78 episodes
Learning for Good | L&D Solutions and Leadership Development for Nonprofit Organizations Heather Burright, Learning and Development Leader, Leadership Development Consultant, Instructional Designer.
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5.0 • 36 Ratings
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As nonprofit learning and development leaders, we want a seat at the table. We want to be viewed as true business partners who can help solve problems. We want to create meaningful learning solutions that fit in the flow of work and yield real results for the organization and for the staff.That's why in this podcast, we will not only explore instructional design and leadership development best practices, but we will also explore change management, belonging, and influence - helping you build the case for the solutions your organization needs so you can show up confidently in conversations with other senior leaders, subject matter experts, staff, and partners.If we haven't met yet, I'm Heather, and I’ve been in your shoes. I'm a learning and development consultant and the founder and principal consultant at Skill Masters Market. Before starting Skill Masters Market, I worked for a large national nonprofit where I led learning and development leadership initiatives. I know what it’s like to need to develop your staff quickly and effectively, and to build the relationships and cut through the organizational layers to be successful. With an eye for the larger strategy and the creative design process, I've created hundreds of learning experiences - in-person, self-paced, and virtual classroom - and have worked with dozens of leaders and their staff to help them achieve their organization’s professional development goals. So if you're ready to bust through the barriers and start creating behavior change in your nonprofit, this podcast is for you. Let's dive in. It's Learning for Good. Nonprofit Management | Leadership Training | Leadership Development | Staff Management | Change Management | Instructional Design | Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Learn more: www.skillmastersmarket.comConnect with me: www.linkedin.com/in/heather-burrightSchedule a call: https://bit.ly/3GQT6Yg
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L&D Expert Julie Dirksen Exposes the Real Reason Your Training Flops
Have you ever created a training, only to realize it didn’t have the impact you had hoped? In this episode of the Learning for Good podcast, we explore why training alone often fails to drive lasting behavior change.
My guest Julie Dirksen, author of "Talk to the Elephant: Design Learning for Behavior Change," discusses the limitations of training when systemic and external factors are barriers to change. Julie emphasizes the importance of understanding behavior at an individual level.
We talk about how asking good questions can help identify where learners are and how to meet their needs, whether through education, persuasion, confidence building, or reinforcement.
Changing culture may require investments beyond training. This episode provides a framework for nonprofits to evaluate training effectiveness and foster impact through systems-level interventions.
▶️ L&D Expert Julie Dirksen Exposes the Real Reason Your Training Flops
▶️ Key Points:
02:24 Julie Dirksen’s introduction and background
06:45 Using the elephant metaphor to describe decision-making09:49 Why training often gets blamed for failures
12:20 Systems view and considering external factors that impact training success
18:54 The challenge of making equitable decisions without group-level data
21:46 Knowing where learners are at on the "change ladder"
24:22 The importance of understanding learner motivations, pain points, and system influences on behavior
Resources from this episode:
"Talk to the Elephant: Design Learning for Behavior Change” by Julie Dirksen
“Design for How People Learn” by Julie Dirksen
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective
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Connect with Julie Dirksen
Julie Dirksen is an acclaimed author and learning strategist who brings behavioral science insights to the design of impactful learning experiences. She has over 20 years of experience creating digital learning experiences for diverse clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to international NGOs and technology startups.
LinkedIn: Julie Dirksen
Facebook: @designforhowpeoplelearn
Website: usablelearning.com
Connect with Heather
Linkedin: Heather Burright
Website: skillmastersmarket.com
Book an interest call with Heather here. -
5 Mindset Shifts to Uplevel Your Leadership Development Strategy
We all know the powerful role that mindset plays not only in our personal lives but also in our work. In this episode of the Learning for Good podcast, I explore five essential mindset shifts nonprofit L&D professionals should adopt to uplevel their leadership development strategy.
By redefining how you approach your roles and the potential of your work, nonprofits can better support evolving workforces and create meaningful impact through training and leadership development.
▶️ 5 Mindset Shifts to Uplevel Your Leadership Development Strategy
▶️ Key Points:
01:41 How joining a Crossfit gym led me to a mindset shift
04:11 Introduction of 5 Mindset Shifts to Uplevel Your Leadership Development Strategy
4:38 Mindset Shift #1: You are not just an order-taker
06:47 Mindset Shift #2: Dealing with workforce change
09:37 Mindset Shift #3: Change initiatives
10:41 Mindset Shift #4: Not every effort needs to succeed
11:58 Mindset Shift #5: You are impacting people's well-being
Resources from this episode:
Learning for Good Episode 68 "Is L&D a Last Resort or a First Response?"
"Atomic Habits" by James Clear
"Tiny Habits" by B.J. Fogg
The ADKAR model of change
"Mindset" by Carol Dweck
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective
Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 👇👇👇
Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. 🔗
Connect with Heather
Linkedin: Heather Burright
Website: skillmastersmarket.com
Book an interest call with Heather here. -
You Might Be Killing Your Team if You Aren't Doing This with Beth Napleton
Effective teams are essential to your nonprofit. I’ve been a part of teams that worked so well together, everything ran smoothly, and there were no major issues. But I’ve also been a part of teams that were the opposite.
So how do we create effective teams?
That’s what we’re exploring on today’s episode with Beth Napleton, an executive leadership coach and consultant who helps senior leaders lead through layers.
▶️ You Might Be Killing Your Team if You Aren't Doing This with Beth Napleton
▶️ Key Points:
02:26 Beth’s background: Helping senior leaders lead through layers
08:17 The biggest killers of a team
09:58 Remedying these team killers
13:25 Finding time and capacity to address organizational development as a leader
18:24 Learning and Development has an important part to play in team development
Resources from this episode:
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective
Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 👇👇👇
Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. 🔗
Connect with Beth
LinkedIn: Beth Napleton
Website: bethnapleton.com
Connect with Heather
Linkedin: Heather Burright
Website: skillmastersmarket.com
Book an interest call with Heather here. -
3 Audiences Unique to Nonprofit Training
What makes nonprofit training unique to corporate training or government training? While there are a number of things that are different, one thing that I thought would be fun to focus on is the three unique audiences that nonprofits create training for.
These unique audiences come with their own challenges and I’m giving you some tips to overcome those challenges.
▶️ 3 Audiences Unique to Nonprofit Training
▶️ Key Points:
03:00 The three audiences unique to nonprofit training
07:19 Challenges these unique audiences present and how instructional design teams can overcome them
Resources from this episode:
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective
Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 👇👇👇
Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. 🔗
Connect with Heather
Linkedin: Heather Burright
Website: skillmastersmarket.com
Book an interest call with Heather here. -
Getting Started: Three Ways to Use Animation in Your Training with Calvin Dantley
Why do we let our kids watch cartoons like Cocomelon or Bluey? Because they are teaching our kids valuable lessons through animation.
We can do the exact same thing in our nonprofit training. We can use animation to impart valuable lessons to our learners. That’s why I’ve invited Calvin Dantley to join me and share his experience with animation and training.
Calvin is a nonprofit L&D leader and an experienced animator, and he has so much good stuff to share with us today.
▶️ Getting Started: Three Ways to Use Animation in Your Training with Calvin Dantley
▶️ Key Points:
03:10 Get to know Calvin Dantley: From sales to L&D animation
06:32 The value animation can add to your nonprofit training
10:26 Three ways your nonprofit can use animation in training
13:14 Barriers to using animation in training and how to overcome them
16:40 One thing you can do now to get started with animation
Resources from this episode:
Here’s the video I mentioned, Systems thinking: a cautionary tale
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective
Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 👇👇👇
Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. 🔗
Connect with Calvin
LinkedIn: Calvin Dantley
Website: cdantley.com
Connect with Heather
Linkedin: Heather Burright
Website: skillmastersmarket.com
Book an interest call with Heather here. -
Your New Training is Perfect, but... Your Learners Won't Remember It
Have you heard of the forgetting curve?
We naturally forget 90% of what we learn. That's troubling to hear for those of us in L&D. All we think about is helping people learn and creating behavior change from that learning.
How can we do that If learners are forgetting the majority of what we teach them? That’s what we’re exploring in this episode.
▶️ Your New Training is Perfect, but... Your Learners Won't Remember It
▶️ Key Points:
00:58 The forgetting curve
03:51 Making learning relevant
06:33 Making training meaningful
07:19 Making training fun
09:08 Providing wrap-around support
Resources from this episode:
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
Applying the Laws of Behavior Change to Staff Development
I use Mentimeter to create interactive learning experiences
Join the Nonprofit Learning and Development Collective: https://www.skillmastersmarket.com/nonprofit-learning-and-development-collective
Was this episode helpful? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow and leave a review! 👇👇👇
Know anyone who would benefit from this episode? SHARE this with your friends. 🔗
Connect with Heather
Linkedin: Heather Burright
Website: skillmastersmarket.com
Book an interest call with Heather here.
Customer Reviews
Great Leadership Insights and Strategies
This leadership development podcast is packed with fantastic insights and practical strategies that you can put into action immediately. Heather has a remarkable ability to simplify complex concepts effectively. Her latest episode on "Leadership training vs coaching" gave me a clear understanding of both terms and how to apply them in organizations. It's essential for every organization to prioritize employee training and development, and this podcast serves as an excellent starting point. Thanks, Heather, for your practical wisdom and easy-to-implement strategies! Chichi Ukomadu | Start That Business Podcast.
So Helpful!
Really appreciate all the wisdom Heather shares. This podcast is an invaluable tool in my training toolbox. I’m definitely a step ahead and often have light bulb moments each episode- keep them coming Heather!
Always great insights!
As a facilitator who works with nonprofits (as well as for-profits), I’m always looking for good resources to expand my skills and learning. I love Learning for Good Podcast, because Heather keeps it fresh, and there’s always wisdom and value here.