Opinion
How can culture gaps in the workplace be turned into strengths?
Anna Flynn explains why commercial and technical teams often pull in different directions, and how growing tech businesses can build shared purpose without flattening diversity. She explores culture, structured communication and meaningful recognition, showing how better alignment reduces friction, improves retention and strengthens delivery, efficiency and employer brand over time. “Variety is the spice of life” may be a cliché, but it rings true in the modern workplace. Organisations are powered by individuals with varied personalities, experiences, and areas of…
Building the bridge between competence and capability
Ben Satchwell explains how organisations can integrate competency and capability frameworks, avoiding duplication by clarifying where each operates. Ben shows just why levels mean different things, position skills taxonomies are the connecting layer for digital interoperability, and outlines practical ways to embed both lenses across performance, learning and workforce planning. This final piece in the three-part series brings the two frameworks together – showing how to integrate assurance and development into one coherent system. Part one was about improving our…
The five habits of world-class learners
Most people mistake activity for learning, yet those who do it well, treat it as daily discipline. Charlie Curson shares five habits that accelerate growth: curiosity, embracing productive discomfort, reflecting before reacting, learning from diverse voices, and acting fast to turn experimentation into insight and sharper strategic judgement over time. Most of us stopped learning the moment we left school – or so we think. We attend courses, read the odd book and sit through training sessions. But real learning,…
Winning buy-in: Why L&D leaders need sharper communication
L&D leaders face budgets, hybrid distraction and sceptical audiences, so influencing matters more than ever. Isobel Rimmer argues presentation and communication skills are a strategic capability for every leader, not just sales. She shares tools, from audience outcomes to an ABCD structure and storytelling, to build confidence and win buy-in. It’s tough being a leader in learning and development, and it’s getting tougher. How do you influence sponsors to fund development when budgets are squeezed? Persuade employees to embrace training,…
Why competency frameworks hit a ceiling for development
Ben Satchwell explains why competency frameworks can support development only within the boundaries of current role performance, because they were built for assurance and consistency. Ben contrasts this with capability frameworks, designed for future readiness, and argue the strongest approach is to connect both: competencies evidence mastery, capabilities guide growth. This is the second article in a three-part series examining the evolving relationship between competence and capability frameworks – and how each supports performance, development and strategy. Part one was…
Into the unknown: Why 2026 marks a turning point for L&D
Donald H Taylor shares insight from his 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey, which shows a profession leaving familiar patterns behind. AI is foundational but no longer the only story, as budgets tighten and value demands intensify. Yet practitioners are acting: embedding AI, using data, redesigning learning, and redefining L&D’s role. The 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey (GSS) may prove to be the most significant in its thirteen-year history – not because it signals a single dominant trend, but because it…
Stop calling everything a skill
Ben Satchwell argues that muddled language is undermining people frameworks, HR systems and L&D credibility, especially as skills data becomes machine-readable. Ben clarifies the building blocks from knowledge to behaviour, explains why competencies evidence individual performance while capabilities describe systemic potential, and shows how aligning both creates readiness without duplication. This article is the first in a three-part series exploring how organisations can clarify, connect and modernise their use of competence, capability and skills frameworks. There’s a quiet crisis of…
Contribution without collapse: Unlocking unique impact beyond job titles
Drawing on two Make Your Brain Work Podcast episodes, applied neuroscience expert Amy Brann and medical doctor Dr Jessie Gulsin unpack why contribution boosts motivation yet can become risky when fused with your identity. The piece offers practical tips for L&D to build sustainable engagement, resilience and wellbeing without burnout. In many organisations, contribution and identity have become tightly intertwined. We are encouraged to “bring our whole selves to work” yet quietly warned not to burn out. Two recent podcasts,…
Designing learning for a world that does not sit still
Steve George explores why L&D struggles when work shifts faster than programmes can adapt. He highlights cognitive agility and unlearning as essential performance enablers, offering practical design ideas including messy scenarios, changing case studies, and shorter learning cycles. All to build reflection into daily work and strengthen resilience amid uncertainty. Imagine rolling out a carefully planned learning programme, only to find that halfway through, priorities have shifted and the roles it supports no longer look the same. At a recent…
Practice makes profitable: How immersive AI roleplay drives productivity, ROI and lasting skill transfer
Most training fails because learners do not practise enough to turn insight into habit. Doug Stephen explains how immersive, AI-mediated roleplay enables realistic, psychologically safe repetition with immediate feedback, spaced over time and tied to business metrics. The result is faster proficiency, better transfer and clearer ROI without heroic analytics. The uncomfortable truth about most corporate training is that people don’t get enough repetitions to make it a new habit. We ask a new manager to navigate a high stakes…
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