80% of the world's workforce are deskless, but L&D teams spend most of their time worrying about the 20%. Speaker, advisor and author JD Dillon is on a mission to change that with The Frontline Enablement Playbook.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, JD joins Ross G and Ross D to discuss:

• why the 80% get neglected
• why frontline managers are the most important people in the business
• strategies for supporting deskless workers.

To find out more about JD, visit jddillon.com. For the book, visit jdwroteanotherbook.com

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D discussed Casey Newton's thoughts on Grammarly. Ross G discussed the number of satellites in the night sky.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development!

You can also email us at [email protected].

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• Ross Dickie
• Ross Garner
• JD Dillon

It's once again 'Bring Your Paper to Work' day here at Mindtools Kineo, as Ross G, Dr Anna and Ross D each take turns to share an academic study that they think has key insights for L&D professionals.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, we discuss the following papers:

Rogelberg, S. G., Kreamer, L. M., & Gray, J. (2026). 'Thirty years of meeting science: Lessons learned and the road ahead.' Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 13, 415–442.

Castro, S., Englmaier, F., & Guadalupe, M. (2024). 'Fostering psychological safety in teams: Evidence from an RCT'. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2024(1), 16624.

Shen, J. H., & Tamkin, A. (2026). 'How AI impacts skill formation' (arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.20245).

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D mentioned National Grid: Live.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development!

You can also email us at [email protected].

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If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Dickie

• Anna Barnett

• Ross Garner

Last year, we recorded an episode on whether "self-directed learning" is a myth. In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, we ask how we can create an environment where this behavior thrives.

Ross G and Cammy are joined by Stella Collins to discuss:

• What needs to be in place for self-directed learning to flourish?
• How can L&D pros create this ecosystem?
• What are the biggest barriers to self-directed learning?

During the discussion, we mentioned action learning sets.

We also referenced our 'Building Better Managers' report, Amy Edmondson's book The Kind of Wrong, and the CRAFT framework.

Stella's books are:

• Neuroscience for Learning and Development: How to apply neuroscience and psychology for improved learning and training
• The Learning Organisation: Using self-directed learning to drive workforce engagement and performance

Stella also discussed the book Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures, by Merlin Sheldrake.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross discussed the current trend for placing bets on world events.

For more from Stella, see stellacollins.com.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service - including AI skills development!

You can also email us at [email protected].

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• Ross Garner
• Cammy Bean
• Stella Collins

Managers are inundated with potential development areas, from technical skills to complex behaviors. But are you focusing on the right ones?

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, our in-house Insights experts Dr. Anna Barnett and Dr. Nina Harrison speak to Claire about:

• how recent research reveals some unexpected co-benefits to managerial skill building

• how these insights can help us to look at organisational problem areas differently.

You can download the infographic at mindtools.com/thought-leadership/reports/building-better-managers-infographic.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Nina discussed her new reading technique to absorb more of 'Scattered Minds' by Dr Gabor Maté.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

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• Claire Gibson
• Dr Anna Barnett

Completion stats are a vanity metric. Happy sheets are pointless. Revenue impact will get you a seat at the table.

We've all heard these statements from conference stages. Some of us, your hosts included, might even have said them. But in this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, we wanted to dig a little deeper.

We invited Evolve L&D's Tom McDowall to join Ross G and Claire, to discuss:

• why the context behind completion metrics is crucial to understanding them
• how to design effective learner surveys
• how 'metric chains' help broaden our understanding of learning impact.

During the discussion, we referenced Dr Will Thalheimer's book Performance-focused smile sheets.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Claire discussed the design of the London Tube map.

Ross G discussed a novel genetic modification technique known colloquially as 'agriculture'. And it's recent acceleration.

To find out more about Tom, visit evolve-ld.com. For more on the IDTX conference, see idtx.co.uk.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

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If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Garner
• Claire Gibson
• Tom McDowall

Hello listeners! No new episode this week, but we wanted to take the opportunity to dig into the vault and revisit an old favorite from 2024 with Ben Betts.

At the time we recorded this one, Ben had receently published a blog post, in which he wrote that 'the LMS is the first point of entry to learning; the front-of-house of our industry.' While that front-of-house may look a little different now than it did twenty years ago, and despite the oft-repeated claim that the LMS is dying, it remains the default gateway to digital learning in organizations. But are things changing?

To answer that question and others, Ben joined us to discuss:

• the many eras of the LMS, and how we got to where we are now;
• the forces that have shaped e-learning interfaces over time;
• how AI and other changes in the tech landscape might usher in a new era.

You can read Ben's blog post, 'What's the Next Generation of E-Learning Interfaces?', on his website.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

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• Ross Dickie
• Owen Ferguson
• Ben Betts

Often, leaders are promoted into their roles because of their ability to solve problems. But that strength can become a weakness when it leads to dependency, creating an environment where the leader is always swooping in to save the day.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross D and Cammy are joined by Bill Flynn, CEO of Catalyst Growth Advisors and author of The Hero Trap, to discuss:

• what the 'hero trap' is and why leaders fall into it;
• why the behaviors that bring early success often limit growth later on;
• how leadership development programs need to change to address this issue;
• how we can help leaders make the shift from problem-solvers to systems-architects.

You can pre-order The Hero Trap here, and find out more about Bill's work on his website.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D recommended the podcast Rabbit Hole.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

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• Ross Dickie

• Cammy Bean

• Bill Flynn

In the introduction to the latest Global Sentiment Survey report, Donald Taylor describes this year's results as 'the most significant' in the survey's history.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Don joins Ross D and Ross G to discuss:

• whether interest in AI has peaked;
• why Don believes the results reflect a breaking of old norms;
• the steady climb of 'showing value' and the relative decline of 'learning analytics';
• the key challenges L&D professionals are facing;
• the things these professionals are doing now that they weren't doing a year ago.

You can download a copy of the Global Sentiment Survey report here.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G drew an analogy between content in the pre-AI era and low-background steel.

Don recommended A Knight's Own Book of Chivalry by Geoffroi de Charny.

And Ross D referenced the article 'An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me' by Scott Shambaugh.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

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• Ross Dickie

• Ross Garner

• Donald Taylor

Cafes, restaurants and car washes all use points and rewards to drive behaviors. Can we do the same with our Learning Management Systems?

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Incentli's Jeff Campbell speaks to Ross G and Ross D about:

• how digital currencies give LMS administrators levers they can pull to drive behavior
• the role of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation on learning
• the impact of branded swag on learner advocacy

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D discussed GitHub commits (super fun to bet on!)

For more from Incentli, visit incentli.com. Incentli are a Mindtools Kineo partner, so if you would like to discuss integrating points and rewards with our Totara LMS please do get in touch by contacting [email protected].

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com or kineo.com. There, you'll also find details of our Learning Management Systems, Content Hub for leaders and managers, and custom learning design service.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

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• Ross Garner
• Ross Dickie
• Jeff Campbell

If you're going in for surgery, make sure to get scheduled first thing. When you buy new clothes, wash them before you wear them. Never use a ceramic cup in a coffee shop.

These are the kind of insider secrets that get shared on Reddit, and we thought it would be fun to ask the L&D community on LinkedIn to share a few of their own.

And boy, did they have secrets to share!

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Cammy review the top responses, including:

• we can't achieve much if we don't change the environment
• we all know that 'one and done' doesn't work
• we don't design for how people learn

To view all of the 'secrets', check out our newsletter 'The insider secrets that L&D pros want you to know'.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross G defended Runna.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Garner
• Cammy Bean