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

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy’s guest is Professor Sarah Townsend. This interview is part of a series Andy did for the USC Marshall School of Business Executive Education Program called The Lifelong Learning Series. Sarah Townsend is an associate professor of Management and Organization and interim Assistant Vice Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at USC Marshall School of Business.In this episode, you’ll hear:What Sarah Townsend’s research has revealed about some of the biggest challenges we have in the workplace today surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion.How she defines DEI and why it means more than just doing what is best for the company.Why inclusion is so important for innovation and what it means to have an inclusive company culture.The reason your organization needs to be aware of unconscious bias, how we can help solve the problem as individuals, and how you can recognize it when it occurs.The role leaders play in achieving better diversity, equity, and inclusion in their organizations and what employees in non-leadership roles can do to contribute to DEI in their company culture.What humanistic leadership means, the importance of lifelong learning in the success of business professionals, and why these conversations are so important.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!USC Marshall Executive EducationConnect with Sarah Townsend:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this solo episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is sharing the three pillars that he believes are essential for successful career development and growth in your organization. As the author of the book Own Your Career, Own Your Life, Andy’s work has shifted into the career development space. His book is highly rated on Amazon, and he wants you to know the three pillars you should be focused on as you develop and grow your career.In this episode, you’ll hear:The two biggest factors affecting organizations today and how you can begin to address those in your workplace.Why people are looking for growth and what that can mean for your career.How growth and feeling like your work matters can affect your career trajectory.Andy’s three pillars of successful career development and growth.What implementing these three pillars can do for both your employees and your company.I also mentioned my LinkedIn post about the three pillars of career growth Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Julie Winkle Giulioni’s bookMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Aarti Talwar to the show. Aarti Talwar is a collaborative, adaptive, and passionate talent development professional with 10+ years of experience launching strategic corporate learning initiatives for global employee and manager development. She is the senior program manager for learning and development at Enjoy Technology, which is a technology company that’s reinventing commerce at home by partnering with consumer brands to provide personalized, high-touch retail experiences at home.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:6. Aarti Talwar’s biggest career accomplishment and why it stands out.7. Her biggest failure and the lesson she learned from that misstep.8. The biggest challenge she sees in talent development right now and how it could be addressed.9. A trend she’s following in talent development and why it has her attention.10. Why Brene Brown is an author she continues to recommend.11. How retaining your curiosity can help accelerate your career.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Aarti Talwar:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes guest Aarti Talwar to the show. Aarti Talwar is a collaborative, adaptive, and passionate talent development professional with 10+ years of experience launching strategic corporate learning initiatives for global employee and manager development. She is the senior program manager for learning and development at Enjoy Technology, which is a technology company that’s reinventing commerce at home by partnering with consumer brands to provide personalized, high-touch retail experiences at home.In this episode, you’ll hear:Aarti Talwar’s background as an instructional designer and content writer and how she eventually pivoted into talent development.Some questions you should be asking in your organization when it comes to technology and why having one system in place for all of your learning and development needs is so beneficial.What lessons were learned through implementing the new system at her company and the lessons she learned through this process.How you can get stakeholders involved early on and get their buy-in when your organization is getting ready to implement a new system and what you need to know as you enter this process.Why talent mobility is important to your organization and what you can do to help your people find their best fit within your company.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Aarti Talwar:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy’s guest is Jen Long. She is a certified master coach and the CEO of Management Possible, a leadership development company providing coaching for leaders and managers across various disciplines. For nearly four decades, she’s worked with leaders of every strip--from newly minted managers to the seasoned vets of the C-suite.Jen Long is big on personal accountability, and she pushes the leaders she works with to be great and accountable for their actions. As a certified master coach and master trainer, she’s helped countless leaders master essential skills, earn the respect of their employees, and perform at a higher level. The methodology behind Management Possible elevates the idea that conversation and relationships are the prime movers of impact and culture. Jen Long is also the author of the new book Own Up! How to Hold People Accountable Without All the Drama and co-host of the podcast Organization Transformation Kung Fu.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:7. Why Jen Long became an entrepreneur instead of developing her content for a company.8. One of her biggest career accomplishments and why that moment stands out.9. What changed in corporate culture to make coaching more acceptable within organizations.10. The career mistake that stands out the most for her.11. What she sees as one of the biggest challenges in talent development right now.12. The trend she’s paying attention to and why it stands out.13. Why she recommends reading Conversational Intelligence by Judith E. Glaser.14. Jen Long’s career advice for people who want to accelerate their careers.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Jen Long:WebsiteLinkedInOwn Up! bookOrganizational Transformation Kung Fu podcastMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy’s guest is Jen Long. She is a certified master coach and the CEO of Management Possible, a leadership development company providing coaching for leaders and managers across various disciplines. For nearly four decades, she’s worked with leaders of every strip--from newly minted managers to the seasoned vets of the C-suite.Jen Long is big on personal accountability, and she pushes the leaders she works with to be great and accountable for their actions. As a certified master coach and master trainer, she’s helped countless leaders master essential skills, earn the respect of their employees, and perform at a higher level. The methodology behind Management Possible elevates the idea that conversation and relationships are the prime movers of impact and culture. Jen Long is also the author of the new book Own Up! How to Hold People Accountable Without All the Drama and co-host of the podcast Organization Transformation Kung Fu.In this episode, you’ll hear:Her background in theater and communications, how that led to a new career in learning and development, and why her theater background has been so helpful to her career.How Jen Long defines accountability, what it really is, and why it’s not what you think.Why taking ownership gives you power and how you can use that to keep moving forward in your career and your relationships.The reason accountability ties in with a growth mindset and why your results are so much better when your relationships are intact.How taking ownership and setting expectations can improve the way your team and your personal relationships operate.What you can do to help the managers in your organization to become better leaders, communicators, and use communication and accountability to get more from your people.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Jen Long:WebsiteLinkedInOwn Up! bookOrganizational Transformation Kung Fu podcastMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Will Mahon to the show. He is a self-described training nerd, people developer, and a happy human. Will Mahon’s passion is in helping people unlock their personal and professional potential. He’s worked in L&D for more than 15 years and has a background in the retail and technology industries., working with companies like Clarks Footwear and Draft Kings. Will Mahon is currently the senior training manager at Index Exchange, an ad tech company that works with publishers and media companies to monetize the internet.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:7. Will Mahon’s proudest career accomplishment and why it stands out to him.8. His biggest career mistake and what he learned from that experience.9. What he views as the biggest challenge in talent development today.10. The biggest trend Will Mahon is following and why gamification could change learning and development.11. Why he recommends reading The Top Five Regrets of the Dying and his takeaways from this book.12. The resources he uses for his job and highly recommends.13. Will Mahon’s advice for accelerating your own career.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Will Mahon:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Will Mahon to the show. He is a self-described training nerd, people developer, and a happy human. Will Mahon’s passion is in helping people unlock their personal and professional potential. He’s worked in L&D for more than 15 years and has a background in the retail and technology industries., working with companies like Clarks Footwear and Draft Kings. Will Mahon is currently the senior training manager at Index Exchange, an ad tech company that works with publishers and media companies to monetize the internet.In this episode, you’ll hear:How Will Mahon landed a career in learning and development and why this particular path was a great fit for him.His philosophy surrounding motivation and why it’s different than employee engagement.How to discover what motivates people in your organization and why employee engagement is so low.What leadership can do to discover what motivates their employees and the 7 types of motivation based on the framework developed by German philosopher Eduard Spranger.Will Mahon’s recommendations for discovering what motivates your employees and the systems you can put into place to make this process easier.The ROI your organization can get from having truly motivated employees.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Will Mahon:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Liz Heathwood to the show. She is a talent and HR expert and a global people strategy lead at EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, the global professional services firm. Liz is based in Brisbane, Australia, and leads strategic talent projects for the strategy and transaction service line of EY. She’s an expert in talent strategy, talent development, learning and development, transformation and change, as well as talent and change management. More recently, Liz Heathwood’s role straddles both talent and learning and development, working with the business to design, deploy, and then manage the global communications around new talent and learning initiatives.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:7. Liz Heathwood’s proudest career accomplishment thus far.8. Her biggest career failure and what she learned from that experience.9. The biggest challenge she sees facing talent development today and how it can be addressed.10. Her favorite HR podcasts for continuous learning and the influencers she pays attention to.11. Liz Heathwood’s one piece of advice for advancing your career.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Liz Heathwood:LinkedIn“Stay” Conversations LinkedIn PostInstagramMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Liz Heathwood to the show. She is a talent and HR expert and a global people strategy lead at EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, the global professional services firm. Liz is based in Brisbane, Australia, and leads strategic talent projects for the strategy and transaction service line of EY. She’s an expert in talent strategy, talent development, learning and development, transformation and change, as well as talent and change management. More recently, Liz Heathwood’s role straddles both talent and learning and development, working with the business to design, deploy, and then manage the global communications around new talent and learning initiatives.In this episode, you’ll hear:How Liz Heathwood’s career began as a teacher, eventually shifted into human resources, and why it works so well for her family life.What “stay” interviews for leaders are and how they’re affecting career development and upscaling within the company.Why “stay” conversations need to feel like a safe space and remain anonymous so that employees can feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.The reason even the most senior leaders need to feel they have a career path and a purpose.Some of the outcomes that can come from having these conversations and what they can do to improve your organization.How Liz Heathwood works to keep top employees engaged at the company in other ways.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Liz Heathwood:LinkedIn“Stay” Conversations LinkedIn PostInstagramMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference https://tdtt.us/conference/