Independent Professionals
From visibility to signals: What new research says about running L&D like a business – part one
L&D teams face growing demands, shrinking resources and mounting pressure to demonstrate business value. Yet many lack visibility of their own workloads and priorities. Drawing on new research, Ryan Austin explores how learning leaders can take control of incoming requests, make better decisions and strengthen their strategic influence. Last year, I wrote about how talent and L&D teams can earn a seat at the table automatically, by running the function like a business. The response told me something. Most leaders…
The manager capability gap is now a human sustainability risk
Managers can make or break employee wellbeing, yet many lack the skills to recognise and address workplace stress. Emily Pearson eloquently argues that L&D must rethink leadership development, equipping managers to protect mental health, create healthier working environments and deliver sustainable performance without sacrificing the people who make it possible. At 7.04am Sarah spotted the empty station. The line was already alive: steel feeding into rollers, forklifts reversing, fluorescent lights humming above a team that should have been ten but…
What if poor decision-making isn’t a leadership problem?
Better decisions require more than capable leaders. Steve Macaulay explores how HR and L&D can tackle the cultural, structural and psychological barriers to sound judgement. From challenging bias and creating psychological safety to navigating AI, he explains how organisations can build decision-making capabilities that deliver lasting business impact and resilience. Poor decision-making remains one of the most persistent and costly issues in the life of an organisation. Research from McKinsey shows that companies making faster, higher-quality decisions consistently outperform their…
Stop focusing on training delivery and start driving business performance
The most valuable development opportunities don’t always happen in a classroom. Johnson Wong explores how organisations can turn everyday experiences, collaboration and reflection into powerful drivers of performance. From empowering managers to encouraging knowledge sharing, he explains why embedding learning into work is essential for adaptability, innovation and long-term success. In today’s volatile business environment, organisations are under increasing pressure to adapt quickly to technological disruption, changing workforce expectations and evolving customer demands. Yet many organisations continue to approach learning…
AI is speeding up work, but can your organisation keep up?
AI promises greater productivity, but hidden workloads, unchecked errors and growing risks are challenging that narrative. Erica Farmer explores why learning and compliance professionals must work together to rethink accountability, strengthen human oversight and equip employees with the confidence to challenge AI outputs before costly mistakes become big organisational failures. The one thing I hear myself saying to many people right now is, ‘there is no playbook for AI’. Typically, with new system and software deployments we rely on case…
A Manager’s Guide to Self-Development – book review
What does it take to become a better manager, and can a book help? Olga Anishenkova explores The Manager’s Guide to Self-Development, examining its practical exercises, reflective approach and emphasis on personal responsibility, while considering its strengths and limitations as a resource for leaders at every stage of their careers. Book: A Manager’s Guide to Self-DevelopmentAuthor: Mike Pedler, John Burgoyne, Tom Boydell, Joan Keevill, Kevin Roe and Jean-Anne Stewart For a long time, I have held the belief that any…
What if the biggest workplace risks are hiding in plain sight?
Employee disengagement rarely happens overnight, yet organisations often miss the subtle behavioural changes that signal much trouble ahead. Laura Brennan explores why traditional performance measures fail to capture emerging problems, and how recognising withdrawal, mistrust and declining collaboration could help leaders prevent costly consequences before they become impossible to ignore. In 2024, the drop in global employee engagement cost the world economy $438 billion in lost productivity. This wasn’t through redundancy or restructure, but through the quiet, cumulative effect of…
Resistance to your capability framework is almost always rational
Ben Satchwell argues that pushback on capability frameworks is usually rational feedback, not irrational resistance. Drawing on established research, Ben shows common objections often signal solvable issues: weak co-design, unclear data use, ignored history, time burden, or a missing personal why. Instead, ask what would need to change for support. When people push back on a new capability framework, the project team tends to file it under “resistance to change”, as though resistance were an irrational reflex to be managed,…
The one-page brief that could save your next training video
Creating effective training videos takes more than just good filming and editing. Liam Mead shares five essential questions L&D teams should answer before production begins, from defining learning objectives and understanding audiences to managing approvals and deliverables, helping organisations avoid costly mistakes and create videos that genuinely support workplace learning. What if your training video is destined to fail before anyone even picks up a camera? Organisations can spend considerable time and money producing polished, professional learning videos, only to…
Why financial literacy training belongs in the workplace
Financial awareness is high, yet many employees struggle to turn knowledge into meaningful action. Thomas Drury argues that workplace financial education needs a rethink, exploring how L&D teams can remove barriers, personalise support and connect learning to real financial decisions, while measuring success through behaviour change rather than course completion. The case for workplace financial education has been made before, but it’s usually made the wrong way. The framing tends to be “people don’t know about ISAs, pensions or fraud…
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