This is about signalling versus substance, and how organisational culture rewards the appearance of learning. A full bookshelf is a great impression management tool, but without application it becomes performative L&D. For experts, it’s a culture audit: do we promote people who talk about leadership models, or who demonstrate them? How do we make genuine…
Please Note: This is a summary of a TED talk. You can access it at https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve. Dweck, the psychologist behind the “growth mindset” concept, explains her research showing that how people think about ability shapes how they respond to failure. Students and employees who believe intelligence and skill are fixed traits tend to avoid challenges…
Who was Nelson Mandela? Mandela was an anti-apartheid leader and the first democratically elected President of South Africa. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela It’s easy for L&D to get boxed into “we deliver training.” Mandela’s line is a reminder we’re actually in the…
In the real world, stakeholders often walk in saying “we need a training on X.” A skilled L&D specialist pushes back gently and asks what’s actually going wrong on the job — missed targets, errors, inconsistent service. Sometimes the fix isn’t training at all; it’s a process, tool, or incentive problem. Building content before diagnosing…
The Australian Learning & Development Network’s next free virtual Lunch and Learn session is on the topic of The L&D Leader’s AI Playbook: 5 Things to Get Right Before You Roll It Out. Details and registration link below. The Australian L&D Network Free Virtual Lunch & Learn: The L&D Leader’s AI Playbook: 5 Things to Get Right Before…
For years, leadership development followed a familiar shape: identify high-potential employees, send them to a program, hope it sticks. That model is under real pressure — and the emerging thinking on what replaces it is worth paying attention to. From pipeline to pool. The traditional “leadership pipeline” assumed a fairly predictable, linear path into management.…
This cartoon skewers cognitive overload and trainer-centric design. When learners are fleeing through windows and hiding in cupboards, it’s a signal that duration has been mistaken for depth. For L&D experts, it’s a prompt to audit for extraneous load — how much of those 150 slides is actually needed for performance? Consider Mayer’s coherence principle,…
Who was Judy Garland? Garland was an acclaimed performer whose personal resilience made her an enduring cultural figure. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland As managers, we spend a lot of our development budget trying to replicate what works. Send them on the…
The leadership playbook that worked for the last decade is quietly becoming redundant. Hybrid teams, AI-augmented workflows and near-constant organisational change mean the skills that once defined a “strong leader” — decisiveness, deep functional expertise, command-and-control coordination — are no longer sufficient on their own. Ongoing research from bodies like Deloitte and McKinsey on the…
We’ve all been in that room – the trainer has done their best to keep it tight with just the key points, but the learners have one eye on the clock because their boss needs them back at their desks ASAP. It perfectly captures the real pressure L&D faces between covering the content and respecting…
Please Note: This is a summary of an article originally posted on Learning News on July 31, 2026. Click here for the original article and links. The Australian L&D Network has no affiliation with Learning News. Great Minds On Learning returns for Season Eight What can sport, music, art, writing and even dog training teach…
Who was Mahatma Gandhi? Gandhi was the leader of India’s nonviolent movement for independence from British rule. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi In Learning and Development we live inside this paradox every day. We design for urgency. Skills needed now, problems…
Artificial intelligence is reshaping corporate training faster than most organisations can formally document their strategy for it. What began as a handful of AI-enabled features bolted onto existing learning platforms has become a wholesale rethink of how skills are built, tracked and applied across the workforce. Personalisation is the most visible change. AI-driven learning platforms…
For a decade we taught leaders to optimise. The next five years will demand something different. Artificial intelligence can now draft strategy, manage workflows and analyse markets faster than any human. What it cannot do is build trust, make hard moral calls, or hold a team together through uncertainty. That is where leadership is moving.…
This week’s Learning & Development Network ‘Friday Funny’ is titled ‘Death by PowerPoint’. We’ve all been there; a workshop that’s basically a lecture delivered via a thousand slides. Slides can, of course, be a really helpful tool in training workshop, but need to be used sparingly if you want to keep your audience engaged! Our…
Learning Matters - The Australian Learning & Development Network Magazine 
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