The Talent Development Hot Seat podcast - The #1 podcast for Learning and Development (L&D), HR, Career Development, Organizational Development, and Leadership Development professionals

Teddy Droseros joins Andy Storch as a guest on the 382nd episode of the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast. Teddy is the founder of Grateful Peoples and he created a Gratitude Journal that is being used for a few social initiatives. Thousands of kids and schools around the country are starting their day with one of these journals and writing down something they’re grateful for every day. In 2018, Teddy, along with a few local businesses, A’Pizza Regionale, Original Grain, and O Yoga (now Sky Yoga Studios), came up with an idea to raise money through various promotions to donate gratitude journals to all the students at a local elementary school in Syracuse. Today, those journals have amassed tens of thousands of entries, some of which are part of a new book called "Today I Am Grateful For…In this bonus episode, you will hear: Teddy Droseros’ biggest achievement and proudest moment in his career.One of Teddy’s biggest failures and what he learned from that experience.What Teddy sees as the biggest challenge when starting a nonprofit and spreading the message of the mission.Why Teddy sees the trend to give as the biggest trend in the business and nonprofit world.The book Teddy is reading right now that has made an impact to his life.Teddy’s piece of advice to individuals who are seeking more happiness and fulfillment in their livesConnect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Teddy Droseros here:LinkedInFacebookWebsite

Teddy Droseros joins Andy Storch as a guest on the 382nd episode of the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast. Teddy is the founder of Grateful Peoples and he created a Gratitude Journal that is being used for a few social initiatives. Thousands of kids and schools around the country are starting their day with one of these journals and writing down something they’re grateful for every day. In 2018, Teddy, along with a few local businesses, A’Pizza Regionale, Original Grain, and O Yoga (now Sky Yoga Studios), came up with an idea to raise money through various promotions to donate gratitude journals to all the students at a local elementary school in Syracuse. Today, those journals have amassed tens of thousands of entries, some of which are part of a new book called "Today I Am Grateful For…In this episode, you will hear: How the story of Teddy Droseros started and the difficulties he braved prior to the launch of the Gratitude JournalsHow gratitude helped Teddy in coping with what he was going through.The story behind the creation of the Gratitude Journal and leaving them in coffee shops.Some of the life-changing entries Teddy read and the most common things people are grateful for, as mentioned in the journalsWhat Teddy’s next steps were after to further the gratitude journal movement How Grateful Peoples accumulate resources and funding to power the production and operations of the movementConnect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Teddy Droseros here:LinkedInFacebookWebsite

Andy Storch welcomes Jen Collins to the 381st Episode of the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast. Jen is a Learning Strategist, Consultant, Speaker, and Facilitator with a passion for Talent Development. She helps organizations and professionals upskill their teams at scale with Internal Talent Academies and helps them drive engagement by leveraging marketing principles. With 20 years of Marketing and Business Management experience and a concentration in Learning and Development over the past five years, Jen has tackled a variety of Talent Development experiences over my tenure, including but not limited to: leading and supporting skill-specific learning programs, managing culture initiatives and ongoing pulse surveys, creating employee resource groups (ERGs), managing new hire onboarding experiences, and many more. Today, Jen is working as the Senior Director for Client Experience - Academies at Learn In. In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:Jen Collins’ shift from marketing to Learning & Development (L&D) and her experience with working with other professionals.Jen’s proudest moment in her career in the Learning & Development space.Jen’s biggest failure and what she learned from this experience.Why Jen Collins perceives Deep Skill-Building as the biggest challenge in the Talent Development Space.How Jen sees ChatGPT as a trend she’s following in the Talent Development Space.The book that made a big impact on the life of Jen. The tools and platforms that Jen uses lately to make her job more fascinatingJen’s piece of advice to professionals and individuals who are seeking growth and success in their careers

Andy Storch welcomes Jen Collins to the 380th Episode of the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast. Jen is a Learning Strategist, Consultant, Speaker, and Facilitator with a passion for Talent Development. She helps organizations and professionals upskill their teams at scale with Internal Talent Academies and helps them drive engagement by leveraging marketing principles. With 20 years of Marketing and Business Management experience and a concentration in Learning and Development over the past five years, Jen has tackled a variety of Talent Development experiences over her tenure, including but not limited to: leading and supporting skill-specific learning programs, managing culture initiatives and ongoing pulse surveys, creating employee resource groups (ERGs), managing new hire onboarding experiences, and many more. Today, Jen is working as the Senior Director for Client Experience - Academies at Learn In. In this episode, you will hear: Jen Collins’ marketing and entrepreneurial background and her transition to learning and development (L&D)How the goals, principles, and targets of marketing and Learning and Development (L&D) are similar to each otherHow the Learning & Development space can leverage marketing principles to drive more awareness and engagement in L&D ProgramsJen’s experience in facilitating the Own Your Career Program and how it impacted the participants and the stakeholders.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Jen Collins here:LinkedInTwitter

Episode 379 of the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast welcomes Sam Worobec to the stage. Sam has over 15 years of experience in developing talent at scale across various industries. He has a proven track record of creating robust talent pipelines. Furthermore, his expertise ranges from developing talent for world-famous brands to portfolio holding companies, covering industries such as banking, telecommunications, energy, and food service. Growing up with a blue-collar work ethic and a passion for both the arts and business, Sam has found in himself a unique combination of creativity, work ethic, and business savvy. Leveraging technology to enable organizations, upskilling current workforces, training-as-recruiting, and growing future leaders are his specialty. Now, Sam Worobec serves as the Vice President of Learning & Development of Red Ventures.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:Sam Worobec’s biggest career accomplishment.Sam's biggest failure and what he learned from this experience.The biggest challenge in the Talent Development Space as seen by Sam.Why Sam is following the trend of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Talent Development SpaceThe book that gave significant impact on the life of Sam and how it supported him in his journey in transforming cultures.The tools, apps, and software that Sam uses lately to make his job more efficient and more enjoyable. How connecting with the senior leaders of your organization can help drive results and catalyze learning in the workplace.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Sam Worobec here:LinkedInTwitter

Did you miss the Think Tank Conference but still want to be caught up on the trends and learnings that emerged? The topics discussed ranged from building an inclusive culture to leveraging social media to build a personal brand to designing the future of learning . I recap the conference in this episode of the Talent Development Think Tank podcast!Resources:Join the Think Tank Community! Own Your Career Own Your Life Book & Resources Meals in the MeantimeConnect with me: InstagramFacebookTwitterLinkedIn

Episode 378 of the Talent Development Think Tank Podcast welcomes Sam Worobec to the stage. Sam has over 15 years of experience in developing talent at scale across various industries. He has a proven track record of creating robust talent pipelines. Furthermore, his expertise ranges from developing talent for world-famous brands to portfolio holding companies, covering industries such as banking, telecommunications, energy, and food service. Growing up with a blue-collar work ethic and a passion for both the arts and business, Sam has found in himself a unique combination of creativity, work ethic, and business savvy. Leveraging technology to enable organizations, upskilling current workforces, training-as-recruiting, and growing future leaders are his specialty. Now, Sam Worobec serves as the Vice President of Learning & Development of Red Ventures.In this episode, you will hear: Sam Worobec’s explanation of the background of Red Ventures as a portfolio company with several brands across industriesHow Sam demonstrated crisis management as the Head of Learning at Chipotle during the E. Coli crisis in 2016Sam’s advice on how to shift mindsets and culture in the workplaceThe key steps in successfully achieving a cultural transformation in organizationsSome interesting points of discussion for professionals in the talent development spaceConnect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Sam Worobec here:LinkedInTwitter

This week, Andy is joined by Dr. Martha Acosta on The Talent Development Hot Seat. Martha is an internationally regarded expert in safety leadership, working with organizations such as the National Safety Council, Safety Canada, and the National Association for EHS&S Management. She is also a Senior Moderator in Harvard Business School's Corporate Learning division and has been a learning and development consultant supporting governments and global corporations for over a quarter century. She holds leadership positions on nonprofit Boards of Directors.Martha earned a doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and an MBA in Organizational Behavior from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:6. Dr. Martha Acosta’s pride in learning to see herself as a leader and how that changed the trajectory of her career.7. How being an introvert and intellectual caused her difficulty when she began leading teams and what she learned from that experience.8. Why she sees compartmentalization as one of the biggest challenges in talent development, and what she thinks can be done to rectify it.9. The reason she’s excited about the new focus on DEI and its impact on the workplace.10. The book she recommends, Paradoxes of Group Life.11. The surprising tool she recommends ties into leading with curiosity.12. Martha’s advice for people who want to advance their careers.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Dr. Martha Acosta:LinkedInWebsiteParadoxes of Group Life book

This week, Andy is joined by Dr. Martha Acosta on The Talent Development Think Tank Podcast. Martha is an internationally regarded expert in safety leadership, working with organizations such as the National Safety Council, Safety Canada, and the National Association for EHS&S Management. She is also a Senior Moderator in Harvard Business School's Corporate Learning division and has been a learning and development consultant supporting governments and global corporations for over a quarter century. She holds leadership positions on nonprofit Boards of Directors.Martha earned a doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and an MBA in Organizational Behavior from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.In this episode, you’ll hear:Martha’s background in training and development and how she pivoted her career to focus on safety at work.Why culture has a significant impact on safety, and some common challenges organizations face that need to be improved.What psychological safety is and the reason it’s important to have it in a workplace environment.How biases can create hazards and some key ways psychological safety can be created along with a better culture.What talent development professionals can do to influence and create more psychological safety and better cultures organizations.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Dr. Martha Acosta:LinkedInWebsiteParadoxes of Group Life book

On the 374th episode of the Talent Development Hot Seat Podcast, Andy Storch welcomes Jennifer Brown to the stage. Jennifer Brown is a globally recognized DEI thought leader, highly sought-after speaker, award-winning entrepreneur, and best-selling author. She envisions inclusive organizations where all of us can thrive. As someone who has experienced both the advantages of privilege and the sting of stigma, Jennifer is boldly redefining what it means to truly belong—in the workplace, in our families, and in our communities.  She openly shares her powerful and unforgettable true story with audiences to help us challenge our assumptions—about ourselves, about leaders, and others—and take meaningful action today for a more inclusive tomorrow.Jennifer has shared her thought leadership at corporations including Google, The Hartford, Hearst, IBM, Indeed, Intel, KFC Global (Yum! Brands), Liberty Mutual, LinkedIn, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Medtronic, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Prudential, PSEG, Sony, Toyota, and more! She has also spoken at leading research institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, as well as multiple business schools, including William and Mary, Kellogg, Columbia Business School, the Owen GSB at Vanderbilt, and the University of Wisconsin. She currently sits on the Influencer Advisory Board for cultural intelligence consultancy Sparks & Honey, as well as L’Oreal’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board.In this episode, you will hear: How Jennifer Browns got into the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space and the struggles she had encountered as part of the LGBTQ+ community;Her transition from Jennifer’s passion projects to full-fledged work in the DEI space;What it takes to be an inclusive leader;The importance of naming, pronouns, and proper language as part of DEI learning; Jennifer’s best practices and tips to ensure an inclusive L&D.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Talent Development Think Tank ConferenceConnect with Jennifer Brown here:LinkedInWebsiteTwitter