The Assembly

Assemble You
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The Assembly: Where L&D Minds Assemble The future of workplace learning doesn’t live in theory — it lives in lived experience, fresh research, and honest conversations. That’s what The Assembly delivers. Hosted by Adam Lacey, Co-Founder of Assemble You and digital learning veteran, and Brigid McCormack, a newcomer to the world of L&D, this is your go-to space for rich, real talk on what’s driving L&D forward. In each episode, you’ll find: Richer insights that go beyond surface-level tips to unpack what really works in learning today Expert perspectives from leaders shaping the L&D landscape Access to new research on tech, methods, and innovations defining tomorrow’s learning culture Practical strategies you can use right now to build essential skills like leadership, communication, and adaptability Whether you’re designing programs, shaping strategy, or driving culture change — if learning is your thing, this is your podcast. Formally known as L&D Challenges.

  1. 4 days ago

    Stop Starting from L&D With Anne-Marie Burbidge

    If your L&D work feels invisible to business leadership, the problem might be where you're starting from. Brigid sits down with Anne-Marie Burbidge, founder of Spark L&D Consultancy and fractional Head of L&D, to unpack the mindset shift that changes everything: stop leading with what L&D can offer, and start from what the business actually needs.  With 20+ years across HR and L&D in organisations of all shapes and sizes, Anne-Marie brings a sharp, practical lens to where L&D functions get stuck and how to move. She breaks down how to connect your work to the metrics that matter to leadership, why manager development remains one of the most under-supported moments in any organisation, and how to shift from reactive training deliverer to trusted business partner. What you'll learn: Why starting from L&D and pitching outward is the wrong direction and how to flip itHow to use business metrics and people data to identify where L&D will have real impactWhy the manager transition from individual contributor to people leader needs far more support than most organisations give itHow to build influence with the C-suite by speaking their language, not yoursThe mindset shift that unlocks everything else 🔗 Connect with Anne-Marie LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-marieburbidge/ 📮 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. https://www.assembleyou.com/the-assembly/newsletter 👋 Come and connect with us We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly & Assemble You Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & Data This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy/

    42 min

  2. 16 Jun

    The Messy Middle: Why Your Managers Are Flying Blind With John Gregg

    Your senior leaders get coaching. Your early careers get apprenticeships. But the managers actually running your organisation day-to-day? They're on their own. John Gregg has spent over 20 years in L&D and OD across commercial, regulated and nonprofit sectors - most recently as Head of Learning and OD at Alzheimer's Research UK.  With a small team and a tight budget, he built a management development programme that made it to the finals of the Learning Excellence Awards, competing with some of the biggest names in the industry. In this episode, John shares what it takes to develop the managers everyone else overlooks, prove L&D's impact when scrutiny is high and shift from a cost centre to a genuine performance function. What you'll learn: Why your mid-level managers are the engine room of your organisation and what a programme that actually develops them looks like in practiceHow to shift from a cost centre to a performance function and the language change that makes it stickWhy psychological safety isn't a course and how to build it incrementally across onboarding, appraisals, policies and everyday cultureThe "Big Four" stakeholder model and why misreading each group's agenda is where most L&D impact gets lostWhere AI is genuinely moving the needle in L&D right now and where the hype is running ahead of the realityFour pieces of advice for anyone starting out or levelling up in the profession 🔗 Connect with John LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-gregg-fcipd/ 📮 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. https://www.assembleyou.com/the-assembly/newsletter 👋 Come and connect with us We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly & Assemble You Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & Data This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy/

    38 min

  3. 9 Jun

    Why Your EDI and L&D Functions Are Fighting the Same Battle, Separately? With Shannon Rivers

    You've run the awareness session. The feedback was strong. People were nodding. And then... nothing changed. If that sounds familiar, it's not because your programme was wrong. It's because awareness alone doesn't change behaviour. Conditions do. Brigid sits down with Shannon Rivers, organisational development strategist, consultant and Director of Social Enterprise, Social Responsibility and Change. With over 12 years of experience helping organisations move beyond tick-box exercises, Shannon applies a Black, queer, and womanist liberatory lens to embed anti-oppressive practices into how organisations operate.  Starting her career in marketing, she quickly realised that if you want to change what shows up externally, you have to address the internal culture first. Shannon argues that EDI and L&D are working towards the same goal: behaviour change. Keeping them in separate silos limits the impact of both. She explores why many EDI initiatives stall, what actually drives culture change and how L&D leaders can secure buy-in from senior stakeholders without compromising their values. If you're trying to make learning stick or embed inclusion beyond a one-off programme, this episode will change how you think about both. What you'll learn: Why EDI is scaffolding, not a separate workstream and what happens when it's treated as oneThe real reason learning sessions generate great feedback but little behaviour changeWhat actually works: line managers, action learning sets, accountability and designing for how people engageHow to build the business case for EDI and L&D investment, including the often-overlooked social returnWhy organisations mirror the external world and what that means for learning culture designShannon's marketing-inspired internal communications framework: problem, position, proposalOne mindset shift for L&D and EDI professionals who feel they need to do more 🔗 Connect with Shannon LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonbethanyrivers/ 📮 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. https://www.assembleyou.com/the-assembly/newsletter 👋 Come and connect with us We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly & Assemble You Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & Data This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy/

    43 min

  4. 2 Jun

    Building the L&D Team of the Future with Simon Gibson of Center Parcs

    Adam sits down with Simon Gibson, the Talent Director at Center Parcs and former Group Head of L&D at M&S, to get brutally honest about what's holding L&D back and what high-performing teams do differently. With a career spanning banking, retail, nuclear decommissioning and hospitality, Simon has a rare cross-industry perspective: if you don't understand how your business makes money, you're probably doing nice things that don't matter. They cover how to diagnose the right problems, build a commercial business case, and tell stories that earn influence which includes a standout M&S example where fixing a policy search issue saved 5,000 managers 30 minutes a month and unlocked a multi-million pound productivity win. They also tackle the deskless workforce problem: most L&D solutions are built for people with desks and diaries, and frontline teams deserve better. If you want to sharpen your commercial edge and prove your worth - this one's for you. 🔗Connect with SimonLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/simongibsonlearning/ 📮 The Assembly DebriefA short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. 👋 Come and connect with usWe’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world.Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The AssemblyLearning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & DataThis podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy/ Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

    42 min

  5. 26 May

    If They Can't See It, They Can't Do It: Scaffolded Learning That Actually Sticks. With Stephanie Alayyoubi-Trattles

    Most people don't fail because they're incapable. They fail because the support disappears too early. Brigid sits down with  Stephanie Alayyoubi-Trattles, founder of Kyoshi Consulting, to explore what it actually takes to build learning that drives measurable change. Stephanie has spent over a decade leading learning strategy and design across EdTech unicorn Multiverse, London Business School, and global organisations. She began her career in the classroom, and she makes a compelling case that the teaching frameworks we left behind in education are exactly what corporate L&D is missing. At the centre of the conversation is the gradual release of responsibility: I do, we do, you do. Stephanie unpacks what this looks like in practice inside an organisation, how to model best practice before expecting people to replicate it, and why most programmes skip the very steps that make learning stick.  She also shares how to build the wider ecosystem around a training programme, from communities of practice and peer feedback to manager reinforcement in the flow of work. She doesn't shy away from the harder conversation either. L&D teams too often operate as order takers, delivering ad hoc content that isn't tied to business priorities. Steph's challenge is to pause, get a seat at the table, and design with intention so that learning creates real capability, not just compliance. If you're designing, running, or rethinking how learning lands in your organisation, this episode will give you a sharper, more grounded way to approach it. What you'll takeaway from this episode: What the gradual release of responsibility looks like in practice and why it works just as well for an 8-year-old as a 48-year-oldWhy people cannot do what they haven't seen and how to audit your existing programmes for this blind spotThe two traps that stop L&D from modelling best practice: the curse of knowledge and imposter syndrome and how to overcome bothHow to build a competency framework that defines best practice before you design a single piece of learningWhat scaffolding looks like inside a real organisation with a detailed example from Stephanie's time at MultiverseWhy communities of practice and mentorship are the parts of the learning ecosystem that create lasting capabilityHow to build a learning culture where people don't just attend, they queue up to get inThe first practical step for any L&D team ready to start integrating this approach 🔗 Connect with Stephanie  LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-trattles/ 📮 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. https://www.assembleyou.com/the-assembly/newsletter 👋 Come and connect with us We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly & Assemble You Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & Data This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy/

    35 min

  6. 19 May

    Most manager development programmes are well-designed. They just weren't built for how humans actually behave. With Farley Thomas

    Adam sits down with Farley Thomas, CEO of Manageable, the global manager development platform he co-founded in 2020, to explore why manager development so often falls short and what it takes to build something that sticks. After a decade in investment banking at HSBC, Farley trained as a coach and spent years advising CEOs before spotting that managers were one of the most underserved populations in any organisation. Manageable was built to fix that. Farley breaks down eight pieces of the manager development puzzle, from building genuine learning habits to using AI as a safe practice environment for difficult conversations. He also tackles the cohort versus individual learning debate and explains why most organisations are getting both wrong. If you are designing, running, or rethinking a manager programme, this episode will give you a sharper framework to work from. What you'll learn: The eight pieces of the manager development puzzle and why most programmes only tackle two or threeWhy cutting practice from your programme is the most expensive corner you can cutHow to make cohort-based learning genuinely valuable rather than logistically painfulWhat scaffolding actually means and how it builds lasting learning habitsWhere AI fits into manager development and where it falls shortThree practical tips for any new or aspiring manager just starting out🔗 Connect with Farley LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/farleythomas/ 📮 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. 👋 Come and connect with us We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & Data This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy/ Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

    29 min

  7. 12 May

    Your middle managers are not underperforming. They are under-resourced. With Toluwa Hughes

    Brigid sits down with Toluwa Hughes, behavioural scientist, two-times TEDx speaker, and founder of Zoah Consultancy, to explore why the manager layer is so often the most overlooked group in any organisation and what L&D can do about it right now. Toluwa has coached over 4,000 leaders across the UN in East Africa, tech scale-ups, and global enterprises including HSBC, Dell, and Alzheimer's Society.  Her work sits at the intersection of behavioural science and real-world leadership pressure - helping managers stay steady through growth, change, and AI adoption. In this episode, she breaks down the hidden cost of ignoring middle managers from the two things their role actually demands (translation and emotional regulation) to why high performers are the ones most quietly burning out. She also challenges L&D teams to stop asking managers what training they need, and start asking better questions entirely. If you work with or support managers, this episode will sharpen how you think about development, wellbeing, and where L&D can have the most impact. What you'll learn: Why middle managers carry more than any job description acknowledges and why they rarely say soThe two types of managerial silence, and how to tell them apartWhy 82% of managers step into leadership with no formal training and what that actually costsHow mindset, not skills, determines behaviour under pressureThe three things L&D already has that are more valuable than budget permission, proximity, and trustWhy leadership development and wellbeing must be the same conversationThe questions that surface what managers are really carrying 🔗 Connect with Toluwa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toluwa-oyeleye/ Zoah Consultancy: https://www.zoahconsultancy.co.uk 📬 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. https://www.assembleyou.com/the-assembly/newsletter 👋 Come and connect with us We're always keen to hear what's resonating or what you're seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly & Assemble You Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For privacy information visit: https://www.transistor.fm/privacy

    48 min

  8. 5 May

    How Do You Build Critical Thinking, Curiosity, and Better Decision-Making in an AI-Driven World? With Liggy Webb

    In this episode, Adam sits down with Liggy Webb to explore how L&D leaders can equip their people with the human skills that matter most - cutting through noise, thinking clearly, and performing in a complex environment. Liggy, a behavioural skills specialist and author, shares practical ways to develop an “inquiring mind” - from building self-awareness and asking better questions, to strengthening curiosity and critical thinking. Together, they unpack how learning can move beyond information and focus on how people think, decide, and act - offering simple, actionable ways to navigate today’s fast-changing world. If you’re looking to future-proof your workforce or build stronger thinking skills, this episode will give you practical ways to move forward. Episode breakdown: (00:00) Introduction to Inquiring Minds (02:00) Why critical thinking matters more than ever (04:00) The nine skills of an inquiring mind (05:00) Self-awareness and feedback (09:00) Cultivating curiosity (12:00) Lifelong learning in a changing world (16:00) The power of human conversations (21:00) Asking better questions (26:00) Critical thinking vs emotional reactions (31:00) Distilling complexity (34:00) Problem solving and decision making 🔗 Connect with Liggy LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liggyw/ 📮 The Assembly Debrief A short, practical email unpacking the best ideas from each episode, designed for modern learning leaders who want insight without the noise. 👋 Come and connect with us We’re always keen to hear what’s resonating or what you’re seeing in your world. Adam Lacey - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamlacey/ Richard Ward - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardpward/ More from The Assembly Learning that feels more like great content than training. Explore podcast-style lessons, video shorts, and series designed for real work. https://www.assembleyou.com Privacy & Data This podcast is hosted by Transistor. For more information on how your data is handled, please visit: https://transistor.fm/privacy/

    44 min
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About

The Assembly: Where L&D Minds Assemble The future of workplace learning doesn’t live in theory — it lives in lived experience, fresh research, and honest conversations. That’s what The Assembly delivers. Hosted by Adam Lacey, Co-Founder of Assemble You and digital learning veteran, and Brigid McCormack, a newcomer to the world of L&D, this is your go-to space for rich, real talk on what’s driving L&D forward. In each episode, you’ll find: Richer insights that go beyond surface-level tips to unpack what really works in learning today Expert perspectives from leaders shaping the L&D landscape Access to new research on tech, methods, and innovations defining tomorrow’s learning culture Practical strategies you can use right now to build essential skills like leadership, communication, and adaptability Whether you’re designing programs, shaping strategy, or driving culture change — if learning is your thing, this is your podcast. Formally known as L&D Challenges.

Information

  • Creator
    Assemble You
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    115
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Assemble You Limited
  • Show Website
    The Assembly