Are you ready to perform at your highest potential? In each episode, we will interview industry experts, exploring best practices and innovative insights to help you and your organization improve performance. Together we can create a world where business excellence makes possibilities achievable.
Episode 170 | Learning Velocity Through Leadership and Change
If AI is the easy part, why is transformation still so hard?
That’s the question driving the grand finale of The Learning Velocity Series, the third and final episode in this three-part conversation on why learning velocity—the ability to build capabilities at the speed of business change—has become the defining competitive advantage.
Performance Matters Podcast host Michael Thiel is joined by GP Strategies’ Nic Girvan, Senior Director of Leadership and Inclusion, and Dr. Cheryl Jackson, Director of Organization Design & Change Management, to explore the human dimension of learning velocity. Where episodes 1 and 2 examined the why and the how, this conversation digs into the part that organizations underestimate the most: the leadership and change behaviors that determine whether transformation actually happens.
Nic and Cheryl unpack why AI adoption is fundamentally a behavioral shift, not a technological one. They explore why the enterprise mindset is the one tripping up even seasoned leaders right now, why fear of failure has been amplified—not created—by AI, and why “learning out loud” may be the most undervalued leadership behavior of this era.
You’ll also hear why the “messy middle” of leadership is where most transformations stall, why change readiness and resilience are competitive advantages on their own, and how visible decision-making moves teams from threat into agency.
This is the human side of learning velocity—the side that determines whether your organization actually moves at the speed of change or just talks about it.
🎧 Download the Learning Velocity™ Guide from GP Strategies for deeper insights across all three episodes in this series: https://www.gpstrategies.com/resources/ebook/7-challenges-slowing-your-organization-down-and-how-to-accelerate-through-the-age-of-ai/
Catch the full episode below:
The post Episode 170 | Learning Velocity Through Leadership and Change (https://www.gpstrategies.com/podcasts-cpt/episode-170-learning-velocity-through-leadership-and-change/) appeared first on GP Strategies (https://www.gpstrategies.com).
14 May 2026
Episode 169 | Slowing Down to Speed Up: The AI-Era Leadership Shift
Why do so many leadership programs sound great in theory but fall apart in real moments?
In this episode of the Performance Matters Podcast, host Michael Thiel sits down with Björn Billhardt, CEO of Abilitie, and Lisa Fagan, our Vice President of Global Leadership & Inclusion, to explore what it really takes to build leadership capability at speed. The conversation dives into simulation-based leadership development, AI-enabled practice environments, psychological safety, and why repeated practice matters more than frameworks alone. From giving feedback under pressure to measuring real behavior change, the episode examines how organizations can move beyond traditional training and develop leaders who are ready for moments that matter.
Michael, Björn, and Lisa also unpack the future of leadership in the AI era, including where AI can accelerate development, where human judgment still matters most, and why learning velocity is becoming a competitive advantage for modern organizations.
Listen now to discover how organizations can build leadership readiness through practice, feedback, and real-world application.
The post Episode 169 | Slowing Down to Speed Up: The AI-Era Leadership Shift (https://www.gpstrategies.com/podcasts/episode-169-slowing-down-to-speed-up-the-ai-era-leadership-shift/) appeared first on GP Strategies (https://www.gpstrategies.com).
8 May 2026
Episode 168 | Building Learning Velocity™: From Innovation to Architecture
If your business needs a new capability fast, do you have the systems to build it fast?
In Episode 2 of “The Learning Velocity Series,” Performance Matters Podcast host Michael Thiel digs into the “how” behind learning velocity with two of GP Strategies’ sharpest minds: Chief Learning and Innovation Officer, Matt Donovan, and Senior Director of Consulting, Ella Richardson.
Together, they unpack what it takes to move at the speed of business—from atomic instructional design and modular, embedded learning to the two synchronized tracks every learning organization must run on: operational excellence today and transformation for tomorrow.
Matt and Ella tackle the hard questions: Why has the percentage of L&D teams seen as strategic partners dropped from 50% to just 19%? Why do organizations default to “just build something” when they feel behind? Where is AI personalization truly delivering, and where has it been overhyped?
You’ll also hear why “going slow to go fast” isn’t a contradiction, and why judgment—knowing what not to do—may be the most undervalued leadership skill in the age of AI.
Download the companion Learning Velocity™ Guide (https://www.gpstrategies.com/resources/ebook/7-challenges-slowing-your-organization-down-and-how-to-accelerate-through-the-age-of-ai/) from GP Strategies for deeper insights across all three episodes.
Catch the full episode below:
The post Episode 168 | Building Learning Velocity™: From Innovation to Architecture (https://www.gpstrategies.com/podcasts-cpt/episode-168-building-learning-velocity-from-innovation-to-architecture/) appeared first on GP Strategies (https://www.gpstrategies.com).
Who has been a guest on Performance Matters Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
[Guest Name]
Dr Anya Sharma
[Guest Name Credential]
Leah Clark
Dr Cheryl Jackson
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
1,624,319
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.6 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 91 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
94
Social presence
94
YouTube
86
Engagement
85
Contact Performance Matters Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
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