In this episode, I chat with Rachel Koblic about why she isn't buying into the hype around hustle culture and how she founded Starling to support middle management.

Rachel Koblic is a leader at the intersection of learning, design, and strategy. Her mission is to create high-quality learning for life in the digital economy, and foster nurturing and inspiring workplaces for the people around her. With nearly 20 years of interdisciplinary professional experience as both a doer and a leader, she is adept at designing effective learning programs, growing engaged and efficient teams, and connecting disparate dots to solve complex problems.

Rachel lives in Saratoga Springs, NY with her partner Luke and their two dogs, three cats, and four chickens.

Here's where you can find her:
https://www.starlinglx.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rkoblic/

Rachel's suggestion for middle management to hone their skills:
ChatGPT Premium Subscription (for ideas for questions, ways to solve problems, ways to word emails, etc.)

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, Alexandria and I talk about L&D from the healthcare lens -- but the conversation is important to ALL of us in L&D as we talk about the importance of remembering that there are solutions that aren't eLearning out there, we can learn a lot from UX design, and that proving our impact and being able to scale training is crucial to our success in L&D. 

With a decade of experience in the field of learning and development, Alexandria has had the privilege of contributing to the growth of individuals and organizations. Her journey began as a career development coach, where she had the opportunity to work closely with underserved populations in the nonprofit social services sector. Alexandria's passion for helping others led her to her current role as the Crisis Prevention Training Program Manager at one of New York City's largest hospitals.

In her role, Alexandria is dedicated to providing professionals with the knowledge and skills they need to support individuals in crisis effectively. She also focuses on creating safe environments within organizations, prioritizing the well-being of employees and the communities they serve. Alexandria remains committed to enhancing human potential and fostering compassionate workplaces.

Alexandria's recommendation for those who want to learn more about the healthcare industry:

• Road to Resilience Podcast by the Mount Sinai Health System

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

It's a short story, but as requested by Dr. Sonia Tiwari, who was interviewed in my last episode, I share the story of how I came to create training that was presented to actual astronauts! I also share a bit about what I'm working on today so that maybe we can find a way to collaborate. To learn more, visit www.heidikirby.com. 

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, I sit down with my brilliant friend Dr. Sonia Tiwari to talk about what it's like to pursue your PhD while juggling the responsibilities of motherhood. It's a bit different than your normal episode, but whether you're a mom considering a graduate degree or someone who wants to learn how to better support your family, friends, and colleagues who are juggling both -- there's good stuff for everyone. 

Content warning: at the end of the episode, Sonia and I briefly talk about post-partum depression. 

Dr. Sonia Tiwari is a Learning Experience Designer interested in creating children's educational products (media, books, toys, games, AR) based on qualitative research. Her current research explores ethical design of virtual influencers for children through industry collaborations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sonia's recommended resource for mom PhD students:

• The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.: 200 Secrets from 100 Graduates

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, I share some previous episodes of the BLOC as well as some tips from my own personal experience being laid off (twice now). 

Here are the previous episodes of the BLOC I mentioned:

• 16: Leveraging Your Linkedin
• 31: Instructional Design Interviews
• 35: Agile Unemployment with Sabina Sulat
• 43: Musings from an ID Hiring Manager with Matt Gjertsen

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, I share some stories of bad training -- why I think bad training is so prevalent in L&D, based off my dissertation research -- and some of the things I think we can do to help. 

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

I finally get a chance to sit down with one of my L&D besties -- the one and only Tim Slade -- to talk about what you need to become an ID and how to present those skills in your portfolio. We tackle some common misconceptions and help you navigate through some of the noise!

Tim Slade is a speaker, author, and award-winning freelance eLearning designer. Having spent the last decade working to help others elevate their eLearning and instructional design content, Tim has been recognized and awarded within the learning and development industry multiple times for his creative and innovative design aesthetics. Tim is also a regular speaker at international eLearning and instructional design conferences, a recognized Articulate Super Hero, a LinkedIn Learning instructor, author of The eLearning Designer’s Handbook, and creator of The eLearning Designer’s Academy. 

I took it upon myself to recommend Tim's free community of eLearning professionals to anyone who is looking to get into instructional design. 

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, I chat with my pal Clea about reflecting on your first role as an ID and how to use that knowledge to find your SECOND ID role!

Clea is an instructional designer who collaborates with cross-functional teams to design and deliver inclusive and impactful learning experiences for a global teams and internal communities. Keep up with her wildly-experimental, mostly-rambling blog at cleadesigner.com. 

Clea recommends just networking and connecting with people who are doing things similar to what you want to be doing as a way to build your skills for your second ID job. 

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, Matt Smith is back to ask me YOUR questions from LinkedIn. We cover things like L&D leadership, imposter syndrome, AI, and more! 

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff

In this episode, Sam Kain of Purple Reset and I talk all about how handwriting helps with retention and how L&D professionals might benefit from incorporate writing into their work and into their own practice as a tool.

Sam Kain has been a project manager for 8 long years now, and she will tell you, it's been quite the ride. But despite her professional background, she's always been a creative at heart. Sam firmly believes that creativity is the key to success, both in and out of the workplace.

Sam is all about getting things done as quickly and effectively as possible. She hates wasting time and resources, and she's constantly on the lookout for ways to optimize processes and improve workflows. But she will always go physical before digital.

One thing that Sam is super passionate about is journaling. She believes that everyone should do it, no matter who you are or what you do. It's a great way to reflect, organize your thoughts, and stay on top of your goals -- which is one of the driving forces to build her own collection of journals and notebook systems for creative chaotic minds.

You can find Sam on all social media platforms as @purplereset and on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-kain-twcwapm-ab9a9533/

Sam's suggestion for how to get started:

• Purple Reset Bumper Pack of Journal Prompts (FREE!)

To learn more and get more great resources:

• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our global Useful L&D Community
• Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff