Learning design work is often accompanied by various forms of uncertainty — ambiguous performance needs, vaguely defined scope, shifting stakeholder expectations...

In his book The Instructional Designer's Guide to Project Management, Dr Guieswende Rouamba describes this condition as 'the fog of instructional design'. And he believes project management is the key to navigating it.

In this week's episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Dr Rouamba joins Ross D and Adria Maston, Head of PMO at Mindtools Kineo, to discuss:

• why he wrote the book, and why project management is a critical skill for learning designers;
• what learning designers most often underestimate about the human side of project management;
• what he means when he says 'the best way to resolve conflict is to prevent it'.

You can find The Instructional Designer's Guide to Project Management here.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our new face-to-face and virtual workshops, and our off-the-shelf courses.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Dickie
• Adria Maston
• Dr Guieswende Rouamba

Since its first release in 1978, A Manager's Guide to Self-Development has been one of the go-to texts for new and aspiring managers. Now in its seventh edition, authors Mike Pedler and Joan Keevil join Gemma and Ross G to discuss:

• why self-development is so key to a manager's capabilities
• what has changed since the first edition of the book as published (hat tip to Michelle Ockers for this question)
• some of our favorite exercises from the book, to help us develop as managers.

A Manager's Guide to Self-Development by Mike Pedler, John Burgoyne, Tom Boydell, Joan Keevill, Kevin Roe, Jean-Anne Stewart is available from Routledge.

For more from Mindtools Kineo, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our own manager development offerings, including face-to-face and virtual workshops, our Manager Skills Assessment, and off-the-shelf courses.

Like the show? You'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Garner
• Gemma Towersey
• Joan Keevil

Yippee-ki-yay, Christmas Turkeys! In our final episode of The Mindtools L&D Podcast for 2025, the gang are climbing to the top of Nakatomi Plaza: foiling a criminal plot and solving L&D challenges as we go.

We answer:

• What rule exists at work that, if broken, would have the biggest impact on performance? (Tony)
• What should L&D pros be stealing to maximise their impact this Christmas? (Heinrich)
• What advice would you give an L&D professional as they plan for 2026? (Marco)
• What do we need to let go of in L&D? (Hans Gruber)

During the discussion, Gemma referenced play at work and our "ep" with Cas Holman.

Ross G discussed Sir Dave Brailsford's insistence that members of Team GB Cycling have an opinion at work.

Ross D referenced our "ep" with South Western Railway's Becky Eason, and our "ep" with Carl Akintola.

We also discussed some industry reports from Don Taylor and Markus Bernhardt. And JD Dillon's Christmas newsletter, inspired by the film It's a Wonderful Life.

If you've listened to this episode (always our lowest performing of the year), thank you! You can find out more about Mindtools Kineo at mindtools.com. There, you'll also find our back catalogue of nearly 500 episodes. That's the Christmas entertainment sorted!

And if you like the show, you'll LOVE our newsletter! Subscribe to The L&D Dispatch at lddispatch.com

See you next year, and thanks for listening!

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Garner
• Gemma Towersey
• Ross Dickie
• Dr Anna Barnett