The X Factor: The Human Performance & Leadership Podcast with Dr. Stephen Long

Episode 26: From Knowledge to Capability: What Makes Learning Stick - Adrian Stäubli

In this podcast conversation, Adrian Stäubli, [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-staeubli/] a global learning and development expert with more than two decades of experience designing scalable capability systems for large organizations, makes a clear and field-tested argument: learning fails not because content is poor, but because organizations systematically prevent transfer. Across corporate, financial services, and technology environments, Stäubli has observed the same pattern repeatedly. Organizations invest heavily in courses, platforms, and learning events—then expect capability to emerge on its own. It rarely does. The Knowledge–Capability Gap According to Stäubli, the gap between knowledge and capability is not cognitive. Learners generally understand what they were taught. The gap is contextual and systemic. Learning is treated as something to complete, not something to use. Once employees return to their desks, time pressure, incentives, and existing habits overpower new behaviors. Organizations unintentionally optimize for forgetting. Three Conditions That Make Learning Stick Stäubli identifies three non-negotiable conditions for turning learning into sustained performance. If anyone is missing, the return on learning investment collapses. 1. Application Capability develops only when learning is applied immediately to real work. Abstract simulations and hypothetical role-plays fail to transfer. Learning sticks when participants bring real problems, real decisions, and real constraints into the learning process and apply new behaviors directly on the job. 2. Support Feedback activates learning. Stäubli emphasizes that brief, frequent check-ins—often five minutes or less—are enough to trigger insight. Learners often “get it” only when they articulate their struggle aloud. Managers do not need to provide answers; they need to create space for reflection, adjustment, and honest dialogue. Psychological safety is essential. 3. Time Behavior change is biologically constrained. New habits require repetition, reflection, and reinforcement. Ten-minute leadership monologues do not change behavior. When learning time is not explicitly protected, it disappears. Organizations that succeed treat learning as real work—scheduled, defended, and modeled during working hours. Leadership’s Role: Making Learning Legitimate Stäubli stresses that learning sticks when leaders legitimize it. Senior leaders must role-model learning, openly discuss what did not work, protect learning time, and reinforce development through systems and incentives. Without this, learning becomes performative and fades. Learner Responsibility and Cultural Shift While leaders create conditions, learners own execution. Capability grows when individuals take responsibility for practice and experimentation, and when teams normalize conversations about what did not work. Stäubli also highlights a necessary structural shift—from role-based development to skill-based development—creating a shared, measurable language for long-term growth. Culture of Capability High-performing organizations stop treating learning as an event. Learning becomes how work gets done—embedded in routines, peer conversations, short reflections, and small behavioral “notches” that compound over time. Bottom line: As Stäubli makes clear, organizations cannot accelerate human learning beyond biological limits—but they can design systems that either support or sabotage it. The organizations that win do not train more. They engineer environments where capability is unavoidable.

Episode 25: Pat Wadors, CHRO, Intuitive - Innovation In Medical Technology

In this insightful podcast episode, Dr. Stephen Long interviews Pat Wadors—an esteemed HR leader and advocate for organizational health—on the critical intersection of innovation, culture, and leadership within the medical technology (medtech) industry. Drawing from her experience at Intuitive and beyond, Wadors articulates a powerful vision for what she calls a “high-performing, healthy organization.” The conversation begins by challenging the traditional narrative that innovation is fueled by unfettered freedom. Instead, Wadors argues that constraints are not creativity’s enemy—they’re its engine. She references the metaphor of “the crow and the pitcher”—a creative device used by artists to create tension and focus—suggesting that structural limits often force more inventive thinking. This aligns with the Prosperity Trait®  that Discipline (i.e., the willingness to do the hard thing) is the first ingredient of repeatable innovation. A central theme in the episode is the importance of psychological safety. Wadors describes how high-performing teams are distinguished not just by talent, but by trust. At Intuitive, leaders are trained to solicit feedback, model vulnerability, and play devil’s advocate with their own ideas—deliberately making room for dissent. This humility creates the conditions where innovation is not only possible, but sustainable. Wadors stresses that psychological safety is not simply a perk—it’s a system that supports creativity under pressure, especially when navigating regulatory constraints and long development cycles endemic to medtech. Wadors also underscores the value of diversity of thought, noting that complex problems in medtech require input from a wide range of perspectives. Leaders must not only invite differing opinions but also create processes that ensure these voices are truly heard. This echoes The Prosperity Trait® insight that Self-Confidence is not bravado—it’s the strength of belief required to express imaginative ideas, especially in high-stakes environments. The conversation shifts to the unique challenges of innovation in medtech, where product lifecycles can span years or even decades. Wadors describes how organizations can maintain energy and cohesion over these long arcs by grounding their teams in mission and purpose. At Intuitive, the company’s focus on improving patient outcomes gives people a reason to persist, even when progress is slow or uncertain. This mission-based resilience aligns with the Prosperity Trait® skill of Mental Toughness—specifically the behaviors of Patience, Persistence, and Recovery that sustain creativity over time. Waters also explores how to build leaders who can manage the dual pressures of performance and well-being. She highlights the role of support structures—including open communication, collaborative decision-making, and active feedback loops—as mechanisms that allow teams to thrive. These structures turn innovation into a teachable, coachable, and scalable capability—not just the result of individual genius. The episode closes with four key strategies leaders can implement to drive healthy innovation:  1. Embrace constraints as creative catalysts. Use structure to focus energy and drive depth.  2. Engineer psychological safety. Model humility, invite critique, and make feedback systemic.  3. Connect innovation to purpose. Build stamina by anchoring daily work in meaningful outcomes.  4. Develop systems of support. Coach leaders to balance ambition with well-being and collaboration.

Episode 24: Lt. Gen (RET) Burt Field Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Lt Gen (RET) Burt Field began his Air Force career as an F16 fight pilot. He ascended the ranks and retired as a three-star general. The transition from a single-seat fighter plane to commanding thousands of troops reveals Gen Field's leadership development. Gen Field experiences illustrate how leaders can apply the same skills in this age of Artificial Intelligence.

Episode 23: Ruben Gonzalez - 4X Olympian

Why would anybody in his right mind want to jump on a sled and hurl himself down an icy mountain at over 80 miles per hour? At the age of 21, Ruben Gonzalez took up the sport of luge and started training for the Olympics. Four years and a few broken bones later, Ruben made his Olympic dream come true! But he didn’t stop there... Ruben kept training, and at the age of 47, he was racing against 20-year-olds at the Vancouver Winter Olympics! Ruben is the first person ever to compete in four Winter Olympics in four different DECADES! He’s one of the most popular speakers in America, and his best-selling book "The Courage to Succeed" has been translated into 10 languages. Get ready to be inspired.... to go for the Gold.

Episode 22: Team Carroll: From Frustration to World Class Consistency

Avital and Bobby Carroll discuss human performance and leadership. They are the husband/wife team that created a stir on the Freestyle Skiing World Cup Tour, where Avital finished #8 in the world and won two bronze medals at the 2023 World Championships. Bobby is the head coach of the Austrian National Team and an assistant coach of the Australian Men's Team.