L&D Leaders
The evolutionary blind spot undermining leadership programmes
Martin Johnson explores why leadership development fails when it ignores the biology driving behaviour. He examines survival, pleasure and purpose, revealing how stress, disengagement and underperformance persist. The article offers L&D professionals practical diagnostic frameworks to identify psychological states and develop leaders who work with, not against, human evolution workplaces. Leadership development programmes often fail organisations because they ignore a fundamental truth. Before you can effectively lead others, you must understand what drives human behaviour. Without this foundation, even the…
Space to think, permission to change: The TJ60 conference takeaways
Training Journal’s 60th Anniversary conference video captures the people profession at a turning point. From celebrating 60 years of workplace learning to confronting stubborn challenges around impact, evidence and credibility, contributors share what must change next. Expect practical reflections on AI, and moving beyond content creation towards real organisational capability. Training Journal’s 60th Anniversary Conference (TJ60) brought L&D people together in London for a day designed to celebrate the past, and sharpen what matters next. The video captures that energy…
Why customer service should be a leadership priority
Customer service standards are steadily slipping, and it’s costing businesses billions. Steve Macaulay and Sarah Cook explain, with examples, how HR and L&D leaders can drive a cultural shift towards service excellence, boosting loyalty, reducing inefficiencies, and embedding the mindset, skills, and leadership needed to make customer focus everyone’s responsibility. The cost of neglecting customer focus is that you end up with robotic and indifferent service, cancellations and delays become normal, and waiting on the phone for hours. In today’s…
Too busy to think: Why clarity, influence and inspiration begin with intention
Sue Stockdale explores why thinking time is so critical for effective leadership. When leaders slow down, clarity returns, influence grows, and energy builds. This insightful piece shares practical ways to reclaim space for reflection, helping leaders shift from reactive to intentional, and inspiring others through purpose-driven presence, not constant motion. If there’s one symptom I see time and time again in my coaching work with leaders, it’s this: thinking time is in critically short supply. The people I work with…
TJ interviews: Joshua Wohle on AI in the workplace, revealing what leaders are missing
In this interview by Mark Matthews, Mindstone CEO Joshua Wohle explains why AI mastery starts with mindset. He challenges the automation-first thinking, makes the case for live demos, and, importantly, shares how leaders can rewire their workflows to unlock AI’s full potential: strategically, safely, and at the speed of experimentation. Joshua Wohle is a distinguished figure in the realm of technology speakers, with a rare talent for turning complex AI and learning-science concepts into practical strategies for leaders and organisations.…
Executive coaching in context: exploring intent, impact and interpretation
Shilpi Sahai examines the complex dynamics executive coaching within organisations through a theoretical lens, exploring its intended and implicit purposes within organisations. Drawing on established frameworks, she highlights the tensions between individual agency and organisational alignment, offering a nuanced perspective on how coaching contributes to leadership, culture and long-term performance. The success of an organisation is often attributed to the quality of its leadership. Coaching, as a process to improve performance, lends itself to harnessing the potential of the individuals.…
Can strategic growth and people-first values truly go hand in hand?
High growth can strain culture, yet scaling with intent keeps people, clients and communities front and centre. Invest in learning, wellbeing and inclusive leadership; align acquisitions to values; embed in local economies; measure performance, not just speed. Heidi Thompson argues that the real challenge is to grow while protecting values. It is well documented that a strict growth mindset can often come at the expense of a people-first culture, demonstrated in McKinsey research, which shows that many high-growth companies struggle…
Curiosity over assumption: decoding digital body language in teams
Body language has always been tricky. Crossed arms, raised eyebrows, leaning in or looking away; all signals we interpret constantly, sometimes accurately, sometimes disastrously. Whilst we’ve had telecommunication for a long time, Covid transformed our work and learning spaces to be even more digital and virtual. Jo Cook shares more. Much of our professional life now is hybrid, online, and text based. That means our digital body language (DBL) — the emojis we use, the speed of our responses, whether…
When CEOs quiet quit: A playbook for executive re-engagement
CEO turnover surged in 2024, with disengagement at the top threatening transformation. Nick Petschek argues that we must move beyond traditional support roles to become active catalysts of change: spotting early signs of executive withdrawal, reigniting urgency, and embedding engagement as a strategic capability in today’s fast-moving, AI-driven business landscape. CEO turnover hit a five year high in 2024, with average tenure dropping from 8.4 to 6.7 years. One in four CEO transitions in EMEA during 2024 were unplanned due…
The power of psychological safety in uncertain times
Psychological safety helps people speak up, share ideas, and learn from mistakes, essential in fast-moving workplaces. It’s not about removing fear but creating trust and openness. Steve Macaulay and David Buchanan explore what psychological safety looks like, why it matters, and how leaders can create a culture that supports it. Do you feel safe to speak up at work? Can you ask questions, raise concerns, and offer new ideas without hesitation? If not, you’re not alone, and your organisation could…
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