The Mindtools L&D Podcast

Hosted by Mind Tools Ltd

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504

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Jun 2026

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About the show

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 Mind Tools 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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60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 50041 min

500 — The Eras Tour: Part 1 (Starting with evidence)

Ten years, 500 shows, countless guests. To celebrate our anniversary, we're releasing a special four-part series looking back at the evolution of L&D. In part one, Ross G and Ross D are joined by friend-of-the-show Julie Dirksen to revisit our early years. We discuss: whether L&D has yet become 'evidence-based' dumb ideas we fall for, get over, and fall for again evidence-based orthodoxies which we once believed, but now aren't so sure about. During the discussion, we referenced the Mehrabian fallacy, problems with the forgetting curve, and how psychologst Anders Ericsson improved his memory by forming connections with running times. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D referenced A History of the United States in 100 Objects, a podcast collaboration between the BBC and 99% Invisible. He wants you to know that his description of the 'screws' episode is inaccurate. Ross G discussed the carrier pigeon-based social media app Roost. Next week, we'll be revisiting our second Era: The pandemic years. You can find details of Julie's books, Design for How People Learn and Talk to the Elephant, at our website usablelearning.com Like the show? You'll love our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch now. And if you want to work with us, please do visit mindtools-kineo.com or find us on LinkedIn. We'd love to hear from you. Connect with our speakers    If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Ross Garner Julie Dirksen

June 9, 2026Episode 49937 min

499 — Why workplace learning has never been more important

According to Dr Tessa Forshaw, Faculty Director of the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Workforce Learning and Innovation Initiative, workplace learning has never been more important. It's also never been at greater risk. In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Tessa joins Ross D and Matt to discuss: the role of L&D at a time when the World Economic Forum has estimated that 59% of the global workforce will need retrained by the end of the decade the importance of 'desirable difficulty' in learning, and how this is undermined by technologies like AI what the future of L&D should look like in an environment where skills needs are evolving at such a rapid pace. You can find out more about The Future of Workforce Learning and Innovation certificate programme here. Enter the code MIND5 for a discount on the programme. In 'What I Learned This Week', Matt referenced research exploring the similarities between whale and human communication. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service. Connect with our speakers    If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Matt Mella Dr Tessa Forshaw

May 28, 202637 min

498 — Know yourself to know others

Our Building Better Managers research identified that employees care about having an empathetic manager, but only half reported having a manager who was fair and empathetic. All is not lost. Empathy is a skill, and like any other skill, it can be developed. So what might that process involve? In this episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Loren Sanders joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss: the difference empathy makes developing self-awareness to develop empathy tact as the expression of empathy. You can find out more about Loren and her book Empathy is Not A Weakness and Other Stories from the Edge at loren365.com. Ross referred to Self-awareness and empathy that Ross referred to : Whiteside, D. B., & Barclay, L. J. (2016). The face of fairness: Self-awareness as a means to promote fairness among managers with low empathy. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(4), 721-730 In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross recommended C.J Cooke's gothic thriller A Haunting in the Arctic. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll find out how we can help your organization build AI skills, and how our Skills Practice scenarios help build human skills. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Loren Sanders Ross Garner Gemma Towersey

May 26, 2026Episode 49741 min

497 — The business impact of play at work (Rebroadcast)

This week, we're revisting one of our favorite episodes from last year, focusing on the role of play at work. All children play but, over time, that instinct goes away. We don't lose it, we don't forget. Instead, we get taught to stop. For author and toy designer Cas Holman, that's a problem. With a very real impact on business performance. In this episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Cas joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss: how traditional workplaces surpress play the business benefits of play at work how to encourage play when your organization won't tolerate it. You can find out more about Cas and her book Playfulness at casholman.com/book. You can also see her in the Netflix series Abstract: The Art of Design. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed peculiar experiments involving moths, via The Economist. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll find out how we can help your organization build AI skills, and how our Skills Practice scenarios help build human skills. Connect with our speakers If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Cas Holman Ross Garner Gemma Towersey

May 15, 2026Episode 49645 min

496 — How to project presence

You know those people who seem to command a room with a certain gravitas? How are they doing it? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Gemma is joined by Frankie Kemp and Ross D to explore: what presence is the difference between presence and presentation techniques to use to develop your presence. During the discussion, Frankie referenced: 'Why You Need Charisma' (via Harvard Business Review) 'Can Charisma Be Taught? Tests of Two Interventions' (via Academy of Management Learning & Education) You can find out more about Frankie's work via her website frankiekemp.com. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our new website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll find out how we can help your organization build AI skills, and how our Skills Practice scenarios help build human skills. Connect with our speakers    If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Dickie Gemma Towersey Frankie Kemp

May 12, 2026Episode 49534 min

495 — Driving performance with AI

If AI is so transformative, how come it's so hard to adopt? In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross G is joined by Mindtools Kineo AI Strategy Director Rodrigo Bolaños to explore: the hype surrounding AI's potential the reality experienced by many organizations how to drive AI adoption at scale. During the discussion, Ross G referenced: 'The state of AI in 2025' (via McKinsey) 'The AI Adoption Reality Check' (via Thomson Reuters) 'Many workers are using unapproved AI tools at work' (via TechRadar) '38% of AI-suing employees admit to sending sensitive work data' (via National Cybersecurity Alliance) 'AI-generated "workslop" is destroying producitivty' (via HBR) 'AI workslop is muddying the American workplace' (via The Week) 'AI in L&D: The Race for Impact' (via Don Taylor and Eglė Vinauskaitė) In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed 'death-cleaning', following the passing of Margareta Magnusson (via The Economist). For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our new website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll find out how we can help your organization build AI skills, and how our Skills Practice scenarios help build human skills. Connect with our speakers    If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: Ross Garner Rodrigo Bolaños

May 5, 2026Episode 49434 min

494 — What we learned at Learning Tech 2026

Last week, the Mindtools Kineo gang attended the Learning Technologies exhibition and conference, Europe's largest L&D event. And so, this week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Ross G, Gemma and Matt are regrouping to discuss: our personal highlights from Learning Tech what the conference tells us about the shape of the industry the key themes that emerged over the course of the two days who and what industry conferences are for in 2026. In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G mentioned the Stat Significant newsletter. Ross D recommended A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit  our new website mindtools-kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development! 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 Ross Garner Gemma Towersey Matt Mella

April 28, 2026Episode 49340 min

493 — Developing the timeless skill of communication

Throughout human history, technology has disrupted the way we communicate with one another. But according to Andrea Pacini, the fundamental principles behind effective communication haven't changed, and are as relevant today as they were in the past. In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Andrea joins Ross D and Anna to discuss his forthcoming book, Timeless Presenter. We cover: what the book is about, and how it differs from Andrea's previous book, Confident Presenter why the principles of communication don't change, even as tools and technology do why nobody cares about your presentation skills, but they do care about the things those skills deliver why practice is the key to becoming a better presenter. To find out more about Andrea's work, head to the Ideas on Stage website. You can also check out the Presentation Toolkit, where you'll find details on Timeless Presenter. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development! You can also email us at custom@mindtools.com. 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 Andrea Pacini

April 21, 2026Episode 49241 min

492 — Enabling frontline workers to succeed

80% of the world's workforce are deskless, but L&D teams spend most of their time worrying about the 20%. Speaker, advisor and author JD Dillon is on a mission to change that with The Frontline Enablement Playbook. In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, JD joins Ross G and Ross D to discuss: why the 80% get neglected why frontline managers are the most important people in the business strategies for supporting deskless workers. To find out more about JD, visit jddillon.com. For the book, visit jdwroteanotherbook.com In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D discussed Casey Newton's thoughts on Grammarly. Ross G discussed the number of satellites in the night sky. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development! You can also email us at custom@mindtools.com. 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 Ross Garner JD Dillon

April 14, 2026Episode 49149 min

491 — Better meetings, more psychological safety, and cognitive offloading

It's once again 'Bring Your Paper to Work' day here at Mindtools Kineo, as Ross G, Dr Anna and Ross D each take turns to share an academic study that they think has key insights for L&D professionals. In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, we discuss the following papers: Rogelberg, S. G., Kreamer, L. M., & Gray, J. (2026). 'Thirty years of meeting science: Lessons learned and the road ahead.' Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 13, 415–442. Castro, S., Englmaier, F., & Guadalupe, M. (2024). 'Fostering psychological safety in teams: Evidence from an RCT'. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2024(1), 16624. Shen, J. H., & Tamkin, A. (2026). 'How AI impacts skill formation' (arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.20245). In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D mentioned National Grid: Live. For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development! You can also email us at custom@mindtools.com. 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 Anna Barnett Ross Garner