Welcome back to Lead with Learning, where we bridge the worlds of education and leadership to help you lead with intention and impact. In today’s episode, we’re diving into a powerful (and often overlooked) concept: adult learning theory—aka the secret sauce to real, lasting growth on your team.

If you've ever wondered why some trainings don’t stick or why your team doesn’t seem to “get it” after you’ve explained it, this episode is your game-changer. You’ll learn what truly motivates adults to grow, why traditional leadership frameworks fall short, and how to become the kind of leader who builds not just better employees—but future leaders.

Inside, we break down:

• The real reason most leadership trainings don’t work
• Key principles of adult learning that apply directly to your leadership
• 4 actionable strategies to lead like a learning expert
• Why creating safe-to-fail environments unlocks motivation, ownership, and creativity

Whether you’re a seasoned manager or new to leading others, this episode will help you reframe your role from task-manager to learning architect—and multiply your team’s growth in the process.

🎙️ Tune in and learn how to stop managing tasks—and start developing people.

In this episode, we're diving into one of the most underused, high-impact leadership tools: positive feedback.Too often, feedback gets wrapped up in what went wrong instead of highlighting what’s going right. But research from both education and leadership shows that when you acknowledge the good—specifically and in real-time—you don't just boost morale, you strengthen workflows, reinforce positive behavior, and increase motivation across your entire team.

We explore why positive feedback is often overlooked, how to give it in a way that sticks, and how frameworks like SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) and 2 Praises and a Push can help leaders give feedback that actually drives performance. Plus, we talk real-world strategies to tailor your feedback to your team’s unique needs and preferences—and how these small shifts can have a big ripple effect on workplace culture.

Whether you’re a new manager or a seasoned leader, this episode will give you practical tools to transform how you coach, connect, and lead—starting today.

In this episode of Lead with Learning, we explore the often overlooked but powerful practice of collecting anonymous feedback from your team. Discover how anonymous feedback boosts morale, uncovers honest insights, and leads to better decision-making. Learn practical ways to gather this feedback using digital tools, craft effective questions, and analyze responses to identify meaningful trends. Whether you’re a new manager or an experienced leader, tapping into anonymous feedback can transform your leadership and create a more engaged, motivated team. Tune in to find out how to start leveraging this game-changing tool today!

In this episode of Lead with Learning we explore how this proven learning strategy can elevate your leadership approach and empower your team.

Discover the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GRR) model, a four-phase framework that helps leaders shift from directing tasks to developing independent, high-performing team members. Tess breaks down each stage — I Do, We Do, You Do Together, You Do — and offers practical strategies to apply them in a business context.

You’ll hear how to:

• Model key skills and expectations effectively
• Provide targeted support without micromanaging
• Foster collaboration and peer learning
• Build trust and autonomy across your team

Whether you're onboarding new members or working through challenging projects, this episode will help you move from doing the work for your team to coaching them through it — with clarity and confidence.

Leadership Challenge: Choose one team member or project and apply the GRR model this week. Reflect on where you can shift from leading at the front to supporting from the side.

If you find this episode valuable, be sure to follow, share it with a colleague, and leave a review. Access the downloadable GRR leadership guide in the show notes for additional tools and resources.

Feedback isn't just a leadership skill, it's a learning strategy. In this episode, we break down how to create a feedback culture that supports growth. You'll get practical strategies for giving feedback that your team can actually hear and grow from, how to deescalate that natural defensiveness, both in your team members and yourself, and how to normalize feedback in your company culture so it because a routine for optimizing how your company learns, adapts, and succeeds. If you're tired of awkward conversations or feedback that goes nowhere - this one's for you. 

Today’s episode is a game changer. We’re talking about the importance of training and one specific strategy that you can add into your daily meetings and upcoming training sessions with zero effort that will make a huge impact on supporting your team to remember, retain and apply the information you share with them... the strategy of 10 and 2. Listen to find out how using this strategy will help your team hear the information you share with them in new ways, because of their ability to process and build learning thanks to this simple strategy. 

This is a totally different way to look at leadership and training. Like many managers, team leaders and business owners, you may find yourself in leadership because you were really good at your job. You know the ins and outs of what needs to be accomplished, you have routines and you’ve found a lot of success. And now you’re a leader. You are tasked with managing other people to do the things you know how to do so well. The tricky part is, you know the content so well, but do you know how to facilitate the learning of that content? Do you know how to TEACH it to other people? And here’s a hint.. There’s a lot more involved in just how you say it! 

In this origin episode, we'll cover three massive mind shifts for Leading with Learning: 

1. You’re already trying to teach, you just haven't thought about it that way yet

2. Teaching and learning is a science built on methods and principles about how the brain learns. These are your new blueprint to success. 

3. Adults learn differently. Understanding adult learning theory is the endgame of how to shift your leadership practices. Unlocking this understanding will transform the way you lead forever.