“How do we keep the human touch as L&D leaders in the AI era?”
In our last episode, we explored how AI is transforming L&D from reactive to strategic, helping leaders prove business value beyond completion rates. This time, we’re shifting our perspective from technology to leadership.
Laura Overton and
Michelle Ockers, co-authors of the book
The L&D Leader: Principles and Practice for Delivering Business, remind us that while AI can amplify what we do, it’s courage and connection that define how we lead. The technology may evolve, but the heart of L&D leadership stays the same. It’s helping people stay equipped, ready, and connected to meaningful work.
Laura & Michelle have captured 25 years of research into three powerful principles that leaders today can anchor to: Tuning In, Responding, and Improving or TRI. If you’re curious about how you can become a more effective leader, tune in and join me in my curious corner.
Some curious takeaways:
- The best L&D leaders navigate change through context, not control
- AI can’t replace human judgment. It amplifies it
- Courage and agency are the real success indicators for the future of learning
Episode highlights:
(
00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner
(
01:14) What inspired The L&D Leader, and why it matters now
(
02:53) The timeless principles behind effective learning leadership
(
03:53) Introducing TRI: Tuning In, Responding, and Improving
(
05:47) Tuning In: Seeing your organization with fresh eyes
(
07:14) Responding: Making smart, human choices in the age of AI
(
08:35) How TRI shows up in real L&D work
(
13:34) Where AI can elevate the L&D leader
(
17:23) Why stakeholder management will never be automated
(
25:40) The overlooked power of managers in learning
(
31:32) Improving: Measuring what really moves the business
(
36:54) How AI helps L&D improve their skills
Connect with the guests:
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What is Harald’s Curious Corner?
Harald’s Curious Corner is where curiosity meets connection.
Harald chases that question with a guest, gathers perspectives from voices across the industry, and then steps back to reflect on what it all means. The show unfolds like a story arc, part exploration, part roundtable, part reflection, blending imagination with analysis.
The result: trusted insights, meaningful conversations, and forward-looking takeaways that shine a light on where learning is headed next.