How to Read the Room and the Hidden Forces at Play

Why Most Training Fails Before It Even Begins

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1496338/fan_mail/new] Why does so much training still fail to change behaviour — even when the content is good, the facilitator is strong, and the intentions are right?  In this episode, Gerry Murray talks to learning expert, Fergal Connolly, about one of the most persistent and costly problems in workplace learning:  The gap between training delivered and behaviour changed.  Fergal argues that the issue often starts long before the session itself. If the environment around the learner is working against application, even well-designed training may struggle to make a difference. That has major implications for L&D, for line managers, and for leaders trying to decide where learning investment is really going. Together, Gerry and Fergal explore why training is so often asked to solve the wrong problem, what better transfer design looks like, and why the future of L&D may depend less on creating faster content and more on understanding what actually helps people apply what they learn.  If you care about leadership, learning, performance, or whether development really leads to change, this one is worth your time. Fergal also shares a special offer for listeners during the episode.  Enjoyed this episode? The Leading People Community is where these conversations continue to flourish.  Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously.  Join the Leading People Community [https://www.gerrymurray.com/leading-people-community] Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardmurray/]

Why Don’t More Leaders Build Learning Communities?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1496338/fan_mail/new] What if one of the most powerful ways people learn at work is also one of the most overlooked? In this conversation, Gerry Murray talks to Andy Lancaster about why learning communities deserve far more attention from leaders than they usually get — not as a nice extra, but as a serious way to build confidence, capability, and innovation at work. Andy’s new book, Organisational Learning Communities, explores why people often learn best with and through other people — and why that may matter even more in a world of AI, fragmented working lives, and increasing pressure to do more with less. Together, Gerry and Andy explore what makes learning communities work, why some never quite get off the ground, and what leaders may be missing when they treat learning as an individual activity rather than a shared one.  If you care about learning, leadership, culture, or how people actually grow at work, there’s a lot in this one to think about. Andy also shares a special listener offer during the episode. Curious? Connect with Andy on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-lancaster/] Buy Organisational Learning Communities [https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Organizational-Learning-Communities-Collaboration-Performance/dp/1398615498/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NS4TH0ZHAI90&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MWg8MXt5h3zAbKS6HAr5vt5TpfdZ4WCCZXknZBOHWD8tHWeA9x9Ob-ZxKJgZpd7QyLYwXSVAimwMzemaa3HErVO_BPeNsyF9m9vcQeubIfHA1vxZ5Ry_svb4kOQSjoLTnhjSi8-CJyLihbNZnwacFUEdAG5UvJBDegQIt_TNxaCy7KgFASAE3SX0tNZwHfl3Nq7hUkzoHiSdVDs2M8JtLPDD-oRuj_a9QnNq9aPzKII.JTsSJ5f1_-9jeBrQYqaWOn3TIkg_LV6T2HH3u33k1BY&dib_tag=se&keywords=organizational+learning+communities&qid=1781373077&sprefix=organisational+learning+communities%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-1] Visit Andy's Website [https://reimaginepeopledevelopment.com] Enjoyed this episode? The Leading People Community is where these conversations continue to flourish.  Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously.  Join the Leading People Community [https://www.gerrymurray.com/leading-people-community] Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardmurray/]

What's the Constraint You Don't Know You Have?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1496338/fan_mail/new] What if the thing holding you and your organisation back isn't a market problem, a resource problem, or even a people problem — but a thinking problem you can't yet see? This week's guest, Angela Montgomery, has spent three decades helping leaders discover exactly that. As author of The Human Constraint and co-founder of Intelligent Management, she brings together the work of W. Edwards Deming and Eliyahu Goldratt into a practical framework for leading in complexity. In this conversation, Angela and Gerry explore what it means to run an organisation as a living system, why the assumptions we don't question become the constraints we can't escape — and what it actually takes to think differently as a leader. And, you could be one of 10 lucky listeners who will receive a special offer from Angela. Details in the conversation. Curious? Connect with Angela on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelamontgomeryphd/] Visit Angela's website [https://intelligentmanagement.ws] Buy The Human Constraint [https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Human-Constraint-Continuous-Innovation-Resolution/dp/1032644265/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HCZAOPVOXHX2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.B36YOAjLvqxenzqp1AP0gilpJucOQ4hVr7DxrROq83QDs7wUOcb1Rcby-OHS6muurKKBNgL-6c1nYg-D5UO67IyqgAg0ZxOa3hWl2I11Xfg36c-uzjqP5R3l3fjC7X8gPjNGjfaE9zuEQtKCLO94-IoWsoORZ4NehlGavyrZy-PZFBnjdD2Sf-pJcI5txjoxHV6BgnOdiS7O5MNNObWIwVAw9jThtp--aw1MGDijAwc.z4G11IHrNzAi875eYbyx8rRS9LwXzlrskOHGcOdxUU4&dib_tag=se&keywords=The+Human+Constraint&qid=1780320210&sprefix=the+human+constrai%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1] Enjoyed this episode? The Leading People Community is where these conversations continue to flourish.  Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously.  Join the Leading People Community [https://www.gerrymurray.com/leading-people-community] Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardmurray/]

How to Read the Room and the Hidden Forces at Play

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1496338/fan_mail/new] Have you ever walked into a room and felt something you couldn't quite name? A tension, an energy, a sense that something invisible was shaping everything happening around you — and inside you? What if that feeling wasn't imagination? What if there were hidden forces actively at play in every meeting, every team, every relationship — and most leaders have no idea they're there? In this episode, Alan Briskin and Mary Gelinas — authors of Space is Not Empty — reveal what those forces are, why they matter more than ever right now, and how developing awareness of them could change the way you lead, collaborate, and make decisions forever. This one will shift how you see the room you're sitting in right now. Check out The Space is not Empty [https://www.spaceisnotempty.net] Connect with Mary on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marygelinas/] Connect with Alan on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-briskin-a9637b6/] Enjoyed this episode? The Leading People Community is where these conversations continue to flourish.  Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously.  Join the Leading People Community [https://www.gerrymurray.com/leading-people-community] Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardmurray/]

How to Handle “That’s Not Fair” at Work

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1496338/fan_mail/new] You may already be expecting this conversation. In fact, you may be dreading it. Someone on your team wants to talk about pay, fairness, and why they feel something doesn’t add up. And once that conversation starts, you need to handle it in a way that feels clear, constructive, and consistent — not just for one person, but across the team. In this short One Simple Thing episode, Gerry Murray explores a practical way to handle these conversations without getting pulled into unhelpful comparisons. Curious? Listen now Book a discovery call about Team Leader Essentials or other leadership development services https://www.widecircle.eu/lets-chat-page [https://www.widecircle.eu/lets-chat-page] Enjoyed this episode? The Leading People Community is where these conversations continue to flourish.  Free to join — Book reviews, Leading People Café recordings, Podcast episode previews, and a growing group of active HR and L&D professionals, leaders, and coaches who take their work seriously.  Join the Leading People Community [https://www.gerrymurray.com/leading-people-community] Connect with Gerry on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerardmurray/]