has a responsibility to protect customers during normality, and to support customers when life hits hard. L&D’s role in insurance is to enable teams to be at their best during this time of support.
Connection to teams, especially those working remotely now, is crucial to determining the needs of managers facing the problem of how to motivate, and get the best out of their teams.
Working digitally has accelerated the deployment of the four guiding principles: agile mind-set, digital-first, design once-deploy often, and outside thinking.
The question now is which parts of this new normal should we embrace, develop, and incorporate into our new way of working, and which parts of the pre-COVID world we can, and should, leave behind.
BEST MOMENTS
’I’m excited to be in a profession where I can see that we only have an opportunity to add more value’
‘We’re doing a lot more listening than talking’
‘It makes you wonder what we were so scared of before’
’There’s going to be a lot of “new”, moving forward'
Sarah is Head of Learning, Talent & Leadership for AXA UK, having risen through the ranks of the L&D team at AXA Investment Managers.
The L&D Podcast Live- What Will Be L&D’s New Measures Of Success
Episode 43
Monday, May 11, 2020 • Duration 01:00:12
The current crisis has changed plenty, some will last well beyond lockdown and some will pass. One thing for sure is that organisations will want to make up for missed opportunities, when restrictions are relaxed, and businesses will want to make up for lost revenue.
We can anticipate an unforgiving period in the short- to mid-term and L&D will be under greater scrutiny to make a significant contribution. To this end, we can expect a hastening of some emerging trends in L&D, such as the pivot from a ‘learning’ focus to affecting performance and productivity more reliably, in order to achieve results. This is explored with 3 experienced L&D leaders: Kevin M. Yates, Gemma Paterson and Alice Collier-Niblett.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The current situation has reversed many long-held expectations around the capabilities and benefits of programme development, and has helped to accelerate plans to overhaul current development strategies.
To understand the effectiveness of any training, we need to understand our deliverables from the outset, instead of focusing on the format or appeal of the courses themselves.
No matter what our working environment looks like, there is still the need to measure results and impact. The challenge is in working out how to measure results remotely.
We can’t hope to know about the driving motivations of our workforce, and the areas in which they wish to improve, unless we are the centre of that world alongside them.
In order to ensure that we’re advancing in the correct manner, the first ingredient to be considered should be the people themselves. Do we have the right people, and the right mix of people in order to achieve that goal?
BEST MOMENTS
‘We had to change, we had to adapt. And as a result, we’ve been able to help a lot more people’
‘Perpetual data should be a desirable state’
‘We need to now be contextualising what performance means at home’
‘Move away from creating a course, and move toward creating impact’
Ryan Tracey Bio
Ryan Tracey is a senior Learning & Development manager having worked in the corporate sector for over 20 years in addition to roles in government and higher education. Ryan holds a Master’s degree in Learning Sciences and Technology from the University of Sydney and is a prominent commentator of in the field of L&D.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.
Simon is Group Head of Learning & Development at Marks & Spencer and an experienced executive-level People Leader/Chief Learning Officer. He has a passion to deliver meaningful commercial change and transformation via learning, organisational development, and talent initiatives.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.
Robb is UK Capability Lead for Viiv Healthcare, having held various People Development roles at GlaxoSmithKline, including the position of Director of Learning Capabilities.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
Peter is Head of Digital Learning at Novo Nordisk and an advocate of solutions that work predominantly for the learner. As a certified Scrum Product Owner, Peter mixes contemporary approaches to L&D to best fit digital solutions. Prior to his current role, Peter was Head of Learning at Kanda and Senior Learning Manager at Siemens Gamesa.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
Nebel is an award-winning HR leader with a track record of building Agile HR and L&D teams that deliver real business value. Currently Director of HR & Communications at Roche, Nebel spent more than 4 years at River Island where she led the Talent team before becoming Head of People Experience. Prior to these roles, Nebel was also Head of Learning, People & Performance at Virgin Holidays.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
Ben Chambers leads the Business School at Grant Thornton and is responsible for learning, talent and performance, having held senior positions at GSK and Tesco, amongst others. He is also founder of the Talent and Leadership Club, a collaboration group for talent and leadership professionals that has been going for over ten years now and has around 500 members.
ABOUT THE HOST
David James
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
Serena Gonsalves-Fersch is an experienced L&D leader with 20 years in the profession, having worked at IBM and KPMG, amongst others. With your most recent role as Global Head of Learning at Cloudreach.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
Kevin’s expertise is answering the question, “Did training work?”, with facts, evidence, and data. His work is global and multi-industry. He's a sought after subject matter expert and international speaker.
Gemma has been leading teams to develop, manage and market digital products in learning, talent, social media and marketing for over 10 years.
As Head of Technology & Innovation for Learning at Aviva, Gemma leads a team to deliver commercial outcomes through innovative approaches to learning, talent and organisational development, with a focus on the digital transformation. Using innovation, technology, storytelling and experience design her ultimate aim is to deliver real business results.
Alice is a thoroughly modern L&D professional with a background of leading with digital solutions and bringing her team and organisation along with her. Previously at ASOS and now with Monzo, Alice is a member of a team that operates in a way that is leading-edge and aspirational for many: Data-driven, performance-focused and agile.
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board.
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