How Has L&D Leadership Changed? With John Tomlinson

The Learning & Development Podcast

We’ve both been in Learning & Development (or Training, as it was known) since the 1990s. It seems that so much has changed and yet so much remains the same. I.e., Classroom training was the primary means of development, tech was emerging but seen as supplementary (and perhaps inferior), and we struggled to demonstrate our value beyond attendance and satisfaction. And yet the nature of work has evolved, technology has advanced enormously, employee expectations have shifted, and work patterns are more flexible.
So how has the nature of leading L&D changed and what’s the key to successfully evolving?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Cultural intelligence has become increasingly important for L&D.
• Blended learning provided with context is greatly improving effectiveness.
• Identifying the goal and how it will be measured is important, but the measurement needs to be simple.
• L&D needs to be an integral part of the team.
• Simulations are proven to be effective in teaching complex skills.
• AI could be used to generate different scenarios, for people to respond to and test their skills so they can gain confidence.
• Proving tech before it is rolled out is essential.

BEST MOMENTS
'We tend to be an industry that moves pretty fast, sometimes too fast. '
'Drill down and say what are the real skills and behaviours that are the difference between normal performance and really high performance.'
'We've seen a huge opportunity with chat GPT now and generative AI in order to plug some of the gaps.'

ABOUT THE GUEST
John Tomlinson Bio
John is Head of Learning & Development at the UK Foreign Office as well as the host of the Trainer Tools podcast, a writer, and a conference speaker. John is also a qualified coach and has extensive experience in leadership development, change management, and partnering with senior leaders to develop and deliver L&D strategies.

GUEST RESOURCES
You can follow John via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johntomlinson/
Twitter: @JohnRTomlinson
Podcast: https://trainertools.podbean.com

VALUABLE RESOURCES
The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523
L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/

ABOUT THE HOST
David James
David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.
As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.

CONTACT METHOD
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/
L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective/
Blog: https://360learning.com/blog/
L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/