What happens when you let someone interview you on your own podcast and ask what you really think about L&D?

This episode dives into the real truth behind modern L&D, exploring what actually moves performance, what does not, and what most learning teams never say out loud. Listeners will hear how to shift from order taker to strategic partner, why measurement still gets ignored, and how to influence the business by talking the language senior leaders actually use. It is an honest, practical conversation that cuts through the fluff and gets to the heart of what makes L&D valuable.

Kirsty Lewis, award winning founder of School of Facilitation, takes over the microphone and interviews Tom Bailey, ATD award winner and recognised L&D leader. Together they explore the mindset, skills and experiences that shape a high performing people development function, from commercial acumen and internal selling to the influence of AI and the role of real world experiences. For anyone who wants to elevate their L&D impact, this conversation offers grounded insights and fresh thinking without the jargon.

Key Takeaways

1. I realised that the most powerful shift in my career happened when I stopped acting like an employee and started thinking like a consultant.
2. I learned that the vehicle does not matter as much as the outcome, and that measuring real performance is the thing most L&D teams skip.
3. I saw how much better my work became when I stayed connected to the outside world rather than repeating what had always been done.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Welcome to the takeover and setting the tone

[01:00] Why Tom hates being a podcast guest

[02:00] How Tom discovered his real motivation

[03:30] Why business knowledge matters for L&D

[05:15] Sales skills and commercial background shaping L&D success

[07:30] The hidden reality of internal selling in L&D

[09:00] Tom’s biggest soapbox about impact and measurement

[12:30] Why AI will disrupt instructional design

[15:00] The L&D experience that changed Tom’s career

[32:00] Tom’s biggest fails, best lessons and advice for practitioners

[40:00] Final reflections and why the L&D community matters

Links

• Kirsty Lewis on LinkedIn
• School of Facilitation
• Tom Bailey on LinkedIn
• Tom Bailey Website

What if the best learning event you ever ran didn’t have a single slide deck?

In this episode of Rogue L&D, Tom sits down with Kirsty Lewis, founder of School of Facilitation and creator of SoFest, a three-day festival celebrating the art and energy of facilitation.

Kirsty shares how her mission to bring connection back into corporate learning sparked a thriving global community of trainers and facilitators. From her Diageo days designing world-class experiential programs to creating SoFest in a literal field, Kirsty shows how real learning happens when people play, talk, and co-create.

They dive into why L&D professionals are often the most professionally lonely people, how to design sessions that feel alive, and why most conferences still get learning completely wrong. Expect plenty of soapboxes, laughter, and hard truths about the future of facilitation, plus the infamous story of how chewing gum almost derailed her corporate career.

If you’re in learning, leadership, or coaching, this episode will reignite your passion for how we teach, connect, and grow people together.

Key Takeaways

1. Experiential beats instructional: Learning sticks when participants do, not when they’re taught.
2. Community cures professional loneliness: Even L&D pros need people who “get it.”
3. Design is everything: Great workshops start with structure, story, and emotional energy — not slides.

Timestamps

• [00:00:20] Tom welcomes Kirsty and her facilitation obsession.
• [00:01:15] The three parts of School of Facilitation explained.
• [00:02:29] The birth of SoFest — why it had to happen.
• [00:04:40] “I’m not a mushroom!” — Kirsty’s rant on bad L&D events.
• [00:07:22] Designing experiential learning and fighting professional loneliness.
• [00:10:10] Why building community beats working solo in L&D.
• [00:12:12] Kirsty’s best-ever L&D program from her Diageo days.
• [00:25:15] Her proudest career moment — creating global Master Trainers.
• [00:26:24] Biggest fail: chewing gum while hungover in a workshop.
• [00:33:39] Final advice: nurture relationships — they shape your L&D legacy.

Links

• Kirsty Lewis on LinkedIn
• School of Facilitation
• Tom Bailey on LinkedIn
• Tom Bailey Website

Most training fails because it forgets the human at the center.

This episode dives deep into how learning becomes more than just training—it becomes an experience people want to be part of. Vanessa Trower, award-winning learning consultant and industry leader, shares her creative approach to designing programs that connect both to the heart and to business outcomes. From the power of storytelling to the importance of collaboration, her insights reveal how to create initiatives that don’t just tick boxes but truly move the needle.

Along the way, Vanessa opens up about her proudest achievements, including winning L&D Professional of the Year, and even some epic failures—like the time an LMS mishap spammed an entire company. With humor, honesty, and practical wisdom, this conversation will leave you rethinking how learning works, what really matters, and how to design experiences people never forget.

Key Takeaways

• Creating learning that connects to both hearts and business outcomes is what makes programs stick.
• Collaboration and valuing other people’s strengths always lead to stronger results than going solo.
• Even mistakes and failures can become the spark for some of the best learning experiences.

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Timestamps

• [00:00] Introduction & Vanessa’s background
• [01:31] Why she focuses on meaningful learning experiences
• [03:20] What truly fires her up about L&D
• [05:20] Balancing creativity with business impact
• [07:11] Vanessa’s favorite campaign: “Homecoming”
• [11:06] Personal quirks: gestures, cooking, and food
• [13:36] Learning Spanish—and the reality of failure
• [15:55] Proudest career moments & major awards
• [20:47] Her worst L&D experience: the LMS email fiasco
• [29:01] Vanessa’s best advice for anyone starting in L&D

Links

• Vanessa Trower on Linkedin
• Nexperk
• Tom Bailey on LinkedIn
• Tom Bailey Website