On this episode, my friend, Lata Hamilton, returns to talk about her new book, Pioneer Your Career Change. Lata shares stories from her own career that taught her to have the confidence to do the kind of work she loves - and how you can find work that excites you too. Lata Hamilton is a Change Leadership and Confidence expert who empowers ambitious women to carve their own paths in career, leadership, and life with confidence, authenticity, and fulfillment. A speaker, author, leadership trainer,...
Jan 21, 2025•32 min•Ep 102•Transcript available on Metacast To end the year on a high note and to continue the celebration of 100 episodes of the BLOC, I'm sharing a replay of the #1 most downloaded episode of the BLOC of all time - a chat I had with my L&D BFF, Tim Slade. Tim Slade is a speaker, author, award-winning freelance eLearning designer, and creator of The eLearning Designer’s Academy . Having spent the last decade working to help others elevate their eLearning and visual communications content, Tim has been recognized and awarded with...
Dec 31, 2024•34 min•Ep 101•Transcript available on Metacast It's the 100th episode of the BLOC! On this episode, I reflect on how this podcast turned into an L&D business and how human connection is what separates us from the robots. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff...
Dec 10, 2024•15 min•Ep 100•Transcript available on Metacast This special episode is a replay of a live podcast recording I did with Tom McDowall on November 15 in London as part of the Learning Network's Connect 2024 conference. You can also find the replay (with video) on Tom's The iDeas Podcast . I also highly recommend joining The Learning Network if you want to connect with other brilliant L&D folks! In the episode, Tom suggests everyone read Human Competence by Thomas Gilbert . Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get mo...
Nov 19, 2024•39 min•Ep 99•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I invite all of you to join the Useful L&D Community I launched back in September. I share a little bit about why I started this (global - as I forgot to mention in the episode) safe space for aspiring, new, and expert L&D pros to connect and working together to make learning more useful. We are having great discussions, hosting events, and we're just getting started! Join us here: https://useful-stuff.circle.so/join?invitation_token=729b68d43899a5f480ee11363cc12b7a...
Oct 29, 2024•7 min•Ep 98•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with Fred Thompson, CEO of Thirst, about staying current in L&D and how he's managed to continue to take a modern approach to L&D, despite beginning his career with Flash. Fred Thompson is CEO of Thirst and is a seasoned learning and development expert with over two decades of experience helping businesses create engaging learning environments that level up learner engagement. Fred has spearheaded numerous initiatives that have empowered employees to learn an...
Oct 08, 2024•45 min•Ep 97•Transcript available on Metacast Dinye Hernanda is a distinguished practitioner in Learning & Development, known for her bold, results-driven approach. With a proven track record in building L&D departments for high-growth organizations, Dinye has made her mark across major corporations, tech scale-ups, and VC firms. Named one of the 'Thirty Under 30' in L&D in 2021, she is recognized for her unique ability to blend strategic vision with practical execution. Honored as Mentor of the Year 2023, Dinye is com...
Sep 17, 2024•57 min•Ep 96•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with my new L&D pal, Caner Akova, about how we learn in real life, how we can bring some of those best practices into workplace learning, and why it isn't happening more often. Caner is an L&D expert with global experience in higher education and multinational corporations and he’s here to shake things up. He’s passionate about cutting through the fluff, and uses real life learning to make workplace learning actually work. He likes tackling the brutal truths ...
Aug 27, 2024•55 min•Ep 95•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, inspired in part by my new friend Molly's LinkedIn post about undergoing 10 job interviews for a contract L&D position, I talk about the dreaded job interview assignment. This episode is both for job seekers and hiring managers because I give best practices for what you should be looking for in a job interview assignment, including the following: Every job interview should be part of a structured process that is clearly communicated to candidates . This is what we DO as...
Aug 06, 2024•23 min•Ep 94•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode, I celebrate the BLOC turning 4! Can you believe I started this podcast 4 years ago? I talk about the origin story of the podcast, some of the tips I've learned along the way, and recap the most popular episodes! Here's to more episodes of the BLOC! Thank you all so much for your support. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community Work with me or see what I'm wor...
Jul 16, 2024•13 min•Ep 93•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with engineer and founder of Teach the Geek, Neil Thompson, about how we can be better presenters as technical professionals or improve our training on technical topics, making them more useful for our audience. After one too many failed presentations, Neil Thompson, an engineer who worked in the medical device industry, knew he had to improve. He did so, and now, via his company Teach the Geek, he works with technical professionals like himself to improve their presentat...
Jun 25, 2024•28 min•Ep 92•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with my brilliant friend, Dr Linda Berberich about AI, learning technologies, prototypes, and how you're never too old to learn something new! Linda Berberich, PhD, is a behavioral scientist specializing in innovative, impactful, and immersive learning and intelligent, intuitive technology product design. With an extensive background in data analysis, technical training, behavior analysis, learning science, neuroscience, behavior-based performance improvement, and sp...
Jun 04, 2024•44 min•Ep 91•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with Karen Vieth about her journey and time at InSync Training. We also discuss how to do a better job collecting learning data and connecting it to the business goals. Karen Vieth is a distinguished figure in the realm of virtual and hybrid learning, serving currently as the President & CEO of InSync Training . Her illustrious journey in education commenced within the academic sphere, progressively advancing to significant roles in teacher training at both district a...
May 14, 2024•36 min•Ep 90•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I sit down with my brilliant friend and colleague, Mallori Steele, to talk about how she landed in L&D and how she uses her strengths as a connector to create spaces for marginalized people to network, learn, and grow. Mallori is a multi-passionate and multi-talented Leader, Strategist, Solutionist, Entrepreneur, and Mom of 2. She is the CEO of Growductive Consulting , an L&D Consulting Agency, the Founder of the non-profit Black in L&D, and the visionary of the virt...
Apr 23, 2024•55 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode I answer your questions about inspiration, adding value, skills development, L&D tools, and the L&D job search! Here are some of the resources mentioned in the show: Bloc Podcast Episode 75: Why is There SO Much Bad Training? Bloc Podcast Episode 3: Positive Organizational Change with LaToya Smith Intro to Copyright for L&D Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community...
Apr 02, 2024•48 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I explain 5 helpful tips for making your training (and I'm talking ANY kind of training - job aids, virtual sessions, instructor-led, and even eLearning) more engaging. And if you know me, you know that I believe the best way to make training engaging is to make it useful. So, forget all the bells and whistles and gimmicks, and let's talk making training highly effective. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on L...
Mar 12, 2024•22 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with my new friend, Yen Tan. We chat about why they founded Kona and how they've built a product that uses AI to help coach remote managers. We talk about why you shouldn't "slap AI on everything" and how we can take a more deliberate approach to using AI in L&D. We also explore some use cases where it can really help teams and managers be their best. Yen is co-founder of Kona , the AI-powered coach for remote managers. Yen's work on people-fi...
Feb 20, 2024•50 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I talk about how I moved from an individual contributor role as an instructional designer to an L&D leadership role and give you tips if you're interested in doing the same. I talk about how to break it to your manager, how to create a plan to upskill, weighing the risks of staying at your current organization or trying to branch out to a new one, and how to get people leadership experience outside your full-time day job. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more ...
Jan 30, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I bring Tim Slade back to talk about building your reputation on LinkedIn. We use it to look for work... We use it to find new clients... We use it to connect and learn about each other... But there's so much noise! How do we know what's real? Tim's suggestion for folks who are getting into instructional design? Read a BOOK - you're more likely to get expertise because of the time and effort it takes to write and publish a book than what FURUs can accomplish ...
Jan 09, 2024•38 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat about the lessons I learned in 2023 and what I think are L&D's brightest possibilities for 2024. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff...
Dec 19, 2023•13 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I answer YOUR questions on L&D leadership, upskilling in tools, working cross-functionally, getting data for needs analysis, and more! Resources mentioned in the episode: Rachel Schell's Emerging Leaders in L&D ScreenPal (which I referred to by its former name, Screencast-o-matic) OpenShot Video Editor Audacity Canva Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community Work...
Nov 21, 2023•31 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with Hannah Waddams -- or Han -- from MAAS Marketing about why you need a marketing strategy for learning projects and what other best practices we can borrow from our marketing departments! Marketing for learning® expert, Han is part of the duo that make up MAAS Marketing. With over a decade of experience, Han is on a mission to help L&D embrace the power of marketing within their function (and get the learner engagement we all so want!) Here's where you can con...
Nov 07, 2023•45 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with Rachel Koblic about why she isn't buying into the hype around hustle culture and how she founded Starling to support middle management. Rachel Koblic is a leader at the intersection of learning, design, and strategy. Her mission is to create high-quality learning for life in the digital economy, and foster nurturing and inspiring workplaces for the people around her. With nearly 20 years of interdisciplinary professional experience as both a doer and a leader, s...
Oct 17, 2023•39 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Alexandria and I talk about L&D from the healthcare lens -- but the conversation is important to ALL of us in L&D as we talk about the importance of remembering that there are solutions that aren't eLearning out there, we can learn a lot from UX design, and that proving our impact and being able to scale training is crucial to our success in L&D. With a decade of experience in the field of learning and development, Alexandria has had the privilege of contributin...
Sep 26, 2023•43 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast It's a short story, but as requested by Dr. Sonia Tiwari, who was interviewed in my last episode, I share the story of how I came to create training that was presented to actual astronauts! I also share a bit about what I'm working on today so that maybe we can find a way to collaborate. To learn more, visit www.heidikirby.com. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community Work with me ...
Sep 05, 2023•17 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I sit down with my brilliant friend Dr. Sonia Tiwari to talk about what it's like to pursue your PhD while juggling the responsibilities of motherhood. It's a bit different than your normal episode, but whether you're a mom considering a graduate degree or someone who wants to learn how to better support your family, friends, and colleagues who are juggling both -- there's good stuff for everyone. Content warning: at the end of the episode, Sonia and I briefl...
Aug 08, 2023•42 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I share some previous episodes of the BLOC as well as some tips from my own personal experience being laid off (twice now). Here are the previous episodes of the BLOC I mentioned: 16: Leveraging Your Linkedin 31: Instructional Design Interviews 35: Agile Unemployment with Sabina Sulat 43: Musings from an ID Hiring Manager with Matt Gjertsen Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Com...
Jul 18, 2023•14 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I share some stories of bad training -- why I think bad training is so prevalent in L&D, based off my dissertation research -- and some of the things I think we can do to help. Thanks for listening to the BLOC! To learn more and get more great resources: Connect with me on LinkedIn Join our global Useful L&D Community Work with me or see what I'm working on with Useful Stuff...
Jun 27, 2023•22 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast I finally get a chance to sit down with one of my L&D besties -- the one and only Tim Slade -- to talk about what you need to become an ID and how to present those skills in your portfolio. We tackle some common misconceptions and help you navigate through some of the noise! Tim Slade is a speaker, author, and award-winning freelance eLearning designer. Having spent the last decade working to help others elevate their eLearning and instructional design content, Tim has been recognized and aw...
Jun 06, 2023•34 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I chat with my pal Clea about reflecting on your first role as an ID and how to use that knowledge to find your SECOND ID role! Clea is an instructional designer who collaborates with cross-functional teams to design and deliver inclusive and impactful learning experiences for a global teams and internal communities. Keep up with her wildly-experimental, mostly-rambling blog at cleadesigner.com . Clea recommends just networking and connecting with people who are doing things sim...
May 16, 2023•45 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast 
