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From breakdown to backbone: Helping people thrive under selfish leaders

Selfish

Selfish leaders can drain confidence, distort reality and trigger burnout, but support can be a turning point. Drawing on a case study, this article shares coaching tools to build awareness, protect boundaries and respond strategically. Josefine Campbell shows how clients…

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From content library to customer behaviour engine

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Treat customer and partner education as a business system that speeds adoption, cuts support demand and lifts renewals. Start with outcomes, design for decisive journey moments, and prioritise time-to-value over course volume. Embed guidance in workflows, build modular role pathways,…

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Your learning strategy makes too much sense 

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The New Coke fiasco in the ‘80s shows why L&D keeps repeating the same mistakes. When we design learning for the ‘logical human’, engagement, behaviour change and budgets suffer. Design instead for real people, who are time-poor, emotional and context-driven,…

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The risk radar that stops culture biting back

Try - Fail - Success. Purpose and movement to success despite obstacles.

Most leadership programmes scale fast on assumptions that only unravel in the room. A genuine pilot surfaces hidden beliefs, resistance and the workplace conditions that make behaviour change stick, before the full investment lands. Jimmy Burroughes argues against biased, stacked…

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L&D’s biggest influence barrier is access to decision-makers

Influence

L&D can’t make impact visible an important from the side-lines. The TJ Readiness Enablers Index shows that the biggest bottleneck to meaningful change is access to decision-makers about strategy, budget and priorities. While L&D has momentum, readiness is inconsistent, and…

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Psychological safety is your secret weapon when training gets awkward

The Four Stages of Psychological Safety - Psych Safety are Inclusion, Learner, Contributor, Challenger

Disengaged training rooms are often a symptom of low psychological safety, rather than poor facilitation. Donald Thompson outlines practical ways to build trust before and during sessions. He explores strategies such as clear expectations, thoughtful responses and calm, civil discussion,…

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The execution gap in L&D: Why strategic ambitions are outpacing reality

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In a world of huge rising demand, reskilling pressure and AI acceleration, L&D keeps saying it must be strategic. But operational data shows execution is where things fail: prioritisation, flow, capacity and measurement. Ryan Austin argues the real shift is…

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Culture reset case study: From attrition to high performance

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Growth can create internal “static”, especially in people-first industries where belonging is the product. By building psychological safety, practising radical candour, and shifting to human-centric leadership, teams move from transactional communication to collective responsibility. Fiona Wright outlines how this approach…

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Why early involvement is only part of the story

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Getting L&D involved early matters, but this discussion shows that access alone is not the full answer. Kim Ellis, Cathy Hoy, Donald H Taylor and Laura Overton reflect on stakeholder relationships, strategic credibility and why influence grows when L&D understands…

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Thinking in Systems – book review

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In her book ‘Thinking in Systems’, Donella Meadows shows why well-meant training often fails when structures, interconnections and purpose stay intact. Drawing on stocks, flows and feedback loops, Houra Amin explores what learning leaders can diagnose before intervening, and how…

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