Features
Is it time to rethink how L&D measures AI success?
As AI transforms workplace productivity, traditional measures of learning success risk overlooking a growing skills gap. Dr Gleb Tsipursky explores why time to proficiency should become L&D’s defining AI metric, helping organisations assess independent judgement, preserve essential learning experiences and ensure employees develop expertise rather than increasing dependence on technology. The most urgent AI problem for L&D may be hiding inside a productivity win. When software drafts the routine email, summarises the case, prepares the first analysis and answers the…
Is AI making your organisation’s echo chamber louder?
AI promises smarter decisions, but can it also reinforce the assumptions organisations need to challenge? Jennifer L. Bryan explores why diverse perspectives, psychological safety and better questions matter when adopting AI, and how leaders can prevent powerful technology from turning familiar biases into increasingly convincing answers that nobody dares question. Artificial intelligence is changing how organisations gather information, analyse problems and make decisions. Yet as businesses rush to adopt increasingly powerful AI tools, there is a less obvious organisational risk…
Culture is not an afterthought, it’s a commercial imperative
Culture is not a people profession side issue. It shapes retention, productivity, innovation and commercial performance every day. Sandi Wassmer asserts that leaders must treat culture as a strategic priority, role-model the right behaviours and create psychologically safe workplaces where people can contribute fully, learn openly and perform sustainably together. When leaders treat culture as an afterthought, rather than a core business imperative, they don’t just put the well-being of their people at risk, they put commercial performance on the…
Please send adults: Is immature leadership holding organisations back?
Pressure can make even accomplished leaders default to certainty, speed and control, shutting down the perspectives they most need. Karlee Fain reasons that mature leadership depends on awareness, curiosity and the capacity to tolerate discomfort, creating the conditions for wiser decisions, stronger trust and more sustainable organisational performance over time. We were already running behind when a fork went flying across the tour bus and shattered a television. Which, in case you’re wondering, is not typically how leadership decisions are…
The L&D playbook for building psychological safety into teams
Teams do not become safe to fail through slogans or good intentions alone. Dr Melisa Buie explains why leaders must model openness first, before teams can build stronger norms around challenge, experimentation and reflection. Melisa offers a practical two-stage approach L&D professionals can use to strengthen psychological safety at work. A senior engineer stays quiet in a design review, even though she spots a flaw, because the last person who flagged a problem was labelled “not a team player.” A…
Confidence is a business issue, not a personal weakness
Workplace self-belief affects who speaks up, progresses, takes risks and contributes ideas, making it far more than an individual concern. Penny Haslam argues that organisations should actively develop confidence through training, supportive managers and everyday conversations. This helps employees perform more effectively while strengthening inclusion, wellbeing, engagement and business performance. Most people see confidence as something you’re born with, or not, like brown eyes or curly hair. But I have seen over the last decade, as an executive coach and…
Managers may be making workplace conflict worse: Try non-directiveness instead
A quick and direct ‘fix’ for conflict situations, whilst tempting for all involved, is not always the best route for individuals or teams. How can organisations build non-directive skills in managers so that employees can take greater ownership of resolving workplace conflict? Anna Shields sets out the benefits of non-directiveness. When it comes to conflict at work, the most natural solution often seems to be the most direct one. Employees often look to their managers or the HR team for…
Skills-based hiring is everywhere. So why aren’t we seeing results?
Look beyond job titles and credentials to understand what candidates can actually do. Rami Albatal explores why skills-based hiring often fails to deliver meaningful hiring change, how task level data can uncover overlooked talent, and why closer collaboration between recruitment and learning teams can strengthen internal mobility and hiring outcomes. Talent leaders today describe hiring differently than they did a few years ago. They talk more about skills, what people can do, rather than the credentials and previous roles they…
Why instructional design needs an open industry learning lab
L&D teams should look beyond their organisations and use open course contests to sharpen professional judgement, argues Tanya Galton. Comparing real instructional design work across industries can expose stronger practices, recurring weaknesses and fresh ideas, helping practitioners turn external feedback into concrete improvements in how learning is designed and reviewed. The iSpring Course Creation Contest, now a global annual event for instructional designers, started out with a traditional competition format: people submit their work, experts judge it, and the strongest…
Stronger partnerships start with financial fluency
Financial fluency helps L&D professionals manage external partnerships with greater clarity and accountability. Jane Deeks explains how to spot compliance risks, strengthen contracts, and work effectively with finance and legal teams. All to build ethical, transparent relationships that protect budgets, reputations and long-term learning impact across their organisations and partners. In an increasingly interconnected learning and development landscape, trainers are no longer operating in isolation. Collaborations with external partners, whether with freelance specialists, technology vendors, or contracted content providers, have…
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