Meeting your full potential as a leader often requires a close look at the behaviors, skills, and mindset you need in order to be successful and influence others.
Christie Berger, an executive coach with a learning and development background, has a broad base of experience in helping leaders do just this so they can accelerate their performance and create more value within their organizations and communities.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Christie about the connection between learning and leadership, ways to improve leadership and increase influence, as well as common mistakes that leaders often make. They also dive into the topic of women and leadership and the work Christie is doing around this through her Fusion Leader Circuit program.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode131
Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access revi
ews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the detail.
With the incredible speed at which technology is advancing and changing how we live, it’s crucial that we understand the impact that all of this is having – and is going to have – on how we work and learn.
And perhaps nobody is more well-versed in addressing this topic than internationally known speaker, writer, and thought leader, Heather McGowan. Heather is an innovator, synthesizer, and leading voice related to the context and impacts of accelerated change and she uses single frame visuals to help people process information more effectively.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Heather about the intersection of the future of work and learning including why the type of change we are going through now is different from what we’ve experienced in the past, what we should expect to see related to this in the future, and how to better prepare for it.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode130.
Highlighted Resource – 10 Critical Shifts in the Market for Lifelong Learning – a free Tagoras resource which highlights 10 trends that are impacting, and will continue to impact, the landscape for learning businesses.
Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the detail.
Spring is now upon us and that means blooming flowers, warmer days filled with sunshine, and of course, baseball—all wonderful inspiration for metaphors. And since we’re always thinking about lifelong learning, we couldn’t help but liken the idea of creating a successful, high-impact learning business to the idea of hitting a grand slam in baseball.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss the tremendous opportunity and responsibility that currently exist for learning businesses as well as what it takes to hit the “learning business grand slam”.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode129.
Highlighted Resource – Tagoras Platform Directory for Learning Businesses™ – a free resource that offers profiles of more than 30 platforms that are a good fit for learning businesses.
Our sponsor this quarter is ReviewMyLMS, a collaboration between our company, Tagoras, and 100Reviews, the company that is behind the very successful ReviewMyAMS site. As the name suggests, ReviewMyLMS is a site where users can share and access reviews of learning management systems, but in this case, the focus is
specifically on systems that are a good fit for learning businesses, meaning organizations that market and sell lifelong learning. Contribute a review and you will get access to all existing and future reviews—there are already more than 100 on the site. And, if you don’t have review to contribute, there is also a subscription option. Just go to reviewmylms.com to get all the details.
Often the principles that create a winning team out on the field are the same that apply to create a winning team in business.
Jamy Bechler, a former college basketball coach, decided to take what he learned from his years on the court and apply it to help people in the business world. He’s now an executive business coach, professional speaker, and leadership trainer who works with organizations to motivate and strengthen teams by helping them understand the important role they each play--he also hosts the Success is a Choice podcast which features guests of all different backgrounds sharing their personal stories of how they achieved success.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Jamy about the topic of leadership including leading regardless of role, how to create influence, and tips for building high-performing teams.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode128.
Highlighted Resource – Jamy Bechler’s list of 18 FOR ’18: 18 Books to Read in 2018. Within this list Jamy also links to his 15 best books for leaders.
As learning business professionals, we tend to think – and talk – about lifelong learning mostly as it relates to professional growth. But lifelong learning as it relates to personal growth is equally important because it cultivates critical thinking and allows for the never-ending exploration of curiosity.
David Kurfirst and Chris Zumtobel are the co-founders of Think Olio, a three-year-old start-up that provides provocative and thought-provoking lecture-style events – what they refer to as “olios” - on a wide range of topics that allow individuals to engage in a unique lifelong learning experience for roughly the same price as going to a movie.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with David and Chris about what inspired the creation of Think Olio, their model for teaching and learning and why it works for them, as well as lessons learned along the way.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode127.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also 
provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com
Highlighted Resource – Think Olio’s Chance Operation for Learning – 3 minute highlights of the classes offered by Think Olio.
There continue to be a wide variety of trends emerging in the market for lifelong learning and continuing education and it’s important to understand what impact, if any, each of these might have on your learning business.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss twelve of the biggest trends they see (in no particular order) disrupting the market for lifelong learning and continuing education and share resources related to each trend.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode-126-lifelong-learning-market-trends/
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
Highlighted Resource – 10 Critical Shifts in the Market for Lifelong Learning (downloadable document)
When it comes to training design, perhaps focusing on what people need to be able to do, not simply what they need to know, can make all the difference. That’s because this leads to activity-centered training rather than traditional information presentations.
These concepts are what led Cathy Moore, speaker, training designer, and author of Map It: The Hands-On Guide to Strategic Training Design, to create the action mapping model. Her goal is to “save the world from boring instruction” and her tools and resources are helping to do this one learner at a time.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Cathy about action mapping including what it is, why it’s effective, and how to apply it. They also cover the role action mapping plays in measurement and evaluation and scenario design.
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode125.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
Highlighted Resource – a collection of Action Mapping resources created by Cathy Moore.
We continue our tradition of providing After Action Reviews for the events we host, but with a slight twist this time. The scheduled live programming has ended, but we don't consider the Learning • Technology • Design™ (LTD) experience to be over yet, so we are calling this a "Mid-Action" review. Tune in to learn more about what we set out to do with this year's version of our annual virtual conference, and how it is turning out.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode124
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
In this episode, Celisa Steele talks with training industry veteran - and TrainingIndustry founder and CEO - Doug Harward about how the industry has - or hasn't - changed over recent decades and the major challenges and opportunities facing learning businesses now.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode123.
Highlighted Resource – 10 Things You Must Do When Starting Your Training Company by Doug Harward.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
Nasos Papadopoulos, founder of MetaLearn, a Web destination for learning about learning, is a university lecturer and online course author who is passionate about helping others master their own learning. His work, including his course Make Me A MetaLearner, gives people the necessary tools and techniques to become an effective lifelong learner.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Nasos about what metalearning is and why it’s important as well as reflections and advice related to his own experience as a learner, podcaster, and course author.
Full show notes at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode122/
Highlighted Resource – Nasos Papadopoulos’ MetaLearn YouTube channel - features dozens of brief videos covering topics ranging from how to learn from famous figures like Elon Musk, Marie Curie and Charles Darwin to how to leverage important learning techniques like spaced practice, reflection, and elaboration. This is a great resource to help you boost your own learning – and also a great resource to share with the learners you serve.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss how to get at what potential learning customers actually want – versus what they need – by exploring four key areas of gathering and assessing data including: understanding your demand dynamics, assessing behavior (not preferences), identifying key value factors, and gauging commitment and conversion (not interest).
Highlighted Resource – Market Insight Matrix – a free Tagoras tool that lays out a framework for continually monitoring and assessing your market over time. It’s a great complement to the discussion in this episode about identifying the “wants” as opposed to just the needs in your market.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
Tracy King, founder of InspirEd and Aaron Wolowiec, founder of Event Garde, are both experts in learning design and they recently joined forces to help answer this complex question. Their research and findings related to the topic are captured in the e-book they co-authored, Engaging Learners: A Guide To Successfully Designing Engaging Learning.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Tracy and Aaron about the topic of learner engagement—including what it is and, just as importantly, what it isn’t—how to prime learners for engagement, and the importance of “constructing” learning experiences versus “manufacturing” them.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode120
Highlighted Resource – Engaging Learners: A Guide To Successfully Designing Engaging Learning – an e-book by Tracy King and Aaron Wolowiec.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
In this episode, Celisa Steele talks with Jennifer Abrams about hard conversations and the multigenerational workplace, including the impact each of these have on both leading and learning.
Jennifer Abrams is an expert in overcoming these challenges and has written various books including, Having Hard Conversations, The Multigenerational Workplace : Communicate, Collaborate, and Create Community, and Hard Conversations Unpacked : The Whos, the Whens, and the What-Ifs. She’s also a communications expert, a designer of professional development, a speaker, and, with a few e-courses under her belt, an entrepreneurial subject matter expert (eSME)—if that term is new to you or you need a refresher, see our related post about the rise of the eSME.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode119.
Highlighted Resource – “Unpacking Hard Conversations” – (second video on page) – a Webinar by Jennifer Abrams which offers an in-depth look at the topics she covers in her book, Hard Conversations Unpacked : The Whos, the Whens, and the What-Ifs.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss the importance of having a learning business strategy and the three core elements it should be built around—a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and a set of coherent actions.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode118.
Highlighted Resources – (both are referenced in this discussion of strategy):
- Learning Business Maturity Model™– a free resource designed specifically to help learning businesses of any size reach their full maturity.
- Association Learning + Technology report - based on a survey of a broad range of trade and professional associations, it provides the most comprehensive insights currently available on the use of technology to enhance and enable education in the association sector.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
What do effective leaders have in common? Perhaps it’s their ability to lead from within or to successfully navigate through times of uncertainty and adversity.
Sarah Levitt, creator of the Making Magnificent Project™, is an executive coach, keynote speaker, and author, who works with leaders to optimize their talents and strengths and drive exceptional business outcomes. In her recent book, Magnificent Leadership, she shares the stories of a diverse group of leadership exemplars and how they were able to transform and transcend circumstance in order to achieve greatness.
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa talks with Sarah about her definition of leadership, commonalities between leaders that emerged from her book, as well as the essential relationship between leading and learning.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode117
Highlighted Resource – Sarah Levitt’s, Making Magnificence podcast – here you can access recordings of some of the many interviews with leaders that she conducted for her book. These include people like Brad Wilson, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and Dana Born, who was a Brigadier General in the US Air Force and is now a lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
In this episode, Jeff Cobb talks with Dr. William Clements, Vice President and Dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies at Norwich University about what Norwich is doing to meet the needs of learners, how technology has impacted the continuing education and learning landscape, as well as what they’re doing related to the creation of partnerships with professional organizations.
Highlighted Resource - excerpts from Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Joseph Aoun (a book that Bill Clements mentions during this interview). Aoun is the president of Northeastern University and he offers some great perspectives and insights on the role of education in a world where artificial intelligence and robotics are playing a quickly increasing role.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode116.
You can have the most inspiring vision in the world, a powerful mission, and a great strategy, but if you don’t have the capacity for executing, none of those things really matters very much.
In this episode, Jeff and Celisa discuss why understanding capacity, and more importantly, building capacity, is one of the most critical activities an organization can pursue. They also offer seven recommendations any learning business can embrace for building capacity (none of which involve hiring more people).
Full show notes available at https://www.leadinglearning.com/episode115.
Thank you to Blue Sky eLearn, sponsor of the Leading Learning podcast for the first quarter of 2018. Blue Sky is the maker of the Path learning management system, an award-winning, cloud-based learning solution that empowers your organization to maximize its message. Blue Sky also provides a range of virtual event and instructional services to help you maximize your content and create deeper engagement with your audience. To find out more about Blue Sky eLearn and everything it offers, visit http://www.blueskyelearn.com.
Highlighted Resource: The Capacity Continuum, insights into how to understand and impact the process of capacity building across individuals, organizations, and communities.
This episode of Leading Learning features a full replay of "Facing - and Embracing - the Future of Learning," a session at the Surge 2017 virtual summit.
In the session, Amanda Beckner (Avixa, formerly Infocomm International), Josh Goldman (Ohio Society of CPAs), Celisa Steele (Tagoras/Leading Learning), and Jeff Cobb (Tagoras/Leading Learning) explore key trends in the rapidly evolving market for lifelong learning and their implications for trade and professional associations. They discuss how technology is transforming areas like workforce and career development and the role approaches like microlearning and microcredentialing will play in association business models going forward. Listen in to get big, but actionable ideas for taking your learning programs into the future.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode114.
Thank you to the Founding Sponsors of the ReviewMyLMS site. We feel like the ability to get high quality, dependable reviews from peer organizations has been a gap in the association and broader learning business market for a long time, so we are really excited to know that it will soon be filled with support from the following companies:
Highlighted Resources
- Association Virtual Events – a free Tagoras report that draws on data from more than 100 associations to help you understand the emerging role of virtual events in the association sector.
- The AssociationSuccess eBook for “Facing – and Embracing – the Future of Learning.”
In this episode, Jeff talks with Nick Schacht, Senior Vice President for Professional Development and Global Operations at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) about the evolving role of HR, how they influence education and training decisions, and the concept and implications of competency frameworks – both for individuals and organizations.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode113.
Highlighted Resource – The Learning Business Maturity Model™ – gives a framework for assessing the maturity of your learning business and taking action to reach higher levels of maturity and performance.
Thank you to the Founding Sponsors of ReviewMyLMS, a Web site dedicated to verified, honest reviews of learning management systems:
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff discuss the trends and predictions made over the last four years of hosting their annual trends and predictions Webinar as well as how they’ve held up and if they still apply.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode112.
Highlighted Resource – 10 Critical Shifts in the Market for Lifelong Learning - an overview of 10 key trends that we think learning leaders need to have front of mind as they plot their strategy for the coming years.
Thank you to the Founding Sponsors of the ReviewMyLMS.com. We feel like the ability to get high quality, dependable reviews from peer organizations has been a gap in the association and broader learning business market for a long time, so we are really excited to know that it will soon be filled with support from the following company’s:
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Jeff talks with Arianna Rehak of AssociationSuccess.org about what went into planning the recent Surge 2017 virtual summit, including how she got people to authentcially engage and promote it, as well as some of the biggest challenges and lessons learned from the event.
Highlighted Resource – Association Virtual Events - a free Tagoras report that draws on data from more than 100 associations to help you understand the emerging role of virtual events in the association sector.
Special thanks to the four Founding Sponsors of ReviewMyLMS:
If you are looking for an LMS, we really encourage you to visit these companies and see what they have to offer.
In this episode, Celisa talks with of Diane Simmons of the American Academy of Dermatology and Carol Hodes of NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement about their paths to retirement, what they’ve seen – and expect to see – that excites them most about learning, as well as some of the biggest lessons they’ve learned over the course of their careers.
Highlighted Resource – Resources for Organizations in the Business of Lifelong Learning – a document that serves as a single point of reference for accessing many other documents. In it we’ve organized our tools, models and frameworks, our research reports, and a range of other resources in a way that makes it easy for you to see what they are and access them. This document is free, and all of the resources it lists – other than our two annual events – are free.
Many thanks to the four companies that have stepped up to help us get our new initiative, ReviewMyLMS, off the ground:
In this episode of the Leading Learning podcast, Celisa and Jeff look at seven core practices of successful Internet marketers and how they might be emulated to grow and improve your learning business.
Highlighted Resource - 10 Realistic, Cost-Effective Ways to Grow and Improve Your Learning Business. It is just what it sounds like – 10 ways that you can move the dial on your learning business without spending a lot of money or having to do back flips to find resources.
Special thanks to the Founding Sponsors of ReviewMyLMS:
Full Show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode109/
In this episode, Celisa talks with Dr. Andy Molinsky about his latest book Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence.
Highlighted Resource: A Harvard Business Review article by Andy titled, If You’re Not Outside Your Comfort Zone, You Won’t Learn Anything.
Full show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode108.
In this episode, Celisa Steele talks with Wayne Skipper, founder and CEO of Concentric Sky, and a key player behind the open source project Badgr, about the emerging Open Pathways initiative for connecting digital credentials from different organizations.
Highlighted Resource: Exploring the Fringe: Flipping, Microcredentials, and MOOCs, a free white paper that discusses three emerging formats—the flipped classroom, microcredentials, and massive open online course —and then looks at when each might make sense for an organization to pursue and factors to consider before jumping on the trendy bandwagon.
Fill show notes available at http://www.leadinglearning.com/episode107.