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The Learning & Development Podcast

The Learning & Development Podcast

Written by: David James
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 The Learning & Development Podcast is a fortnightly topical podcast show for L&D professionals hosted by David James and presented by 360Learning. In each episode David James discusses and debates topics affecting the profession alongside expert guests. David is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and a highly respected voice in the Learning & Development industry. With a focus on harnessing technology to drive impactful learning strategies, David is recognised as one of the top 10 global influencers in the L&D space. His expertise lies in helping organisations modernise their approach to workplace learning, ensuring measurable results and business alignment. The Learning & Development Podcast has amassed over 500,000 downloads and ranks in the top 1% of podcasts globally. With nearly 30,000 LinkedIn followers, David continues to shape the conversation around L&D innovation and best practices, drawing on his deep experience, including his time as Director of Learning, Talent & Organisational Development at The Walt Disney Company. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/ Website: https://www.360learning.com/2025 David James Careers Economics Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Finance Personal Success Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Transforming L&D: From A Reactive Service to a Strategic Driver with Geraldine Murphy

    Transforming L&D: From A Reactive Service to a Strategic Driver with Geraldine Murphy
    Feb 17 2026
    In this episode of The Learning & Development Podcast, David James is joined by Geraldine Murphy to explore how learning can move from a reactive service to a strategic driver of business impact. Geraldine shares how she built the foundations for transformation - introducing governance, process, and consistency - and shifted the culture from chasing “shiny new things” to making smarter decisions about building, borrowing, buying, or automating learning. She reflects on influencing stakeholders, the power of storytelling in driving change and the personal skills that mattered most throughout the journey. This conversation is a guide for L&D professionals ready to tackle entrenched challenges, start making change even without formal permission and step confidently into a more strategic, impactful role. Take your L&D to the next level Take advantage of thousands of hours of analysis. Hundreds of conversations with industry innovators and 25+ years of hands-on global L&D leadership. It's all distilled into one framework to help you level up L&D. Access the L&D Maturity Model here - https://360learning.com/maturity-model KEY TAKEAWAYS Passion isn’t enough; without structure, governance and the right tools, L&D effort stays local and inefficient. Data‑driven storytelling unlocks investment and permission to transform. Governance, clear promises to the business, and knowing when to say “no” are central to leading large‑scale change. L&D must link learning directly to productivity and business performance to escape being seen as simply a “nice to have.” BEST MOMENTS “We weren't doing technology for technology’s sake.” “If your people aren't growing, then the business is not growing.” “When you've got a vision to elevate L&D to be business savvy, accountable and impactful, it's not so difficult to bring senior stakeholders on board to help to shape that.” “For the first time, we had one platform to rule them all.” Geraldine Murphy Bio Geraldine Murphy is an experienced Learning & Development leader, most recently Global Learning Experience Manager at HEINEKEN. In this role, she managed a broad global portfolio of learning tools and processes and worked with 85 decentralised learning teams to support the delivery of L&D for more than 90,000 employees worldwide. Alongside this, she served as a Global DEI Ambassador, contributing to the organisation’s diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda. Geraldine began her career in education following her teacher training in 2009 and has since worked across further and higher education, publishing, and technology. Her work includes leading learning design for HE partnership programmes at a FTSE 100 publisher and consulting with organisations such as HSBC University (Global), FourthRev, Aula, Scribbr, Jisc and the University of Cambridge. She also sits on the advisory boards for SAP SuccessFactors and LinkedIn Learning. VALUABLE RESOURCES The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home ABOUT THE HOST David James David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D. CONTACT METHOD Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective Blog: https://360learning.com/blog L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    54 mins
  • Owning Your Brand: A new expectation in Career Management With Andy Storch

    Owning Your Brand: A new expectation in Career Management With Andy Storch
    Feb 3 2026
    In this episode of The Learning & Development Podcast, David James is joined by Andy Storch, co-author of Own Your Brand, Own Your Career, to explore why personal branding has become a central tool for career growth. Andy discusses the workplace shifts that inspired his book and reframes traditional career development, showing how L&D leaders can help employees discover and articulate an authentic professional brand that aligns with both personal values and organisational needs. He unpacks the broader lens of career growth beyond upward mobility - covering lateral moves, reputation, visibility, and the power of storytelling - while offering practical advice on networking, self-advocacy and intentional career moves in today’s job market. This conversation is a guide for L&D professionals looking to equip employees to take ownership of their careers, measure the impact of brand-and-career development initiatives and balance individual growth with organisational retention. Take your L&D to the next level Take advantage of thousands of hours of analysis. Hundreds of conversations with industry innovators and 25+ years of hands-on global L&D leadership. It's all distilled into one framework to help you level up L&D. Access the L&D Maturity Model here - https://360learning.com/maturity-model KEY TAKEAWAYS Your personal brand is your reputation. In a world of restructures and layoffs, you can’t wait – build visibility, trust, and a clear story of your value now, so decision-makers know exactly why you’re worth keeping or hiring. Helping people build their personal brand makes their value visible. When L&D supports employees to show what they’re great at, leaders can spot talent faster, growth feels fairer, and your best people are more likely to see a future and stay. If networking and personal branding feel cringey, reframe them as relationship building and sharing your learning. You don’t need to perform - just focus on one genuine conversation at a time. BEST MOMENTS “In the past, there's been this stigma about spending time on LinkedIn or other platforms, about creating a brand for yourself outside of work, and I've seen a big shift in that.” “I've seen people go and build great relationships and get jobs from being able to tell their story.” Andy Storch Bio Andy Storch is an author, consultant, coach, and speaker focused on helping professionals take ownership of their careers and lives. He is the author of Own Your Career, Own Your Life, a practical guide for people who want to stop drifting and take intentional control of their future. Andy is the host of multiple podcasts, including The Talent Development Hot Seat, Own Your Career and My NFT Journey, and is the co-founder and host of the Talent Development Think Tank Conference and Community, as well as the Talent Development Virtual Summit. His work includes consulting and teaching strategy, leadership, sales, finance, and innovation for organisations such as Salesforce, Oracle, Google, Toyota, State Farm, Red Bull, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, HP, Sony, Cisco and Tiffany & Co. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and a BS from the University of Florida. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andystorch/ https://andystorch.com/ Own Your Brand, Own Your Career Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Own-Your-Brand-Career-Accelerates/dp/1736020986 ABOUT THE HOST David James has been a People Development professional for 20+ years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D. CONTACT https://twitter.com/davidinlearning https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home
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    40 mins
  • The L&D Leader with Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers

    The L&D Leader with Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers
    Jan 20 2026
    In this episode of The Learning & Development Podcast, David James is joined by Laura Overton and Michelle Ockers, co-authors of the new book The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business Value. Together, they explore why the L&D profession must shift from delivering learning to driving business value and how leaders at every stage of their career can navigate this change. Drawing on 20+ years of benchmark data and hundreds of practitioner interviews, Laura and Michelle share their TRY and be BOLD frameworks, the navigation metaphor that underpins their book and practical insights for applying principles rather than clinging to rigid models. This conversation is a call to action for L&D professionals who want to stop getting stuck in old job descriptions, start tuning into business priorities, and step into their true potential as navigators of change. Take your L&D to the next level Take advantage of thousands of hours of analysis. Hundreds of conversations with industry innovators and 25+ years of hands-on global L&D leadership. It's all distilled into one framework to help you level up L&D. Access the L&D Maturity Model here - https://360learning.com/maturity-model KEY TAKEAWAYS High‑impact L&D leaders act as wayfinders: they co‑create a clear picture of business value with stakeholders, then continuously read signals from the organisation and course‑correct, rather than follow a fixed plan or model. Instead of chasing the next model or tool, effective L&D is grounded in learning science, fuelled by curiosity and opening up more impactful options than “just another course.” What really differentiates impactful L&D leaders are their thinking habits: being business‑first, open‑minded, leading and learning, and deliberate – a practical inner compass for bolder, better decisions. BEST MOMENTS “The horizon is getting closer to us. The amount of time between a shift and us needing to have people ready for that shift is so tight now that our traditional approaches cannot respond quickly enough.” “The (traditional) models, can restrict us …. (and) can actually crush people´s ambition.” “You are a learning change maker.” Laura Overton Bio Laura Overton is an award-winning learning analyst, author, and international speaker with over 30 years of experience in the learning industry. Best known as the founder of Towards Maturity, Laura led 15 years of research exploring how learning innovation drives business value, working with thousands of L&D leaders worldwide. Today, Laura continues to champion evidence-based practice, helping learning professionals move beyond models and frameworks to embrace principles that unlock real business impact. Michelle Ockers Bio Michelle Ockers is a respected workplace learning strategist, speaker, and podcaster. With a background that spans the Royal Australian Air Force, corporate leadership roles and global consulting, Michelle has a reputation for helping organisations modernise learning and build business-ready capabilities. Michelle is the host of the Learning Uncut podcast, where she shares real-world stories of L&D in action. Her work brings together evidence, practice, and community to support learning leaders in navigating complexity with confidence. LINKS The L&D Leader Book: https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning-development/the-l-d-leader-9781398620278 https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleockers/ https://learninguncut.global/ https://learninguncut.global/podcast/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraoverton/ https://learningchangemakers.com/ VALUABLE RESOURCES L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home CONTACT METHOD  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    51 mins
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