Reflection is a critical component of growth and development. So each year, we look back at TrainingZone’s 2024 most popular reads to uncover which themes truly resonated with you, our readers?
Some topics on this year’s list come as no surprise: artificial intelligence, leadership development, and top L&D trends. While others are more intriguing: skills-based learning, listening in conflict scenarios, and L&D basics.
What, in particular, has grabbed your attention and got you talking over the last 12 months in L&D? It's time to find out...
1. Five deep listening skills to help navigate workplace conflict
AI may have topped the charts of this year’s conference agendas, but our most-read article of 2024 shows the L&D community still cares about those critical human skills. Anna Shields, Cofounder, Conensio, shared guidance on listening in conflict situations and you couldn’t get enough!
2. Three learning and development trends for 2024
As is now an annual TrainingZone tradition, Robin Hoyle, Head of Learning Innovation at Huthwaite International, forecasted three L&D trends for 2024. You L&D fanatics love to know what lies ahead…but let’s not forget to reflect on the year too. How accurate were Robin’s predictions?
3. Back to basics: Do your learning experiences make an impact?
Sometimes we’re not looking for fresh takes, sparkly tech upgrades or the latest bleak statistics. We just want to consider good quality basics – a reminder of how to build a solid L&D foundation. That’s exactly what Jackie Clifford, Director of Clarity Learning and Development, offered in her back-to-basics series.
4. Are there zombies in your leadership programme?
Well, of course, this piqued your interest! How could it not? Dani Bacon and Garin Rouch of Distinction Business Consulting, shared guidance on how to survive the Zombie leader apocalypse and revitalise your development strategy for the walking dead.
5. AI in learning: Where are we now and where should we be going?
The industry cannot stop talking about AI’s fast-evolving impact on L&D, and rightly so. But cutting through the flurry of AI commentary was this interview with David Perring, Chief Insights Officer of Fosway Group. Informed by AI insights from Fosway’s Digital Learning Realities research, he shared candid views on L&D’s current approach to artificial intelligence, and what an AI-L&D utopia looks like.
6. Why skills-based learning is key to solving your talent shortage
Skills-based organisations and their progressive L&D approach have garnered serious intrigue in 2024. David James, Chief Learning Officer of 360Learning, provided a rundown on skills-based learning and you lapped it up!
7. Is leadership development broken?
You couldn’t resist this provocative question from Nigel Paine, L&D heavyweight and cohost of Learning Now TV. Generic, unimpactful courses run amok in leadership development, and Nigel invited the profession to experiment with a collective leadership activity that considers context.
8. It’s time to stop playing the Blame Game
Accountability is a staple for well-performing teams, yet so many organisations still struggle with blame culture. Coaching expert Matt Somers shared tangible guidance and exercises to help your teams ditch the excuses and take ownership.
9. Do apprenticeships deliver ‘skills for life’ or are they just good government PR?
Another inflammatory question, you needed answers to! This time from Erica Farmer, Digital Learning & Apprenticeship Expert of Quantum Rise Talent Group Ltd. To mark National Apprenticeship Week, she shared hard truths on whether apprenticeships offer skills for life.
10. Surviving disruption and L&D redundancies: What really counts?
As you know, L&D’s professional contribution is not always recognised or valued. To support those who faced redundancy this year, Laura Overton, Founder, of Learning Changemakers, offered compassion, guidance and hope. And, sadly, it was much needed.
11. A time of reckoning for L&D: Who does what in diversity, equity and inclusion?
Why did an 11th article make the most popular list, you ask? Because we feel it’s important to show how DEI considerations are gaining ground in the learning arena. In a four-part series, Lior Locher and Dr Christy Allen, Learning consultants at NIIT, explore how to tackle the messy areas of DEI we're most afraid of.
Our 2024 round-up
That’s a wrap for TrainingZone’s 2024 most popular reads. What do these themes say about the L&D profession this year? Do they surprise you or resonate with your concerns and focus areas? Share with us your thoughts!
