JD Dillon, chief learning officer at Axonify and founder of LearnGeek,  joins Accidental Trainer to share how L&D teams can support their workplace through disruption. We discuss several topics inspired by his new book, The Modern Learning Ecosystem, including: how a mindset shift is the critical first step to navigating constant change; how organizations can use the Modern Learning Ecosystem Framework to create right-fit solutions; the role of technology in learning ecosystems; and advice for anyone with limited budgets and time.

Resources:

• JD’s website: https://www.learngeek.co/mle-framework/
• JD’s book, The Modern Learning Ecosystem: https://www.td.org/book/the-modern-learning-ecosystem
• JD’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jddillon/
• Blog Article: The Problem With Learning in the Flow of Work: https://www.td.org/atd-blog/the-problem-with-learning-in-the-flow-of-work

This week, Shannon Martin, former director of communications at Podbean, joins Accidental Trainer to discuss the growing popularity of podcasting. Shannon shares how podcasting is changing the L&D landscape and why you should jump on the trend if you haven’t already. Tune in for tips on how to get started, including figuring out your “why” and how to pilot and segment a new initiative with small groups in your organization. Shannon also recommends what to prioritize no matter how limited your resources are, and ways to improve your storytelling skills.

Resources:

Shannon Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonmartinwrites/

Mic Check: https://www.td.org/magazines/td-magazine/mic-check

Jeremy Utley, director of executive education at Stanford’s d.school, joins the podcast to share how anyone can innovate by building their ability to be creative. Jeremy reveals misconceptions about creativity, defines “Ideaflow,” and how your team can achieve it. He shares strategies to discern good ideas from bad ones by creating a lab environment.

Jeremy covers other topics from his new book, Ideaflow, including how teams can best develop and select ideas, and the impact of ideating with remote teams.

Jeremy’s Blog: https://www.jeremyutley.design/blog

Ideaflow Website: https://www.ideaflow.design/

Ideaflow: The Only Business Metric That Matters

Nicole Papaioannou Lugara, founder of Your Instructional Designer, joins the podcast to discuss social learning. She describes how advocating for better needs-analysis with stakeholders and clients led her to social learning solutions. Nicole shares an easy-to-understand definition of social learning and describes crucial elements like feedback and reflection.

Nicole provides examples of digital technology that help enable social learning opportunities, and shows how she differentiates between social media and social learning. Nicole also breaks down digital ecosystems and how to operationalize a social learning strategy. Next, she shares how to make social learning environments thrive with the strategic use of moderators, culture champions, and influencers. Lastly, she remind us not to overthink social learning and shares what social learning in action can look like with a digital cohort example.

Nicole on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolepapaioannouphd/

Your Instructional Designer: https://www.yourinstructionaldesigner.com/

Carrie Addington joins us on the podcast to share how the internal ATD facilitation team came together to write their new book, Facilitation in Action: Finding Your Authentic Training Style.

Carrie and her co-authors worked together to address a common challenge they see participants grapple with in their trainings: How do you execute facilitation best practices while still honoring who you are as a unique individual? And, how can you master the mechanics of facilitation while simultaneously developing an authentic facilitation style? Carrie discusses her approach, how to leverage observation and feedback, and the art of collaboration in this episode.

Resources:

Find Carrie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-addington-mfa/

Facilitation in Action: Finding Your Authentic Training Style

Heidi Kirby, host of the BLOC podcast, joins us on ATD Accidental Trainer to share her take on learning experience design. She discusses the origins and evolution of instructional design, and its relationship with learning experience design. As a PhD candidate in instructional design and technology, she talks about the interdisciplinary components in both instructional and learning experience design and influences any designer should be thinking about in their solutions, such as the role of learning technologies, accessibility, and moving away from a focus on instructors to the learning and learners.

Resources:

Heidi Kirby on LinkedIn

Heidi Kirby’s Website

Useful Stuff Newsletter

Matt Gjertsen, founder and Chief Learning Officer of Better Every Day Studios, joins us on the podcast to discuss how to formalize your onboarding process. He shares his approach for designing effective onboarding with a three part strategy, and covers considerations for virtual onboarding. He also highlights the advantages to adapting in-person onboarding with blended learning solutions, reveals how defining your onboarding processes can create intentional culture, and how L&D can be a driver for businesses to scale.

Resources:

Matt Gjertsen on LinkedIn

Matt Gjertsen’s Website

Ryne Sherman, the Chief Science Officer of Hogan Assessments, joins us on the podcast to clear up misconceptions about personalities and how we measure them. He describes the complexity involved in evaluating personalities, whether personality is changeable over time, and how we can use personality assessments in the workplace. Ryne also reveals the challenges that exist without regulations in the personality assessments space, and recommendations TD professionals can take when considering an assessment tool for their organization. He also shares his current research areas of interest, including examining technology and how it can be used to better understand ourselves.  

Connect with Ryne:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rynesherman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/rynesherman?lang=en
• Science of Personality Podcast: https://www.thescienceofpersonality.com/

Nataly Kogan joins us on the Accidental Trainer podcast to share how to escape from daily burnout. Her own personal journey to find healing, happiness, and work she loved without sacrificing her wellbeing led her to write her latest book, The Awesome Human Project. Nataly defines burnout, addresses the systemic issues that cause it, and shares how you can recover. She reveals daily practices to build emotional fitness and refuel your energy. We also chat about other topics from her book, including developing self-compassion and how to tackle your inner critic.

Resources:

• Nataly Kogan’s Website
• The Awesome Human Project Book
• Nataly Kogan on Instagram
• Nataly Kogan on LinkedIn

Melissa Daimler, CLO of Udemy, and former ATD board member joins the Accidental Trainer podcast to discuss how to redesign workplace culture. She defines system thinking and describes how she applies this mindset and approach to change the way people work together. Melissa provides practical guidance on addressing culture gaps and operationalizing a continuous review of behaviors, practices, and processes. No matter what your role is within your organization, Melissa shares how you can be a culture champion.

Find Melissa at:

• Her website: https://www.melissadaimler.com/
• On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissadaimler
• On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdaimler/

Check out her new book: ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect with Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success