For the first time ever, The Learning & Development Podcast was recorded in front of a live audience in New York! In this special episode, I sit down with Julianne Gill, Director of Learning & Development at Smile Brands, to explore what it truly takes to build an L&D function that delivers measurable impact. Julianne shares insights from her career journey, how she assessed and transformed L&D at Smile Brands, and the pivotal role of performance consulting and collaborative learning in making L&D a strategic business driver.  Take your L&D to the next level Take advantage of thousands of hours of analysis. Hundreds of conversations with industry innovators and 25+ years of hands-on global L&D leadership. It's all distilled into one framework to help you level up L&D. Access the L&D Maturity Model here - https://360learning.com/maturity-model KEY TAKEAWAYS L&D leaders need to think strategically to truly help the business. Seek real customer feedback. If you don´t know what people really think you can´t improve. Focus on how people really learn. It is always evolving. The L&D department needs to learn and evolve themselves. Collaborative learning works. Always partner with subject matter experts. Where possible update what they have already created, then get them to edit it. Start by helping people to achieve their KPIs. Educate yourself about performance consulting. Focus on outcomes. Be smart with people´s time. When you have different perspectives and experiences in the room you achieve more. BEST MOMENTS “You need to show value pretty quickly.” “You are telling them their baby is ugly, and nobody likes to be told that their baby is ugly.” “When training is the absolute wrong solution, you're going to waste a lot of money.” “I can turn anything into a $ sign.” “Start with the data.” “Take the wins when you can and work your way around.” Julianne Gill Bio Julianne is an innovative Learning, Development, Talent Acquisition, & Knowledge Management leader with a track record of success in leading complex initiatives. Julianne has deep expertise in training design & strategy, performance improvement, business planning, talent acquisition, employee engagement, operational efficiencies, leadership development, and change management with a proven history of building and leading high performing teams. Through leadership and collaboration, Julianne has successfully developed and executed programs and improved operational workflows that lead to performance improvement and achievement of strategic goals. VALUABLE RESOURCES The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523 L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home ABOUT THE HOST David James  David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.  As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.  CONTACT METHOD  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective Blog: https://360learning.com/blog L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home