What if AI isn’t threatening your job — but exposing how we work?

AI isn’t just another tool rollout, it’s reshaping how people think, work, and relate to their jobs. This episode explores why most AI initiatives struggle, what really drives adoption, and how learning and people teams can lead change without fear, guilt, or burnout. It’s a practical and human conversation about mindset, skills, and designing work that actually supports people.

Drawing on decades of experience across major UK brands and now as a consultant and author, Erica Farmer shares insights from large-scale transformation, neurodivergence, and the realities of running a modern L&D business. As co-founder of Quantum Rise Talent Group and author of AI for People Professionals, she brings a grounded, people-first lens to one of the biggest shifts facing workplaces today.

Key Takeaways

1. I’ve learned that AI adoption fails when we treat it like a system rollout instead of a human shift. Hearts and minds always come before skills and tools.
2. AI isn’t about working faster — it’s about removing mental load so people can do more of what actually matters. That’s the real productivity gain.
3. If L&D doesn’t lead experimentation and mindset change, someone else will. And that’s how the function becomes irrelevant.

Timestamps

• [00:00:00] Introduction & purpose of the podcast
• [00:01:45] Erica’s background and move from corporate to consultancy
• [00:06:10] The realities of running an L&D business
• [00:10:45] AI as more than productivity — the mindset shift
• [00:14:20] The personal “AI dividend” and neurodivergence
• [00:17:30] Why AI adoption fails in organizations
• [00:19:50] Best L&D experience and human-first change design
• [00:27:10] Career failure, neurodivergence, and growth
• [00:33:40] Comic-Con, Marvel, and leadership metaphors
• [00:42:30] Advice for L&D leaders facing AI disruption

Links:

• Erica Farmer on LinkedIn
• Quantum Rise
• Tom Bailey on LinkedIn
• Tom Bailey Website

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