Talent Development Leader

The Future of Immersive Learning: Why Design Matters More Than Technology

As AI dramatically lowers the barriers to creating learning content, organizations have an opportunity to rethink what makes learning truly engaging and effective. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Lars-Petter W. Kjos, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of We Are Learning, shares why immersion is not about avatars, VR, or realism alone. Instead, it's about creating meaningful experiences that challenge learners to make decisions, face consequences, and build capability. The conversation explores AI's impact on learning design, the growing accessibility of scenario-based learning, and the future skills talent development teams will need to thrive. Learn why scenario-based learning is experiencing a resurgence and what talent development leaders should do to prepare their teams for the next era of workplace learning.

• Transcript

Facilitation as a Leadership Practice: Transforming Learning Through the Five Personas

In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Moe Poirier, founder of Shift Facilitation and creator of the Five Personas of Facilitation, explains how talent development leaders can elevate facilitation from a tactical skill to a strategic leadership capability. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Moe shares how facilitators can adapt their presence through five distinct personas: the Sensei, Drill Sergeant, Superhero, Confidant, and Jester. Moe describes what great facilitation has in common with great leadership, how managers can apply the Five Personas in everyday conversations, and why human connection becomes even more valuable as AI takes on more content delivery. Listen to this podcast and learn how transformational facilitation not only creates transformative learning experiences, but shapes organizational learning culture and positions facilitators as ambassadors of an organization's learning brand and change strategy.

• Transcript

From Learning & Development to Talent Development: The Shift That Changes Everything

What separates organizations that treat learning as an expense from those that see talent as a competitive advantage? In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, learning strategist, author, and Tractus Learning founder Becky Willis explains why the profession must evolve from Learning & Development to Talent Development to remain relevant and drive business results. Becky explores why L&D often struggles to earn strategic influence, how leading organizations align talent initiatives with business goals, the metrics that matter, and the most common reasons transformation efforts fail. She also shares insights from her book, 7 Steps to Better Learning Engagement, and offers advice for TD leaders ready to become more strategic in the age of AI. Learn practical actions you can take immediately to become a strategic force for talent and business growth in your organization.

• Transcript

The Capability Blueprint: Connecting Skills, Performance, and Strategy

What sits between a company's strategy and the skills of its workforce? According to Ben Satchwell, Head of Capabilities at Acorn PLMS, the answer is capability. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Ben breaks down the layered relationship between skills, competencies, capabilities, job design, and performance. He explains why many competency frameworks become shelfware, and offers actionable guidance for talent development leaders who want to build systems that create real value. Listen and learn how to begin designing capability frameworks that will help your organization move beyond training activities and toward meaningful business outcomes.

• Transcript

Leading from Within: The Power of Personal Vision with Kimberly Currier

A clear personal vision can be the difference between reacting to life and intentionally leading it. In this episode of ATD's Talent Development Leader podcast, Kimberly Currier, global talent and leadership development executive, explores why personal vision is a foundational leadership capability. She shares how such a purpose can guide decisions, build resilience, and help leaders stay grounded through change. Learn how to develop your own personal vision; integrate it into your organization's leadership development initiatives; and use it to foster an organizational culture rooted in clarity, authenticity, and shared purpose.

• Transcript

From Cost Center to Strategic Driver: Reframing Talent Development in Tough Times

When budgets shrink, talent development leaders must do more than defend their programs—they must demonstrate their value through communication and influence. In this episode of the Talent Development Leader podcast, Amii Barnard-Bahn, former Fortune 5 executive and top leadership coach, breaks down a strategic communication model for elevating TD's role in the business. Learn how to communicate with clarity, strengthen your team's value proposition, and guide your organization through layoffs and disruption. Become a leader who re-engages and "re-recruits" the people who stay, and turns tough moments into opportunities to rebuild trust and commitment. Amii's Resources: https://www.barnardbahn.com/resources

• Transcript

The Future CLO: Leading Learning as a Strategic Business Enabler

The role of the Chief Learning Officer is at an inflection point. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Tracie Cantu, Chief Learning Strategist at Your CLO and author of Running L&D Like a Business, breaks down how and why the CLO role has evolved beyond managing training and into enabling enterprise performance. Listen and learn what's keeping L&D stuck in reactive modes, where CLOs struggle most when juggling operational excellence with business agility, and why reframing learning as performance enablement can dramatically change how the business engages with L&D. Finally, hear Tracie's take on what the CLO role may look like five years from now—and the actions learning leaders should take today to stay ahead.

• Transcript

Preparing Leaders and Learners for Human‑AI Collaboration with Patrick Lynch

AI is transforming work—but not in the ways many leaders fear. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Patrick D. Lynch, 2026 Thinkers50 Radar thought leader, AI Faculty Lead at Hult International Business School, and one of the world's leading voices on human‑AI collaboration, explores why the future of work is less about job loss and more about job transformation. Patrick brings a rare blend of Fortune 500 executive experience, behavioral science rigor, and real-world insight to the creation of his THRIVE framework, which is helping leaders worldwide design AI adoption as elevation, not replacement. Listen and learn how to preserve humanity and judgment in the human‑AI equation, what creative decision making looks like for a workforce of humans and agents, how to build long-term capability with the THRIVE model, and why leadership and learning matter more than ever in the age of AI. Join Patrick at the 2026 ATD International Conference and Exposition in Los Angeles, CA, May 17-20, to hear him speak about these topics and more.

• Transcript

Stories That Inspire: Leading with Influence, Clarity, and Joy with Julie Lancaster

Storytelling isn't a soft skill—it's a serious leadership advantage. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Julie Lancaster, CEO of Lancaster Leadership and author of Beyond Words: How Our Stories & Strategies Inspire Action, shares why storytelling is the missing link between great ideas and real impact. She explains what reseach says about storytelling and influence, the ingredients of a story that actually moves people to action, and how to lead with clarity and confidence during uncertain times. Listen for practical frameworks and real-world examples from Julie's work with 75,000 leaders that will help you tap into the stories already living inside your organization.

• Transcript

The Business-Minded TD Leader With Tina Robinson

In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Tina Robinson, executive coach and author of the ATD Press book, Developing Your Business Leaders, explains why many TD leaders get stuck reacting to requests instead of driving the business forward, and how to break the cycle. Tina shares the common pitfalls talent professionals face, how to build credibility with executives, and why defining the WHO, WHAT, and WHY of learning strategy always matters more than the HOW. If you're ready to elevate your TD function from "nice-to-have" to business-critical, this episode is your playbook.

• Transcript

Development for Everyone: AI Coaching in Action with Kirsten Moorefield

As organizations move beyond high-potential-only development models, AI coaching is emerging as a powerful enabler of personalized growth at scale. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Kirsten Moorefield, cofounder of Cloverleaf, describes how AI coaching is leveling the playing field for people development. Learn what to look for and watch out for when it comes to AI coaching tools, plus practical use cases in the workplace. And discover how you can responsibly use AI to support learning, true behavior change, and performance across your organization.

• Transcript

When Work Becomes Learning: Redesigning the Employee Experience with Samantha Murray

What if the most powerful learning initiative isn't a program, but the way work itself is designed? In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Sam Murray, Founder and CEO of AlignedCX, challenges traditional approaches to learning and enablement and makes the case for merging work and learning to drive real business outcomes. She describes how TD leaders can identify high-value work, decide what belongs with humans versus AI, and design employee experiences that fuel both growth and performance. Listen and explore new ways of thinking about data, performance measurement, and operating models for learning in a world where work is the classroom. Website: https://www.alignedcx.com/

• Transcript

People First, AI Enabled: Human Sustainability at TELUS

Human sustainability is no longer a "nice to have"—it's a strategic imperative. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Allyson McElwain, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Director of Development, Learning, and Engagement at TELUS, describes what it means to create workplaces where employees leave better off than when they arrived. Topics include reimagining employee engagement, supporting mental health and well-being, enabling belonging, and designing meaningful and flexible work. You'll walk through TELUS's human-centric approach to AI, discover the company's transformation journey, and learn how to use AI thoughtfully across the talent development lifecycle.

• Transcript

Learning Innovation and Future-Readiness: What's Changing and What Won't with Jonathan Halls

As AI, reskilling, and shifting workforce expectations reshape organizations, talent development leaders face the unique challenge of balancing innovation with the enduring fundamentals of how people learn. In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, bestselling author, facilitator, and former learning executive Jonathan Halls suggests there is a dual mindset required of today's TD leaders: They must be anchored in evidence-based learning principles while navigating ambiguity and preparing for what's next. Listen for new research about current C-suite priorities (hint: AI literacy tops the list), and learn how asking the right questions can future-proof your learning strategy. Get Jonathan's book on learning objectives: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYYPY918

• Transcript

The Rise of Fractional Leadership: A New Path for Talent Development Leaders

C-suite leadership is changing as talent development leaders are gaining expanded responsibilities across learning, succession planning, engagement, and more. Many leaders are expected to be experts in talent development, pros at creating vision and strategy, and adept at AI—all while overseeing initiatives for the entire employee lifecycle. In other words, they're expected to be and do the impossible. In this episode of the Talent Development Leader podcast, Sara Daw—entrepreneur, researcher, and CEO of The CFO Centre and The Liberti Group—suggests practical solutions to these unrealistic pressures placed on TD leaders. She explores the rise of fractional leadership and the access economy and explains how TD leaders can use this new workplace context to their advantage. Listen here and learn about the Strategy and Leadership as a Service framework, a pragmatic approach that helps executives and organizations better adapt, thrive, and co-create sustainable value in this new era of work.

• Transcript

Becoming Better: Transformational Leadership with Ryan Gottfredson

In this episode of Talent Development Leader podcast, Ryan Gottfredson—bestselling author, professor, and expert in leadership development—describes what it truly means to become better. Drawing from his latest book, Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation, Ryan shares why most leadership development is only incrementally helpful and how leaders can shift to transformational growth by elevating their "being side." Learn about mindset strategies, complexity quotient, and practical ways to build future-ready organizations. This episode will give you the tools to deepen your leadership impact and navigate complexity with greater clarity.

• Transcript

The New Rules of Career Growth: What Talent Leaders Need to Know

With an overwhelming abundance of skilling content and the rise of AI in talent development, what does effective employee support look like today—and what should organizations focus on? In this episode of the Talent Development Leader podcast, Lindsay Witcher, Global Leader at Randstad RiseSmart, discusses the evolving landscape of career development and the increasingly critical role of talent and learning leaders in building environments where employees can thrive. Listen here to learn what current research reveals about employee expectations around career growth, how to empower overwhelmed managers and create personalized development pathways, the strategic role of learning and development in a noisy ecosystem, and the impact of AI on career development strategies in 2025.

Cracking the Feedback Code: Neuroscience, Leadership & Culture

In this episode of the Talent Development Leader podcast, explore the power and pitfalls of performance feedback with renowned organizational psychologists Dr. Sandra Mashihi and Dr. Ken Nowack. With decades of experience in leadership development, coaching, and behavioral science, Sandra and Ken explore how feedback can fuel employee engagement, organizational culture, and business performance—when done right. From the neuroscience behind defensive reactions to feedback, to the essential elements that drive real behavior change, this conversation unpacks the disconnects between leaders and employees, and offers a clear, research-backed model for making feedback more effective. As a people leader and talent development professional, you'll walk away with practical strategies for building a feedback culture grounded in psychological safety and self-awareness.

Embracing Intelligent Failure with Amy C. Edmondson

Don't miss Amy on the main stage at ATD25. Register now to join us in D.C.: https://www.td.org/pre-checkout/atd25 In this special bonus episode of the Talent Development Leader podcast, we're joined by renowned Harvard Business School professor and bestselling author, Amy C. Edmondson—the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management and a keynote speaker at ATD25 in Washington, D.C. this May. Amy shares powerful insights from her latest book, The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well. She explores why failure is so difficult for many, identifying aversion, confusion, and fear as core barriers. She breaks down the concept of intelligent failure and offers practical strategies for learning from setbacks, building resilience, and fostering cultures where thoughtful risk-taking is encouraged. Guest host Jennifer Homer, ATD's vice president of career development, leads this thoughtful conversation, which builds on Amy's groundbreaking work on psychological safety and its critical role in talent development.

• Transcript

The Agile Edge for Resilient Leaders with Karen Hough

In a world of constant disruption and rapid change, how can leaders and organizations build resilience, adaptability, and success? In this episode of ATD's Talent Development Leader, Karen Hough, Founder & CEO of ImprovEdge, explores the intersection of improvisation, neuroscience, and business strategy to help talent development leaders thrive through uncertainty. Uncover practical strategies for fostering agility, embracing the unexpected, and leading with confidence. From real-world success stories to actionable insights, this podcast is your guide to navigating change with creativity, resilience, and a "Yes, And" mindset.