Features
Why leadership development doesn’t stop at a one-off workshop
As AI reshapes work, Shannon Alter writes that L&D teams must stop treating leadership confidence, presence and emotional intelligence as optional. Future-ready organisations will be those that build adaptable, human-centred leaders through deliberate practice, feedback and support before the highest-stakes moments arrive, retention falters and top talent starts looking elsewhere. Learning and development professionals are navigating a disconnect right now: while AI adoption accelerates across organisations at unprecedented speed, Gallup reports that fewer than 50% of employees participated in professional…
Debbie Carter – friend, colleague and lasting influence
Remember Debbie Carter’s remarkable contribution to learning and development, from shaping Training Journal to championing inclusion, kindness and professional integrity. Colleagues and friends reflect on the humour, generosity, determination and human connection that defined her life, work and enduring influence across the L&D community she supported so passionately for decades. Debbie Carter might not have had journalistic experience back in 2000 when she became Training Journal Editor, but she certainly had experience of the L&D sector. Debbie’s early career included…
AI is exposing L&D’s value problem
Generative AI is accelerating content creation, but Dr Ravinder Tulsiani argues that speed and volume are not the same as value. For L&D, the real opportunity is to move beyond mere output and focus on capability, judgement and measurable performance change, especially where organisations need stronger human decision-making most. It’s a moment many of us will recognise: A well-meaning stakeholder asks for a new learning module. The problem is described vaguely, inconsistent performance, missed decisions, something “not landing”. The solution,…
Debbie Carter: A voice in learning
Debbie Carter’s editorials, research, events and leadership reveal a distinctive voice in learning and development: commercially aware, people-centred, curious and unafraid of change. Drawing on Debbie’s published writing and memories of working alongside her, Jo Cook reflects on the values, humour and insight that shaped her lasting influence across TJ. Debbie Carter was the Editor of Training Journal for a long time, then later Editor-in-Chief. After her passing this article captures some of her thoughts and approaches to her work…
Former Training Journal Editor Debbie Carter dies aged 69
Training Journal remembers Debbie Carter, whose five-decade career shaped the publication, strengthened the L&D profession and opened doors for younger talent. Forthright, principled and joyful, she was an editor, mentor, disability advocate and friend whose influence, generosity and commitment will continue to inspire the learning community for years to come. Debbie Carter, whose work made a lasting contribution to Training Journal and the wider learning and development profession, has died aged 69. During a career spanning nearly 50 years, Debbie…
Good leaders don’t avoid office politics
Leaders who want to drive effective change cannot afford to ignore office politics, much as they might want to. Far from being manipulative, political skill helps people build trust, read situations, and influence organisational outcomes constructively. Steve Macaulay and David Buchanan explain why it should be a core leadership capability. For busy people, “office politics” can often feel like a barrier to skill and culture-building and just getting things done. However, developing political skill is not about encouraging scheming, it…
AI adoption has a people problem, not a tech problem
Jennie Marshall argues that while organisations are investing heavily in AI, too few are turning pilots into meaningful impact. The real barrier is not technology but leadership, culture and capability. To close the gap, leaders must build confidence, embed AI into workflows and measure adoption, not just expenditure at scale. A while back I was heading north to visit a client, coffee in hand, when I put on the Science & Tech Daily podcast. Piers Linney was talking about AI,…
Employee engagement is rising up the agenda. So why can’t leaders agree on what it is?
Alice Desbouvrie argues that employee engagement improves when leaders share a clear definition of what it means. Without that alignment, learning, communication and support become easily fragmented. Lisa explores why consistent leadership thinking matters, how disengagement affects performance and retention, and what organisations can do to build stronger workplace connection. According to LumApps’ Future of Work Index Report, nearly 70% of senior leaders say employee engagement has become an increased priority for their organisation over the past two years. This…
Immersive learning platforms can close the readiness gap
Organisations need faster, more practical ways to prepare everyone for disruption. Lawrie Day explores why immersive, scenario-based learning, and the right platform, can help L&D leaders move beyond tick-box training, strengthen resilience, improve readiness, and deliver measurable results in a world shaped by cyber threats, regulation, and ever constant change. We live in a complex business world full of digital change and external factors impacting a business such as politics and increasing regulation. There’s an ever-increasing need for organisations to…
The real challenge of AI adoption: JPMorgan’s culture and confidence during change
JPMorgan’s AI rollout shows that successful adoption depends less on the technology itself and more on trust, transparency and ownership. Nick Petschek argues that L&D leaders must treat AI implementation as a cultural change effort, helping people feel safe to experiment, shaping use through feedback and building confidence over time. The decision by American multinational banking institution JPMorgan to give more than 300,000 employees the option to use advanced AI tools for performance reviews is a bold transition. The bank…
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