The Mind Tools L&D Podcast

Timeboxing means dividing your day into 15-60 minute slots, based on your priorities, and then sticking to those slots as you dive into the business of work. If that sounds great, it is. If it sounds easy, it isn’t. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, author Marc Zao-Sanders joins Ross G to give him advice on timeboxing his life. We discuss: · The benefits of timeboxing; · How email is the ‘killer’, and what to do about it; · The difficulties that Ross had implementing timeboxing, and what he could do differently. The article Marc wrote for HBR was ‘How timeboxing works and why it will make you more productive’. Find out more about timeboxing from Mind Tools. The book, Timeboxing, is available from Penguin. Marc’s substack is One Thing at a Time. The company Marc runs is Filtered. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross discussed the rising popularity of the ‘dumbphone’. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. 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 our speakers: · Ross Garner · Marc Zao-Sanders

As learning designers, we’re ultimately in the business of trying to help people build new connections in their brains. To do this effectively, we need to have a fundamental understanding of how the brain works. But how far down the neuroscience rabbit hole do we need to go? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross Dickie and Ross Garner are joined by Lauren Waldman, learning scientist, consultant, and founder of Learning Pirate. We discuss: · Lauren’s journey to deepen her understanding of how the brain works; · how much learning designers need to know about neuroscience to be effective in their roles; · the cost of L&D’s continual focus on the ‘shiny and the new’. To find out more about Lauren’s work as Learning Pirate, head to: https://www.learningpirate.com/. You can also view a trailer for Lauren’s ‘Joining Forces with Your Brain’ series here. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross Garner mentioned the ‘Battle of the Eclipse’. Ross Dickie recommended the documentary STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, 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 our speakers: · Ross Dickie · Ross Garner · Lauren Waldman

As a conversation approach and development tool, coaching is a highly effective option for everyone – not just the executive suite. Professional coaches are expensive, so how can large organisations give all of their employees the chance to be coached and for coaching conversations to be the norm? In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma and Claire are joined by Mina Papakonstantinou, Manager in the Leadership development team at Deloitte, to discuss upskilling internal coaches at scale. We discussed: During the discussion, Mina referenced a case study she provided as an example of how we apply coaching psychology in internal coaching within organisations. See: Papakonstantinou, F. (2021). Internal coaching within organisations–Coaching psychology application. In Introduction to Coaching Psychology (pp. 203-204). Routledge. See also her article, 'Creating micro closures: reinventing the psychological transition process to help coachees deal with the current state of disruptive change'. She also contributed to: Papakonstantinou, F. (2016). 'A Trusted Chameleon: The evolving role of the L&D consultant as an internal coach'. In Coaching Psychology International - VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 (pp, 11-16). In what I learned this week, Gemma talked about oathing stones – a wedding ceremony ritual. You can read about it and other options: humanism.scot/ceremonies-blog/wedding-ceremony-rituals/ Claire found out about how money is made. Check out this really funky piece on it here: refinery29.com/stories/how-stuff-is-made-money/ For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. 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 our speakers: Gemma TowerseyClaire GibsonMina Papakonstantinou

Whether you’re delivering workshops, speaking at conferences, presenting to senior leaders, or even hosting L&D’s favorite podcast, public speaking is a critical skill for learning professionals. So how do you develop this skill, and how do you manage your nerves when speaking publicly? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Lara are joined by Samantha Tulloch, public speaker and business-transformation consultant. We discuss: · the nuances of public speaking in an L&D context, · techniques that can help you prepare and deliver effectively, · strategies for managing nerves and anxiety. During the discussion, Ross D referenced our previous episode with Andrea Pacini. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Samantha mentioned the little-known Steven Bartlett. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. 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 our speakers: · Ross Dickie · Samantha Tulloch · Lara Kidd

One-off learning interventions are frequently the ‘go to’ solution for workplace learning teams, but we know that spaced repetition and retrieval practice are more effective. How do we get past organizational constraints that make this difficult? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Tony Manwani from People Unboxed joins Ross Dickie and Ross Garner to discuss: · The problems with one-off interventions · Science-backed principles to make an impact · How Tony’s ‘BentoBot’ tool puts those principles into practice. For a recent replication of Ebbinghaus’ ‘forgetting curve’ experiment, see: Murre, J. M., & Dros, J. (2015). Replication and analysis of Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve. PloS one, 10(7), e0120644. For more on the ‘Leitner system’ see the overview on Wikipedia. For the LTEM model, referenced by Ross D, see Dr Will Thalheimer’s website. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross G recommended Perplexity.ai. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. For more from Tony and People Unboxed, see peopleunboxed.co.uk. For BentoBot, see bentobot.com. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: · Ross Garner · Ross Dickie · Tony Manwani

Throughout the first few months of this year, we’ve been exploring artificial intelligence for L&D. In episode 377, Donald Taylor gave us the context on the extent to which L&D pros are using AI In episode 379, Ross Steven offered advice for getting started. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross and Owen were joined by Kacper Lodzikowski, Vice President of AI Capabilities at Pearson, to discuss the opportunities that AI presents for education. We discuss: · Why AI presents such a challenge for educators · Balancing those challenges with opportunities · What those opportunities are and where to embrace them. During the discussion, Kacper referenced his paper: Łodzikowski, K., Foltz, P. W., & Behrens, J. T. (2023). Generative AI and Its Educational Implications. arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.08659. To find out more about our own AI-powered ‘difficult conversation’ tool, see AI Conversations. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen recommended the TV show Poker Face. Ross G referenced ‘The Long Goodbye to Saturn’s Ring’, published in The Atlantic. Kacper referenced Ethan Mollick’s newsletter One Useful Thing and Gary Marcus’ newsletter Marcus on AI. Ross G shared a letter that was possibly written to Marilyn Monroe from John Steinbeck. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business/. 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 our speakers: Ross GarnerOwen FergusonKacper Lodzikowski

Today’s workplace is one where change is the norm. Learning is critical in this environment, but supporting learning isn’t just about creating content. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, JD Dillon joins Ross Dickie and Ross Garner to discuss his book, The Modern Learning Ecosystem. We cover: Why JD’s book includes ‘learning’ in its title, even though it’s not really about learning; The role of influence, and what L&D can do to earn it; The six key tasks of L&D, and how to build a modern learning ecosystem. To find out more about The Modern Learning Ecosystem, head to jdwroteabook.com. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross G referenced ‘The Long Goodbye to Saturn’s Ring’, published in The Atlantic. JD mentioned the Space 220 restaurant at Disney World, and talked about how he is using Yousician to learn guitar. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business/ 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 our speakers: Ross Garner Ross Dickie JD Dillon

Donald Taylor describes this year’s Global Sentiment Survey as the ‘unsurprising survey’. Predictably, artificial intelligence topped the table by some margin. But the results of this year’s survey still tell us a lot about how L&D perceives itself and the challenges we face as a profession. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Donald joins Ross and Owen to parse the results of the Global Sentiment Survey 2024. We discuss: · How L&D views the benefits and challenges associated with AI · The non-AI topics which gained popularity this year · Declining interest in collaborative/social working and coaching/mentoring · The potential risks of L&D’s current obsession with AI To read the Global Sentiment Survey report for yourself, head to Don’s website. During our discussion, Owen mentioned responses to the GSS from our own Gent Ahmetaj and Ross Garner. In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Owen referenced Ben Thompson’s newsletter, Stratechery. Ross mentioned how he’d followed Wirecutter’s recommendations (which he learned about through Owen) to buy a new pair of earphones. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business/ 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 our speakers: · Ross Dickie · Owen Ferguson · Donald Taylor

While there are often constraints in charity’s learning budgets, it’s actually this limitation that can point the way to more efficient and effective learning design and development. There’s much that the corporate learning world can learn from this. In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Gemma is joined by Gill Chester, Director of Little Man Project and Ross Dickie to discuss creating learning for organisations on a mission to change the world for the better. We talked about: Resourcefulness and creativity throughout the design processThe importance of developing relationships with stakeholders Incorporating evaluation into the design process. Gill mentioned that she's running eLearning Unlocked, a 12-month programme on designing great elearning. To find out more about the programme, visit www.elearningunlocked.org.uk Do also check out Little Man Project here: https://www.littlemanproject.com/ Gemma learned a new word – suspire - thanks to Susie Dent. Her Tweet is here: https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1325118435546816512 For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business/. 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 our speakers: Gemma Towersey Ross Dickie Gill Chester

As experts, managers or leaders, we often seek to help others by talking, talking, talking. But what if we didn’t talk and just listened? This week in The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross and Gemma are joined by Georgie Rudd, an executive coach, to discuss the trials and delights of listening. We explore: · reasons that we don’t listen well · the consequences of not listening (and of listening!) · how we can improve listening skills. Georgie recommended Nancy Klein as an expert on listening and techniques to improve. Time to think is a good place to start: amazon.co.uk/Time-Think-Listening-Ignite-Human/dp/0706377451 You can find out more about Liz Wiseman’s concepts of multipliers and diminishers in her book Multipliers: amazon.co.uk/Multipliers-Best-Leaders-Everyone-Smarter/dp/006239066X In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Gemma spoke about the widest fairy ring in the world. John Wright reports that it’s around 800m across in A spotter’s guide to countryside mysteries, but a quick internet search revealed this to be a questionable fact. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. And, this week, we’re giving a special shout out to our Learning Performance Benchmark. Not sure how your L&D function is performing? Find out now, for free: mindtools.com/business/products/lpb/ Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on LinkedIn: · Gemma Towersey · Ross Dickie · Georgie Rudd Georgie can also be contacted via her website: https://www.ruddcoaching.co.uk/

We often hear that learning and development needs a ‘seat at the table’. But how do we get there? How do we build credibility, tackle real issues, and demonstrate value? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast Ross and Owen are joined by author, academic and L&D pro Dr Keith Keating to discuss: Whether L&D are changemakers or order takers How we change the perception of L&D The extent to which L&D pros must sell themselves, their ideas and their profession. During the discussion, Ross G referenced To Sell is Human by Dan Pink. Keith’s book is The Trusted Learning Advisor, available now from Amazon (US / UK). In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen gave a glittering endorsement of a sensational new science fiction writer (Ross G). Subscribe for updates. Ross recommended alternative movie posters, collected in a thread from All The Right Movies. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Or you can email rgarner@mindtools.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: · Ross Garner · Owen Ferguson · Dr Keith Keating

What does an effective workplace wellbeing strategy look like? For some organizations, it’s fruit boxes and staff discounts. For consultant and author Liggy Webb, it’s a holistic approach that factors in the physical, social, mental, financial, digital, environmental and spiritual health of colleagues. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross and Nahdia are joined by Liggy to discuss: The benefits of a more structured approach to wellbeing How to approach each of the ‘7 Wisdoms of Wellbeing’ The role of personal responsibility in wellbeing. For more from Liggy, check out her website: liggywebb.com You can also check out her Future Human series, available now. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Nahdia recommended ‘The impact of bad news, compassion fatigue, and the psychology of whistleblowing’ from All In The Mind. Ross recommended Lauren Bacall’s autobiography, By Myself and Then Some. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Or you can email rgarner@mindtools.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: Ross GarnerNahdia KhanLiggy Webb

Artificial Intelligence (AI) generally and Large Language Models (LLMs) specifically have been all the rage over the past 12 months. Should you care? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Rosses Garner and Dickie are joined by learning strategist Ross Stevenson to discuss: The current state of AI The extent to which L&D pros should pay attention to ongoing developments Tips for making the most of AI tools, especially ChatGPT. During the discussion, Stevenson referenced ‘custom instructions’ for ChatGPT. These help tailor ChatGPT’s responses to your prompts, and mean you don’t need to add background information to every prompt. See his video on the topic for guidance. He also recommend Perplexity AI. See: perplexity.ai In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Dickie recommended the Fit Bod app. Garner discussed the rise (and subsequent fall) of Quora. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Or you can email rgarner@mindtools.com For more from Stevenson, see Steal These Thoughts. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: Ross Garner Ross Dickie Ross Stevenson

Jackie Kennedy is Learning and Development Lead at London Borough of Camden, where work contexts range from libraries and schools to waste management and social care. How do you develop managers in these diverse contexts, with a public sector budget? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Jackie joins Ross Garner and Owen Ferguson to discuss: The unique challenges faced by local government How to develop a management development programme without providing any ‘teaching’ The role of digital in Camden’s L&D strategy. To read more about how London Borough of Camden leverage the Mind Tools on-demand content library, see our case study. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross discussed his article for People Management, written with Gemma Towersey and our automated companion The L&D Dispatch GPT: ‘What we learned from seven years running an L&D podcast’. Jackie discussed ‘eating the frog’. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. Or you can email rgarner@mindtools.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: · Ross Garner · Owen Ferguson · Jackie Kennedy

Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, AI has seldom been out of the news. Such is the pace of change, it can feel difficult to keep up. But how is L&D actually using this technology? What do learning professionals perceive as the benefits of AI, and what are the barriers to implementation? In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross Dickie and Owen Ferguson are joined by Donald Taylor to discuss a report he co-authored with Egle Vinauskaite, which seeks to answer some of these questions. We discuss: · The current state of play of AI in L&D, · The expected benefits of using AI in L&D, · The technological and business barriers to deploying AI in organizations. To read the full report, AI in L&D: The State of Play, head to Don’s website. In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Owen mentioned CGP Grey’s focus on ‘themes’ (as opposed to resolutions) as a method for achieving long-term personal and professional goals. Check out this video to find out more. Ross D recommended the Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible, exploring Nimsdai Purja’s attempt to summit all fourteen of the world’s 8000-metre mountains in under seven months. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. 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 our speakers: · Ross Dickie · Owen Ferguson · Donald Taylor

How much thought does your organization give to the Employee Experience? And what tools can you use to enhance it? In this year’s first episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross Garner and Owen Ferguson are joined by Danny Seals to discuss his new book The Insightful Innovator: How to level up your Employee Experience. We discuss: · The advantages of strengthening the Employee Experience · How ‘designing a relationship’ can set your projects up for success · Tools and techniques to enhance the Employee Experience. During the conversation, Danny referred to Employee SPIES (Services, Products, Interactions, and Experiences, while applying a Subscription model to work). He also refers to EVP (Employee Value Proposition). And he discussed The Ladder of Abstraction as a tool for connecting with stakeholder groups. All are discussed in more detail in his book. In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Owen recommended the research paper: Cook, A., Thompson, M., & Ross, P. (2023). Virtual First Impressions: Zoom Backgrounds Affect Judgements of Trust and Competence Ross recommended The Economist’s workplace podcast Boss Class. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. You can also email rgarner@mindtools.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: · Ross Garner · Owen Ferguson · Danny Seals

It’s a wrap! In what is traditionally our ‘least listened to’ and ‘most unhinged’ episode of the year, we’re celebrating the festive season with some reflections on the biggest talking point in L&D: the emergence of generative AI. And we’re joined by special guests, ChatGPT (our first AI guest!) and Bedford Falls’ own George Bailey (making his annual appearance). Ross Garner is joined by Owen Ferguson and Ross Dick to discuss: · How have tools like ChatGPT and Bard evolved over the year? · How are we using them? · What’s coming next? ChatGPT then asks its own questions, with a spattering of festive zingers. And George shares his observations on the prevalence of AI, and provides an insight into the Baileys’ favourite drink at this time of year. In ‘What I Learned this Year’, Ross Dick recommended two newsletters: Platformer and One Useful Thing. And Ross G wanted to provide the phone number for Samaritans: 116 123 You can also visit their website: samaritans.org For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. You can also email rgarner@mindtools.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: · Ross Garner · Owen Ferguson · Ross Dickie

Hey listeners! Here's a fun stocking filler for you: Throughout this year, Rosses D and G have been writing The L&D Dispatch, a weekly newsletter from the Mind Tools Custom team. In this bonus episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, we reflect on the effort involved to write a newsletter, the personal benefits we've experienced from doing so, and how our use of AI tools for content production has evolved over the last 12 months. Never heard of it? Subscribe now at lddispatch.com

In the past, we’ve always talked about Virtual Reality training in the context of skills that are expensive to learn or dangerous to practice. But Lucie Coudret and the team at Cappfinity are using VR for coaching and leadership development. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross Garner and Owen Ferguson speak with Lucie Coudret, to discuss: · The advantages of VR for coaching and soft skill development · How to overcome the cost and technical hurdles of providing VR learning experiences · How the VR ‘fad’ has continued to evolve and improve, even if it’s not always in the spotlight, During the conversation, Lucie referenced PwC’s study into the effectiveness of VR for soft skills training. She also referenced the DICE model (Dangerous, Impossible, Counterproductive, Expensive). Details of the VR EY Summer Internship, developed by Cappfinity, are on YouTube. Ross referenced the popularity of Snapchat’s ‘My AI’, which by June of this year had been sent 10 billion messages. In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Owen recommended Lenny’s Newsletter. Ross recommended The Rest Is History podcast. For more from Lucie, see luciecoudret.com For Cappfinity, see cappfinity.com For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work. You can also email rgarner@mindtools.com Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers: · Ross Garner · Owen Ferguson · Lucie Coudret

Ever launch a workshop that no one attended or an e-learning module that nobody accessed? It’s surprisingly common: and one reason is that we’re not always great at marketing our L&D initiatives. In this week’s episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross Dick and Owen Ferguson seek to reverse this outcome with the help of Ashley Sinclair from MAAS Marketing – the world’s only (we think) marketing agency focusing specifically on L&D. We discuss: · Why L&D teams need a marketing strategy · What an effective marketing strategy looks like · How to measure the ROI of a marketing strategy For more from Ashley, visit maas-marketing.co.uk Ashley’s podcast is at maas-marketing.co.uk/podcast The Mind Tools reports that were mentioned are available at: mindtools.com/business/research Ashley also mentioned the LPI’s ‘Workplace Learning Report’ In ‘What I Learned this Week’, Ross D discussed the BBC’s new series on Shakespeare., He also the Netflix series ‘Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul’. For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtools.com/business. 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 our speakers: · Ross Dickie · Owen Ferguson · Ashley Sinclair