Learning diversity
“Companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform on profitability and 27% more likely to have superior value creation.” McKinsey 2018 [1] That one statistic alone sends a powerful message to company boards about the value of diversity. And it doesn’t stand alone. I could have equally quoted […]
Developing female leaders: where are we going wrong?
Women represent half the talent pool, so why the struggle to develop them? Two of the biggest concerns/issues for organisations and CEOs are the lack of leadership talent available and transitioning more women into senior roles to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Despite this, there is still a significant gap of women moving […]
13 Qualities of Effective Career Conversations
It’s a sad fact that people can often identify memorably bad career conversations more easily than effective career conversations. Particularly if one was of significant positive value to them Like that time at the end of a not particularly glowing performance appraisal when your boss asked you where you wanted to be in 5 years. […]
Learning culture: six ways to tell if your employees are learning
Your efforts to create a culture of learning within your organisation are worth nothing if your employees don’t truly embrace learning as part of their everyday activity. Here’s how to tell if the message is really getting through. In every facet of a business, there is a need for continual development and any employer needs […]
How to ensure team members are all on the same page
Communication breakdown can quickly spiral among team members when the heat is on to meet deadlines and targets. How can project managers and team leads ensure smooth working relationships that lead to successful projects? Most project managers will experience times when it feels like their teams don’t understand them. This tends to occur when chaos […]
Digital transformation: what does it take to become a digital leader?
Digital transformation is not just about investing in the right technology – it’s also about harnessing the right skills and encouraging employees to think in new ways. Digital disruption is changing the workplace as we know it but people’s skills and thinking aren’t necessarily keeping pace. It’s a big challenge for employees — who […]
Video: great leaders guide rather than direct
What makes a great leader, asks John Wagner? He shares an example of a great boss who has shaped his leadership style. “Reflect back on the good bosses you’ve had and why they were good: why did you feel you really wanted to go to work and work harder and do the right job for […]
Business after Brexit: four leadership lessons for uncertain times from military and sporting heroes
The tumultuous trading environment that Brexit has created means strong leadership is more important than ever before. Business leaders should look to the worlds of sport and the military for lessons on how to keep a level head in times of uncertainty. It is a difficult time to be a business leader and, as Brexit […]
Leadership: why effective change management requires a new leadership structure
Most people say they love to change but hate doing so. In order to facilitate effective change, leadership teams need to step up and be the change they want to see. Change is constant in business life. No longer can people or organisations prepare for change, make a special effort then return to previous norms. […]
Tuesday Insight: Treat me like a child and…
I’ll behave like one. One of the most useful tools for reviewing behaviours, particularly our own, is perhaps Transactional Analysis. It’s a beautifully simple model that learners can grasp quickly and easily relate to. In very simple terms, it identifies behaviours we adopt as Parent, Adult or Child. Parent behaviour can be Controlling or Nurturing, […]
Getting Your Team Stoked for L&D Success
As a leader and guiding force of your company, you likely have all the usual sound reasons for implementing programs of learning and development. For the health of your business, a focus on training rather than hiring employees is key. When you consider that it can cost up to nine months of an employee’s salary […]
The Leadership Contract: developing inspirational leaders through accountability
Why are so many mediocre leaders running businesses today? And how can we transform these ineffective leaders into highly accountable, driven and inspirational powerhouses? We spoke to business strategist and CrossKnowledge faculty member Vince Molinaro about how his ‘Leadership Contract’ seeks to achieve this mission. To begin, could you tell us where your passion and […]
Skills training: why the distinction between soft and hard skills no longer matters
The line is blurring between soft and hard skills, so is it time we came up with a new way of thinking about how we train employees? Appreciation for soft skills always lagged behind the status of technical qualifications and, in the past, those who specialised in the training of soft skills might not have […]
How to become a new learning leader through stakeholder support
What does it take to be an effective leader in an evolving learning organisation? And how can Heads of L&D truly flourish through stakeholder support? It has been over 30 years since I had a career change and entered the mesmerising world of L&D. Back then I was a VM Instructor for IBM, working in […]
Stories, Leadership and Trust
Amongst the brilliant sessions at our first Discovery Day in London was one from Andrew Kitton about creating compelling stories. My action point from the session was to use the approach to write this week’s blog. So, here goes. The point I wanted to make is that leadership is about letting go and trusting others. […]
Three benefits of peer-to-peer learning
Employee-to-employee – or peer-to-peer learning – is something that’s increasingly important in today’s workforce. It’s a great way of developing skillsets, and can be done in-house with all the necessary tools to hand. But, why are more organisations still not utilising its power? Given the ‘war for talent’ is a never-ending fight, businesses have to […]
How to get businesses on board with learning and development
Many businesses are failing to invest in employee training for a variety of reasons, but this can prove a costly mistake. Here are the four most common objections to investing in learning and development and how to challenge them. A third of businesses in the UK do not offer their employees any time for training […]
Learning at work: can procrastination ever be a good thing?
Procrastination is often viewed as a negative thing – an obstacle to effective working – but that’s because many people aren’t doing it right. Done properly, procrastination has the potential to actually make your work better. In our ‘always on’ world, we have super-fast internet, time-savings apps and intelligent tech that helps businesses streamline processes and cut […]
Featured content
What can L&D professionals learn from the world of branding to help develop great leaders?
How can L&D support leaders with building a strong, authentic brand? Lisa Gillespie, Head of Learning & Development Services at Make Business, explores four key marketing principles to ensure branding success. Picture the scene. You’re dealing with yet another iteration of change. And with this comes the demand from the top. We need our leaders […]
