L&D Disrupt

The world and the L&D space are changing faster than ever, but are you evolving with it? L&D Disrupt brings you tactical advice, proven tactics and honest experiences from people in the industry, helping you drive more impact every day.Every Monday join Nelson Sivalingam for the podcast that's powered by HowNow, to empower every L&D professional.

L&D Disrupt is a education podcast hosted by HowNow, with 174 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

HowNow hosts L&D Disrupt, a education show with 174 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  L&D Disrupt

  Is Leadership Training Broken? Rethinking Self-Awareness, AI and the Future of L&D | L&D Disrupt | Episode 113

  Sep 4, 20261 hour

  AI is changing the way we learn and work, but what does that mean for the future of L&D? Pauline, VP of People at HowNow, is joined by Toby Newman, Founder of Control Coaching Diagnostics, to explore why self-awareness, psychological safety and learning in the flow of work are becoming increasingly important. They discuss why traditional leadership training and LMSs often fail to drive real behavioural change, how L&D can shift from controlling knowledge to enabling it, and what AI agents could mean for personalised learning and coaching. Toby also shares why L&D needs to work more closely with IT and become a translator between technology and people. 00:00 Welcome and Intro 03:00 Toby’s L&D Origin Story 04:13 Redundancy to New Venture 05:46 Why Self Awareness Matters 08:22 Self Awareness as Skill 12:30 Practical Awareness Habits 15:41 Psych Safety and Vulnerability 19:24 Lead Yourself First 20:37 Team Charters and RACI 24:52 What’s Broken in Leadership Training 28:23 Train Leaders Early 29:18 Death of the LMS 30:02 Metrics vs Real Impact 33:24 Self Directed Learning 36:36 AI Hype vs Reality 38:04 L&D as Translator 42:32 AI Agents Coaching 46:28 Knowledge Ownership Shift 51:28 Quality Control Debate 55:31 Next 12 Months Disruption 58:37 Wrap Up and Connect

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  L&D Disrupt

  AI Is Changing L&D: From Learning to Business Performance | L&D Disrupt | Episode 112

  Aug 28, 202656 min

  AI is changing how people work — but what does that mean for L&D? Kelsey, Learning & Performance Lead at HowNow, is joined by Patrick Malarkey, founder of Bite and Build Consulting, to explore how AI is pushing L&D beyond traditional training and towards performance, business outcomes and commercial impact. They discuss what AI can’t replace, the importance of quality assurance and bias, using AI data to uncover real employee needs, and why L&D needs to move beyond vanity metrics. Patrick also shares his “giving away your Legos” analogy and explains why L&D professionals should seek mentors outside the People function. Chapters 00:00 Own Business Outcomes 01:59 Welcome Back to L&D 03:30 AI Changes Everything 05:15 Making AI Strategic 09:34 What AI Can’t Replace 16:22 Bias & Quality Risks 19:07 The Quality Assurance Playbook 25:51 L&D Becomes Performance 29:45 The L&D Value Gap 31:18 Know the Money 33:41 Roadmaps to Experiments 37:14 From Big to Modular 42:01 AI Usage Insights 45:40 Kill Vanity Metrics 46:40 Giving Away Your Legos 49:10 Own Real Outcomes 50:46 Mentors Outside People 54:34 Final Wrap-Up

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  L&D Disrupt

  People Serving People: How Better L&D Drives Retention, Belonging and Growth | L&D Disrupt | Episode 110

  Aug 21, 202647 min

  In this episode of L&D Disrupt , host Kelsey (HowNow) speaks with Leah Felsted, L&D Manager at Crimson Hotels, about why great learning starts with treating people like people. Leah shares her journey from hospitality to teaching and L&D, and explains how her experience managing teams shaped her approach to learning, leadership and employee experience. From achieving 86% staff retention in a previous hospitality role to helping reduce turnover at Crimson Hotels, Leah has seen first-hand how much belonging, strong managers and a better first-day experience can influence whether people stay. She takes us inside Crimson’s approach to onboarding, including pre-join welcome guides, first-day hotel tours, buddies, phased compliance learning and regular check-ins — all designed to help new employees feel part of the team rather than simply complete their training. Leah also explores how L&D can build a stronger internal talent pipeline by developing “accidental managers” through leadership training, coaching, apprenticeships and mentorship. She shares practical examples of giving employees ownership of learning, from team-created training checklists to user-generated videos that capture real knowledge from the workplace. And while AI is everywhere in L&D, Leah makes the case for keeping the human experience at the centre. AI can assist with the work, but it can’t replace the person-to-person connection that makes people feel supported, confident and like they belong. The conversation also explores how L&D contributes to business outcomes, from reducing risk and improving compliance to strengthening guest experiences, retention and operational performance. Chapters 00:00 Leadership Lessons Learned 01:32 Welcome to L&D Disrupt 01:58 Leah’s Hospitality Journey 03:05 From GM Goals to Training Passion 04:21 Teaching in Singapore 05:32 Back to UK L&D Growth 07:36 Why Retention Starts With Belonging 09:38 Rethinking the First Day of Onboarding 13:28 Creating Meaningful Experiences 14:58 Getting Managers Bought In 16:11 Coaching and Building an Internal Pipeline 21:11 Developing the “Accidental Manager” 23:31 Learning Through Microlearning 24:13 Creating a Leadership Corner 25:15 Learning Through Mistakes 25:56 Discovering Leadership Can Be Learned 27:04 What Great Managers Look Like 28:39 Creating a People Experience Under Pressure 30:45 Giving Teams Ownership of Learning 32:55 Keeping Long-Tenured Employees Growing 36:03 The Future of User-Generated Learning 37:56 The Squiggly Nature of Hospitality Careers 40:02 Connecting L&D to Business Results 42:31 What L&D Should Start, Stop and Keep Doing 45:46 Why Human Connection Still Matters 46:15 Final Thanks and Wrap

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  L&D Disrupt

  From Beige to Brilliant: Making HR & Learning More Human | L&D Disrupt | Episode 109

  Aug 18, 202655 min

  What happens when we stop making HR and learning feel beige? Michelle Hartley, founder of People Sorted and Find Your Awesome, joins L&D Disrupt to explore how HR and L&D can become more human, engaging and memorable, from the way we design training to how we measure its impact. Michelle shares why she believes learning should be something people participate in, remember and apply , rather than simply complete. She talks us through her 10-minute approach to training, how she turned a compliance session into an experience employees still talk about, and why L&D needs to look beyond completion rates towards application, behaviour change and business impact. We also get into Michelle's own experience of burnout and the small “1%” changes that helped her reconnect with her energy and authenticity, as well as her vision for a more personalised future of workplace learning, one that feels less like mandatory training and more like the personalised experiences we get as consumers. Plus, Michelle shares what L&D can learn from the HR Geek Squad about psychological safety, belonging, participation and giving people genuine ownership within a community. 00:00 Human HR Matters01:28 Meet Michelle Hartley02:13 Pizza Hut to HR03:42 Launching People Sorted05:10 Burnout and Two Selves07:52 One Percent Changes10:05 Why Burnout Happens13:17 Spotting the Ripples16:37 Managers Who Notice19:21 Beige to Brilliant HR21:35 Humor as Engagement24:17 Training That Works25:37 Making Compliance Memorable27:53 Why Compliance Fails28:20 Netflix Style Learning30:34 Beyond Completion Metrics32:54 Measuring Stickability35:08 Learning Data Confidence38:30 Data Gatekeeping at Work39:26 Inside HR Geek Squad44:31 Building Safe Communities46:27 Ownership and Participation48:51 Bin Friday Wrap Up53:28 Final Thanks and Links

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  L&D Disrupt

  AI as an Operating System: From Order-Taking to People Enablement | L&D Disrupt | Episode 108

  Aug 10, 202652 min

  In this episode of L&D Disrupt , Kelsey from HowNow sits down with Jordana Cole, founder of Ignited, to explore why organisations may be approaching AI all wrong. Rather than positioning AI as a tool for efficiency or task replacement, Jordana argues that we should think of it as an operating system for people enablement, one that can amplify uniquely human strengths, support personalised growth and help people work in entirely new ways. They explore why L&D needs to move beyond linear, step-by-step AI training and focus instead on behaviour change, experimentation and learning in the flow of work . Jordana shares practical ways to help people build confidence with AI, from treating it as a collaborative partner to simply asking, “What questions do you have for me?” The conversation also challenges L&D to move beyond being an “order taker” and become a more strategic business partner — understanding the organisation, asking better questions, designing for outcomes and creating the conditions for people to experiment safely. From communities of practice and AI QA skills to improv, playfulness and uncovering the strengths people bring from outside work, Jordana shares a fresh perspective on what it takes to navigate change, and why the future of L&D might actually be people enablement and AI enablement . Why organisations are getting AI adoption wrong, how L&D can move from content and order-taking to strategic people enablement, and how to build the confidence, skills and conditions for people to experiment with AI. We also explore learning in the flow of work, communities of practice, AI quality and judgement, and the role of play and experimentation in navigating change. 00:00 AI Efficiency Fears 01:31 Meet Jordana & Her Journey 03:44 AI as an Operating System 08:22 Prompting & Working With AI 09:54 From Content to Behaviour Change 10:39 Making L&D More Strategic 17:36 AI Quality, QA & Risk 22:35 Building Communities of Practice 27:32 Learning in the Flow of Work 28:57 Improv, Play & Experimentation 34:13 Overcoming Barriers to AI Adoption 34:53 Pilots, Champions & Proving Value 40:37 Unlocking Strengths Beyond Work 45:39 The Future of People Enablement 47:33 Stop Taking Orders 50:05 Closing Thoughts

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