L&D Leaders Podcast

Connecting competence to strategy with Kati Järvinen

#7 with Kati Järvinen, Talent and Organization Development Lead at Wärtsilä. This episode explores how L&D can evolve from a support function into a strategic driver that moves the business forward. We discuss how to connect capability building directly to strategy execution, talent management, and business performance. Kati shares her experience from Wärtsilä's transformation, offering a practical framework for embedding learning into the core of the organization. The conversation focuses on moving beyond traditional L&D metrics to demonstrate real, measurable business impact. Other themes in this episode include: * Connecting competence to strategy: How to build a dynamic competence framework that translates strategic priorities into relevant skills and career paths for employees, moving beyond static, compliance-driven exercises. * Measuring what matters: Shifting focus from lagging indicators like completion rates to leading indicators that show a direct correlation between learning initiatives and business KPIs. * The L&D role in transformation: Why L&D is a critical driver during organizational change and restructuring, and how to move from a reactive to a proactive role by forecasting future competence needs. * Bridging the learning-application gap: How to diagnose workflow challenges and design targeted interventions that are integrated into daily work, instead of relying on a content-first approach. * Shared ownership of development: Defining the distinct roles of the business, L&D, and employees in owning competence development to ensure alignment and accountability. Chapters [00:27] Introducing Kati Järvinen [02:39] From support function to strategic driver [06:06] Collaborative learning and strategy execution [09:21] Connecting L&D to talent management [12:48] Building useful competence frameworks [15:06] How to demonstrate the real value of learning [20:14] Bridging the gap between learning and application [23:32] Who owns competence development? [26:35] The role of L&D in organizational change [30:15] The future mindset for L&D leaders Takeaways * Speak the language of business: To prove its value, L&D must connect its initiatives directly to business metrics and performance. Frame learning not as a cost center, but as an engine for executing strategy and achieving results. * Challenge the content-first mindset: The most effective learning isn't always a new course. L&D leaders should first diagnose the root cause of a performance issue and then design the minimum viable intervention, which might be a change in workflow, process, or a highly targeted learning moment. * Embrace a "what if" mindset: Cultivate curiosity and be brave enough to challenge the status quo. Instead of benchmarking and copying others, trust your understanding of your organization to invent new, more impactful solutions. * Own the system, not the content: L&D's role is to build the structures, processes, and governance that enable learning across the organization. The business owns the "what" (competence needs), while L&D owns the "how" (the framework for development). Join the L&D Leaders Community at ldleaders.net [https://ldleaders.net/] — a trusted peer space for mid-to-senior professionals to connect, learn from each other’s real experiences, and strengthen collaborative learning in their organizations.

Leadership development as a daily practise with David Goddard

#6 with David Goddard, Leadership Coach and Founder, Successify. This episode explores how to shift leadership development from a series of isolated programs into a continuous, energizing practice. We discuss what it takes to build organizations where learning isn't just about training, but about fueling performance, clarity, and wellbeing in an era of permanent complexity. Other themes in this episode include: * Learning between the moments: Why the most meaningful development happens on the job and in the spaces between formal training sessions, and how to design for it. * The ROI of conversation: How to measure the success of L&D not by completion rates, but by observing changes in the quality of dialogue, energy levels, and team interactions. * Leading in complexity: Practical ways to create anchor points for teams navigating matrix structures, multiple projects, and constant change, turning complexity into an opportunity for growth. * Trust across cultures: How the definition of trust varies globally—from reliability in the Nordics to relationships in Southern Europe—and how leaders can build psychological safety in multicultural teams by asking better questions. Chapters [00:00] Intro [02:54] A small daily habit that helps you learn or stay curious [04:23] Key turning points that shaped how you think about leadership and learning today [06:52] Where does the most meaningful learning happen? [09:10] How learning and leadership development are evolving in a state of permanent complexity [13:07] The role of social and collaborative learning in today's organizations [15:33] How to make learning a daily practice instead of an isolated event [20:19] Why we need more human-centric work practices in the age of AI [22:39] How to connect learning journeys to daily work and business context [24:25] Creating accountability for learning without causing performance anxiety [26:20] The connection between psychological safety, trust, and multicultural teams [30:09] How to measure the impact of social learning beyond completion rates [31:51] The number one skill L&D leaders will need in the next five years Takeaways * Leadership starts with self-leadership: Before you can lead others, you must be able to lead yourself. Protecting your own thinking time and energy is not a luxury but a prerequisite for effective leadership. * Learning is energy: The quality of learning is directly tied to the energy of the individuals and the team. When people feel seen, heard, and energized, their capacity for learning, creativity, and performance expands dramatically. * Ask what people bring, not just what they want: Shift the focus of learning from passive consumption to active contribution. Asking participants what they bring to a learning journey fosters ownership and turns development into a collaborative act. * The future is creative thinking: In a world increasingly automated by AI, the most critical human skill will be creative thinking. L&D leaders must champion environments that protect time for reflection, as creativity and learning are two sides of the same coin. Join the L&D Leaders Community at ldleaders.net [https://ldleaders.net/] — a trusted peer space for mid-to-senior professionals to connect, learn from each other’s real experiences, and strengthen collaborative learning in their organizations.

Making L&D a strategic driver with Frida Monsén

#5 In this episode, Frida Monsén, Global Head of L&D Strategy and Portfolio at Vattenfall, joins us to explore how to scale learning in a 20,000-employee organization by moving beyond traditional training. We discuss the critical role of social learning in navigating the AI transformation and why psychological safety is essential for fostering a culture of continuous improvement, especially in an engineering-heavy environment. Other themes in this episode include: * Balancing Compliance and Continuous Learning: How to meet mandatory training needs while focusing on the continuous, meta-learning required to navigate uncertainty and the AI transformation. * Social Learning as a Key Component: Frida explains how Vattenfall designs learning with real business cases, cohort-based learning, and expert-led communities to make interaction a core part of the experience. * Creating the Prerequisites for Social Learning: In an expert-driven culture, it's crucial to build psychological safety so people feel comfortable learning and discussing topics where they aren't yet experts. * Embedding Learning in Everyday Work: Practical ways to integrate learning into daily workflows through team meetings, peer pairing, and shared communication channels to support transformation goals. * Making L&D More Strategic: Frida's advice for L&D leaders: Don't wait for an invitation. Be curious, deliver high-quality work, and connect learning directly to core business objectives to gain stakeholder buy-in. * Measuring What Matters: Moving beyond simple metrics like course completion to measure the true impact of learning on tool adoption, project success, talent retention, and business results. Chapters [00:00] Introduction [01:01] Frida's Background in Learning and Development [04:06] Key Career Turning Points and a Skills-Based Approach [08:13] Corporate Learning in the Age of AI [10:25] The Power of Social Learning at Vattenfall [14:35] From Content Delivery to Competence Spreading [16:48] Balancing Formal Training with Everyday Learning [22:16] Learning's Role in the AI Transformation [24:36] Creating Pull for Learning [26:45] Making L&D More Strategic [29:25] The Role of Psychological Safety in Learning [32:15] Measuring the Impact of Learning [36:00] The Future of L&D Leadership Takeaways * Learning is Fundamentally Social: The most impactful learning happens when people connect, share experiences, and solve problems together. * Bias for Action: Don't wait for the perfect plan or invitation. Start delivering value, be curious, and work both bottom-up and top-down to drive change. * Psychological Safety is Non-Negotiable: Without a safe environment to experiment and fail, true learning and innovation are impossible. * Connect Learning to Business Impact: To be strategic, L&D must understand and align with core business objectives, demonstrating how learning drives results. Join the L&D Leaders Community at ldleaders.net [https://ldleaders.net/] — a trusted peer space for mid-to-senior professionals to connect, learn from each other’s real experiences, and strengthen collaborative learning in their organizations.

Human connection as a leadership enabler with Dr. Eerika Hedman-Phillips

#4 with Dr. Eerika Hedman-Phillips, an experienced OD and change professional who currently leads Talent Management for a global sports media and broadcasting company. We explore what it really takes to develop leadership and learning in a way that strengthens relationships and supports organizational transformation. Eerika shares how she combines a pragmatic approach with deep academic expertise to create environments where people genuinely thrive. Other themes in this episode include: * Empathy in the Age of AI: While AI can handle technical tasks or digital coaching, the human element—like connecting with an upset colleague—remains a biological and neurological necessity. * Amplifying Learning Through Social Sense-Making: Group discussion and sharing different "takes" on content amplifies learning more effectively than solo consumption. * Making Learning Stick: Moving beyond "a great day of training" by using follow-up touchpoints, gentle nudges, and detailed visualizations of when and where to implement new behaviors. * Reflexivity and Owning Impact: Leaders have a responsibility to understand that the meaning of their communication is found in the response it generates, regardless of their original intention. * Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM): A framework for paying attention to the stories people tell—and the words they use—to understand how those narratives influence their perception and actions. * The Non-Linear Challenge of Measurement: Human behavior is non-linear, making it difficult to measure impact in a strictly linear way; practitioners should look for qualitative signals rather than "fabricated" metrics. * Securing a Strategic Seat: L&D leaders must move beyond "order taking" by deeply understanding business pain points and networking to build capabilities before a shift occurs. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Leadership and Learning Development  02:58 Erika's Journey into Organizational Development  05:57 The Role of Organizational Development in Transformation  09:01 Navigating Internal Dynamics in Organizations 11:50 Merging Pragmatic and Academic Approaches  14:58 Developing Leadership Capabilities for the Future 18:00 The Importance of Social Learning  21:03 Reflexivity in Leadership Development  23:50 Understanding Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)  27:00 Measuring the Impact of Learning Initiatives  30:08 The Future of Learning and Development  33:08 Encouraging Strategic Conversations in L&D  36:08 Final Thoughts and Reflections Takeaways: * Model the "Explorer Mindset": L&D leaders should update their own thinking and "internal software" to model lifelong learning and integrity for the organization. * Design for Human Connection: While AI can handle technical tasks, the human element—like showing empathy and support—is a neurological necessity that organizations must intentionally protect and design for in their collaboration. * Focus on Impact, Not Intention: True reflexivity means moving beyond what you "meant" to do and taking responsibility for the actual results your behavior creates in your team. Join the L&D Leaders Community at ldleaders.net [https://ldleaders.net/] — a trusted peer space for mid-to-senior professionals to connect, learn from each other’s real experiences, and strengthen collaborative learning in their organizations.

Executing strategy through learning & culture with Domenico Dargenio

#3 with Domenico Dargenio, Leadership and Culture Transformation at Fortum. In this episode, we discuss how leadership, learning, and culture come together when organizations go through massive transformation. We explore why psychological safety is the foundation for learning and change, and how Fortum is bringing capability development to where the problem is – embedding learning into real work rather than isolating it in training rooms. Other themes in this episode include: * Send learning to the problem: Why development should happen in the context of real team challenges, not in isolation. * Psychological safety as a precondition: How fear blocks learning and what we mislabel as "change resistance." * Cultural ambassadors at scale: Dom shares a pactical way to make change credible and relevant at Fortum, scaled across thousands of employees. * Convincing executives: Why learning and culture are real performance drivers, not just soft topics. * Beyond 70-20-10: Why ultra-personalized, in-the-flow-of-work learning needs social learning to be impactful. * Collaboration as strategy execution: How complex projects like Microsoft's CO2-free data center require cross-functional teamwork – and how to support it. Chapters 02:04:00 Dom's current role and the "large renewal" at Fortum 03:18:00 Rapid questions: Googling and daily learning habits 04:55:00 Dom's journey into transformation leadership 08:15:00 Ultra-personalized learning & social learning 11:00:00 Fortum's approach: Sending learning to where the problem is 13:58:00 The role of inclusion and social learning in building culture 16:45:00 Psychological safety as the #1 driver for high performance 25:12:00 The most critical leadership capabilities for the future 30:21:00 Convincing the C-level: Learning and culture as business drivers 37:21:00 Scaling psychological safety across a large organization 42:15:00 The role of cultural ambassadors and transformation coaches 47:11:00 What organizations underestimate about learning during transformation 49:33:00 Final reflection: L&D leaders as the "ultimate students" Takeaways: Send learning to where the problem is: Bring coaching and development into real team friction points where strategy execution happens. Psychological safety enables everything: When people can say "I don't know," they can learn. Without it, fear takes over. Make transformation relevant: People need to see how change connects to their goals and work—managers translate this locally. Join the L&D Leaders Community at ldleaders.net [https://ldleaders.net/] — a trusted peer space for mid-to-senior professionals to connect, learn from each other’s real experiences, and strengthen collaborative learning in their organizations.