AI can spit out an L&D outline in seconds, but it cannot create connection. In this episode, Jess Almlie talks with Stephanie Hubka about why storytelling is the missing ingredient in a world of fast, transactional training. They break down how to choose stories with intention using the SOL framework, how to design learning through story using scenarios and choose-your-own-adventure techniques, and how to use AI as a partner without outsourcing the best parts of your craft. You will leave ready to start a story journal and humanize your learning.

Jess and Stephanie Discuss

• How AI exposes the gap between knowledge transfer and human connection
• Stephanie's "light switch" moment when ChatGPT matched her outline, but stripped the soul from the learning
• Why storytelling builds trust, openness, and the vulnerability learners need
• Common objections like "I'm not confident" and "I don't have the right story" and how to move past them
• Borrowing stories ethically, including when to ask permission and when to anonymize
• Using the SOL framework to pick stories that spark, overcome, underscore, or link
• The difference between adding a story and designing through story
• Story-based structures like scenarios and choose-your-own-adventure learning
• Four storytelling archetypes (superpowers) and how to match your style to your audience
• A practical workflow: human start, AI middle, human end
• A simple next step: start a story journal you can pull from anytime

About Stephanie Hubka

Stephanie Hubka wants to live in a world where learning is human at its core and anchored by experiences that celebrate joy, curiosity, and genuine connection. As the managing partner of Protos Learning, LLC she provides strategic leadership on professional learning and organizational performance solutions to companies around the world.

Stephanie is a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and is Dare to Lead Trained. She is a sought-after facilitator and keynote speaker, and her work has been published in industry publications including TD Magazine. She is the co-author of 3-2-1 Launch!: The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Talent Development Podcast. Stephanie is a longtime ATD volunteer and proudly served as the president of the Metro DC chapter of ATD in 2016 and as a National Advisor for Chapters from 2017-2022.

Stephanie's passion for training is equaled only by her love of exploring the globe; an avid traveler, she has visited all 7 continents, more than 70 countries, and all 50 US states.

Find and Connect with Stephanie Hubka

• • LinkedIn
  • Website: Protos Learning
  • ATD Blog Article: AI Isn't Human, But Storytelling Is
  • TD Magazine Article: Channel Your Sorytelling Superpower (Free to ATD Members)
  • Book: 3-2-1 Launch! The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Talent Development Podcast

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• • LinkedIn
  • Website: www.jessalmlie.com
  • Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
  • L&D Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Team Development Roadmap
  • Contact Jess

Let's be real. Most Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) don't actually improve performance. They're a legal termination plan in disguise. That doesn't make anyone feel good. But, they don't have to be this way! In this episode, Jess talks with coach and culture consultant Amy Kay Watson about rebooting accountability so performance improvement becomes a true development process instead of a disciplinary paper trail. Amy breaks down why most PIPs don't include learning or development and then shares a practical model built designed to restore psychological safety, clarify standards, and build early wins. You'll leave with concrete ways L&D can equip managers to partner in accountability conversations and diagnose root causes. PIPs can be positive turning points, but only with a different approach.

Jess and Amy Discuss

• Why PIPs often function as compliance tools instead of learning frameworks, and the downstream damage to trust, morale, and capability
• The "reformer's trap": why managers default to policing behavior under pressure (and what to do instead)
• How cultures fall into the "nice trap," confusing kindness with lack of structure and boundaries
• A developmental PIP model built on three pillars: Justice, Goals, and Efficacy
• Justice in practice: using transparent performance data ("Do you see what I see?") to reduce threat response and enable learning
• Goals that build capacity: shifting from deficit lists to resourced targets using the Job Demands–Resources (JDR) lens
• Efficacy: restoring agency by designing early, achievable wins to rebuild confidence and momentum
• L&D's three big opportunities: train managers as diagnostic "regulators," claim PIPs as a learning tool, and align with HR/Legal to avoid mixed messages
• The smallest high-impact starting point: be clear about standards because clarity really is kindness
• How to handle the hard reality: what changes when someone won't engage, even with support and partnership

About Amy Kay Watson

Amy Kay Watson, M.Div., MCC, is a Master Certified Coach and a sought-after speaker in empathy-driven leadership and performance improvement. She helps purpose-driven professionals balance accountability with compassion, especially in high-pressure, high-stakes roles. With a background spanning chaplaincy, corporate management, over 200 culture-shaping retreats, and over 3,600 coaching hours, Amy brings rare insight and practical wisdom to every stage and conversation.

Find and Connect with Amy Kay Watson

• LinkedIn
• Website: amykaywatson.com
• Article: It's Time to Reboot Accountability
• Special offer for listeners (quiz): rebootleader.com

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Team Development Roadmap

Your learners loved the course… and then nothing changed. In this episode, Jess talks with Melanie Martinelli (Institute for Transfer Effectiveness) about why L&D's obsession with "great training" often fails at the only thing that matters: on-the-job application. You'll unpack the 12 Levers of Learning Transfer, learn how to run a quick transfer audit, and hear a case study where a clunky old e-learning outperformed a shiny new one. All because the ecosystem mattered more than the content.

Jess and Melanie discuss

• Why L&D "falls in love with the solution" instead of diagnosing the real performance problem
• The difference between learner satisfaction and business impact (Level 1 vs. Level 3)
• What "learning transfer" actually means: application back on the job
• The 12 Levers of Transfer (trainee, training design, and organizational factors)
• How to use a "transfer audit" to find the biggest barriers for that specific program
• Why you shouldn't try to pull all 12 levers at once (perfectionism kills transfer)
• Active learning vs. active practice—and why practice gets cut first
• Designing for constraints: what to do when training time is limited
• Why investing in "before and after" support beats polishing course content
• The "Certificate of Implementation" tactic that drives supervisor support

About Melanie Martinelli

Melanie Martinelli combines her entrepreneurial spirit with her 20 years of experience in L&D to help build memorable & results-based learning experiences. In her role as CEO of the Institute for Transfer Effectiveness and Founder of Going Beyond Training, she applies strong business acumen, rich practical experience across cultures & a deep understanding of what makes learning transfer happen to support her clients in being more strategic in their L&D initiatives.

Find and Connect with Melanie Martinelli

• LinkedIn
• Institute for Transfer Effectiveness
• Book: What Makes Training Really Work

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Introducing the L&D Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Development Blueprint

Want to know how your L&TD team can stop reacting to requests and start operating as a true strategic business partner? The L&D Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Development Roadmap shows you exactly where your team is today and provides a clear, practical path to change how you work, build credibility with leaders, and deliver measurable business impact. Learn more and reach out to Jess Almlie to bring this tool to your team.

Your learners don't need another "fun" workshop; they need results. In this episode, Jess and Brian Washburn unpack why engagement alone is a dangerous success metric and how to design for real performance change. Brian introduces his simple four-step facilitation model: Anchor, Content, Application, Future Use, which turns any session into a repeatable, effective learning experience. They explore how to equip SMEs to facilitate (without gimmicks), handle awkward moments like silence or "I don't know," and adapt these principles for virtual and global audiences.

• Why engagement alone doesn't equal effective training
• The four-step facilitation model and how to use it every time
• Moving SMEs from knowledge dumps to true facilitation
• Simple, non-gimmicky activities that prove people "get it"
• Handling silence, tough questions, and tech failures with confidence
• Adapting facilitation for virtual rooms and global cultures

About Brian Washburn

Brian Washburn is an author, a sought-after speaker, and an experienced instructional designer who has been working in the field of learning and development for more than two decades.

Brian's work has been published in TD magazine, the monthly trade magazine for the Association of Talent Development (ATD), and he was named a Top Young Trainer by Training Magazine in 2011. Brian's first book, What's Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training, was published by ATD Press in June 2021. Modeled on the original periodic table of elements, the book explores a wide range of approaches to organizational training needs and new ideas and ways to organize the design of learning programs.

His second book, Instructional Design on a Shoestring, was released in January 2024, and will be provided to each participant in this train-the-trainer program. Brian holds an MA in Organizational Development from Antioch University.

Find and Connect with Brian Washburn

• LinkedIn
• Website: Endurance Learning
• Book: What's Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training
• Book: Instructional Design on a Shoestring

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Additional Links from the Episode

• Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction
• The Bob Pike Group
• Malcolm Knowles Adult Learning Theory
• On Teaching and Learning: Putting the Principles and Practices of Dialogue Education into Action by Jane Vella
• Endurance Learning Training Activity Cookbook
• L&D Must Change Podcast Episode 08 with Kassy Laborie (Online Training That's Better Than In Person)
• Interact and Engage! 75+ Activities for Virtual Training, Meetings, and Webinars by Kassy Laborie and Thomas Stone
• L&D Must Change Podcast Episode 22 with Chris Taylor (Designing and Measuring On Purpose)

AI isn't coming for your L&D job... it's rewriting it. In this episode, Jess and AI-in-L&D veteran Josh Cavalier dig into his provocative "Human Machine Performance Analyst" L&D role, why content creation is still on the table, and how to build the business, data, and learning-science muscles you'll actually need. They unpack the real story behind AI layoffs, the emerging L&D tech ecosystem, and practical, low-risk ways to get your AI learning and practice reps in today.

Jess and Josh Discuss

• Why Josh believes L&D must evolve into "Human Machine Performance Analysts."
• The shift from building courses to orchestrating human AI performance.
• Core skills for L&D to double down on: performance consulting, business acumen, data and analytics, and learning science.
• Which L&D tasks AI will automate.
• What AI-related layoffs are really funding.
• How the AI ecosystem flows from platforms like Microsoft, Google, and Workday down into L&D tools.
• The risks of shadow AI usage and protecting organizational IP.
• Cross-functional AI operations to enable responsible adoption
• Simple, safe ways to start with AI in content creation and get your "AI reps" in.
• Why strategic curiosity, not fear, is L&D's best response to AI.

About Josh Cavalier

Josh Cavalier is on a mission to bridge the gap between Learning & Development professionals and the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence. His own "aha!" moment arrived in late 2022 when an AI generated a remarkably effective educational video script on his prompt, instantly revealing its potential to revolutionize learning. Drawing on 30+ years of experience, including leading Lodestone Digital to radically improve clients' edtech implementations, Josh now guides organizations through the complexities of AI integration.

Through JoshCavalier.ai, he directly addresses the concerns and opportunities facing L&D. Forget the fear of job loss – Josh argues AI necessitates a shift in roles, amplifying the need for human expertise and insight. He cuts through the myth of "automatic" AI, emphasizing that L&D professionals are crucial collaborators in the process. His focus? Pragmatic strategies and tools that help teams navigate the AI ecosystem, understand human-machine partnership, and significantly increase their AI skills. Josh makes complex AI accessible and actionable. His training, popular YouTube channel, and the fun, interactive live show "Brainpower" reach thousands, offering easy-to-use methods for working with AI. Committed to the L&D community, he consults, runs workshops, and shares his strategic insights at major industry events (DevLearn, Learning Solutions, ATD ICE), empowering professionals to leverage AI for hyper-personalized learning and greater organizational impact. Find and Connect with Josh Cavalier

• LinkedIn
• Website: JoshCavalier.ai
• YouTube Show: Brainpower: Your Weekly AI Training Show
• Book: Applying AI in Learning & Development: From Platforms to Performance

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• L&D Business Acumen Checklist

Tired of L&D busywork that doesn't move the needle? In this episode, Jess and Guus van Deelen dismantle "course factory" thinking and show how to organize L&D for results. They unpack the five L&D "chessboards," shift focus from learning to performance objectives, and set clear roles and decision rights to escape order-taking. You'll hear how to segment stakeholders with RIS (Risk, Importance, Size), apply Lean thinking to clean up operations, and run an annual L&D Cleanup Day (yes, on March 12) to kill zombie offerings and refocus on business value.

Jess and Guus Discuss

• Why learning is a means—not the goal
• The five L&D "chessboards" and choosing must-win areas
• Escaping order-taking with clear roles and decision rights
• Training internal clients to work with L&D
• Replacing learning objectives with performance objectives (or adding both)
• RIS stakeholder segmentation: Risk, Importance, Size
• Lean habits to fix the back-office mess
• Service levels: economy to "royal class" support
• The annual L&D Cleanup Day (March 12): what to stop, start, or sustain
• Using LMS data to kill underused content
• Practical scripts and examples for setting expectations with the business

About Guus van Deelen

Guus van Deelen has held multiple roles in the L&D field, from L&D manager in global multinationals to strategic consultant helping organizations reposition and optimize their L&D departments. He is on a mission to make L&D more "streetwise." designing L&D that truly drives results. Not just delivering more training, but measurable impact on people, performance, and business outcomes. Guus helps L&D teams to create learning strategies, governance models, and talent development frameworks. He is also the author of the book, Organizing L&D for Results.

Find and Connect with Guus van Deelen

• LinkedIn
• Website: guusvandeelen.nl
• Free resources for L&D Pros as mentioned in the episode
• Book: Organizing L&D for Results

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

What if the key to better learning isn't more content, but less? In this episode, Jess Almlie sits down with L&D expert Katrina Kennedy to explore how simplifying learning experiences and building in moments of reflection can transform behavior and performance. They unpack practical ways to focus on what really matters: workplace impact, learner ownership, and giving people the time and space they need to make learning stick.

Jess and Katrina Discuss

• Why simplicity beats sophistication in learning design
• How reflection boosts retention and real behavior change
• The myth that "more content equals more learning"
• Practical ways to add reflection(even in one-hour sessions)
• How to handle stakeholder pushback and focus on outcomes
• Why reflection isn't just looking back. It's preparing to move forward

About Katrina Kennedy

Katrina Kennedy, known as the "trainer's trainer," is a facilitator and speaker with 25+ years in learning and development. She has helped thousands of subject matter experts design and deliver engaging learning experiences in a variety of industries. Her forthcoming book, Learning That Lasts; Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers released on October 21, 2025.

Find and Connect with Katrina Kennedy

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.katrinakennedy.com
• Book: Learning That Lasts: Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Additional Links Mentioned in the Episode

• Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory
• The History of Toothpaste (Wikipedia)

How do learning professionals earn a true voice in the boardroom? In this special episode, recorded live at the Learning Guild's Learning Leadership Conference 2025 in Orlando, Jess Almlie sits down with Dr. Alaina Szlachta and David "DJ3" Jackson to unpack what it really takes to secure influence and credibility in the C-suite. Together, they explore how aligning with organizational metrics, speaking the language of business, and leveraging data-driven storytelling can transform L&D from a service provider into a strategic powerhouse.

Jess, DJ3, and Dr. Alaina discuss

• Why L&D often gets overlooked by executives, and how to change that.
• How to "speak the language" of business leaders to gain trust and influence.
• The importance of identifying your organization's core metric and aligning initiatives around it.
• Using listening tours to understand executive priorities and build credibility.
• The "big three" focus areas for small or solo L&D teams: strategy, governance, and infrastructure.
• How data storytelling can open doors and secure a real voice in the C-suite.
• Practical examples of turning small wins and pilot programs into strategic momentum.

About David Jackson III (DJ3)

David L. Jackson III (DJ3) is currently the Director of Talent Pathways and Learning for HealthPoint CHC. He is also a recognized thought leader in scaling impact for solo and small L&D teams. Some of his areas of specialty include aligning learning with business strategy, optimizing corporate learning ecosystems, and developing strategic learning frameworks. He's is a frequent speaker at industry-leading conferences, where he shares practical, action-oriented strategies to help L&D professionals move from survival to strategic impact. DJ3 is passionate about empowering learning leaders with actionable insights, focusing on helping organizations maximize resources, enhance learning maturity, and drive measurable business outcomes.

About Dr. Alaina Szlachta

Dr. Alaina Szlachta is the founder of By Design Development Solutions, an expert consulting firm specializing in assessment development and data strategy for learning leaders. Drawing on her background as a researcher and public health educator, she partners with learning business owners to integrate data and measurement systems into their daily operations. She is also the author of the ATD Press book, "Measurement and Evaluation on a Shoestring," a resource written to make M&E easier and more accessible for anyone - regardless of their expertise.

Find and Connect with David Jackson III (DJ3)

• LinkedIn
• Website: dj3books.com

Find and Connect with Dr. Alaina Szlachta

• LinkedIn
• Website: dralainaszlachta.com
• Book: Measurement and Evaluation on a Shoestring

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• Subscribe to Jess's Weekly Newsletter: L&D Must Change

Additional Links Related to This Episode

• The Learning Guild
• The Learning Leadership Conference 2026
• Book: Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact by Liz Wiseman

Change isn't an event, it's the air we breathe. In this episode, Jess talks with Holly Burkett about reframing change management as energy management, tackling stacked changes that drain capacity, and recognizing burnout as a workplace issue and not a personal failing. They explore how L&D can read the room on organizational readiness, coach managers to have safe workload conversations, and push for small pilots over all-or-nothing launches. L&D pros have the potential to be powerful change agents.

Jess and Holly Discuss

• Why change/disruption is the context for learning and performance
• Stacked changes," fatigue, and how burnout shows up at work
• Capacity vs. capability: measuring energy to absorb new demands
• Reframing resistance as a signal of limited capacity
• Practical levers for L&D: business cadence, pilots, after-action reviews
• Equipping managers for safe, honest workload conversations
• Framing tradeoffs in business terms: "Are we willing to risk it?"
• Self-care, recovery rituals, and modeling boundaries for teams

About Holly Burkett

Holly Burkett is an accomplished talent builder, change leader, evaluator, and workplace learning professional with over 20 years experience as a trusted consultant and business advisor. She is passionate about helping leaders and teams build change-ready learning and performance capabilities that foster high engagement, employee wellbeing, and operational excellence. As a Prosci® certified change practitioner, a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coach®, Associate of The ROI Institute, and select member of The Conference Board, she is a sought-after speaker, coach, and facilitator who is invited to speak regularly at international conferences held by ATD, ACMP, ISPI, and the OD Network.

Holly is a frequent contributor to many industry resources including ATDs "Handbook for Measuring and Evaluating Training" (2025), ATDs "Organizational Development Handbook "(2023) – where she wrote the Change Management chapter -- and ATDs Handbook of Training and Talent Development (3rd ed, 2022). An enthusiastic life-long learner, foodie, and travel junkie, she also wrote the award-winning book "Learning for the Long Run". She earned a doctorate in Human Capital Development and a Masters in Human Resources and Organization Development.

Find and Connect with Holly Burkett

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.hollyburkett.com
• Article: Become a Change Agent (TD, August 2025)
• Article: Combatting Change Fatigue (TD, Jan 2024)
• Article: 5 Essentials for Better Change Management (ATD Blog, April 2024)
• Article: Building Change Management from the Ground Up (Chief Talent Officer)
• Book: Learning for the Long Run

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• Subscribe to Jess's Weekly Newsletter: L&D Must Change

Additional Links from this Episode

• L&D Must Change Episode 35: Conducting Tiny Experiments in L&D with Anne-Laure LeCnuff

What if the real power of L&D isn't in the content we deliver, but in teaching people how to direct their own growth? In this episode, Jess is joined by Irma Horvath who leads learning at Kahoot! They explore how shifting from "training delivery" to "learning ownership" creates lasting impact. You'll hear how to spark curiosity, set goals that guide attention, and make reflection the secret sauce of retention. From small experiments to culture-wide shifts, discover how to help people learn how to learn and why that's more valuable than any course catalog.

Jess and Irma Discuss

• Why "learning how to learn" beats endless training
• The secret sauce: goals + reflection
• A simple "test–teach–test" formula that works
• How to make learning feel safe (and stick)
• Small experiments that spark big culture change
• Finding champions to spread new ways of learning
• Turning boring compliance into curiosity-driven growth

About Irma Horvath

Irma Horvath is a teacher by heart, a coach by craft, and an L&D leader by choice. She began her career as a teacher and teacher trainer, a path that took her across the world from Spain and the UK to Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Dubai, and Denmark. Along the way, she founded Morea Training, helping organizations design meaningful learning experiences, and later joined the leadership team at Drops, where she helped pioneer ways to make a fully remote team high-performing. Today, Irma leads Learning & Development at Kahoot!, driving global capability-building initiatives with a strong focus on making learning relevant, applicable, and part of everyday work. She's a PCC-certified solution-focused brief coach and a passionate advocate for empowering people to take ownership of their development. Her mission is simple: create learning that sticks, drives change, and builds cultures where growth is part of how people work - not a box to tick.

Find and Connect with Irma Horvath

• LinkedIn

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Newsletter: L&D Must Change
• Website: jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Additional Links as Mentioned in This Episode

• Article featuring Irma: Don't Just Upskill Your Employees, Create Lifelong Learners, Strategic CHRO360
• David A. Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle
• The Learning Space by Dr. Becky
• Zone of Proximal Development

Get your copy of Jess's new book now!

Jess's book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner is now available wherever books are sold. It's your handbook for creating the change needed to work more strategically and intentionally, in lockstep with the business. Order your copy today!