To help organizations reap the benefits of AI while meeting regulatory requirements, many L&D teams are rolling out AI skills programs. But how do we design these programs in a way that shapes consistent, compliant behaviors, while helping colleagues develop the judgment they need to navigate messy, real-world situations?

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Cammy are joined by Alyn Kinney, Senior Learning and Development Manager at T-Mobile, to discuss:

• how organizations are supporting AI skills development;
• the potential drawbacks of a top-down, skills-based approach;
• how to deliver practical, problem-based AI skills programs at scale.

If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out Alyn's newsletter, Nerd Out.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D recommended C. Thi Nguyen's book The Score.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

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• Ross Dickie
• Cammy Bean
• Alyn Kinney

Pressure from above, pressure from below; little appreciation from either. That's the experience of work for many middle managers!

This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, author Gary Cookson joins Ross G and Dr Anna to discuss his new book, The Squeezed Middle, with a focus on:

• why managers are so misunderstood and undervalued
• the skills middle managers require to succeed
• how we can all help build middle managers.

During the discussion, Ross G referenced the World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs Report 2025', Gallup's 'State of the Global Workplace 2025' report, and McKinsey's Power to the Middle which we discussed in episode 416.

Anna referenced our own reports, 'Building Better Managers' and 'The Empathy Problem'.

Gary's book, The Squeezed Middle, is available for pre-order now.

In 'What I Learned This Week', after Anna and Gary's barrage of facts, Ross G discussed Planet Nine.

Finally, Ross G and Anna both referenced our Manager Skills Workshops, which combine upfront assessment, peer feedback, project-based learning and AI Skills Practice. To find out more, visit mindtools.com.

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• Ross Garner
• Dr Anna Barnett
• Gary Cookson

For most of us, compliance training is a regular feature of our working lives. Instead of inducing a mexican wave of eye-rolls, what can we do to design compliance training that has impact?

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Gemma, Cammy and Layla discuss:

• Creating compliance-based learning experiences that change mindsets and behaviors;
• Meeting the needs of time-poor learners;
• How to measure the impact of compliance training.

As mentioned, we do have plenty more thoughts on compliance training! Take a look through the resources on our Learning and Development Insights page.

Recent posts include a blog "From compliance to excellence" and a guide called "Compliance learning that works".

In 'What I Learned This Week', Gemma mentioned listening to the podcast The Rest is Science. It was in the episode, "How to drink lava" that Hannah Fry reveals the optimum hand position for maximum propulsion while swimming.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

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• Gemma Towersey
• Cammy Bean
• Layla Croll

Induction programmes play a crucial role in shaping the way a new starter thinks and feels about an organization.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross D, Cammy and Claire discuss:

• what makes induction programmes different from other L&D initiatives;
• how an 'accomplishment framework' can help new starters (and learning designers!) break induction down into manageable chunks;
• how to measure the impact of induction programmes.

Click here to download a free accomplishment framework template.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Claire mentioned the Culross Moat Pit.

Cammy referenced the Greenwich foot tunnel.

And Ross D talked about the rise of video-based podcasting.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

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• Ross Dickie
• Claire Gibson
• Cammy Bean

Learning design work is often accompanied by various forms of uncertainty — ambiguous performance needs, vaguely defined scope, shifting stakeholder expectations...

In his book The Instructional Designer's Guide to Project Management, Dr Guieswende Rouamba describes this condition as 'the fog of instructional design'. And he believes project management is the key to navigating it.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Dr Rouamba joins Ross D and Adria Maston, Head of PMO at Mindtools Kineo, to discuss:

• why he wrote the book, and why project management is a critical skill for learning designers;
• what learning designers most often underestimate about the human side of project management;
• what he means when he says 'the best way to resolve conflict is to prevent it'.

You can find The Instructional Designer's Guide to Project Management here.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

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• Ross Dickie
• Adria Maston
• Dr Guieswende Rouamba

Since its first release in 1978, A Manager's Guide to Self-Development has been one of the go-to texts for new and aspiring managers. Now in its seventh edition, authors Mike Pedler and Joan Keevil join Gemma and Ross G to discuss:

• why self-development is so key to a manager's capabilities
• what has changed since the first edition of the book as published (hat tip to Michelle Ockers for this question)
• some of our favorite exercises from the book, to help us develop as managers.

A Manager's Guide to Self-Development by Mike Pedler, John Burgoyne, Tom Boydell, Joan Keevill, Kevin Roe, Jean-Anne Stewart is available from Routledge.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our own manager development offerings, including face-to-face and virtual workshops, our Manager Skills Assessment, and off-the-shelf courses.

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• Ross Garner
• Gemma Towersey
• Joan Keevil

Yippee-ki-yay, Christmas Turkeys! In our final episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast for 2025, the gang are climbing to the top of Nakatomi Plaza: foiling a criminal plot and solving L&D challenges as we go.

We answer:

• What rule exists at work that, if broken, would have the biggest impact on performance? (Tony)
• What should L&D pros be stealing to maximise their impact this Christmas? (Heinrich)
• What advice would you give an L&D professional as they plan for 2026? (Marco)
• What do we need to let go of in L&D? (Hans Gruber)

During the discussion, Gemma referenced play at work and our "ep" with Cas Holman.

Ross G discussed Sir Dave Brailsford's insistence that members of Team GB Cycling have an opinion at work.

Ross D referenced our "ep" with South Western Railway's Becky Eason, and our "ep" with Carl Akintola.

We also discussed some industry reports from Don Taylor and Markus Bernhardt. And JD Dillon's Christmas newsletter, inspired by the film It's a Wonderful Life.

If you've listened to this episode (always our lowest performing of the year), thank you! You can find out more about Mindtools Kineo at mindtools.com. There, you'll also find our back catalogue of nearly 500 episodes. That's the Christmas entertainment sorted!

And if you like the show, you'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

See you next year, and thanks for listening!

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• Ross Garner
• Gemma Towersey
• Ross Dickie
• Dr Anna Barnett

The promise of self-directed learning is that employees will take charge of their own development, if we only create the environment for them to do so. But does this actually happen?

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Mindtools Kineo Head of Product Daniel Potter joins Ross G and Gemma to discuss self-directed learning, with a focus on:

• what self-directed learning journeys look like
• how motivation is different for mandatory vs self-directed learning
• how our approach to learning design needs to align with learner motivation.

During the discussion, Gemma referenced self-determination theory.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed the end of the American penny.

For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

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• Ross Garner
• Gemma Towersey
• Dan Potter

What a year it was! In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, HowNow's Nelson Sivalingam joins Ross G and Ross D to reflect on 2025 and look to emerging trends in 2026. We discuss:

• AI (obviously) and how it's evolving
• the rise of instructor-led training
• how market consolidation is changing the choice of suppliers for L&D leaders.

During the discussion, Ross G referenced a number of new stories:

• Only 22% of organizations have a visible AI strategy
• Three in five workers say they use unapproved AI tools at work
• 95% of organizations see no measurable return on AI, partly due to 'workslop'

We also discussed Don Taylor's Global Sentiment Survey 2025, Don's AI in L&D report written with Eglė Vinauskaitė, and Hemsley Fraser's 2025 L&D Impact Survey.

Finally, Ross G referenced the 'enshittification' of AI products.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D shared an example of learning through lyrics.

Nelson discussed Gmail's new 'Manage subscriptions' tool.

And Ross G discussed the process of making a teaser trailer for his novel, Centauri's Shadow. You can view the trailer on LinkedIn.

For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment.

And for more from HowNow, visit getthehownow.com.

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• Ross Garner
• Ross Dickie
• Nelson Sivalingam

How do you run an organization-wide learning function with just two people? At LV=, that's the main focus for Talent, Learning and Development Partner Rob Foster.

This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Rob joins Claire and Ross G to discuss:

• how building relationships throughout the organization helps support induction, mentoring and reverse mentoring programs
• how internal champions expand the impact of digital resources (like Mindtools!)
• advice for teams working on a similarly small scale.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed the structure of Taylor Swift's 'The Fate of Ophelia'.

For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment.

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• Ross Garner
• Claire Gibson
• Rob Foster

The L&D industry has always talked about 'business value' as an elusive concept. Now, a new book from Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers, The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value, articulates what that looks like in practice.

This week on The Mindtools L&D Podcast, they join Ross D and Dr Anna to discuss:

• how L&D teams can transition through different stages of maturity
• the role of data in shaping business value
• the role of community and where to find it in the post-Twitter world.

The book, The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value, is available now from Kogan Page.

For more from Mindtools and Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, each aligned to our Manager Skills Assessment.

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• Ross Dickie
• Dr Anna Barnett
• Laura Overton
• Michelle Ockers