Learning Rebels

It all started with the BIG question on the table.

What's the one skill you want to go deeper on this year—and how are you going to get there?

This Coffee Chat was about moving from broad knowledge to deep expertise. We kicked off with a quick level set: participants named skills they wanted to build—AI, gamification, executive presence, communication, writing learning objectives, digital acumen. But wanting to go deeper and actually doing it are two different things. One person said they're already consuming the next thing they won't implement. The group nodded hard—it's exactly what our learners go through with our content.

The conversation turned to barriers and breakthroughs. Someone shared their journey building executive presence through reading, observing people who model it, and creating a mental model of what success looks like. Another talked about using AI to develop exam questions and building tools that rejuvenate weak test items. Someone admitted they hate choosing tools because the learning curve feels endless, so they refuse to choose at all. The reality? We're all struggling to bridge training to implementation—even though that's literally what we do for a living.

We explored practical tools for going deep. ChatGPT can act as your instructor—upload a report, ask it to quiz you over coffee, and get feedback without judgment. Toby helps manage tab addiction by organizing articles for review so you don't lose track of what you want to learn. NotebookLM became the star of the show—upload sources, generate flashcards, create audio overviews you can listen to on your commute, or interrupt the podcast to ask questions. One participant realized the exploration is endless, which is both exciting and paralyzing.

The group talked about structuring learning time. Set a 30-minute timer. Focus on one Articulate skill. Stop when the alarm goes off. Listen to audio files during lunch. Quiz yourself in the grocery store line. Use AI to figure out where to start—ask it what a future-facing L&D leader would prioritize. The key is treating yourself like you're back in school, but on your terms.

The takeaway? The job market is shifting. AI can do some of what we used to do. We need deeper functional knowledge in areas AI can't replicate—strategy, gamification, executive presence, creative problem-solving. Know what you're good at as a human, as an L&D professional, and then pick one thing to go deep on. Follow that T-shaped path down.

So what's your one thing?

Stay curious! -Shannon

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Resources:
NotebookLM

Microsoft Copilot

Articulate Storyline
Toby
LinkedIn Learning
Books:
The Coaching Habit — by Michael Bungay Stanier

Write Better Multiple-Choice Questions to Measure Learning — by Patti Shank

The One Thing — Authors: Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Radical Candor — by Kim Scott


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Gain more valuable resources to build your skills! Learn more here.

Join the conversation
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Hire Learning Rebels
When you need learning that sticks, we’ll fight to make performance results happen. Visit the Learning Rebels website to learn more

Host: Shannon Tipton
Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions

It all started with the BIG question on the table.
How do cognitive biases sneak into our learning designs—and what can we do about it?

It quickly became clear this conversation was going to hit close to home. We all fall into these traps—affinity bias, confirmation bias, halo effect, availability heuristic, and the Dunning-Kruger effect. It's not about shame; it's about recognizing that our brains have built-in shortcuts that sometimes help us and sometimes lead us astray.

The group shared real examples. One person caught themselves gravitating toward job candidates they liked rather than those with the best portfolios. Another realized they'd been making assumptions about learner personas based on who they wanted the audience to be, not who it actually was. We talked about how personality assessments like DISC can create bias, putting people in boxes and giving them excuses for behavior. And we explored the "squeaky wheel" problem—when one loud voice convincing us "everybody" needs something turns out to be just that one person.

The conversation turned practical. How do we catch ourselves? Listen for trigger words like "everyone," "always," and "never." Add a bias checkpoint to your needs analysis process. Share your assumptions with colleagues as accountability partners. One suggestion that landed: upload your training needs analysis into AI and ask it what you missed or overstated—an unbiased second look can reveal blind spots you didn't even know were there.

The takeaway wasn't about fixing ourselves overnight. It's about awareness. Recognizing when you're walking that worn path and choosing to step out of the trench. Starting with yourself before trying to point out biases in others. And when you see it happening in stakeholder meetings, using the gentle nudge: "I've heard that too—help me understand who 'everyone' is in your world."
So what bias are you going to watch for in your next stakeholder meeting?
Stay curious!
-Shannon

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Transcript Summary

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Resources

Cognitive Bias Quiz

5 Cognitive Biases Sabotaging Your Learning Programs

Explaining the Dunning-Kruger Effect

Unmasking the Mind: 11 Cognitive Biases That Can Derail Workplace Decisions (and How to Overcome Them)

The Cognitive Bias Checker

Books

Cognitive Biases - A Brief Overview of Over 160 Cognitive Biases: + Bonus Chapter: Algorithmic Bias by Murat Durmus

Mental Models: Learn How to Improve Decision Making, Problem Solving, Develop Better Strategic Thinking and Reasoning Ability to Avoid Cognitive Biases by Joe Silva

The Critical Mind: Enhance Your Problem Solving, Questioning, Observing, and Evaluating Skills (Cognitive Development Book 2) by Zoe McKey

How Our Brains Betray Us by Magnus McDaniels

Be part of the Community.
Gain more valuable resources to build your skills! Learn more here.

Join the conversation
Be part of the live chat! Sign up here.

Hire Learning Rebels
When you need learning that sticks, we’ll fight to make performance results happen. Visit the Learning Rebels website to learn more

Host: Shannon Tipton
Podcast produced by: Obsidian Productions