The Secrets of Learning & Development Podcast
Our podcast is designed for business leaders, managers, consultants, industry experts, and individuals who are passionate about driving change and promoting growth in their organisations or personal development.
Each episode will delve into crucial topics such as mindset recalibration, visibility, and strategic planning. We will have insightful conversations about change management and innovative initiatives that can transform your approach to learning and development.
Our aim is to equip you with valuable insights and practical strategies to enhance your leadership skills, business acumen, and personal growth. We are focusing on our leaders and professional guests’ unique journeys and the key moments that have shaped their careers. We are passionate about sharing stories that inspire, educate, and ignite a spark within our listeners
Join us on this journey as we unlock the secrets to success in the dynamic world of learning and development.
Stay tuned and get ready to be inspired!
Host Information:
Julia Bend
Executive Career Coach
https://www.premier-coaching.co.uk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-bend-premier-coaching
Valerie Merrill
Learning & Development Trainer & Advisor
https://www.merrillconsultants.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/merrillvalerie/
If you enjoyed this podcast, we'd love to hear from you!
Being good at your job doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the right place.
Erica Farmer spent 25 years building a successful career in learning and development. Yet each move brought a familiar frustration: she could do the job, but the politics and unwritten rules left her feeling out of place. Eventually, another role and a generous salary were no longer enough to make her stay.
In this episode, Erica joins Julia Bend and Valerie Merrill to discuss leaving corporate life and building work around who she is. She shares how she and Hayley Bird created QuantumRise and why valuing their differences has been essential to their partnership.
Erica speaks openly about her ADHD and autism diagnoses, the exhaustion of masking and what she now understands about herself that professional achievement alone never explained. Her experience raises a question for leaders: are you giving people the freedom to contribute, or expecting them to work the way you do?
We also explore her book, AI for People Professionals, and why introducing AI at work starts with helping people understand how it could benefit them personally.
A candid conversation about the cost of fitting in, recognising your strengths and deciding what success needs to look like for you.
Key Learnings
Career success doesn’t automatically mean you’re in the right environment. Erica’s repeated moves showed her that a different employer, higher salary or better benefits couldn’t resolve the mismatch between how she wanted to work and what corporate life required of her.
Supporting different ways of thinking requires more than acknowledging them. Erica’s experience of masking highlights the effort that fitting in can demand. Leaders can help by setting clear expectations and giving people room to achieve results in their own way.
Guest Information:
• LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericafarmer/
• Quantum Rise Talent Group – https://quantumrise.co.uk/
• EricaFarmer.AI – https://ericafarmer.ai/
• Book – https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning-development/aifor-people-professionals-9781398625990
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