Harald’s Curious Corner4 Des 2025

Leading Learning in the Age of AI: Three Practitioners' Perspectives

“How do L&D leaders stay grounded, strategic, and human while leading through the age of AI?”

In this episode, we’re exploring how leadership adapts when AI accelerates change faster than traditional models can keep up.

I’m joined by Hannah Frame and Nicki Finnigan of Every Day's a School Day Podcast and Erica Farmer of EricaFarmer.a, three of the best L&D consultants and practitioners I’ve come to know. Collectively, they bring perspectives from large-scale corporate environments, emerging AI practices, and hands-on upskilling work with L&D teams. Together, we tackle the question many leaders are wrestling with: How do we stay strategic when the ground keeps moving?

Throughout the episode, the panel highlights a common truth: AI can remove grunt work, but it can’t replace the human skills that drive meaningful learning. Strategy now means being adaptable, discerning, and deeply connected to the problems our organizations are actually trying to solve.

Some curious takeaways:

L&D is shifting from perfectionism to rapid experimentation
AI speeds up thinking, but humans still shape meaning and relevance
Strategic impact comes from solving the right problems, not chasing tools

Episode highlights:

(00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner

(01:43) How L&D roles have shifted in speed, ambiguity, and orchestration

(05:24) What being strategic in L&D means in the age of AI

(11:03) How AI accelerates early thinking, but still demands human judgment

(16:48) The rising importance of critical thinking, discernment, and quality control

(19:46) The lessons L&D must unlearn

(28:51) Solving real problems instead of chasing tools

(35:26) Practical advice for integrating AI

(41:41) The human advantage in L&D through creativity and connection

Connect with the guests:

Nicki Finnigan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickifinnigan/
Hannah Frame on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/framehannah/
Erica Farmer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericafarmer/

Explore EricaFarmer.ai: https://ericafarmer.ai/
Explore BAE Systems: https://www.baesystems.com/en

Explore St. James’s Place: https://www.sjp.co.uk/

Follow me on the following sites:

Harald Overaa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haraldovera/

Subscribe to Harald’s Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6901795950403186688/

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