You can buy great content, roll it out properly, and still watch most of your people never touch it. Michelle Hazelton explains why, and the reason is simpler than motivation.

Adam sits down with Michelle Hazelton, former MD of Anders Pink (acquired by Go1) and now content lead at Access Learning, part of the Access Group, to unpack the shift reshaping learning technology: from learning as a place you go to, to support that finds you in the flow of work.

With more than a decade at the sharp end of learning technology, from startups to a 1.2 billion pound software group, Michelle brings a rare both-sides-of-the-table view, having been acquired herself and now helping assess acquisitions.

She breaks down why most L&D tech gets bought the wrong way round, what genuine learning in the flow of work actually looks like, and why even the smartest AI still needs a human in the loop.

What you'll learn:

1. Why you should choose a vendor on your biggest challenges, not their feature list, and the one roadmap question that reveals who is really ahead
2. What "learning in the flow of work" finally looks like in practice, using Access's navigator screen as a live example
3. Why human in the loop stays non-negotiable when AI can confidently produce biased or wrong content
4. How AI agents are taking manual curation off L&D's plate, shown through a real performance-management workflow
5. The career advice Michelle gives anyone entering L&D, starting with a history lesson

🔗 Connect with Michelle

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellehazelton/

📮 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/

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:

1. Why starting from L&D and pitching outward is the wrong direction and how to flip it
2. How to use business metrics and people data to identify where L&D will have real impact
3. Why the manager transition from individual contributor to people leader needs far more support than most organisations give it
4. How to build influence with the C-suite by speaking their language, not yours
5. The 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/

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:

1. Why your mid-level managers are the engine room of your organisation and what a programme that actually develops them looks like in practice
2. How to shift from a cost centre to a performance function and the language change that makes it stick
3. Why psychological safety isn't a course and how to build it incrementally across onboarding, appraisals, policies and everyday culture
4. The "Big Four" stakeholder model and why misreading each group's agenda is where most L&D impact gets lost
5. Where AI is genuinely moving the needle in L&D right now and where the hype is running ahead of the reality
6. Four 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/