In this fascinating episode, Adam sits down with Gary Clarke, former Group Head of Learning and Development at Qatar Airways.

Gary has over 20 years of experience managing global learning and leadership transformation. In this candid interview, Gary shares his journey from starting in the British Army at age 16 to leading L&D at corporate giants like BlackRock, Capita, and most recently, Qatar Airways.

In this interview, Gary provides a masterclass on managing a complex and geographically dispersed L&D function. He takes us through:

1. Managing Global Complexity: Leading an 80-person L&D team responsible for the capability strategy of 65,000 employees. Overseeing learning technology, digital content, leadership pipelines, and highly regulated operational training across 170 international stations.
2. Rebuilding Team Culture: The impact that fostering a culture of trust and psychological safety can have, and how in enabled people to innovate.
3. Fostering Connection: To build community, Gary introduced cross-departmental "Lunch and Learns", "potluck" meals and internal learning conferences. 
4. Inclusive Recognition: Gary highlights the importance of recognising the entire workforce. He implemented peer-nominated awards, including a "Pay It Forward" trophy for acts of kindness outside the workplace.

Gary offers a deeply human yet commercially grounded perspective on leading a world-class training operation. If you want to learn how to build culture at scale and align your L&D function with high-level business goals, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Gary on LinkedIn:  Gary Clarke 

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this episode, Brigid sits down with Yousef Khan, an AI strategy and business transformation consultant, to explore how learning and development leaders can shift from knowledge delivery to measurable impact, and stay relevant as work evolves.

Starting his career in L&D, Yousef quickly recognised the gap between learning and real performance. Now working across strategy, performance, and AI, he helps organisations rethink how work actually gets done and where L&D can add the most value.

Together, they unpack what it takes to reposition L&D as a driver of performance, from diagnosing the real problem to focusing on workflows over skills and using AI to enhance how work happens day-to-day.

They also explore how AI is reshaping the workplace, and how L&D leaders can use it as a performance multiplier - boosting speed, capacity, and efficiency - without jumping to solutions before fully understanding the challenge.

If you’re looking to move beyond traditional training, show real business impact, or better understand how AI is changing the role of L&D, this episode offers practical, thoughtful ways to rethink your approach.

Episode breakdown:

(00:00) From L&D to performance and AI

(02:30) The gap between learning and performance

(04:30) Why knowledge isn’t enough

(06:30) Shifting focus to workflows

(08:00) Diagnosing the real problem

(10:00) Why training isn’t always the answer

(12:00) AI as a performance multiplier

(14:00) Increasing speed, capacity, and efficiency

(17:00) Fix, enhance, reimagine

(20:00) Starting with the work, not the solution

(22:00) Redesigning workflows with AI

(25:00) The future role of L&D

(28:00) Driving real business impact

🔗 Connect with Yousaf

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yousaf-khan-b36a0591/?originalSubdomain=ae

Performance Intelligence AI - www.performanceintelligence.co

📮 The Assembly Debrief

A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise.

https://www.assembleyou.com/newsletter

👋 Come and connect with us

We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world.

Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/

Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/

More from The Assembly

Learning that feels more like great content than training—explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work.

https://www.assembleyou.com/

Privacy & Data

This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://transistor.fm/privacy/

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Ket Patel, the founder of Change Agitators and Assemble You, Expert.

Ket is a master change practitioner with over 20 years of experience who specialises in helping organisations navigate the uncertainty of scaling and modernising. Transitioning away from traditional, purely process-driven change management, Ket focuses deeply on the human, relational dynamics that dictate how groups of people respond to new organisational directions. 

He's worked with Assemble You on two series that support organisations, leaders, and individuals in managing change more effectively.

In this episode, Ket unpacks the emotional reality of workplace transformations and shares practical frameworks to help leaders and teams navigate ambiguity, including:

1. Combating "Ambient Fatigue": Ket explains that the most common reaction to a new corporate initiative is an eye roll, stemming from the "ambient fatigue" of being asked to adopt the next big thing before the previous change has even settled.
2. Transferring Personal Resilience: While corporate change can feel frustrating because it is uninvited, Ket reminds listeners that every individual already possesses coping skills developed through personal life changes, like moving house or facing adversity. 
3. The Art of Honest Feedback: Creating a safe space does not mean a manager must action every piece of feedback they hear. It is about listening fairly, validating the employee's voice, and being honest that leadership must ultimately choose which feedback to implement.
4. The Four Mindsets of Change: Ket shares his personal mental toolkit for enduring complex projects: Visionary Pragmatism, Sceptical Optimism, Belligerent Humility, and Persistent Humour.
5. Cultivating Group Resilience: Resilience is highly effective as a collective trait, allowing the group to pick up an individual when they are struggling. Ket recommends having teams openly share their individual experiences with change to build empathy and shared strength.

Ket offers a highly empathetic and human-centred approach to one of the corporate world's most stressful realities. If you are a leader guiding your team through a transition or an individual dealing with change fatigue, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Ket on LinkedIn: Ket Patel

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Are your inclusion efforts driving real impact or just ticking boxes? 👀

In this episode, Brigid sits down with Chris Shearer-Wright, Senior EDI and Community Partnerships Manager at Oliver Bonas, to explore how L&D and EDI can work together to create more inclusive, effective workplaces.

Starting his career on the shop floor, Chris brings a unique perspective on how inclusion shows up across both customer experience and internal culture. He describes inclusion as a “golden thread” running through everything - from hiring to store design.

Together, they unpack how to design inclusive learning that drives real impact, from acting as a “critical friend” to L&D, to building solutions rooted in real business challenges and team needs.

Episode breakdown:

(00:00) From shop floor to EDI leadership

(02:30) The link between L&D and EDI

(05:00) EDI as a “critical friend” to learning

(07:00) Designing inclusive, brand-led learning

(09:00) Culture add vs culture fit

(11:00) Equitable decision-making in practice

(13:00) Leading multi-generational teams

(15:00) Measuring impact beyond metrics

(18:00) Aligning learning with business priorities

(20:00) Balancing brand identity and inclusion

(22:00) Listening to teams and customers

(24:00) Inclusion in store design and hiring

(27:00) When inclusion shapes business decisions

(30:00) Learning from what doesn’t land

(34:00) Why inclusion is an ongoing journey

(36:00) Bringing inclusion in from the start

🔗 Connect with Chris

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-shearer-wright-087698118/

📮 The Assembly Debrief

A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise.

https://www.assembleyou.com/newsletter

👋 Come and connect with us

We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world.

Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/

Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/

More from The Assembly

Learning that feels more like great content than training—explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work.

https://www.assembleyou.com/

Privacy & Data

This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://transistor.fm/privacy/

In this special live episode recorded at the Podcast Learning Festival, Adam speaks with Stephen Holderness, Learning and Development Lead for Digital Strategy and Growth at AO.com.

Stephen shares his journey of transforming the digital learning offering at AO, a rapidly growing electrical retailer known for owning every part of its customer journey—from in-house legal teams to logistics networks and a massive fridge recycling plant. Recognising that traditional e-learning was not meeting the needs of this diverse, 3,000-strong workforce, Stephen pioneered the introduction of audio learning to the business.

In this interview, Stephen offers a candid look at the successes, mistakes, and lessons learned from launching an audio learning initiative. He discusses:

1. Listening to the Learner: Stephen's first step was to stop looking at what other companies were doing and instead ask AO employees what they actually wanted. A company-wide roadshow revealed a strong preference for audio formats and podcast-style learning, especially among neurodivergent staff who struggled with text-heavy e-learning.
2. The Power of the Expert Voice: AO employees specifically requested to hear from verifiable experts rather than faceless, authorless e-learning modules. Knowing the source of the information added immediate credibility and trust to the content.
3. Unlocking the "Commute Commute": By offering learning via a mobile app, AO inadvertently transformed its 9-to-5 learning culture into a 24/7 operation. 
4. The L&D Professional as Marketer: Stephen emphasises that simply having a content library is not enough; L&D must act like marketers. He advocates for relentless, multi-channel promotion, integrating audio into existing leadership programs, aligning content with internal awareness days, and leaning heavily on word-of-mouth advocacy from peers.
5. Measuring Impact Through Stories: While AO uses quantitative data, Stephen argues that the most powerful ROI metric is qualitative storytelling. The fact that operational staff (who previously only completed mandatory compliance) are now voluntarily learning on their own time is a massive win that proves the "cost of inaction" was too high.

Stephen offers a highly practical roadmap for any organisation considering audio learning. If you want to understand how to align your training formats with your employees' daily realities, this is a must-listen episode.

Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn: Stephen Holderness

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this engaging episode, Brigid sits down with Charlie Manthorp.

Charlie is a passionate workshop facilitator and the head of the talent development function at Wiser, where he focuses primarily on early talent and developing future leaders. With an unconventional career path that transitioned from management consultancy at Accenture to a coaching role at Multiverse (Europe's first EdTech unicorn), Charlie brings a highly adaptable and human-centric approach to learning and development .

In this interview, Charlie shares his philosophy on creating impactful, memorable workshops and navigating the unpredictable nature of live facilitation. He covers:

1. The "Rubik's Cube" of Facilitation: Charlie describes every workshop room as a Rubik's Cube, requiring constant mental agility and problem-solving to find the right combinations of interactions that work for the specific group. He advises facilitators to prepare thoroughly but remain willing to abandon the script and pivot transparently if an exercise is not landing.
2. Breaking the Ice and Building Trust: To establish an immediate connection, Charlie uses informal, wacky icebreakers. He then relies on the Trust Equation (credibility, reliability, intimacy, and focusing on the audience's needs rather than his own) to deepen relationships in the room.
3. Handling Dissent to Build Psychological Safety: When a participant openly challenges a workshop's premise, Charlie recommends thanking them, asking them to elaborate, and treating their viewpoint with respect. Handling pushback with curiosity signals to the entire room that diverse opinions are welcome, thereby modelling true psychological safety.
4. Measuring "Nebulous" Behavioural Skills: Acknowledging that human behavioural skills (such as resilience and adaptability) are notoriously difficult to measure directly, Charlie advocates using proxy measures from organisations like Gallup and Randstad. He emphasises that while granular metrics are helpful, leaders must also trust the well-documented link between human connection, employee retention, and overall productivity.

Charlie offers a refreshing, highly empathetic masterclass on holding space for learners. If you want to elevate your facilitation skills, build genuine trust with sceptical audiences, and inject strategic fun into your workshops, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Charlie on LinkedIn: Charlie Manthorp | LinkedIn

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this insightful episode, Adam is joined by Dr Lalith Wijedoru.

Dr Lalith is a social health champion, emotional well-being consultant, and a former NHS consultant paediatrician in emergency medicine. He is the founder of Behind Your Mask, a consultancy that uses the power of personal storytelling to improve human connection and trust within teams.

In this interview, Dr Lalith explores the often-overlooked concept of "social health" and how organisations can leverage storytelling to build resilience, empathy, and retention. He discusses:

1. Defining Social Health: Dr Lalith defines social health as the quality of our relationships and connections, distinct from physical health (the body) and mental health (the mind), yet equally critical.
2. The Risks of Disconnection: The severe consequences of poor social health, which include not just loneliness but tangible physical risks like heart attacks and strokes, as well as mental health struggles like depression.
3. Project, Reflect, Connect: How storytelling functions as a mechanism to bridge gaps between people. By projecting a story, both the teller and listener reflect on their experiences, moving from monologue to dialogue.
4. The Mask of Leadership: Why leaders should drop their "professional mask" and embrace vulnerability. Dr Lalith argues that being human and authentic gives others in the workforce permission to do the same, fostering psychological safety.
5. Amplifying Hidden Voices: The importance of looking within an organisation for inspiration. Dr Lalith advocates amplifying the "hidden voices"—often introverts or those in process roles—rather than relying solely on external speakers at events like International Men's Day.
6. Musical Storytelling: A practical and fun icebreaker for remote teams where colleagues share stories attached to specific song prompts (e.g., a guilty pleasure or a breakup song) to fast-track relationship building.
7. The Power of Uncomfortable Truths: Why we shouldn't shy away from "sad stories." Dr Lalith explains that hearing about tragedy or difficulty is often what inspires us to make the world—and our workplaces—a better place.

Dr Lalith offers a profound and human-centric approach to employee well-being. If you want to understand the "missing pillar" of health and how to truly connect your hybrid or remote teams, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Lalith on LinkedIn: Dr Lalith Wijedoru 

And check out Behind Your Mask

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this insightful interview, Brigid sits down with Caroline Freeman of Grey Space Consulting.

Caroline is a leadership and learning consultant and the founder of Grey Space Consulting. Her career began at Nordstrom in 2008 , where she learned the value of promoting from within and prioritizing people development. Today, she focuses on bridging the gap between ambition and reality , helping organisations move beyond simple "we need training" requests to instead diagnose real capability gaps and misaligned systems.

In this episode, Caroline discusses how L&D professionals can adopt a commercial mindset to better align with business objectives , including:

1. L&D as the Glue: Caroline describes L&D as the essential "glue" that connects an organisation's commercial strategy with its people strategy. 
2. Start with the Problem, Not the Program: Caroline emphasises working backward from the desired business outcome rather than simply taking orders for a new training course. She advocates for acting as a diagnostician to find the root of the problem.
3. Transparency and Trust: Caroline advises on how to handle situations where business goals, like reducing headcount, conflict with L&D goals, like employee retention. She advocates for transparency with leadership and teams to build trust and ensure everyone understands the true mission.
4. Thinking Outside the Box: L&D solutions do not always require a two-hour workshop with a slide deck. Caroline shares how unconventional approaches, like a simple 25-minute chat or a quarterly morning recognition meeting for support staff, can drive engagement and solve systemic issues . She also suggests pulling established tools like a nine-box grid out of the archives to quickly identify and develop high-potential employees.
5. Flipping the Script on Delivery: Caroline discusses the power of shifting from a traditional subject matter expert model to facilitating peer-to-peer learning. She encourages bringing learners into the process and giving them a seat at the table to help design solutions.

Caroline offers a highly practical perspective on elevating the L&D function. If you want to learn how to secure a seat at the table and prove the commercial value of your training initiatives, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn: Caroline Alderman (Freeman) 

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this insightful interview, Adam sits down with Kelly Rodrigues. Kelly is a multi-award-winning learning specialist currently at WebPros, with a diverse background spanning the arts, non-profits, and commercial sectors. She shares her unique journey from professional dancer to global L&D leader and discusses the transition from community-focused roles to the fast-paced corporate tech world.

In this episode, Kelly discusses how to disrupt traditional corporate training methods and build a strategic learning function, including:

1. Lessons from the Charity Sector: Kelly shares three key principles she brought from community work to the corporate sector: getting truly familiar with the problem, removing constraints to be resourceful ("there is no box"), and measuring impact through storytelling.
2. Building an L&D Brand: Despite L&D sitting within HR at WebPros, Kelly emphasises the importance of creating a distinct brand and vision to move the team from order-takers to strategic business partners.
3. Challenging the E-Learning Default: Kelly reveals she placed a "light ban" on e-learning to force her team to find the right solution rather than the easy one, citing examples where simple checklists or video workflows were far more effective.
4. Upskilling Technical Trainers: How she is transforming a team of technical trainers into true learning designers by grounding them in adult learning principles and learning science.
5. Measuring Real Impact: Kelly discusses moving beyond "happy sheets" to use the LTEM framework for evaluation, combining data with qualitative narratives to prove that L&D is not just a cost centre. 

Kelly offers a refreshing, candid look at the realities of modern L&D leadership. If you want to learn how to build a learning brand from scratch and challenge the status quo of "default" training solutions, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn:  Kelly Rodrigues (Brown) CMgr MCMI

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this inspiring episode, Brigid speaks with Kate Jenkinson, an HR Director turned Business Poet and Creative Executive Coach.

With over 25 years of experience in HR within engineering and science sectors, Kate now runs her own business, Next Step HR. She is a sought-after neurodiversity coach, spoken-word artist, and founder of the Poetry in Business Conference. Kate uniquely bridges the gap between the corporate world and the creative arts, using poetry as a tool for leadership development and organisational change.

In this interview, Kate discusses how poetry and spoken word can transform the workplace, offering a fresh perspective on learning and engagement. She covers:

1. Poetry as the Language of Learning: Kate explains that our brains are wired for poetry, referencing how we first learn through rhyme and rhythm in childhood. Spoken word has historically been a primary method of passing on information, making it naturally memorable and engaging.
2. Emotional Literacy in Leadership: Kate argues that emotional literacy and the ability to name and recognise emotions are precursors to emotional intelligence. Poetry helps leaders tap into nuance and empathy, allowing them to understand complex people dynamics that logic alone cannot resolve.
3. The "Spoken Word Finale": Kate shares her unique service, summarising entire conferences or events into a 5-8-minute spoken-word performance. This creative summary bypasses cognitive overload, anchors learning through emotion, and leaves a lasting impact on attendees.
4. Creativity as a Business Asset: In an age of efficiency and AI, Kate emphasises that creativity is essential for resilience and innovation. She describes poetry as the "language of the messy middle"—the ambiguous space between where we are and where we want to be—helping people navigate change and uncertainty.
5. Neurodiversity and Divergent Thinking: Reading and writing poetry develops divergent thinking, a key skill for problem-solving and leadership. It trains the brain to be comfortable with paradox and multiple possibilities.

Kate invites us to reclaim creativity in the corporate world, proving that beauty and truth have a powerful place alongside efficiency. If you are looking for innovative ways to engage your workforce and develop more empathetic, resilient leaders, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Kate on LinkedIn: Kate Jenkinson PhD, FCIPD | LinkedIn

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.