Let's be real. Most Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) don't actually improve performance. They're a legal termination plan in disguise. That doesn't make anyone feel good. But, they don't have to be this way! In this episode, Jess talks with coach and culture consultant Amy Kay Watson about rebooting accountability so performance improvement becomes a true development process instead of a disciplinary paper trail. Amy breaks down why most PIPs don't include learning or development and then shares a practical model built designed to restore psychological safety, clarify standards, and build early wins. You'll leave with concrete ways L&D can equip managers to partner in accountability conversations and diagnose root causes. PIPs can be positive turning points, but only with a different approach.

Jess and Amy Discuss

• Why PIPs often function as compliance tools instead of learning frameworks, and the downstream damage to trust, morale, and capability
• The "reformer's trap": why managers default to policing behavior under pressure (and what to do instead)
• How cultures fall into the "nice trap," confusing kindness with lack of structure and boundaries
• A developmental PIP model built on three pillars: Justice, Goals, and Efficacy
• Justice in practice: using transparent performance data ("Do you see what I see?") to reduce threat response and enable learning
• Goals that build capacity: shifting from deficit lists to resourced targets using the Job Demands–Resources (JDR) lens
• Efficacy: restoring agency by designing early, achievable wins to rebuild confidence and momentum
• L&D's three big opportunities: train managers as diagnostic "regulators," claim PIPs as a learning tool, and align with HR/Legal to avoid mixed messages
• The smallest high-impact starting point: be clear about standards because clarity really is kindness
• How to handle the hard reality: what changes when someone won't engage, even with support and partnership

About Amy Kay Watson

Amy Kay Watson, M.Div., MCC, is a Master Certified Coach and a sought-after speaker in empathy-driven leadership and performance improvement. She helps purpose-driven professionals balance accountability with compassion, especially in high-pressure, high-stakes roles. With a background spanning chaplaincy, corporate management, over 200 culture-shaping retreats, and over 3,600 coaching hours, Amy brings rare insight and practical wisdom to every stage and conversation.

Find and Connect with Amy Kay Watson

• LinkedIn
• Website: amykaywatson.com
• Article: It's Time to Reboot Accountability
• Special offer for listeners (quiz): rebootleader.com

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Team Development Roadmap

Your learners loved the course… and then nothing changed. In this episode, Jess talks with Melanie Martinelli (Institute for Transfer Effectiveness) about why L&D's obsession with "great training" often fails at the only thing that matters: on-the-job application. You'll unpack the 12 Levers of Learning Transfer, learn how to run a quick transfer audit, and hear a case study where a clunky old e-learning outperformed a shiny new one. All because the ecosystem mattered more than the content.

Jess and Melanie discuss

• Why L&D "falls in love with the solution" instead of diagnosing the real performance problem
• The difference between learner satisfaction and business impact (Level 1 vs. Level 3)
• What "learning transfer" actually means: application back on the job
• The 12 Levers of Transfer (trainee, training design, and organizational factors)
• How to use a "transfer audit" to find the biggest barriers for that specific program
• Why you shouldn't try to pull all 12 levers at once (perfectionism kills transfer)
• Active learning vs. active practice—and why practice gets cut first
• Designing for constraints: what to do when training time is limited
• Why investing in "before and after" support beats polishing course content
• The "Certificate of Implementation" tactic that drives supervisor support

About Melanie Martinelli

Melanie Martinelli combines her entrepreneurial spirit with her 20 years of experience in L&D to help build memorable & results-based learning experiences. In her role as CEO of the Institute for Transfer Effectiveness and Founder of Going Beyond Training, she applies strong business acumen, rich practical experience across cultures & a deep understanding of what makes learning transfer happen to support her clients in being more strategic in their L&D initiatives.

Find and Connect with Melanie Martinelli

• LinkedIn
• Institute for Transfer Effectiveness
• Book: What Makes Training Really Work

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Introducing the L&D Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Development Blueprint

Want to know how your L&TD team can stop reacting to requests and start operating as a true strategic business partner? The L&D Strategic Business Partner Team Assessment and Development Roadmap shows you exactly where your team is today and provides a clear, practical path to change how you work, build credibility with leaders, and deliver measurable business impact. Learn more and reach out to Jess Almlie to bring this tool to your team.

Your learners don't need another "fun" workshop; they need results. In this episode, Jess and Brian Washburn unpack why engagement alone is a dangerous success metric and how to design for real performance change. Brian introduces his simple four-step facilitation model: Anchor, Content, Application, Future Use, which turns any session into a repeatable, effective learning experience. They explore how to equip SMEs to facilitate (without gimmicks), handle awkward moments like silence or "I don't know," and adapt these principles for virtual and global audiences.

• Why engagement alone doesn't equal effective training
• The four-step facilitation model and how to use it every time
• Moving SMEs from knowledge dumps to true facilitation
• Simple, non-gimmicky activities that prove people "get it"
• Handling silence, tough questions, and tech failures with confidence
• Adapting facilitation for virtual rooms and global cultures

About Brian Washburn

Brian Washburn is an author, a sought-after speaker, and an experienced instructional designer who has been working in the field of learning and development for more than two decades.

Brian's work has been published in TD magazine, the monthly trade magazine for the Association of Talent Development (ATD), and he was named a Top Young Trainer by Training Magazine in 2011. Brian's first book, What's Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training, was published by ATD Press in June 2021. Modeled on the original periodic table of elements, the book explores a wide range of approaches to organizational training needs and new ideas and ways to organize the design of learning programs.

His second book, Instructional Design on a Shoestring, was released in January 2024, and will be provided to each participant in this train-the-trainer program. Brian holds an MA in Organizational Development from Antioch University.

Find and Connect with Brian Washburn

• LinkedIn
• Website: Endurance Learning
• Book: What's Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training
• Book: Instructional Design on a Shoestring

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Additional Links from the Episode

• Gagne's 9 Events of Instruction
• The Bob Pike Group
• Malcolm Knowles Adult Learning Theory
• On Teaching and Learning: Putting the Principles and Practices of Dialogue Education into Action by Jane Vella
• Endurance Learning Training Activity Cookbook
• L&D Must Change Podcast Episode 08 with Kassy Laborie (Online Training That's Better Than In Person)
• Interact and Engage! 75+ Activities for Virtual Training, Meetings, and Webinars by Kassy Laborie and Thomas Stone
• L&D Must Change Podcast Episode 22 with Chris Taylor (Designing and Measuring On Purpose)

AI isn't coming for your L&D job... it's rewriting it. In this episode, Jess and AI-in-L&D veteran Josh Cavalier dig into his provocative "Human Machine Performance Analyst" L&D role, why content creation is still on the table, and how to build the business, data, and learning-science muscles you'll actually need. They unpack the real story behind AI layoffs, the emerging L&D tech ecosystem, and practical, low-risk ways to get your AI learning and practice reps in today.

Jess and Josh Discuss

• Why Josh believes L&D must evolve into "Human Machine Performance Analysts."
• The shift from building courses to orchestrating human AI performance.
• Core skills for L&D to double down on: performance consulting, business acumen, data and analytics, and learning science.
• Which L&D tasks AI will automate.
• What AI-related layoffs are really funding.
• How the AI ecosystem flows from platforms like Microsoft, Google, and Workday down into L&D tools.
• The risks of shadow AI usage and protecting organizational IP.
• Cross-functional AI operations to enable responsible adoption
• Simple, safe ways to start with AI in content creation and get your "AI reps" in.
• Why strategic curiosity, not fear, is L&D's best response to AI.

About Josh Cavalier

Josh Cavalier is on a mission to bridge the gap between Learning & Development professionals and the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence. His own "aha!" moment arrived in late 2022 when an AI generated a remarkably effective educational video script on his prompt, instantly revealing its potential to revolutionize learning. Drawing on 30+ years of experience, including leading Lodestone Digital to radically improve clients' edtech implementations, Josh now guides organizations through the complexities of AI integration.

• LinkedIn
• Website: JoshCavalier.ai
• YouTube Show: Brainpower: Your Weekly AI Training Show
• Book: Applying AI in Learning & Development: From Platforms to Performance

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• L&D Business Acumen Checklist

Tired of L&D busywork that doesn't move the needle? In this episode, Jess and Guus van Deelen dismantle "course factory" thinking and show how to organize L&D for results. They unpack the five L&D "chessboards," shift focus from learning to performance objectives, and set clear roles and decision rights to escape order-taking. You'll hear how to segment stakeholders with RIS (Risk, Importance, Size), apply Lean thinking to clean up operations, and run an annual L&D Cleanup Day (yes, on March 12) to kill zombie offerings and refocus on business value.

Jess and Guus Discuss

• Why learning is a means—not the goal
• The five L&D "chessboards" and choosing must-win areas
• Escaping order-taking with clear roles and decision rights
• Training internal clients to work with L&D
• Replacing learning objectives with performance objectives (or adding both)
• RIS stakeholder segmentation: Risk, Importance, Size
• Lean habits to fix the back-office mess
• Service levels: economy to "royal class" support
• The annual L&D Cleanup Day (March 12): what to stop, start, or sustain
• Using LMS data to kill underused content
• Practical scripts and examples for setting expectations with the business

About Guus van Deelen

Guus van Deelen has held multiple roles in the L&D field, from L&D manager in global multinationals to strategic consultant helping organizations reposition and optimize their L&D departments. He is on a mission to make L&D more "streetwise." designing L&D that truly drives results. Not just delivering more training, but measurable impact on people, performance, and business outcomes. Guus helps L&D teams to create learning strategies, governance models, and talent development frameworks. He is also the author of the book, Organizing L&D for Results.

Find and Connect with Guus van Deelen

• LinkedIn
• Website: guusvandeelen.nl
• Free resources for L&D Pros as mentioned in the episode
• Book: Organizing L&D for Results

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

What if the key to better learning isn't more content, but less? In this episode, Jess Almlie sits down with L&D expert Katrina Kennedy to explore how simplifying learning experiences and building in moments of reflection can transform behavior and performance. They unpack practical ways to focus on what really matters: workplace impact, learner ownership, and giving people the time and space they need to make learning stick.

Jess and Katrina Discuss

• Why simplicity beats sophistication in learning design
• How reflection boosts retention and real behavior change
• The myth that "more content equals more learning"
• Practical ways to add reflection(even in one-hour sessions)
• How to handle stakeholder pushback and focus on outcomes
• Why reflection isn't just looking back. It's preparing to move forward

About Katrina Kennedy

Katrina Kennedy, known as the "trainer's trainer," is a facilitator and speaker with 25+ years in learning and development. She has helped thousands of subject matter experts design and deliver engaging learning experiences in a variety of industries. Her forthcoming book, Learning That Lasts; Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers released on October 21, 2025.

Find and Connect with Katrina Kennedy

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.katrinakennedy.com
• Book: Learning That Lasts: Reflection Activities for Trainers and Designers

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner

Additional Links Mentioned in the Episode

• Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory
• The History of Toothpaste (Wikipedia)

How do learning professionals earn a true voice in the boardroom? In this special episode, recorded live at the Learning Guild's Learning Leadership Conference 2025 in Orlando, Jess Almlie sits down with Dr. Alaina Szlachta and David "DJ3" Jackson to unpack what it really takes to secure influence and credibility in the C-suite. Together, they explore how aligning with organizational metrics, speaking the language of business, and leveraging data-driven storytelling can transform L&D from a service provider into a strategic powerhouse.

Jess, DJ3, and Dr. Alaina discuss

• Why L&D often gets overlooked by executives, and how to change that.
• How to "speak the language" of business leaders to gain trust and influence.
• The importance of identifying your organization's core metric and aligning initiatives around it.
• Using listening tours to understand executive priorities and build credibility.
• The "big three" focus areas for small or solo L&D teams: strategy, governance, and infrastructure.
• How data storytelling can open doors and secure a real voice in the C-suite.
• Practical examples of turning small wins and pilot programs into strategic momentum.

About David Jackson III (DJ3)

David L. Jackson III (DJ3) is currently the Director of Talent Pathways and Learning for HealthPoint CHC. He is also a recognized thought leader in scaling impact for solo and small L&D teams. Some of his areas of specialty include aligning learning with business strategy, optimizing corporate learning ecosystems, and developing strategic learning frameworks. He's is a frequent speaker at industry-leading conferences, where he shares practical, action-oriented strategies to help L&D professionals move from survival to strategic impact. DJ3 is passionate about empowering learning leaders with actionable insights, focusing on helping organizations maximize resources, enhance learning maturity, and drive measurable business outcomes.

About Dr. Alaina Szlachta

Dr. Alaina Szlachta is the founder of By Design Development Solutions, an expert consulting firm specializing in assessment development and data strategy for learning leaders. Drawing on her background as a researcher and public health educator, she partners with learning business owners to integrate data and measurement systems into their daily operations. She is also the author of the ATD Press book, "Measurement and Evaluation on a Shoestring," a resource written to make M&E easier and more accessible for anyone - regardless of their expertise.

Find and Connect with David Jackson III (DJ3)

• LinkedIn
• Website: dj3books.com

Find and Connect with Dr. Alaina Szlachta

• LinkedIn
• Website: dralainaszlachta.com
• Book: Measurement and Evaluation on a Shoestring

Find and Connect with Jess Almlie

• LinkedIn
• Website: www.jessalmlie.com
• Book: Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner
• Subscribe to Jess's Weekly Newsletter: L&D Must Change

Additional Links Related to This Episode

• The Learning Guild
• The Learning Leadership Conference 2026
• Book: Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact by Liz Wiseman