Google Ad #1 - desktop - 728x90

Google Ad #3 - desktop - 728x90

Google Ad #1 - mobile - 300x200

Google Ad #3 - mobile - 300x200

ATD_Half_Page

Googel Ad #1 - Side Bar - Content pages

ATD Footer Logo

Neal Whitten

Boosting your own performance

Bruno Neal is a scholar and a learning and development authority. He has written dozens of articles on learning and development, two Infoline__™ issues on Informal Learning and Quality in Learning and Development, and one TD at Work™ on Learning and Development in Healthcare. He is a Certified Professional of Learning and Performance (CPLP), and currently works as an L&D leader for Indiana University Health. He has been appointed to the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, a judge of the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Association for Talent Development (ATD) BEST Award, and Chair of the award committee since 2014. Neal was awarded with the highly esteemed American Society of Training & Development BEST Award in 2009, and part of the team awarded with the same achievement in 2011. He also was awarded with the Champion of Learning Award Certification for his contribution to learning and professional development in 2011. In 2015, Neal received the Global Training & Development Leadership Award at the World Training & Development Congress in Mumbai (India) for his contributions to the international learning and development community.Neal also serves as contributor for ATD’s T+D Magazine. In addition, he has spoken at ATD International Conference & Exposition, local chapters of ATD across the United States, Cancer Treatment of America, Training Magazine conference, the Training and Education chapter of the National Association of Electric Distributors (NAED), Medical Users Software Exchange (MUSE), and ATD’s Learn from the BEST conferences.

Bruno Neal

Joel Gendelman knows firsthand what it takes to become a consultant, and takes pride in saying that he has made every mistake mentioned in this book. His lighthearted, conversational style makes the learning process enjoyable as he shares his 25 years of consulting experience and knowledge. As president and founder of Future Technologies, Gendelman has developed activity-rich corporate presentations and communications for Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Nissan, Lucent Technologies, and Genentech. He has also conducted workshops and provided on-site and virtual consulting for Kaiser Permanente, Wells Fargo Bank, Exxon, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. Gendelman holds a master's degree and doctorate in educational technology, and has written four books and numerous articles. He has won several awards and is a frequent speaker at international conferences and corporate events. Currently he resides near Denver.

Joel Gendelman

With more than 18 years of experience working in workforce development, career development, total quality management, information systems, and high technology, Theresa Seagraves became a recognized leader at Hewlett-Packard for creating innovative, world-class data and people-development systems.   In 2001, Theresa established her own consulting company, Theresa L. Seagraves & Associates (TLSA). Theresa works full time consulting with clients on ROI evaluations, conducting ROI studies, and coaching organizations and individuals in aligning and communicating their financial value.  Theresa has filed for a U.S. patent for software that tracks ROI, penetration, sustainability, and best practices gained from workplace learning and performance initiatives.           Theresa has written newsletters on personal success as well as case studies on ROI and creation of training scorecards.  Theresa lives near Denver, Colorado. She is married to her high school sweet- heart. They have two wonderful children. In her spare time, she attends her daughter’s marching band competitions, her son’s baseball and basketball games, takes classes in her community, keeps up with extended family, and finds ways to bring laughter to each day.   Theresa may be contacted at tseagraves@drive-roi.com. Her website is www.drive-roi.com.

Theresa Seagraves

In the words of one client, “Liz Weber will help you see opportunities you never knew existed.”A sought-after consultant, speaker, and trainer, Liz is known for her candor and her ability to make the complexities of leadership E.A.S.Y. She creates clarity for her audiences during her results-oriented presentations. Participants walk away from her sessions knowing how to implement the ideas she’s shared not just once, but repeatedly to ensure continuous leadership growth and development.As the president of Weber Business Services, a management consulting, training, and speaking firm headquartered near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Liz provides strategic and succession planning, executive coaching, and comprehensive leadership training programs to business owners, leaders, executive teams, and boards of directors.Liz is one of fewer than 100 people in the United States to hold both the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and Certified Management Consultant (CMC) designations, the highest earned designations in two different professions. She also holds an MBA in international business, is an experienced board member, and served as a national board director and three-time Strategic Planning Committee chair for the National Speakers Association.Liz has supervised business activities in 129 countries and has consulted in more than 20 countries. She has designed and facilitated conferences from Bangkok to Bonn and Tokyo to Tunis. Liz has taught for the Johns Hopkins University’s Graduate School of Continuing Studies, as well as the Georgetown University’s Senior Executive Leadership Program.Liz has written nine leadership books, including Something Needs to Change Around Here—The Five Stages to Leveraging Your Leadership, Stop So You Can Get the Results You Want!, and Don’t Let ‘Em Treat You Like A Girl—A Woman’s Guide to Leadership Success. She also authored a four-book series, What Business Owners Need to Stop Doing, What Managers Need to Stop Doing, What HR Professionals Need to Stop Doing, and What Women in Leadership Need to Stop Doing.In addition to her monthly Manager’s Corner articles, Liz shares her leadership insights on various social media outlets daily.

Liz Weber

Grow Your Self-Awareness, Reinvent Your Value There’s a moment of hesitation surfacing today in organizations. Executives want middle managers to operate more cross-functionally so they can scale performance. Middle managers are waiting for permission from executives to activate their leadership voice and create more value. Written by leadership expert and coach Dan Gallagher, The Self-Aware Leader sharpens the self-awareness of middle managers to drive productivity and career growth.Gallagher presents a model that emerging leaders, middle managers, and senior executives can use as a catalyst to grow their leadership value. Based on empirical research and more than two decades of use, the model fully integrates a deep focus on self-awareness and reinvention with the practices of servant leadership and business transformation.This second edition includes additional thought exercises, new research on the Self-Aware Leader model and Generosity Quotient, and real examples of how increased self-awareness grows a leader’s value.

The Self-Aware Leader, 2nd Edition

When senior leaders confront a turning point—whether it’s launching a new strategy, navigating disruption, or aligning a global workforce—they often realize that they need new knowledge and skills to get them there. But it doesn’t take long to recognize that acquiring what they need will take more than conventional training. Increasingly, they’re turning to executive education programs designed specifically for their organization’s needs.“These aren’t academic exercises,” says Wharton Professor Peter Fader. “Organizations come to us when they’re trying to solve real problems. They want insight, but they also want traction.”Fader has worked extensively with custom programs developed for senior leaders across industries. These initiatives address challenges that go far beyond any one sector—strategic clarity, customer centricity, data fluency, and leadership alignment.From Reactive to StrategicMany organizations approach Wharton at moments of inflection. They may be reacting to external pressures—like new technologies, shifting customer behavior, or competitive threats—or trying to get ahead of them by sharpening their strategy.According to Fader, this often involves helping leaders move away from defining their value in contrast to competitors and toward a clearer articulation of their own strengths. “There’s a mindset shift happening,” he says. “Leaders are asking: What do we stand for? Who do we serve best? And how do we grow from that?”Nearly every sector is asking similar questions. From manufacturing to financial services, leaders want to use data not just to track performance, but to guide priorities and drive growth. These themes—customer lifetime value, segmentation, and decision science—frequently show up in Wharton’s custom programs.Breaking Silos and Building AlignmentAnother reason organizations pursue custom learning: the need to unify teams across silos, business units, or regions. Whether it’s a multinational seeking consistency across markets or a fast-growing firm trying to scale its culture, many companies use executive education as a vehicle to foster alignment.This kind of learning works best when participants aren’t just absorbing information but engaging with peers across the organization. “That’s when you see breakthroughs,” Fader explains. “People realize the challenges they’re facing aren’t isolated. They start sharing ideas, spotting patterns, and thinking collectively.”One simulation-based program Fader leads includes high-pressure, decision-making exercises that require real-time data analysis and teamwork. Participants report that this immersive format strengthens collaboration and sparks actionable insight. “We weren’t just learning,” said one executive participant. “We were testing ideas, applying frameworks, and having real conversations about how to bring them back.”Driving Accountability and ActionWharton’s approach goes beyond content delivery. Custom programs are designed with application and accountability in mind—from action planning exercises to post-program deliverables shared with senior stakeholders.“People need to leave with more than a notebook full of insights,” says Fader. “They need a roadmap—and ideally, a structure that helps them follow through.”That might include written reflections capturing key insights and next steps, structured peer feedback, or periodic check-ins. These tools don’t just reinforce learning—they build momentum.Learning That Keeps Up With ChangeAcross industries, the challenges may vary, but the pattern is consistent: Leaders want education that matches the speed and complexity of their environment. That’s where tailored executive learning shines. It creates space for exploration, connection, and experimentation—without losing sight of practical impact.“We’re not just here to teach,” Fader says. “We’re co-creating something that meets the moment.”Whether it’s a Fortune 500 company, an industry association, a fast-growing startup, or a global nonprofit, more organizations are recognizing that transformation doesn’t happen through generic content. It comes from learning that’s built for purpose—and designed to scale.

Why More Organizations Are Turning to Custom Executive Education

Why active learning isn’t optional anymore.You’ve put in the hours. The slide decks are polished, the training sessions are scheduled—and yet, a week later, nearly all of your content is forgotten. It’s not your employees’ fault. It’s a well-known phenomenon. Passive learning doesn’t stick. Active learning is your remedy. Research shows it boosts retention, shortens time to proficiency, and increases training ROI. But there’s a catch: designing active learning experiences is very time-consuming. According to ATD and Chapman Alliance benchmarks, it can take 40–80 hours just to build the interactive components of a single hour of e-learning. Add in instructional design, content development, media production, testing, and project management, and the total climbs to 150–300 hours per hour of training.That kind of time investment doesn’t scale, forcing you to compromise learning outcomes in order to keep pace with the demands of the business. But by rethinking how you design, deliver, and scale training—without starting from scratch—it becomes much more manageable. Here are five practical strategies to help you get started.Figure: Impact of Active Learning Online1. Repurpose and modularize what you already haveMost L&D teams are sitting on a treasure trove of great content: recorded webinars, internal presentations, live online trainings, written articles. There’s nothing wrong with the content per se, it’s just delivered in a way that isn’t easily retained. So don’t start from scratch. Start by identifying what can be reused.Then, break content into short, standalone modules. Microlearning not only accelerates production and personalization, but it also fits better into the real flow of work.Try this:Audit your existing content library (videos, decks, job aids).Cut long videos into short clips organized by task or goal.Add light interaction: “pause and reflect” prompts, checklists, decision points, or scenario-based questions.2. Add just enough interaction, strategicallyYou don’t need a full gamified simulation to make training active. The best interactions are the ones that match the moment: a poll at a decision point, a prompt that asks for real-world application of a concept, or a quick quiz that checks understanding.Try this:Identify natural “decision moments” in your training content.Add interaction where a learner would benefit from reflection or practice.Keep it lightweight by focusing on meaningful over flashy.3. Let AI do the heavy liftingOne of the fastest wins for L&D teams is offloading the manual, time-consuming parts of course creation. AI-powered tools like Engageli Studio can instantly add interactivity to uploaded videos, streamlining the process of creating active training content. The platform auto-chunks video into lessons, inserts quizzes and activities, and gives insight into engagement and completion, all with just a few clicks.Try this:Identify high-use but low-interactivity content to pilot with AI tools.Use AI to generate the first draft, then fine-tune to match your learning goals.Focus your team’s time on design, feedback, and strategic alignment.4. Let your learners create the contentEmpower your employees to create bite-sized, peer-to-peer training. It’s authentic, scalable, and often more relevant than top-down content.Launch a simple challenge, like “Show Us How You Do It”, where employees share how they solve real problems they encounter in their role. Then, curate and lightly enhance the best clips into an internal learning library.Try this:Ask a few power users or top performers to create a 5-minute “how-to” recording.Use AI tools to add structure and interaction to those clips.Organize by workflow (for example, “Closing a Deal,” “Handling Difficult Customers,” and the like).5. Use data to iterate instead of guessLooking for a faster, more targeted way to improve your training content? Start with data. Instead of relying solely on anecdotal input, track key signals like drop-off points, quiz scores, and replay rates to improve content over time.Try this:Define 1–2 measurable outcomes per course (such as completion, application on the job, quiz scores).Use platform data to identify friction points or content gaps.Adjust content monthly (not annually) to keep learning fresh and relevant.Training That Has an ImpactIn corporate L&D, the goal is to help people do better work and build skills they can actually use. Active learning is one of the most effective ways to get there. And with smart strategies and the right AI tools in your corner, it can be scalable too.Even in high-pressure environments, small changes in how we design and deliver training can lead to real, measurable impact. Now’s the time to experiment, test new strategies, and find what works best for your learners.Explore the instructional design process from start to finish in ATD's Instructional Design Certificate. 

Build Better Training, Faster: 5 Active Learning Strategies That Work

It is often the goal of talent developers to run their own learning organizations, especially at a strategic level. Opportunities to become a chief learning officer (CLO) are rare. But it’s not enough to find (or create) one—you’ve also got to be ready for it when that happens! There’s a lot written about having “a seat at the table” and what to do when you get there. However, there is precious little advice on how to prepare yourself for the role. In this article, I’m going to suggest four areas for your development: Technical Expertise, Strategic Leadership Skills, Business Savvy, and Adult Stage Development.Technical ExpertiseAs managers move into more senior leadership roles, they still need to understand the ins and outs of their professional areas. This gives them context and understanding of their organization’s mission and activities, and what they bring to the table when helping to run the organization. Do you have one of our professional certifications, the Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD®) or the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®)? Or perhaps one or more professional certificates, like ATD’s Instructional Design, Project Management, or Master Trainer? On the academic side, have you completed a degree (or advanced degree) in a talent development field? However you approach it, continuing to build your technical expertise will give you greater skills and credibility.Strategic Leadership SkillsCLOs must go beyond managing their function. They must become business leaders as part of the senior leadership team of their organization. To function at that level, they must learn to be strategic leaders. Managers solve technical problems with known solutions. But strategic leaders solve adaptive challenges—new and complex trials that require advanced leadership skills like innovation, adaptability, perseverance, and systems thinking.Business SavvyAt the CLO level, it’s no longer enough to merely understand your own contributions to the mission. You’ll also have to develop a full grasp of the entire enterprise and a true appreciation of the competitive, external environment. In short, you must become a businessperson. What does the business or organization do? How does it do it? For whom? Against whom? What are its headiest challenges and opportunities, and where are the weaknesses and threats to its success? And, most importantly, how does the talent development organization contribute to all of it?Adult Stage DevelopmentWe’re all familiar with the stages children go through as they develop into adults. But did you know that adults keep developing to later stages, too? They do. And these developments correlate strongly with leadership success. While the other three areas deal with various competencies, this is about your capacity to stay in uncertainly longer, to consider multiple alternative solutions to a challenge—or even multiple realities in a situation. Can you cope with—and succeed in—greater VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)? Are you able to lead your organization through the unknown toward the new reality?So, how do you do all of that? I’m sure as talent developers you’re already thinking about the possibilities. There are specific methods for transforming managers into strategic leaders. But those will have to wait for another day!

Search results for 'Neal Whitten'

Categories

Refine By