Developing performance consulting skills

Hot on the heels of writing The Little Book of Performance Consulting – published free by the Charity Learning Consortium – Andrew Jacobs reveals some great podcasts that will help you develop these skills..and more. 

Specific podcast episodes that focus on performance consulting: 

• The Learning and Development Podcast With performance consulting specialist Nigel Harrison 
• Revisionist History – The Big Man Can’t Shoot This episode explains how someone changed their approach and then reverted back. It’s a great allegory to how performance consultants can get things wrong.
• Learning Uncut Michelle Ockers has a super conversation with Renata Arreazea.

In the Little Book we talk about some of the skills that you need to develop to be more effective at performance consulting. One of these skills is heavy thinking – a combination of creative thinking and critical thinking. 

Here are some podcasts that can help you reflect on creative thinking:

• The Accidental Creative This has been running for many years and offers lots of sound advice for people who need to produce great ideas. The guests come from a range of disciplines and are always insightful.
• 99% Invisible Reveals the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about – the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world. For people in learning, it will help you challenge your thinking about user design.
• The Rule of Three A series where comedians discuss their favourite comedy shows, films and characters. Listening to creative people is entertaining but also helps you understand where creative ideas come from.

Here are some great podcasts to develop your critical thinking skills: 

• BBC Radio 4 Analysis Examines public policy ideas and the forces that impact on how they’re decided. Always insightful, it will encourage you to think critically about topics that you may not have considered.
• RSA Bridges to the Future Matthew Taylor, the RSA’s former Chief Executive (2006 to 2021) speaking with experts and thinkers about how to build effective bridges to a new future.
• The Learning Hack podcast John Helm expertly interviews key L&D people to identify the core of what makes them good at their jobs and successful in their approaches.

Which podcasts would you recommend to other people? Please get in touch and let me know what I’ve missed!