The National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity, established 130 years ago to look after the UK’s nature, beauty and history. Its leaders have diverse areas of focus, from protecting woodland to managing properties – and even running a gold mine! 

In this week’s episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Ross D find out just how the Trust develops these leaders, with Development Specialist Carole Thelwall-Jones. 

We discuss: 

• how a leader needs to think ‘to be’ lists, rather than ‘to do’ lists; 

• how leadership development is structured at the National Trust; 

• how L&D professionals can help new leaders let go of what helped them succeed in the past. 

During the discussion, Carole referenced Leadership: Plain and Simple, by Steve Radcliffe. 

Ross G referenced our ‘Building Better Managers’ report. 

Carole also discussed the 4D instructional design model, and Roffey Park’s report ‘The Expert as Leader’.  

In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Ross D recommended The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%, by Conor Niland. 

Carole discussed Roko’s basilisk and Stephen Fry’s lecture AI: A means to an end or a means to the end? 

Ross G discussed ‘The Illusion of Explanatory Depth’. 

For more on the National Trust, visit their website: nationaltrust.org.uk 

For more from us, visit mindtools.com. There you’ll also find details of our Manager Skill Builder, our on-demand management development program that intelligently adapts to every user.  

Connect with our speakers    

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn: 

• Ross Garner 

• Ross Dickie 

• Carole Thelwall-Jones