Becoming "Smart Bold": How to take agency in an uncertain future

Why you need to build a "learning playground" to transform your organisation

In this episode, we explore the messy, beautiful, and deeply human art of building communities of practice. Our guest is Anamaria Dorgo, a Romanian-born, Amsterdam-based community builder, learning experience designer, and facilitator. Anamaria is part of the global L&D team at Adyen, the visionary founder of the massive international community L&D Shakers, host of the Mapping Ties Podcast, and writer of the IRrEGULAR LEtTER newsletter. In this insightful and energizing conversation, Anamaria breaks down how to take a community from two people to over 8,000, why we are desperate for genuine connection at work, and how to stop over-engineering human interaction. In this conversation, we explore: * 📢 Learning Out Loud: How struggling to find a job in a new country sparked a "rabbit hole" of public learning that birthed a massive global network. * 🛝 The Personal Learning Playground: Why true communities of practice offer a vital, zero-stakes environment to experiment and fail outside the pressures of your day job. * 🐭 The "Trojan Mouse" Strategy: Brilliant tactical advice for sneaking collaborative learning into rigid, traditional corporate cultures without setting off alarm bells. * 🍳 Show Your "Dirty Kitchen": Why people are exhausted by polished "sage on the stage" presentations and crave the messy, unpolished reality of how work actually gets done. * ⚙️ The Friction Paradox: Why making community networking too easy (like auto-matching emails) actually destroys commitment, and why we need to design a little friction back in. This conversation is a masterclass for anyone looking to build, scale, or simply belong to a meaningful professional community. Anamaria's passion is infectious, and you'll leave inspired to start your own ripple effect. 🖥️ Shapeshifters Website: https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters [https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters] 🔗 Connect with Anamaria: Anamaria Dorgo on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anamariadorgo] L&D Shakers [https://www.linkedin.com/company/l-d-shakers/] Mapping Ties Podcast [https://mapping-ties.com/] IRrEGULAR LEtTER [https://anamariadorgo.substack.com/] 🔗 Connect with us: Makeshapes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/makeshapes] Makeshapes on X [https://x.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/makeshapesltd] Makeshapes on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@makeshapes_ltd]

Institutionalized Idiocy and How to Cure It

In this episode, we share a provocative, brilliant masterclass on why releasing control and abandoning rigid goals are the true keys to organizational transformation. Our guest is Rodney Evans, a pioneer in adaptive organization design and the Steward (CEO) of The Ready. Known for her clarity, candor, and precision, Rodney helps leaders shed outdated mental models to build organizations that are coherent, humane, and ready for what’s next. She focuses on intervening where it matters most—using behavioral economics to redesign everyday work rather than trying to change "hearts and minds." In this conversation, we explore: * 🎯 Stop over-indexing on the end state: Why fixating on rigid future goals stifles creativity and sets us up for frustration. * 🤝 The liberating power of Stewardship: Why leadership is lonely and isolating, while stewardship is a shared "team sport." * 🧠 Behavioral economics over "hearts and minds": Why trying to change culture directly is a trap, and how tweaking processes nudges unconscious behavior. * 🔀 Where to start your transformation: Why you should tackle cross-functional problems first, where no one has "home court advantage." This conversation should leave your brain firing. Rodney has an incredible ability to cut through the expected and institutional with absolute precision. We think you'll love her insights on how to intervene where it matters most and allow your team to be fueled by surprise. 🖥️ Shapeshifters Website: https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters [https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters] 🔗 Connect with us: Makeshapes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/makeshapes] Makeshapes on X [https://x.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/makeshapesltd] Makeshapes on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@makeshapes_ltd]

The future of work is collaborative: How to design connection

In this episode, we dive into the tension between our obsession with efficiency and our desperate need for connection. Our guest is Sonia Clarke, the founder of Clever Manka and a strategist who sits at the intersection of corporate rigour and creative storytelling. Sonia brings a refreshing, human-centric lens to the future of work. She is currently writing a book on collaboration and isn't afraid to call out where modern "efficiency" is actually killing our ability to innovate. In this conversation, we explore: * 🧩 The Collaborative Differentiator: Why being able to work together is the only skill that matters in an AI-driven future where "efficiency" is commoditised. * 🏙️ The Death of Lingering: An MIT study on walking speeds reveals how removing "friction" from our lives removes serendipity. * 🤖 Robot Origins: The surprising fact that the only English word derived from Czech is "Robot"—and what that tells us about our obsession with work. * 🧠 The Neuroscience of Story: How "mirroring" allows an audience to physically experience a story as if it happened to them. * 📅 Fix Your Meetings: The "Scope, Objectives, Givens" framework that stops aimless gatherings in their tracks. This conversation is a delight. Sonia wanders down wonderful rabbit holes but always lands on practical, human truths. We think you'll love her perspective on why we need to stop rushing from A to B and start designing for serendipity. 🖥️ Shapeshifters Website: https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters [https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters] 🔗 Connect with us: Makeshapes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/makeshapes] Makeshapes on X [https://x.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/makeshapesltd] Makeshapes on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@makeshapes_ltd]

Becoming "Smart Bold": How to take agency in an uncertain future

In this episode, we tackle the feeling of being "lost at sea" that so many leaders are facing right now. We look at how to navigate an unknown future without a clear map. Our guest is Laura Overton, an award-winning learning analyst and the founder of Learning Change Makers. For 15 years, she led the "Towards Maturity" program, gathering data from thousands of L&D leaders globally to uncover what actually drives business success. Laura describes herself as a "searcher," someone who is insatiably curious about how we become our best. In this conversation, we explore: * 🌊 The Ocean of Uncertainty: Why L&D feels like it has lost sight of land, and why traditional "shore-based" maps no longer work. * 🛶 Wayfinding Principles: How the Polynesian Voyaging Society's practice of "Tuning In, Responding, and Improving" offers a blueprint for modern agility. * 🦁 Smart Bold vs. Brassy Bold: Why you don't need to be an extrovert to be bold—you just need agency, evidence, and business intent. * 🤝 The Truth About Collective Wisdom: Why gathering people together is just "noise" unless it is unified by a shared purpose. * 🔎 The "Re-searcher" Mindset: How to maintain professional relevance by staying insatiably curious and looking for patterns. Laura brings an infectious energy and a wealth of hard data to this chat. We think you'll walk away with a renewed sense of direction and practical steps to move from being an order-taker to a strategic navigator. 📖 Book Details: More information on Laura's book "The L&D Leader" - https://www.learningchangemakers.com/resources/the-ld-leader/ [https://www.learningchangemakers.com/resources/the-ld-leader/] 📺 Nainoa Thompson (Polynesian Voyaging Society) clip: https://youtu.be/JxpIIBOM9R8 [https://youtu.be/JxpIIBOM9R8] 🖥️ Shapeshifters Website: https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters [https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters] 🔗 Connect with us: Makeshapes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/makeshapes] Makeshapes on X [https://x.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/makeshapesltd] Makeshapes on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@makeshapes_ltd]

The pioneers of Social Learning Theory: Moving beyond "transmission"

In this episode, we sit down for a masterclass in language and human connection with the legends who coined the term "Communities of Practice." Our guests are Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner. They are globally recognized thought leaders who have spent decades helping organizations—from the World Bank to global tech giants—understand that learning isn't about transferring data, but about people making sense of the world together. In this conversation, we explore: * 🔄 Social Learning vs. Transmission: Why we must move from simply moving certainty from one brain to another to the "mutual engagement of uncertainty." * 🦠 Reframing Groupthink: Why groupthink isn't just an error, but like cancer—a natural process of growth gone wrong—and how to disrupt it. * 🤖 AI as a New Literacy: Why we must learn to use AI to springboard our humanity, rather than imprisoning ourselves in easy answers. * 🚫 Managing "Intruders": How to identify and handle people who shut down learning spaces by rushing to provide answers. This conversation is deep, precise, and warm. Etienne and Bev bring a settled presence that cuts through the noise of our fast-paced world. We think you'll love their insights. 🖥️ Shapeshifters Website: https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters [https://www.makeshapes.com/shapeshifters] 🔗 Connect with us: Makeshapes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/makeshapes] Makeshapes on X [https://x.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/makeshapesltd] Makeshapes on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MakeshapesLtd] Makeshapes on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@makeshapes_ltd]