Sparkwise

🚀 Big announcement: Harvard Business Review, in partnership with Sparkwise, has launched a new series of Virtual Group Learning sessions — now available on HBR Store! Now, any team can go beyond reading the cutting-edge insights from HBR and actually practice, discuss, and master core skills like communication, strategic thinking, and leadership. Together, in dynamic small groups. 🧩 Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gW84nTPm

The Army's real secret weapon isn’t what you think… As a 25-year Army veteran, Martha Soehren, PhD knows a thing or two about how the US military transforms diverse individuals into high-performing units. This week, she shared the Army's "Tell Me, Show Me, Let Me" approach to training recruits and soldiers throughout their careers. — Tell Me: It starts with clear instruction, telling learners what they need to do. — Show Me: Then, use demonstrations to show them how it’s done. — Let Me: Practice in realistic scenarios with immediate feedback. The Army uses this formula for everything from equipment maintenance to leadership skills. Learners engage in small-group discussions, dissect case studies, and role-play to ingrain lessons. This equips soldiers with both technical know-how and problem-solving abilities. By emphasizing experiential, iterative learning, the Army molds raw recruits into high-performing teams. Are you using a version of "Tell Me, Show Me, Let Me" in your organization's L&D? Dive deeper with Dr. Martha Soehren in the full episode, out now at https://lnkd.in/g2H8hMuP

This week on Learning Unbound: How to prove L&D's strategic value with Dr. Martha Soehren, PhD, a fellow speaker at #EDTECHWEEK in NYC this October. With more than 40 years of experience spanning the military, telecommunications, and beyond, Dr. Martha Soehren cracked the code on driving and demonstrating L&D’s impact. As the Chief Talent Development Officer at Comcast Cable, Martha led teams of hundreds and pioneered innovative learning strategies. She spent 25 years driving development breakthroughs in the Department of the Army Civilian before founding her own consultancy. In this episode, Martha shares her framework for spotlighting L&D's business impact. Discover how she built trust with C-suite stakeholders, pioneered cutting-edge learning measurement, and equipped her team to become strategic partners. Here’s a breakdown of what the episode covers: - Secrets of Measuring Learning Impact - Earning a Seat at the Executive Table - Influencing as an L&D Strategic Partner - The Army's Unconventional Leadership Tactics - AI's Role in the Future of L&D Don't miss the full episode with Martha. Watch now at https://lnkd.in/g2H8hMuP

If you can't define success, your team can't achieve it. Most leaders have an "unconscious competence"—they intuitively know what good is. The challenge lies in consciously defining it for your team. This requires: 1. Carving out time to reflect on what specific behaviors and outcomes constitute success 2. Translating those insights into clear, concrete guidance your teams can run with Without a concrete definition of success, teams are left rudderless. Jonathan warns this leads to: Frustration: → People inherently want to contribute and succeed in their role. → When the path is unclear, they feel blocked. Turnover: → Lack of clarity breeds disengagement. → If people don't know what they're working towards, they eventually leave. His advice is to make defining and communicating success your top priority. Give your team a clear vision to aim for. — Leaders, how are you ensuring your team knows exactly what they're striving towards? For more insights from Jonathan M K., Founder of GTM AI Academy, catch the full Learning Unbound episode!

What accelerates or hinders someone’s ability to learn? On Learning Unbound this week, Jonathan M K. talked about the "affective filter" hypothesis from language learning, which describes how learners' emotions, attitudes, and feelings can impact their ability to acquire a new language. When the affective filter is high, learners may experience anxiety, lack of motivation, or low self-esteem, which can impede their language acquisition. On the other hand, a low affective filter means that learners feel more relaxed, confident, and motivated, which leads to better language learning and comprehension. This aligns with Google’s research finding that their best teams had a strong sense of psychological safety. As learning leaders, creating spaces where learners are never made to feel silly or stupid as they learn is key to unlocking growth. — What are you doing to build more safety into your learning initiatives?

What are the secrets of great sales enablement, and what L&D lessons can we generalize from them? We’re excited to share our conversation with Jonathan M K., a revenue excellence, enablement, and acceleration executive with more than 15 years of experience helping companies double their revenue. From founding GTM AI Academy to his work as a life coach and his experience building enablement programs at companies large and small, Jonathan understands what drives people to learn and change behaviors. Throughout this talk, he shares practical tips for utilizing AI and transforming learning in your go-to-market organization. He also dives into how leaders can better support their teams' growth and development. Here are some of the key moments from the episode: — Jonathan's journey from sales to enablement — Creating environments that support progress — Breaking down the LOPAFT framework — Most sales training fails to change behavior — Providing space to practice without judgment — Using AI to understand the customer journey — Current landscape of AI enablement solutions Be sure to check out the full episode with Jonathan here: https://lnkd.in/g2H8hMuP

In the era of Google and ChatGPT, knowledge is cheap. Application is power. Information is just seconds away at our fingertips. As Eric Partaker explained on the latest Learning Unbound episode, the game has changed. Access to information is no longer the source of power and success. The real power lies in translating knowledge into action - FAST. So if you're designing learning programs or teaching others, focus on one thing above all else: Make it ultra easy to apply the learnings in the real world. Prioritize practicality and applicability over pure information downloading. — For more wisdom on peak performance and learning, check out the latest Learning Unbound episode featuring Eric Partaker, The CEO Coach: https://lnkd.in/g2H8hMuP

Perfectionism is procrastination in disguise. It keeps us stuck and stressed. On Learning Unbound, Eric Partaker shared how he overcame his own perfectionism by relentlessly applying the 80/20 principle. In case you aren’t familiar — the 80/20 principle says that ~80% of outputs often result from just ~20% of inputs. Eric saw that the 80/20 mindset would combat his perfectionism by forcing him to (1) ruthlessly prioritize which ~20% to focus on and (2) be OK with shipping ~80% outputs. So how did he hold himself accountable for change? He created a supportive system around a simple, sustainable practice: every day, for an entire year, he and one of his friends texted each other one thing they had “80/20’ed” that day. And by doing so, Eric was able to make himself choose progress over perfection and re-wire his perfectionist brain over time. — What's one task you've been overthinking on which you could be more imperfect on today? For more peak performance tips, tune in to Eric's full Learning Unbound episode: https://lnkd.in/g2H8hMuP

What are the secrets to unlocking peak productivity within yourself and your team? What might that reveal about how humans learn and grow? Eric Partaker, named "CEO of the Year" and one of "Britain's Most Disruptive Entrepreneurs", shares his insights on peak performance this week on Learning Unbound. Drawing from his experience coaching Fortune 50 CEOs and helping build multi-billion dollar companies like Skype, Eric reveals practical techniques to help close the gap between your current and best self. Tune in to discover Eric's proven strategies, from taking an 80/20 approach to learning and execution, to building discipline by leaning into challenges. If you're looking to push yourself and be at your highest level, this episode is packed with tips you can try out for yourself immediately. Here are some of the topics we covered: [02:09] Eric's journey into coaching peak performance [12:53] Why application, not just knowledge, is power [13:15] Making concepts stick with simple, practical frameworks [20:18] The shift from consumption to contribution in growth [25:51] Overcoming perfectionism to boost productivity [31:44] Building discipline by embracing resistance [39:49] Keeping things practical and attainable in learning Watch the full interview with Eric Partaker to uncover how to reach your peak, now live at https://lnkd.in/g2H8hMuP

Amazing how actively Blair Mishleau is translating his learning from Sparkwise to tangible impact!