

The Talent Development Hot Seat podcast - The #1 podcast for Learning and Development (L&D), HR, Career Development, Organizational Development, and Leadership Development professionals
Andy Storch
The Talent Development Hot Seat podcast is a show dedicated to helping you develop the most important part of your organization – the people! Each week, Andy shares interviews with Talent Development professionals, thought leaders, and experts to share best practices, learn about the latest trends and find out what has been successful in the world of talent development. This podcast and community are designed to enable you to be successful in the world of Talent Development. If you work in Learning and Development (L&D) this is the podcast for you
Be sure to check out our website and join our membership community to learn more and connect with other exceptional talent development professionals.
http://www.talentdevelopmenthotseat.com/
Be sure to check out our website and join our membership community to learn more and connect with other exceptional talent development professionals.
http://www.talentdevelopmenthotseat.com/
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 8, 2022 • 33min
Promotions Are So Yesterday with Julie Winkle Giulioni
In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy welcomes Julie Winkle Giulioni. Julie just released a new book called Promotions Are So Yesterday: Redefine Career Development. Help Employees Thrive. She shares the research she did for this book and what she discovered about what people want in their careers.Julie Winkle Giulioni is also the co-author of the book Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want with Beverly Kaye. She is also a thought leader, a learning designer, an author, and a speaker. She operates on the belief that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential, and she works with organizations and leaders who want to make that happen.In this episode, you’ll hear:The background of Julie Winkle Giulioni’s new book and why we should be thinking about this new way of working.How you can find other ways to grow and find fulfillment outside of the promotion mindset and the challenges you may face in changing this mindset.Her multidimensional career framework and the different ways to continue career growth and help retain employees.Julie Winkle Giulioni’s advice for creating a fulfilling career as an employee and what leaders can do to assist their employees with more contribution or fulfillment.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Julie Winkle Guilioni:WebsiteLinkedInPromotions Are So YesterdayMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Mar 3, 2022 • 9min
Bonus Q&A with Amanda Parola
In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is speaking with Amanda Parola. Amanda is the Lead Learning Strategist for Customer Learning at Side--a tech real estate brokerage. She is a member of the Talent Development Think Tank community, and today, she’s sharing what she’s doing with Agile Project Management and L&D.In this bonus episode, you’ll hear:Bonus Content6. Amanda Parola’s proudest career moment and her biggest failure.7. The biggest challenge she sees in the talent development space today and the trend she’s following right now.8. Her recommended reading list and why they’re such valuable books.9. Amanda Parola’s advice for advancing your career.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Amanda Parola:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Mar 1, 2022 • 29min
Agile Project Management in L&D with Amanda Parola
In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy is speaking with Amanda Parola. Amanda is the Lead Learning Strategist for Customer Learning at Side--a tech real estate brokerage. She is a member of the Talent Development Think Tank community, and today, she’s sharing what she’s doing with Agile Project Management and L&D.In this episode, you’ll hear:Amanda Parola’s role at Side in Customer Learning and how she’s building effective training sessions for their clientele.What Agile Project Management is and why it’s such a beneficial project management process.How Side’s Agile process along with the use of Jira has helped their team keep their projects on track.What Amanda Parola’s team does to remain focused during sprints and not get distracted by other things going on around them.Her advice for other teams that want to use a similar process for project management and the resources she recommends to learn more about it.Connect with Andy Storch here:WebsiteLinkedInJoin us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!Connect with Amanda Parola:LinkedInMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 24, 2022 • 14min
Bonus Q&A with Jennifer Dulski
In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy welcomes Jennifer Dulski to the show. She is the CEO and founder of Rising Team, a SaaS company that has leaders develop more connected and successful teams by equipping them with tools to run plug-and-play team-building workshops on key leadership concepts.Jennifer Dulski has been leading teams for more than 20 years as an executive at both big tech startups and scaling startups, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Change.org. Her lifelong passion is centered around empowering people to reach their full potential. In addition to her role at Rising Team, she currently teaches management at Stanford Graduate School of Business, serves on several boards, and writes about leadership and the future of work as a LinkedIn influence. Her first book, Purposeful, about how each of us can be movement starters is a Wall Street Journal bestseller.In this bonus interview, you’ll hear:7. Jennifer Dulski’s biggest career accomplishment and why she’s so proud of it.8. Why she tries to view her failures as lessons and spins them into something to build upon.9. One of her biggest failures that stands out and how that impacted the work she’s doing today.10. What she sees as one of the biggest challenges in talent development today.11. The trend that she finds so interesting at the moment.12. Her favorite business book and why she believes you need to read it.13. The advice Jennifer Dulski would give to anyone looking to advance their career.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Jennifer Dulski:linkedin.com/in/jdulskirisingteam.comMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 22, 2022 • 33min
How to Retain Talent During the Great Resignation with Jennifer Dulski
In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy welcomes Jennifer Dulski to the show. She is the CEO and founder of Rising Team, a SaaS company that has leaders develop more connected and successful teams by equipping them with tools to run plug-and-play team-building workshops on key leadership concepts.Jennifer Dulski has been leading teams for more than 20 years as an executive at both big tech startups and scaling startups, including Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Change.org. Her lifelong passion is centered around empowering people to reach their full potential. In addition to her role at Rising Team, she currently teaches management at Stanford Graduate School of Business, serves on several boards, and writes about leadership and the future of work as a LinkedIn influence. Her first book, Purposeful, about how each of us can be movement starters is a Wall Street Journal bestseller.In this interview, you’ll hear:Jennifer Dulski’s background in tech and what she learned from some very powerful companies about forming powerful teams.Why she believes personality assessments and work and learning styles can be an important piece of building a successful team.The core issues she sees with the Great Resignation and how employers may be underestimating the things that employees really care about.What employees really care about and how you can begin to incorporate those values within your team.How you can address problems with leadership in order to give people opportunities and a reason to stay at their current job.Jennifer Dulski’s advice for managers who want to retain team members during the Great Resignation.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Jennifer Dulski:linkedin.com/in/jdulskirisingteam.comMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 15, 2022 • 37min
Mastering Virtual Meetings and Communication with Lauren Sergy
n this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy welcomes guest Lauren Sergy. She is an expert on mastering virtual meetings and communication, helping people and companies across many different industries in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. She’s worked with companies like KPMG, Cargill, Grant Thornton, T-Mobile, and more. Lauren is also the author of the book The Handy Communication Answer Book, which was featured on the Library Journal’s Best Books of 2017. Her latest book is called UNMUTE!: How to Master Virtual Meetings and Reclaim Your Sanity. In this interview, you’ll hear:What Lauren Sergy is observing in virtual communication as she works with different companies and people.How you can combat Zoom fatigue and why people are experiencing it.Where communication is broken in the workplace and what we can do to address it in our organizations.What the impetus was for her latest book and why she’s so passionate about the topic of virtual meetings.Lauren Sergy’s recommendations for maintaining your sanity if you’re in a lot of Zoom meetings every day.Some steps you can take to become more comfortable with public speaking in a virtual environment.Why you need to master virtual communication skills and how it can create opportunities for connection.Lauren Sergy’s advice for using virtual communication to advance your career.Why being able to speak is the single best way to advance your career.What owning your career means and how you can take charge of yours.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Lauren Sergy:linkedin.com/in/laurensergylaurensergy.comyoutube.com/c/LaurenSergy1Mentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 10, 2022 • 14min
Bonus Q&A with Erin Killingsworth-Walker and Mackenzie Saunders
In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy’s guests are Erin Killingsworth-Walker and Mackenzie Saunders. Erin is Mackenzie’s manager and is a senior manager of learning and development at OppFi. OppFi is a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help the everyday consumer gain access to credit. The company just recently went public.Mackenzie is a learning and development lead at OppFi. As a member of the Talent Development Think Tank community, Mackenzie made an impression on her fellow members, who recommended Andy interview her for the podcast.In this bonus interview, you’ll hear:Erin and Mackenzie's greatest career accomplishments and why they’re proud of those achievements.Their biggest career mistakes and what they learned from those failures.The challenges they’re facing in talent development right now.The trends Mackenzie and Erin are excited about in talent development.Erin’s most recommended book for people looking to advance their careers.Mackenzie’s favorite books for career development.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Erin Killingsworth-Walker:linkedin.com/in/erinkillingsworthwalkerConnect with Mackenzie Saunders:linkedin.com/in/mackenziesaundersMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 8, 2022 • 42min
Designing an Effective Emerging Leaders Program at OppFi with Erin Killingsworth-Walker and Mackenzie Saunders
In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy’s guests are Erin Killingsworth-Walker and Mackenzie Saunders. Erin is Mackenzie’s manager and is a senior manager of learning and development at OppFi. OppFi is a leading financial technology platform that powers banks to help the everyday consumer gain access to credit. The company just recently went public.Mackenzie is a learning and development lead at OppFi. As a member of the Talent Development Think Tank community, Mackenzie made an impression on her fellow members, who recommended Andy interview her for the podcast.In this interview, you’ll hear:What it’s been like to work for a company that is transitioning from public to private and how that’s created opportunities for growth and development.Erin Killingsworth-Walker’s career background, how she landed at OppFi, and why she’s excited about working on the full life cycle of employees and creating innovative programs and experiences.What Mackenzie Saunders is currently focused on and how she got started at OppFi.Erin’s perspective on OppFi’s approach to talent development right now.Why Mackenzie thinks getting clear about expectations on the employee and leadership level helped people have clarity about what they’re supposed to deliver on.How you can cultivate a feedback culture in your organization and how that can help your employees guide their own careers.The reason OppFi developed an emerging leaders program called Leadership 101 based on foundational leadership skills and how it’s changing their workplace.Why Mackenzie saw a need for the Leadership 101 program and what led to her designing it for OppFi. How OppFi addresses the gaps needed in leadership development and Mackenzie’s advice for anyone starting a new leadership development program.Defining the gaps that can occur in leadership development and Erin’s method for beginning to fill in those gaps.The four main components of OppFi’s learning journey and what’s working well for them.The three areas they’re focusing on in 2022 on the learning journey at OppFi.Who their leadership opportunities are open to and how DEI is woven into everything they do at the organization.What practicing leadership skills can look like and Mackenzie’s role in helping employees practice those skills.How they measure results and impact and take that back to their leadership team for evaluation.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Erin Killingsworth-Walker:linkedin.com/in/erinkillingsworthwalkerConnect with Mackenzie Saunders:linkedin.com/in/mackenziesaundersMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 3, 2022 • 13min
Bonus Q&A with Vivian Blade
In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Vivian Blade is Andy’s guest. Vivian is a sought-after leadership expert and thought leader. She works with the world’s top brands, equipping leaders to build better, more resilient workplaces equipped to thrive in spite of insurmountable odds. She helps companies solve the pressing burnout, turnover, and workplace culture challenges. Vivian Blade is the author of three books, including Resilience Ready: The Leader’s Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises, FuelForward: Discover Proven Practices to Fuel Your Career Forward, and her most recent book, Influence in Talent Development, which unpacks how to scale this essential skill for greater impact.In this bonus interview, you’ll hear:12. Vivian Blade’s proudest career accomplishment and why it stands out to her.13. One of her biggest career mistakes and what she learned from that experience.14. What she sees as the biggest challenge in talent development today.15. The trend she’s following and why it’s so exciting.16. The books she recommends reading and why she finds them so enlightening.17. Her advice for accelerating your career success.Mentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/

Feb 1, 2022 • 36min
Influencing in Talent Development with Vivian Blade
In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Vivian Blade is Andy’s guest. Vivian Blade is a sought-after leadership expert and thought leader. She works with the world’s top brands, equipping leaders to build better, more resilient workplaces equipped to thrive in spite of insurmountable odds. She helps companies solve the pressing burnout, turnover, and workplace culture challenges. Vivian Blade is the author of three books, including Resilience Ready: The Leader’s Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises, FuelForward: Discover Proven Practices to Fuel Your Career Forward, and her most recent book, Influence in Talent Development, which unpacks how to scale this essential skill for greater impact.In this interview, you’ll hear:Vivian Blade’s background in the corporate world and how she moved into the talent development space.Why she wrote her latest book and who this book can help.What the FuelForward model is, how it’s used, and the three fundamental accelerators you should know about to advance your career.The things you should be thinking about in order to fuel forward in your career.How social capital impacts your ability to influence.The role Vivian Blade says courage and authenticity can play in becoming influential in your organization.Why having vulnerability and empathy can help you come to an understanding of others’ opinions and ideas.The difference between being an influencer and being influential and how each one is used.The advice Vivian Blade would give to people who are struggling with job uncertainty right now.The five principles of resilience and how to apply them to your situation.Her final piece of advice for becoming more successful and influential in your organization.Connect with Andy Storch here:andystorch.comlinkedin.com/in/andystorchtdtt.us/Connect with Vivian Blade:linkedin.com/in/vivianbladevivianblade.comvivian@vivianblade.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Vivian-Blade/e/B010GMH7CKMentioned in this episode:Think Tank conferenceGet your tickets now for the Talent Development Think Tank Conference
https://tdtt.us/conference/