The Assembly

In this excellent interview, Adam sits down with Nelson Sivalingam of HowNow.

Nelson is the CEO and Co-founder of HowNow, a learning experience platform used by over 100 fast-growing companies and global enterprises. A serial entrepreneur and author of Learning at Speed, Nelson brings an outsider's perspective to L&D, challenging traditional approaches to solve the "mother of all problems": ensuring people have the right skills.

In this episode, Nelson discusses the future of L&D, the role of AI, and the critical shift from content-focused to skills-focused learning. He offers a forward-thinking guide for modern learning professionals, including:

1. The Problem with the LMS: Why traditional Learning Management Systems often fail to solve the real problems executives care about and why L&D must pivot to helping people actually do their jobs better.
2. Skills with a "Little s": Nelson distinguishes between massive organisational transformations and the practical application of skills—starting with work tasks to determine relevant learning interventions.
3. Scaling One-to-One Teaching with AI: How AI agents like HowNow's "Guru" can finally scale the personalised, high-quality teaching dynamic found in elite coaching, moving beyond just generating more content.
4. The Self-Running Platform: The potential for AI to automate admin and answer complex data questions (e.g., "Has this focus skill improved?") without needing a data science degree, finally connecting learning to business ROI.
5. From Instrument Player to Conductor: Nelson argues that the future L&D leader must stop being a "content factory" and start orchestrating an ecosystem of curated, credible resources and AI-generated learning aligned with business goals.
6. Advice for New L&D Professionals: Nelson shares his top three tips for those entering the field: master AI tools to gain an edge, learn marketing skills to drive engagement, and—crucially—understand how the business actually operates.

Nelson offers a visionary yet practical roadmap for L&D leaders ready to embrace technology and prove their strategic value. If you want to understand how AI and skills will shape the future of workplace learning, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Nelson on LinkedIn:  Nelson Sivalingam

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 excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Neil Cunningham.

Neil is a strategic L&D people partner at the Children's Investment Fund Foundation with over 15 years of experience across diverse sectors such as tech, comms, utilities, and philanthropy. His expertise lies in developing key capabilities, measuring learning impact, and driving digital L&D strategy.

In this episode, Neil discusses the philosophy of where L&D belongs in an organisation and how to navigate major external challenges. He provides a masterclass on stakeholder management and agility, including:

• L&D’s Core Function: Neil defines the core function as helping people acquire the knowledge, skills, and behaviours they need to perform at their best, acting similarly to R&D by researching needs and developing solutions.
• Create Your Own Table: Rather than worrying about where L&D sits hierarchically or fighting for a "seat at the table," Neil advises creating your own table by inviting stakeholders to engage one-on-one.
• Moving from "Nice to Have" to Business Driver: How to shift from reporting on activity and enjoyment to telling a data story that demonstrates monetised ROI, productivity gains, or staff retention.
• Navigating Major Challenges: Neil offers three tips for handling crises or restructuring: ensure solutions are agile and can pivot quickly, remove your ego from the work, and keep your ear to the ground with senior stakeholders.
• Building Trust: Why trust is not something you can teach, but an output of your actions—doing what you say you will do until you reach a level where leaders refer others to you.
• Decenter Yourself: Neil’s key advice for anyone in the industry is to remember that L&D is a support function existing to make everyone else's lives better.

Neil offers a pragmatic and ego-free approach to L&D that focuses on service and strategic partnership. If you want to learn how to build stronger relationships and respond effectively to organisational change, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Neil on LinkedIn: Neil John Cunningham 

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 interview, Adam sits down with Abi Holmes of Assemble You.

Abi is the Head of Content at Assemble You, bringing over a decade of experience in learning design. She has led teams creating blended programmes, bespoke solutions, and off-the-shelf learning, always with human-centred design at the heart of her work. She now leads the development of Assemble You's audio learning content, solving real organisational challenges from leadership to digital skills.

In this episode, Abi discusses a groundbreaking approach to one of L&D's most dreaded topics: compliance training. She reveals how podcasts can transform this essential but often disengaging subject, including:

1. The Problem with Traditional Compliance: Abi highlights why compliance training often fails—it's too legislation-heavy, irrelevant to daily roles, and seen as a "tick-box" exercise rather than a meaningful learning experience.
2. A Human-Centred Approach: Discover how shifting the focus from the "what" (legislation) to the "why" (personal responsibility) makes learning stick. Abi advocates for using real-world scenarios and expert voices to bring dry topics to life.
3. Compliance You Can Listen To: Learn about Assemble You's innovative audio-first compliance solution. Abi explains how they balance engaging, conversational storytelling with the necessary legislative rigour and robust assessment to ensure organisations remain compliant.
4. Why Podcasts Work for Compliance: Abi argues that podcasts meet learners "where they are," fitting into their daily lives and making complex, intimidating topics approachable through conversation.

Abi offers a fresh and practical perspective on reimagining mandatory training. If you are looking to make your compliance training more engaging, relevant, and effective, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Abi on LinkedIn: Abi Holmes

And check out our compliance lessons: https://www.assembleyou.com/products/compliance-training

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 excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Nick Lennon-Barrett.

Nick is an award-winning L&D leader with over 20 years of experience driving transformation and building learning cultures. He is the founder of Superpower Mastery and the bestselling author of Organised Chaos: Turbocharge Your ADHD Superpowers. This book blends memoir with practical self-development advice for neurodivergent professionals.

In this episode, Nick shares his personal journey of being diagnosed with ADHD late in life and offers a masterclass on turning neurodivergent traits into corporate superpowers. He provides a practical guide for L&D leaders on building inclusive, agile, and human-centric learning environments, including:

• Reframing Neurodivergence: Nick explains how to shift the narrative from "perceived weaknesses" (like emotional regulation struggles) to "inherent strengths" (like hyperfocus, planning, and risk-taking) that can be nurtured into superpowers.
• The "Design, Deliver, Refine" Approach: How to balance business-as-usual with transformation by building flexible, scalable learning solutions that can pivot quickly, rather than relying on rigid end-to-end programs.
• Designing for Different Brains: Practical tips for creating neuro-inclusive learning, such as sending questions in advance, avoiding the "round robin" speaking format, and simply asking people how they prefer to learn.
• Embedded Inclusion: Nick argues that D&I shouldn't be just a standalone initiative, but rather embedded in everything L&D does—for example, featuring diverse characters in compliance training scenarios to make people feel seen.
• Human-Centric Skills in the AI Age: Why "soft skills" like emotional intelligence, curiosity, and inquisitiveness are becoming crucial survival skills in the age of AI, and how this plays to the strengths of many neurodivergent people.

Nick offers an inspiring and actionable perspective on how to navigate the corporate world with neurodivergence and how L&D can build cultures where everyone's unique strengths can shine. If you want to learn how to unlock potential in yourself and your teams, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicklennonbarrett/
And check out: Website - Superpower Mastery

Book - https://books2read.com/organisedchaos

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 excellent interview, Adam sits down with Scott Parkin.

Scott is the Group CEO of the Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP), an award-winning global body with a mission to support the professionals who help others gain, progress in, and retain work. With nearly 35 years of experience across employment, skills, and social care, Scott has expanded the IEP's reach globally, establishing Centres of Excellence in the UK, Canada, and Australia.

In this episode, Scott explores the vital intersection of employability and skills development. He provides a masterclass on the art of supporting people into work, including:

1. Defining Employability: Scott defines it as the professional "art" of supporting individuals to gain the skills needed to be active in their local labour market.
2. Core Skills for Life: Discover the essential "soft" or "meta" skills that underpin success, including resilience, emotional intelligence, communication, and curiosity, and why these are just as critical as technical qualifications.
3. Early Intervention: Scott advocates for introducing employability and core skills support as early as Year 7 in schools to prevent young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training).
4. AI in Employability: A look at how AI is changing the sector, from reducing administrative burdens to coaching apps. Scott argues that AI should be used to free up time for more human connection, not replace it.

Scott offers a deeply human perspective on a sector that is critical to social and economic well-being. If you are interested in the future of work, skills development, and the power of human connection, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn:  Scott Parkin FIEP FRSA 

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 excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Sharon Claffey-Kaliouby

Sharon is a seasoned L&D executive and HR Tech leader with over two decades of experience at organisations like Thomson Reuters, State Street Global Advisors, and Learning Pool. A passionate advocate for gender equity, she has spent the last 12 years championing the Women in Learning initiative, working to bridge the gap in female leadership within the industry.

In this episode, Sharon delivers a powerful and data-backed masterclass on the state of women in the learning industry. She offers a compelling framework for closing the leadership gap, including:

1. The Leadership Paradox: Sharon reveals the startling statistic that while women make up two-thirds of the L&D workforce, they hold only one-third of senior leadership roles—a disparity that is often hidden in plain sight.
2. Redefining the "Queen Bee": Learn about the "Five Bs" framework for inclusive leadership: Benchmarking, Being Bold, Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers, and going Beyond.
3. Women in Learning are Women in Tech: Sharon challenges the industry to reframe its identity, arguing that the vast majority of L&D roles involve significant technology, and women should confidently claim their space as "Women in Tech" (who represent only 25-28% of the global tech workforce).
4. The ROI of Gender Equity: Discover the business case for diversity, citing the "sheet Index" which proves that companies with more women in C-suite and board positions are not just more inclusive, but more profitable.
5. The AI Double-Edged Sword: A discussion on how AI can both obscure the truth through bias and be a powerful tool for efficiency and uncovering data—if driven by diverse teams with empathy.
6. A Call to Action: Sharon invites listeners to contribute to the upcoming "State of the Industry" report, emphasising that owning your narrative and supporting others is the key to moving the entire industry forward.

Sharon offers an inspiring and urgent call for women and allies to reshape the narrative of leadership in L&D. If you want to understand the true state of the industry and how to drive meaningful change, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Sharon on LinkedIn: Sharon Claffey Kaliouby 

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 special episode, Assemble You Co-Founders Adam Lacey and Richard Ward step out from behind the interview chair for a raw, founder-to-founder conversation - sharing the practical lessons from building Assemble You that L&D leaders can apply immediately to increase adoption, influence stakeholders and drive behavioural change.

Instead of theory or frameworks, this episode is built from real experience: testing ideas fast, getting buy-in, marketing learning internally, and building the conditions where development actually sticks.

Adam and Rich explore what happens when L&D is run with a startup mindset - agile, learner-led, problem-focused and impact-driven. They break down the lessons, mistakes and mindset shifts that helped Assemble You scale audio-based learning into hundreds of organisations, and how the same thinking can help you accelerate progress with limited resource.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

- How to validate learning needs like a product team

- Why managers - not content - often determine adoption

- How to build internal champions who spread learning for you

- Simple internal branding tactics that boost visibility

- The power of minimal viable learning vs. over-engineering

- How to influence stakeholders and stay strategic under pressure

- Where to focus first when resource is tight

- Why psychological safety fuels experimentation and growth

- How to turn requests into patterns - and patterns into strategy

If you want your learning initiatives to spread faster, embed deeper and demonstrate value sooner, this one is worth your time. It’s an honest behind-the-scenes conversation designed to give L&D leaders clarity, confidence and practical shortcuts they can use straight away.

If you love podcast-style learning, Assemble You gives you ready-to-use, audio-first courses that slot straight into your learning strategy.

Help your workforce build practical skills - communication, productivity, leadership and more - with engaging content people actually want to listen to. Explore assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Kat Hayes.

Kat is the Senior Director of People at Boden, the iconic British fashion brand. With a commercial mindset and a passion for practical, human-centred change, she works closely with the executive team to shape culture, strengthen leadership, and build sustainable talent across the UK and US.

In this episode, Kat shares the story behind Boden’s highly successful "In Conversation With" series, a masterclass in driving employee engagement through storytelling and external perspective. She offers a practical guide for L&D leaders looking to replicate this impact, including:

1. The Power of External Voices: Kat explains why bringing in speakers from outside the organisation—like fashion editors, Olympians, and industry experts—can often resonate more deeply with employees than internal messaging, especially on topics like career growth, resilience, and diversity.
2. Building a Culture of Permission: Discover how Boden’s executive team actively role-models learning by attending sessions themselves and explicitly giving their teams permission to take an hour out of their week to listen, learn, and be inspired.
3. Connecting People to Purpose: Hear the moving story of how a chance conversation between a guest speaker and a long-serving warehouse employee highlighted the deep human connection and sense of belonging that these events can foster.
4. Crowdsourcing Creativity: Kat reveals how tapping into the personal networks of employees—from the exec team to affinity groups—has been the secret sauce for finding diverse and relevant speakers without a huge budget.
5. Learning Beyond the Classroom: Learn how Boden is expanding its development initiatives, from using the Insights Discovery model to improve team collaboration to launching a cross-functional "Boden Academy" that connects head office staff with the reality of the factory floor.
6. Practical Steps for Implementation: Kat offers actionable advice for any organisation wanting to start their own speaker series: start small, listen to what your people actually want to hear about, and don't be afraid to be creative with who you invite.

Kat offers an inspiring and achievable blueprint for creating a learning culture that is engaging, inclusive, and deeply connected to the wider world. If you want to spark energy and conversation in your organisation, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Kat on LinkedIn: Kat Hayes 

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 excellent interview, Adam sits down with Samah Salih.

Samah is a strategic talent and learning leader with over 18 years of experience in FTSE 100 retail and corporate environments, including pivotal roles at Nestlé, BGA, River Island, and BT. She specialises in helping organisations build leadership pipelines and align people strategy with business goals to enable transformation at scale.

In this episode, Samah discusses the unique challenges of executive leadership development. She provides a candid look at why senior leaders often struggle to prioritise their own growth and offers a back-to-basics framework for building resilient, empathetic leadership teams, including:

1. The Executive Development Paradox: Samah explains why leaders are often "time-poor" and risk-averse, treating development as a secondary habit rather than a core responsibility.
2. "Fail Fast" vs. "Fail Well": Why the popular buzzword is often misunderstood, and how true growth comes from the pause, reflection, and accountability that follows a setback.
3. The Power of the Coaching Mindset: Why great leaders move from "telling" to "asking." Samah argues that coaching is a fundamental skill for life, driving accountability and clarity in a complex world.
4. Case Study in Success: A deep dive into a successful global leadership program at Nestlé, highlighting the importance of sponsorship, application processes, and applying frameworks to real-world business context.
5. AI and Human Skills: While AI can drive efficiency, Samah discusses why it cannot replace the human need for empathy, difficult conversations, and authentic connection.
6. Building Psychological Safety: How to foster trust through clarity, transparency, and consistency. Samah emphasises that trust should be given first, not just earned, and highlights the underrated power of kindness.

Samah offers a deeply human and practical perspective on what it takes to lead at the highest levels. If you are looking to understand how to support and develop your executive team effectively, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Samah on LinkedIn:  Samah S. 

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 excellent interview, Brigid sits down with Jez Anderson.

With over 30 years in L&D as a manager, leader, and consultant, Jez has a deep passion for understanding how people learn. He specialises in digital learning technologies, informal learning, and creating cultures that foster curiosity and growth.

In this episode, Jez draws on his extensive experience to provide a masterclass on the principles of effective learning design. He offers a thoughtful and practical guide for L&D professionals, including:

1. Learning Design as Experience Design: Jez defines learning design not just as constructing content, but as creating learning experiences that engage, inspire, and empower people to make meaningful changes.
2. Balancing Needs: He discusses the crucial (and often difficult) balance L&D must strike between meeting organisational objectives and catering to the individual learner's needs and how they best learn.
3. Three Core Pedagogies: Jez outlines the spectrum of learning approaches, from traditional instructor-led methods to adult-centred (ecological) designs, and the learner-driven heutagogical model, advocating for a blended strategy.
4. Keep It Simple, Focus on Context: Learn why effective design isn't about chasing the latest tech fad (like VR for VR's sake). Sometimes the best solution is simple and tailored to the learner's context, even if it's a well-designed PDF for shop-floor staff.
5. Beyond Content Download: Discover how to make traditional classroom or synchronous virtual sessions more impactful by shifting the focus from instruction to facilitation, using methods like reverse classrooms, experiential activities, and scenario-based learning to embed knowledge and encourage application.
6. The "So What?" Question: Jez emphasises the most critical question for any learning experience: "So what?" If learners can't articulate what they'll do differently as a result, the learning hasn't landed.
7. Embracing Digital & Informal Learning: He stresses the importance of thinking digitally about the entire learner experience (not just the LMS) and fostering informal learning through communities of practice and social connection.

Jez offers a pragmatic and experience-led perspective, grounding innovative ideas in the fundamental principles of good learning practice. If you want to design more impactful and engaging learning experiences, this is a must-listen-to episode.

Connect with Jez on LinkedIn:  Jez Anderson 

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.