(Sidenote: for anyone attending Devlearn in the coming weeks, Keith will be the keynote speaker there, which is super exciting.)

In this conversation we dig into three big themes:

• Learning how to learn: practical ways to build meta-skills like reflection, inquiry, and transfer so people get better at getting better.

• Owning the hard parts: reframing career challenges as chapters in a longer growth journey—how authenticity turns setbacks into capability

• Storytelling for impact: crafting narratives that connect learning to outcomes leaders care about—productivity, agility, and client value—so L&D earns attention and investment.

It’s a thoughtful, actionable playbook for anyone leading learning in the real world. Enjoy!

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com.

Thanks for listening!

My guest today is Brian Murphy, Global Head of Learning & Development at NTT DATA. Before this role, Brian led transformational learning at Citi, AstraZeneca, and Microsoft, and he’s known for turning big ideas into practical programs that drive performance.

We get into the real questions L&D teams are wrestling with right now: how do you integrate AI without losing the human, how to develop meta-skills and why do they matter so much right now, and how to keep people engaged while the skills landscape continues to shift under our feet. If you’re trying to deliver learning that actually changes performance— I think this one’s for you.

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com.

Thanks for listening!

Welcome to another Learn to Grow Shorts, where I reflect on a topic of particular interest from my most recent conversation—and today I’m looking back on my discussion with Ed Monk, CEO of the Learning and Performance Institute.

Ed shared a concept he’s been thinking deeply about: learnership. It’s not just a skillset—it’s a mindset. A way of leading through learning, rooted in humility, authenticity, and curiosity. I liked this for a couple of reasons.

First, it reframes leadership not as having all the answers, but as being willing to learn alongside your team. It’s about being in the trenches—not removed or above, but shoulder to shoulder. That kind of hands-on, learning-first leadership builds trust and sets the tone for a learning culture.

Second, I see learnership as a form of interdisciplinarity—the ability to take ideas from one domain and apply them creatively to another. And in a world where so much is being automated, that ability is one of the great, uniquely human skills that can't be replaced.

Let me give you a few examples.

Take Velcro. It exists because a Swiss engineer noticed how burrs clung to his dog’s fur on a hike. That spark of curiosity led to a design principle inspired by nature—what we now call biomimicry: the practice of studying and imitating nature’s strategies to solve human problems.

Or think about platforms like Khan Academy or Duolingo. They combine game design with education—levels, challenges, feedback loops—to make learning feel like progress. Gamification has revolutionized learning by making it more active, rewarding, and sticky.

And the most intuitive apps we use today—Spotify, for example—aren’t just built with tech in mind. They’re infused with behavioral science and psychology, designed to feel frictionless and familiar.

These are all examples of how learning across disciplines gives us an edge. And when leaders embrace that mindset—when they see themselves not just as experts but as learners—it unlocks creativity, resilience, and adaptability.

Because the future doesn’t belong to those who know everything. It belongs to those who are willing to keep learning.

We talk about

• Why this is the most exciting time for learning and development
• The concept of “learnership” and why it’s the most important skill for leaders
• What drives Ed’s personal learning practices
• Why we need ‘learn it all’ not ‘know it all’ culture
• How technological changes are impacting young people

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com.

Thanks for listening!

In our conversation we discussed Ruth’s article on Olympian Inbar Lanir who, after being cut from the National Judo team decided to “take herself on as a project”. I found this idea really powerful and inspiring – a pragmatic approach to growth that struck me as an effective response to a setback – I found it admirable that Inbar took the steps to evaluate, to plan, and to commit to getting better, to growing, as an athlete and as a person. Especially at a time when success would have felt like anything but guaranteed.

Most of us are really good at managing projects at work. We make plans, set milestones, get feedback, iterate. But how often do we apply that same level of attention, structure, and curiosity… to ourselves?

This matters—a lot—because the world of work is changing faster than ever. New roles are popping up, old ones are shifting or disappearing, and job descriptions you saw last year might already feel outdated today. If we’re not intentionally reflecting, growing, and repositioning ourselves, we risk getting left behind—or worse, stuck in someone else’s idea of who we’re supposed to be.

So what does it mean to take yourself on as a project?

I think, most importantly, it starts with reflection. An honest appraisal.

Where are you right now—professionally, creatively, personally? What’s working? What’s not?

And believe me, there’s bravery in this kind of honest appraisal – but it’s where real change and growth begins.

Once you’ve taken stock of where you are - then ask: where do you want to be?

What gets you fired up? What excites you—or scares you in the right way just enough to make you curious?

This isn’t about having a 10-year plan. Imagine you had a five year plan at the start of 2020, prior to the pandemic.

It’s about identifying a direction that feels meaningful. Figuring out something you want to move towards. A future version of you that feels more aligned, more awake, more you.

And finally: what steps can you take to bridge that gap?

Maybe it’s learning a new skill, or discarding old habits that no longer serve you. Maybe it’s networking differently, or blocking time each week to build a new creative practice. Whatever it is, you don’t have to overhaul your life in a weekend.

You just have to start.

Here’s the thing – and I think this is important – no one is going to do this for you. You’re the project manager and the project. Which means you get to make the rules. But there is a responsibility involved in that. You have to lead the charge.

So if you’ve been feeling stuck or uncertain—or even just a little restless—consider this your invitation. Take yourself on as a project and start building the next version of you with intention.

Dr. Gotian is the Chief Learning Officer at Weill Cornell Medicine and a highly sought after executive coach and mentor – in fact she’s been named one the Thinkers50 top 50 executive coaches in the world. Dr. Gotian studies and works with elite high achievers, from Nobel Laureates to Astronauts to Olympic athletes, using that knowledge to establish principles anyone can apply to achieve success in their careers and in their daily lives.

We discussed

• how averages can actually be limitations for individuals,
• the power of “taking yourself on as a project”,
• and the importance of an environment audit when it comes to setting and achieving your goals.

This conversation is filled with some great advice and actionable info – enjoy!

Here are links to some of the articles and books we discussed on the episode:

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rgotian/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthgotian/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthgotian/2025/01/21/inbar-lanir-took-herself-on-as-a-projectand-won-olympic-silver/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthgotian/2025/01/06/why-those-around-you-can-make-or-break-your-success/

https://ruthgotian.com/books/

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com.

Thanks for listening!

In this episode of Learn to Grow Shorts, some thoughts on how we can rediscover the joy of learning and remember to see learning not as a chore but as a kind of adventure!

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com.

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we explore a mindset that is becoming increasingly essential in today’s dynamic work environment—the transition from being a 'know-it-all' to a 'learn-it-all'. Karen, with her extensive experience at the helm of future work strategies, shares why nurturing a culture of continuous learning is pivotal not just for personal growth, but for organizational agility and innovation.

We also dive into the practicalities of challenging ourselves daily, especially through the use of new AI tools. How do these technologies not only change the way we work but also how we learn and adapt in our careers? Karen will share insights on how integrating AI into our daily routines can catalyze learning and transformation.

Moreover, Karen discusses the power of adopting a “how might we” attitude—a mindset focused on possibilities and creative problem-solving. This perspective encourages us to think beyond conventional solutions and to envision what could be, rather than what is.

So, whether you're looking to inspire your team, pivot your career path, or integrate cutting-edge technology into your workday, this conversation will provide you with the insights you need to start thinking differently and embracing the future of work with a learning-oriented mindset.

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com.

Thanks for listening!

Erika is one of the most conscientious L&D leaders I have met, and she is doing incredible work not just providing learning opportunities, but opening peoples eyes to their identities as learners.

In our conversation, we discuss:

• How to align learning with a strategic vision
• The importance of a holistic approach to learning that considers the human at the core
• Why great learners are happy learners
• Why self awareness is the basis of effective learning
• The role of deliberate practice in learning and growth
• The importance of organic (inspirational!) conversations between learners with shared passions
• The evolution of L&D and the need for empathetic leadership

You can find Erika on LinkedIn!

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

He is the Chief Learning Officer at ChenMed and a vastly experienced learning professional with a passion for exploring not just how we do things, but why we do them.

Let me quickly explain the premise of todays conversation – at the beginning of the year, top trends reports and 2022 predictions tend to pour out of the woodwork. They are often hugely helpful, and sometimes they can lead to overreactions, exaggerations, and old fashioned mistakes.

So we are putting our own spin on a trends episode – we are calling it the airing of grievances, which I will explain in more detail at the beginning of the conversation with Christopher.

In the show, we discuss:

• Trends that are so obvious they’ve been there since 2001
• The desire of companies to retreat back to in-office
• Why the most important reasons are at the bottom of priority lists
• The misconception that we can only connect in person
• The great resignation as a collective airing of grievances
• The need and opportunity for internal job marketplaces

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

Todd is one of the industry’s great thinkers, a learning professional deeply attuned to what’s happening right now in the world of workplace learning and development. The conversation is filled with insights and practical tools, and includes an invitation to learn with NovoEd.

In our conversation, we discuss:

• The role of platforms as work hubs
• How learning and culture are intertwined in a healthy workplace
• What a truly collaborative experience looks like
• The importance of growth mindset, resilience, and adaptability
• The needs behind the great resignation
• Putting purpose at the center of everything
• The upcoming (free) Learning Experience Design course starting in January 17 at NovoEd (https://www.novoed.com/resources/learning-experience-design-course/)

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

In our most recent episode we discussed the fact that learning can’t simply take place at the beginning of our “careers” it has to happen throughout.

That is exactly the point Michelle Weise makes in her excellent book “Long Life Learning”.

Weise highlights the fact that our careers now span 60 years or more and that our systems of education were never designed for continuous learning.

Her book looks at the status quo and suggests a new model for a learning ecosystem that supports continuous, lifelong learning.

Thanks for listening!

If you are at all interested in where the future of learning is going, this is the podcast for you. Kirk is so knowledgeable when it comes to learning trends, and has some fantastic insights on how and why we learn.

We discuss

• the evolution of content and its increasing importance as part of a successful learning experience
• The future workplace and its emphasis on lifelong learning
• The importance of learning something new every day and becoming adaptable in the face of change

I could have talked to Kirk all day long – he knows his stuff, knows the industry inside out, and has a prescient ability to identify what’s coming next.

I hope you enjoy the conversation!

(pre-order here 😊)

My favorite aspect of this conversation was the focus on the practical aspects of learning.

As I have discussed with numerous guests, AI and machine learning will revolutionize the future of work by automating repeatable tasks.

At a very basic level, the demand for physical, manual, and basic cognitive tasks will fall, while the demand for higher cognitive technological skills will rise along with the need for social and emotional skills.

In the face of accelerating change, we will need to upskill and reskill continually to keep pace with the demands of the workplace. In short, we will have to be come better learners.

But, there’s a problem. Tell someone they need to become a better learner, and they might not even know what that means or where to start. The thought of learning how to be a better learner feels like a concept that folds into itself a bit – it’s intimidating!

I have become fascinated with frameworks for becoming a better learner, and I loved chatting with Ruth about the conscious competence model. And I loved the simple, practical tips Ruth gives for becoming a more efficient learner, taking small steps starting with becoming aware of the things you want to learn and grow in.

We need to become more adept at recognizing the skills and process we want to learn and systematically applying an approach of continual improvement to take incremental steps to accomplish our goals, and I think Ruth gives some great suggestions for how to do that.

Self awareness is crucial to learner progress and is crucial to everything we do.

That’s why the framework of becoming better at identifying the things you need to learn, then deliberately taking steps to close the gaps, taking time to be reflect and take action in a repetitive cycle.

If you are interested in the science of learning, I also want to plug what has for me been an invaluable resource.

Andrew Huberman, Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine has a wonderful podcast called the Huberman Lab Podcast.

His goal is to bring simple, actionable insights from scientific research to the general public, and he devotes several episodes to subjects like how to increase focus, how to learn faster, and how to optimize your brain.

The episodes are filled with simple, actionable, practical insights that will change the way you think about your brain and how you go about your day.

Next week, Kirk Werner, VP of Content at Udacity!

Ruth interviews Nobel laureates, professional athletes, and other elite high achievers, and tries to understand what they do differently that allows them to achieve at such a high level.

She has taken the wisdom from that conversation and distilled it into book titled: The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance.

Ruth shares some of that wisdom in this conversation and we dive into some practical suggestions for how to be a more efficient and effective learner here, things you can take away and apply right now as you learn and grow personally and professionally!

We discuss how elite high achievers define success, practical frameworks for learning absolutely anything, and why L&D functions are becoming increasingly like mentors among many other things.

In this episode we discuss:

• How elite high achievers define success
• A practical framework for how to learn anything
• How to take an incremental approach to big tasks
• The importance of discovering your passions as a way to grow
• Intrinsic motivation as the driver of productivity
• How to leverage your schedule to make the most of your learning style
• Why adult learning is imperative for career success
• Why good L&D programs are increasingly like mentors
• The importance of mentors and how to find them
• How to practice your power skills

On the episode, Ruth discusses a resource for those looking for tips on how to build a mentoring team – you can find that here!

And here’s where you can pre-order Ruth’s upcoming book: The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance

To learn more about Dr. Ruth Gotian, you can check out all the latest on Ruth's website here!

On the episode, Ruth discusses a resource for those looking for tips on how to build a mentoring team – you can find that here!

And here’s where you can pre-order Ruth’s upcoming book: The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning...]]>My latest guest on the Learn to Grow Podcast is Dr. Ruth Gotian who is the Chief Learning Officer at Weill Cornell Medicine and Assistant professor of education anesthesiology, former assistant dean of mentoring and executive director of the mentoring academy at Weill Cornell. Ruth is a frequent contributor to Forbes and Psychology today.

Ruth interviews Nobel laureates, professional athletes, and other elite high achievers, and tries to understand what they do differently that allows them to achieve at such a high level.

She has taken the wisdom from that conversation and distilled it into book titled: The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance.

Ruth shares some of that wisdom in this conversation and we dive into some practical suggestions for how to be a more efficient and effective learner here, things you can take away and apply right now as you learn and grow personally and professionally!

We discuss how elite high achievers define success, practical frameworks for learning absolutely anything, and why L&D functions are becoming increasingly like mentors among many other things.

In this episode we discuss:

• How elite high achievers define success
• A practical framework for how to learn anything
• How to take an incremental approach to big tasks
• The importance of discovering your passions as a way to grow
• Intrinsic motivation as the driver of productivity
• How to leverage your schedule to make the most of your learning style
• Why adult learning is imperative for career success
• Why good L&D programs are increasingly like mentors
• The importance of mentors and how to find them
• How to practice your power skills

On the episode, Ruth discusses a resource for those looking for tips on how to build a mentoring team – you can find that here!

And here’s where you can pre-order Ruth’s upcoming book: The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance

To learn more about Dr. Ruth Gotian, you can check out all the latest on Ruth's website here!

On the episode, Ruth discusses a resource for those looking for tips on how to build a mentoring team – you can find that here!

And here’s where you can pre-order Ruth’s upcoming book: The Success Factor: Developing the Mindset and Skillset for Peak Business Performance

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

The first is that his story about how a training session inadvertently turned into a lab demonstrates some really cool aspects of learning – from both the mentor/educator perspective and from the student perspective.

Joe explained a situation where software for training stopped working, just broke. As a mentor/teacher/ Joe opened it up to the students. Ego was taken out, and they turned instead to working on a solution.

And the students we fired up about really using their skills, not just to provide a solution, but an elegant, efficient one. There was a natural curiosity there that couldn’t have happened otherwise.

And that to me is the beauty of practical, hands-on training. We get to choose our own adventure rather than clicking through the one prescribed to us.

And I have had conversations with clients and potential clients this week – it seems labs are such an essential element of training and learning, especially for software.

You always need some sort of direct instruction/coaching, but then, go play. Go experiment. Go create. I would love to see cloud native virtual labs become more standard in learning, and Joe and his team are doing their part to bring that to some of our clients – and doing it very well I might add!

Next week I will have Ruth Gotian, CLO of the Weill Cornell School of medicine on the show – looking forward to that! 

Joe and his team are building virtual lab training for some of the world’s leading organizations, and I thought it would be cool to have him on to discuss what has become a highly sought-after service.

Joe and his team, and virtualized labs generally, have revolutionized lab training in some ways.  

Hands-on lab training was historically challenging for a number of reasons. They required extensive, costly set-up, endless machine maintenance, a rigid, in-person schedule, a lack of instructor oversight. All of this meant they were impossible to scale and frustratingly impractical and really expensive.

Joe and his team, however, have created an antidote to basically all of the historical challenges of lab-based training. They build cloud-native virtual labs that are available anytime, anywhere, and are infinitely scalable, all while providing an enhanced learning experience. And of course, they cater to the increasingly remote nature of workplaces and workplace training.

They have built some high profile labs for high-profile companies, these virtual labs are becoming hugely popular. I thought it would be cool to have Joe on to chat about some of the ways he and his team think about the service they provide.

In our chat, we talk about the basics, and Joe gives us an overview of why these virtual labs are in such high demand.

We discuss:

• the basics of virtual labs
• how virtual labs provide immersive learning experiences
• the ability to replicate real environments to enhance retention of information
• how tracking facilitates real learning
• all the ways virtual labs can be used as a scalable tool
• the challenges of satisfying learners through technical training
• allowing people to shine and show their skills through challenge labs

If you'd like to learn more about virtual labs you can head over to our website, and if you'd like to talk with one of our learning experts we offer free initial consultations to explore if virtual labs may be right for you.

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

Thanks for listening!

1. The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle
2. Mindset, by Carol Dweck
3. Start with Why, by Simon Sinek

Michael and I connected a while back and I was fascinated by both his background as an FBI special agent and the challenge facing him in his current role as he implements a vision for his team.

I proposed an idea. Michael is looking to build a successful learning culture, provide dynamic learning experiences for his team, and double the size of his team over the next six months.

I said, why don’t you come on the podcast, talk about your plans, and then let’s check back in in six months and see what worked, what didn’t, and what you learned. And Michael was up for it, for which I am extremely grateful!

We discuss

• how Michael draws on his experience using empathy in interrogations as an FBI agent in his current role,
• why empowering individuals is crucial to team success,
• and Michael’s plans to use culture to scale effectively. 

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

This means organizations are looking to match talent to task so they can use the highest quality, lowest cost actor to complete the work.

Why is atomization happening and why does it matter?

1.      Agility amidst uncertainty – easier to scale up and down

2.      Efficiency within teams – A talent-to-task approach allows you to assemble dynamic teams with various abilities custom picked to deliver what is necessary on a given project

3.      Availability of talent – gig economy

4.      It makes things trackable – in a place where data is increasingly important

5.      It means organizations are looking for learning partners to help them fulfil tasks and stay agile in the midst of uncertainty. And that is something we have absolutely seen over the past few months. Many of our clients are giving us tasks they don’t want to do in house because it’s simply too expensive.

As Kingsley Aikins likes to say “There are far more talented people outside your organization than inside it!” The highest quality actor to complete tasks might not be internal employees, but part of a vast network of “gig” workers.

In addition to gig workers, trusted learning service partners (like, for example, SureSkills…) are increasingly relied on to deliver an extended workforce to larger organizations with a range of projects they need to outsource while maintaining the requisite level of quality output.

We work with a household name organization maintaining their learning material. They have in-house content creators building dynamic learning content, but they don’t want those people spending their time responding to feedback and assessing the success of the courses they already have.

So we have partnered with them and created a course maintenance framework, whereby we reactively respond to the concerns of students taking the course, and proactively make recommendations for improvements based on our vast experience building learning content.

It’s a great example of the increased need for learning partnerships and the atomization of work!

In our conversation we discuss:

• Why the pace of change is faster than ever…and will never be this slow again
• The three A’s: Atomization, Automation, and Augmentation
• The three questions that show how invested we are in our professional identities
• Why engagement tails off in school, and then the workplace!
• The education to workplace pipeline
• Why we need to add capacity every time we hand off a task to automation
• Digital transformation as a learning-centric culture that leverages data
• Why the conditions in which we create will be more important than our products and services
• Why we all need to ABL - Always Be Learning

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download this eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

The thing that stood out to me this week was the importance of mentors, and in particular of feedback. Shelley and the crew at Udemy are big on feedback and are heavily invested in the idea that feedback is fuel.

This made me think about the reason we need feedback.

In order to learn and grow, we need to become aware of the things that need work. We need to know what needs improvement.

Sometimes we figure that out ourselves, but often we need some outside input to help us move in the right direction.

That made me think about a book I would like to highly recommend – Daniel Coyle’s The Talent Code.

This book is relevant here for two reasons – first, that talent and ability is not a mystical power fixed at birth, but that it can be created and nurtured.

Second, that simple wisdom (or feedback) from master coaches, or mentors, can be the catalyst for great change and powerful learning.

He talks about the various approaches of what he calls talent whisperers, teachers, coaches, and parents who figure out how to say the right thing at just the right time to ignite a fire within their mentees.

As we have talked about before, we all have a responsibility to inspire each other – so check it out!

I think about his ideas in terms of how I communicate with people in general and how I communicate with my kids as I try to help them grow and develop their passions.

This episode was also the final episode of our first season, and I want to thank all of my incredible guests for their time and their wisdom.

We will be back after Christmas with more of the Learn to Grow Podcast – thank you for taking the time to listen!

I was so happy Shelley agreed to be on the podcast and she certainly didn’t disappoint. I love the way Shelley thinks about learning and its role in the workplace, and so much of what she says about learning resonates with my own personal beliefs and how we operate at SureSkills.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Transitioning from traditional classroom to workplace learning
• Why we need to stop identifying ourselves by our roles
• A reminder that commencement means beginning, not end!
• The importance of experimenting with a wide range of skills and competencies
• Agile learning and the need for a growth mindset
• Why learning is a practice, something we need to work on constantly
• The responsibility of individuals to advocate for their own learning needs
• Why it’s everyone’s job to build a learning culture
• The zone of proximal development and why we need mentors
• Why learning is the future of work

You can find Shelley’s book “The Upskilling Imperative” here.

If you want to reach out to Shelley, you can connect with her on LinkedIn. 

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

Balancing the short and long term is tricky. There is the initial survival mode, making sure everyone is safe and secure and that business continues.  

Eric Ries says, “The only way to win is to learn faster than everyone else”.

Who will learn most quickly in a time that rewards agility, adaptivity, and creativity in the face of change and disruption?

But then again, we need to transition away from thinking about things in the short term – at some point we won’t be putting band aids.

Some transitions that organizations believed might take years, maybe even a decade, happened within a couple of weeks. Take remote working, for example. That happened within the space of two weeks and has generally been so successful that many will not return to a

If that’s true, what other things can we do better? How can we be productive while helping our employees lead rewarding, fulfilling lives?

And then, what are those long-term plans?

Changing the culture at an organization can begin with small gestures that have big picture significance down the line, but it also takes time!

Transformations don’t happen overnight.

But this is an opportunity to reassess the way we do lots of things. The culture at our organization, the way we communicate, the way our teams work together, the way we deliver our services. What an amazing opportunity to build more effectively and efficiently towards the future.

Where will we be in 6 years, what an interesting thought experiment. How do you imagine your best self? What does your organization’s best self look like in 6 years? How will you look back on the massive disruption that was 2020 and think, man, without that, we probably would have continued doing a whole bunch of things that we now know were not good for our company or our people.

These are the opportunities we have now. 

Thanks for taking the time to listen!

In our conversation we discuss how pandemic pivots have revealed new opportunities, using training-led growth to create client evangelists, and special guest Anna Bolton asks Joe what the learning will look like when she enters the workforce in six years. It’s always a pleasure to talk to Joe and this time was no exception…here is Joe Moriarty.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• How Raven360 has adapted in 2020
• Remote vs. in-person work productivity
• How pandemic pivots have led to new business opportunities
• Training-led growth and how to create experts
• How to turn customers into evangelists
• The importance of self-guided learning and engaging content
• Agile content-development processes in an iterative landscape
• And Anna Bolton quizzes Joe on what learning might look like when she enters the workforce in six years

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

One of the things he mentioned was that Teams often talk electronically but don’t speak to each other interpersonally, and that connection is something that has been starched out of our lives.

Schools teach knowledge and information, but the thing people need now are skills.

It made me think about the importance of learning theses skills earlier and earlier.

Shelley Osborne has written a fantastic book called the Upskilling Imperative (and actually Shelley will be on the show next week, which I am very excited about).

And in the Upskilling Imperative, Shelley mentions that if we are lucky, we that we have 40 50 year careers. Which makes it seem a bit ridiculous to consider ourselves “educated” after high school or college. In fact, education has to be something that happens over the course of a lifetime.

That made me think two things. We have to do a better job extending traditional education out into our work careers and make lifelong learning.

And, we have to start teaching interpersonal skills earlier in the lives of our children – we need to focus more on skills as opposed to knowledge and information in traditional schools so young learners hit the job market equipped with the interpersonal skills to succeed and thrive.

Thanks again for taking the time to listen! 

Kingsley is an incredible speaker with so much experience that wisdom simply teems out of him uncontrollably. He has so many great insights here, and get a pen and paper ready to jot down all the reading recommendations in our short conversation.

In this episode we discuss:

• The difference between knowledge, information, and skills
• How to build connected clusters of creative people
• Why shortened job tenures make networking even more important
• The need for a network as diverse as the city in which you live
• The value of interpersonal skills in the digital age
• Why we are increasingly connected yet also isolated behind screens
• The concept of “Diaspora Capital”
• How McKinsey use a network of former employees to build culture
• An inside scoop on Kingsley’s TED talk 😊

You can find Kingsley's work on the website of The Networking Institute or connect with him on LinkedIn.

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

Today, I’m looking back on my conversation with Karl Mehta, one of the most interesting points Karl brought up was that organizations are using the immense amount of data they get from Edcast in really interesting ways.

For example, one company was able to reliably predict the next employee to leave.

Karl also believes the role of L&D will become increasingly centered on data. Rather than having to create and deliver learning material, L&D practitioners will use data to design effective learning experiences and curate the right content for the right person at just the right time in the flow of work.

In that scenario, L&D will rely heavily on data analytics and data mining.

And another thing that stood out to me – If we can predict with some certainty when someone might leave the company, can’t we also predict then, an optimal performance metric? An engagement metric? One that we strive to achieve?

Can we look at our most productive people, our most inspiring leaders, and track the things they do that are most effective, not to replicate exactly, but to inspire others and to learn from the data? Who is most engaged? And perhaps even more importantly, who is driving the engagement of others?

Some see data and AI as a kind of impending doom, that jobs will be lost etc. But actually, jobs can evolve for the better – as Christopher Lind mentioned, roles in L&D could actually become much more dynamic when more mundane, repeatable tasks are handled by machines.

As Heather McGowan says in her fantastic book Adaptability Advantage, change is happening so fast, but this is also likely the slowest rate of change we are likely to experience in our lifetimes. So we better get comfortable and adaptable quickly, and actually see our evolving roles as opportunities to redefine ourselves. 

This interview was a lot of fun and covers a wide range of important learning industry trends. (My personal favorite is the section about how data can predict which of your employees is most likely to leave next 😊)

 We discuss:

• The pros and cons of moving Edcast’s Future of Work conference online
• The official Edcast origin story
• The importance of consumer grade technology in the workplace
• An deep dive on Edcast as a “Knowledge Cloud”
• The evolving role of L&D given the prominence of AI recommendation engines
• The power of data and its role in the future of learning
• Karl’s seat at the table of the World Economic Forum
• Advice for any company looking to begin their digital transformation

Connect with or follow Karl on LinkedIn

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

That got me thinking about what we are actually hiring for now.

Because the shelf life of technical skills is getting shorter, organizations are realizing it’s actually easier to hire agile learners who communicate effectively and work well as a part of teams. Then, those employees can be taught the technical skills they need because they are adaptable and coachable.

And this is what’s happening out there in the real world.

On Adam Grant’s podcast, he focused an entire episode to reinventing the job interview, or as Richard Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations would describe it, “two people sitting across a table lying to one another.”

Instead of traditional interviews, Sheridan brings in about 50 people together in what he calls an audition. The people interviewing them have no access to resumes, they encounter the human being before they look at a piece of paper and establish a narrative.

The candidates are put in all kinds of scenarios to assess their teamwork. For example they’re given a single desk between two and observed for who hogs or shares the space. When there aren’t enough resources provided for the activities, how will the candidates behave towards their teammates who they may also see as competitors? In fact, one of the challenges was to get your partner to a second interview!

Interesting elements of this:

• Employees get to choose the new additions to their own culture, empowering them, giving them agency, investing further in them to create and build the culture from the ground up
• They focus on human soft skills – humility, teamwork, communication, and they don’t even look at a person’s professional background or acumen
• The interview challenges in no way reflect the challenges of the workplace, they simply provide an insight into whether or not you will make the people around you better

Who is elevating the performance of the people around them? They are not focused on individual performance, but team performance.

Ultimately, organizations are hiring people for how well they fit their organizational culture, for soft skills, for the ability to learn.

Then they provide those teams access to high-quality learning opportunities for the specific skills they need, knowing that if they are a strong team and strong learners, there are no problems they cannot tackle. They are adaptable, they are resilient. They believe in each other. And when the next inevitable unpredictable event happens, they are equipped to pivot quickly, learn new skills, and keep the ball rolling. This is why companies are investing so heavily in learning programs that empower their teams. Because team and learning culture are intertwined!

These guys are not looking for deep expertise, they are looking for able learners.

As Adam himself says: He wishes they hired people not on credentials, but on the motivation and ability to learn. Less on invisible unreliable gut feelings, but on unstructured questions and challenges that actually relate to the world at hand.

Investing in agility and using hiring methods that assess it can set you up to shape the future. 

That’s echoed in Daniel Coyle’s fantastic Culture Code

He says: “Individuals aren’t really individuals. They’re more like musicians in a jazz quartet, forming a web of conscious and unconscious actions and reactions to complement the others in the...]]>In my conversation with Kris, she mentioned hiring for values fit, not necessarily culture fit. I think that makes sense, because hiring for culture fit certainly has its downsides – there was a ludicrous example of the investment banking firm that only hired former male Lacrosse players, because they wanted people who fit the culture so to speak.

That got me thinking about what we are actually hiring for now.

Because the shelf life of technical skills is getting shorter, organizations are realizing it’s actually easier to hire agile learners who communicate effectively and work well as a part of teams. Then, those employees can be taught the technical skills they need because they are adaptable and coachable.

And this is what’s happening out there in the real world.

On Adam Grant’s podcast, he focused an entire episode to reinventing the job interview, or as Richard Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations would describe it, “two people sitting across a table lying to one another.”

Instead of traditional interviews, Sheridan brings in about 50 people together in what he calls an audition. The people interviewing them have no access to resumes, they encounter the human being before they look at a piece of paper and establish a narrative.

The candidates are put in all kinds of scenarios to assess their teamwork. For example they’re given a single desk between two and observed for who hogs or shares the space. When there aren’t enough resources provided for the activities, how will the candidates behave towards their teammates who they may also see as competitors? In fact, one of the challenges was to get your partner to a second interview!

Interesting elements of this:

• Employees get to choose the new additions to their own culture, empowering them, giving them agency, investing further in them to create and build the culture from the ground up
• They focus on human soft skills – humility, teamwork, communication, and they don’t even look at a person’s professional background or acumen
• The interview challenges in no way reflect the challenges of the workplace, they simply provide an insight into whether or not you will make the people around you better

Who is elevating the performance of the people around them? They are not focused on individual performance, but team performance.

Ultimately, organizations are hiring people for how well they fit their organizational culture, for soft skills, for the ability to learn.

Then they provide those teams access to high-quality learning opportunities for the specific skills they need, knowing that if they are a strong team and strong learners, there are no problems they cannot tackle. They are adaptable, they are resilient. They believe in each other. And when the next inevitable unpredictable event happens, they are equipped to pivot quickly, learn new skills, and keep the ball rolling. This is why companies are investing so heavily in learning programs that empower their teams. Because team and learning culture are intertwined!

These guys are not looking for deep expertise, they are looking for able learners.

As Adam himself says: He wishes they hired people not on credentials, but on the motivation and ability to learn. Less on invisible unreliable gut feelings, but on unstructured questions and challenges that actually relate to the world at hand.

Investing in agility and using hiring methods that assess it can set you up to shape the future. 

That’s echoed in Daniel Coyle’s fantastic Culture Code

He says: “Individuals aren’t really individuals. They’re more like musicians in a jazz quartet, forming a web of conscious and unconscious actions and reactions to complement the others in the group.”

You’re don’t necessarily want just the best individuals, you want the best orchestra! And collaboration allows groups to learn and grow together, and ultimately to be more productive, more innovative, and more content. 

Thanks for listening (and reading if you made it this far!).

All the best!

In this conversation, we talk about:

• A definition for “enablement”, which often means different things to different people, and why it matters so much
• The importance of practical application of learning “in the wild”
• How to empower learners with the skills they need to thrive in their roles
• How to identify the skills team members need for success
• Moving from “monolithic” training to “just-in-time” training
• The role of collaboration in building a workplace culture, particularly in a fully remote company
• Gitlab’s iterative approach to learning development in an “always-on culture”
• How agility is the name of the game in a rapidly changing environment
• Hiring for “value-fit as opposed to “culture-fit”

Reach out Kris on LinkedIn to connect!

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

I had a great time talking to Ed, and looking back on our conversation, the thing I want to highlight this week is the importance of practically applying what you learn. Loved the examples Ed gives for how learning takes place in his own life and how he uses technology like YouTube and practical application to make progress.

He describes using YouTube to find soccer games, drills and exercises for the U15 team he coaches, then takes puts what he learned into practice that night.

If we think about what’s happening there, it’s the combination of the research and content consumption with the instant practical application that makes the learning successful. He becomes better at his role (coach) and his organization (in this case an U15 soccer team!) benefit directly from what he has learned – everyone wins.

And the cool thing is, as Ed finds content that works for him and applies it in practice, he gets better at finding the right content for his team and his own personal coaching style.

What’s key to remember here, however, is that without the practical application piece, we actually lose much of what we consume in learning content.

And there is actually research to back this up.

For example, there was a fantastic episode of Morning Edition on NPR.

They explored the idea that many people believe they can master something simply by watching instructional videos.

Psychologists Ed O’Brien and Michael Kardas wondered about instructional videos and whether there was a gap between the perception of learning and actual learning.

So they studied it, and the best example is around the moonwalk. It’s objectively hard to do, a challenging skill.

Basically, here’s what they found:

If you show a group of people an instructional video 20 times, then ask them to rate their likely success when they try to perform it, they will way overstate their ability compared to a group who had not watched the instructional videos.

Sometimes viewing content or attending a seminar gives us the perception that we have gained a new skill – but we have to put skill into action as soon as possible to embed skills and capabilities and really grow.

This is why Ed has had such success – he hasn’t just spent hours watching videos, he has gone out and applied them each week with his team.

Thanks for taking the time to listen – Next week I talk to Kris Reynolds from Gitlab. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

• The difference between a training landscape and a learning landscape
• The need for agile, democratized learning
• The accelerated nature of digital transformation in recent months
• The three C’s of learning: Constructive, Compelling, and Convenient
• How to define success and for your learning program
• Using data to improve learning in your organization
• Learning as an economic imperative
• The piece of technology that has most impacted the learning landscape
• Jurgen Klopp’s "relentless inclusivity"
• A prediction for the 2021 English Premier League

Here are a couple of links to resources Ed mentions in the show:

• Jurgen Klopp on Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat
• Heather McGowan on "How The Coronavirus Pandemic Is Accelerating The Future Of Work"

Reach out Ed on LinkedIn to connect!

To get in touch with me, Simon Behan, reach out on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com

At SureSkills, we deliver learning services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

Thanks for listening!

This week I was talking to Christopher Lind, and we talked about the extent to which L&D roles are evolving because of the increasing emphasis on learning experience design over traditional create and deliver approaches to training. 

Here, I explain how hermit crabs can help us understand the need for vulnerability in times of change.

Enjoy!

Please reach out with any feedback or follow ups! You can find me on LinkedIn or email me at simon.behan@sureskills.com.

We covered a lot of ground in this one, but the common thread was how technology is reshaping the learning landscape, and we preview Christopher’s big push to provide high-quality learning opportunities for those who consider themselves learning professionals.

In our conversation, we discuss:

• the role technology is playing in driving the emphasis on the learner experience
• the “Stockholm Syndrome” of traditional approaches to L&D
• the evolving role of content creators
• the challenges of curation
• Christopher’s plans for effective professional development for those in learning roles

You can find Christopher on LinkedIn or check out his Learning Tech Talks to stay up to date with emerging technologies and the people behind them. 

At SureSkills, we deliver learning and enablement services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

It reminded me of the 2020 Workplace Learning Report that emphasizes the massive role that managers play in driving learning engagement and building a culture of learning.

Changing the culture can seem like a massive task. One that requires a huge budget and months if not years of planning.

But there is so much about establishing a learning culture that is absolutely free!

• There is no budget required to share something you’ve learned with your team members.
• There is no budget required to highlight a TED talk that resonated with you.
• There is no budget required or to reach out to someone you work with, superior, peer, or subordinate, and ask them what they’re learning.

I’ve always loved dominoes as a metaphor for the big impact of small gestures.

A 2-inch domino can knock over another domino 1.5 times its size.

Line up more dominoes, each 1.5 times larger than the last, and

• the 12th domino would be 15 feet tall.
• The 17th would dwarf the statue of liberty.
• The 19th would overshadow the Empire State Building.
• The 50th would knock over a domino the size of the distance between the earth and the moon.

Small actions create big chain reactions.

Leaders can inspire their teams with small gestures like a demonstrated interest in what their team members are learning!

Leaders have this responsibility. But the thing is. We are all leaders. In a democratized learning culture, everyone is a catalyst. Everyone has the chance to inspire people around them.

All it takes is to push the first domino. 

She advises startups, mentors emerging leaders, and runs a successful podcast, all while leading the global education and enablement team at Automation Anywhere. 

In this conversation, we talk about:

• Disruption and change as challenge and opportunity
• The role of training strategy in business success
• The importance of culture and mindful leadership
• eWOW’s “intellectual framework for success”
• The intertwining of learning and growth for individuals and organizations

Find Rashim in the following places:

• Website: https://rashimmogha.com/
• Buy here Amazon bestseller here: Fast-Track Your Leadership Career: A definitive template for advancing your career!
• Learn more about eWOW at their webiste
• Connect with Rashim on LinkedIn

At SureSkills, we deliver learning and enablement services to the worlds leading technology companies and global organizations.

To learn more, head over to www.SureSkills.com or download our latest eBook: Foundations of a Successful Learning Experience. 

What's with the title?

When change is inevitable, learning and growth are essential. We believe learning and growth are intertwined, both for individuals and organizations. Individuals learn to grow within their roles, careers, and personal lives. Organizations learning programs are now major contributors to business success, helping them attract and retain top talent, upskill and reskill, and adapt to the inevitable changes the future will bring. In this podcast, we speak to leaders in the learning and development industry about the learning landscape.