Learnit

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Based in downtown San Francisco, Learnit has served the training needs of businesses, government agencies, and individuals since 1995. CEO Damon Lembi drives a team of employees dedicated to making learning efficient, valuable, and pleasurable. Learnit also manages a carefully selected network of nationwide instructors, allowing us to train on a national scale or for major rollouts.

L&D doesn’t have a training problem. It has a positioning problem.On this week’s episode of The Learnit Lounge, Jess Alm...
08/28/2026

L&D doesn’t have a training problem. It has a positioning problem.

On this week’s episode of The Learnit Lounge, Jess Almlie, former VP of Learning and author of L&D Order Taker No More, shared a line that’s hard to shake:

“We complain about not having a seat at the table. But we’ve never done anything to show we deserve it.”

Uncomfortable. And true.

Jess spent her career building what she thought were rock-star learning experiences. Then a stakeholder looked her in the eye and said her team’s training wasn’t good enough.

The training was excellent. The problem was, training was never going to solve what the business actually needed.

In this episode:

🔹 Why “being helpful” is exactly what keeps L&D stuck in a transactional role

🔹 The difference between a strategic yes and a costly yes that’s actually a no

🔹 What business acumen really looks like in an L&D context, and why it matters more than instructional design skills

For anyone leading a learning function who’s tired of being reactive, this one’s worth the listen.

🎧 Listen to the full episode - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/68-your-training-isnt-the-problem-your-positioning-is-jess-almlie

08/20/2026

Your leaders are either multiplying wellness or destroying it.

There is no neutral.

That’s the framing Michele Lau Torres brought to The Learnit Lounge, and it’s one worth sitting with.

Michele is the Chief Learning Officer for the City of Austin, a bestselling author, and a keynote speaker whose work sits at the intersection of leadership, equity, and organizational transformation.

She’s a survivor of toxic leadership. She wrote a book about it. And she built her entire career around making sure other people don’t have to go through what she did.

A lot of ground is covered in this conversation:

🔹 Why well-being and performance are the same thing, not competing priorities
🔹 What “accidental diminishers” look like and why good leaders don’t see themselves in that mirror
🔹 The uncomfortable truth about AI, and why organizations will use it as a reason to squeeze even more out of already depleted people

If you’ve ever worked for a leader who cost you sleep, your health, or your sense of self, this episode will name what happened to you.

🎧 Listen now - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/67-stop-squeezing-the-lemon-l-ds-role-in-ending-toxic-performance-culture-michele-lau-torres

08/13/2026

You know change is coming. You can feel it. And yet you’re still doing the same thing you did last time, waiting for the moment when it finally feels safe to move.

That moment isn’t coming. And according to this week’s guest, your brain is working against you by design.

On the latest episode of The Learnit Lounge, Mickey sits down with Megan Galloway, founder of Everleader, executive coach, and author of the upcoming book “Who Are You Now?”

Megan has spent nearly 15 years studying what actually creates real behavior change in leaders, and her answers challenge a lot of what we assume about learning, identity, and growth.

From the neuroscience behind your default mode network to a health crisis that forced her to completely rebuild her sense of self, Megan brings both the science and the lived experience to a conversation that will stay with you.

Here’s what you’ll take away:

🔹 Your brain favors familiarity over growth. Understanding that is the first step to overwriting it.
🔹 The cost of inaction is real. Staying stuck isn’t neutral. There’s a break-even point, and you may have already crossed it.
🔹 Regulated discomfort is a skill. Stretch too fast and you shut down. The goal is intentional, safe growth.
🔹 Leadership development needs to be action-first. 5-10% theory, the rest in the wild.

🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: who are you becoming next? https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/66-who-are-you-now-the-leadership-identity-crisis-no-one-talks-about-megan-galloway

08/06/2026

Feedback isn’t something you do to someone.

It’s something you do for them.

That distinction opens this week’s episode of The Learnit Lounge with Dr. Joe Hirsch, global keynote speaker and bestselling author of The Feedback Fix.

Joe’s point: most feedback fails because it’s delivered as judgment, power, position, and a “seemingly infallible perspective” aimed at someone. Reframe it as service, and the fear starts to drain out of the room.

In their conversation, Mickey and Joe get into:

🔹 Why feedback should feel like a deposit, not a withdrawal, and how trust compounds over time
🔹 How to move organizations from feedback forms to feedback norms
🔹 What it actually sounds like when a leader models vulnerability in a real team meeting

This one’s for anyone who knows their team needs more honest conversations but isn’t sure where to start.

Listen now - https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/65-why-your-teams-niceness-is-costing-you-more-than-you-think-dr-joe-hirsch

Being good at your job might be what is burning you out. That is not a warning. It is a diagnostic. Ellin Sidell, CEO of...
07/30/2026

Being good at your job might be what is burning you out.

That is not a warning. It is a diagnostic.

Ellin Sidell, CEO of The Sidell Method | Leadership & Mentorship Expert, spent 25 years inside Nestlé, Microsoft, and Costco before she could name what was happening. Everyone saw her as a sharp project manager. She was constantly exhausted. The role used her competence but starved her curiosity.

On the latest episode of The Learnit Lounge, Ellin breaks down why strengths-based leadership is not about ignoring weaknesses. It is about stopping the slow drain of brilliant people sitting in the wrong seats.

Takeaways:

🔹 Why talent and strength are not the same thing, and why the difference matters
🔹 The Triple Win: how strengths alignment drives retention, productivity, and wellbeing simultaneously
🔹 The tiny daily habit that keeps you out of reactive mode and in self-awareness

If you have a high performer who seems off, or you are the high performer who seems off, this one will land.

🎧 Listen here: https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/64-youre-good-at-it-that-doesnt-mean-its-right-for-you-ellin-sidell

07/23/2026

When’s the last time you gave feedback instead of just a verdict?

On this week’s episode of The Learnit Lounge, Dr. Jevon Wooden, MBA | Leadership Speaker & Advisor talks with Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins about why vague praise or criticism (“great job” / “I expected more”) leaves people guessing, and what emotionally intelligent feedback actually looks like instead: specific, two-way, and rooted in real dialogue.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/63-stop-faking-it-what-real-emotional-intelligence-looks-like-in-leadership-jevon-wooden

07/16/2026

One of the biggest gaps we see in leadership development is that it’s often treated like a one-time training for first-time managers. But leadership isn’t something you “finish.” It’s something you revisit, refine, and recommit to over time.

In this episode of The Learnit Lounge, Tara Hesson, talent strategist & leadership coach, makes a strong point: many leaders never go back to the basics: regular conversations, consistent 1:1s, real check-ins.

The best leaders don’t just manage tasks. They create the conditions for trust, growth, and performance. And that starts with simple, consistent habits.

Leadership development doesn’t stop at your first promotion. It applies at every level, including the top.

How many of your direct reports have a standing 1:1 on your calendar right now?

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/62-stop-managing-tasks-start-developing-talent-tara-hesson

07/08/2026

Leadership isn’t something you teach. It’s something people catch from watching you.

“You can make someone’s day or absolutely crush it. To you, it might be a sideways comment.”

Mike Kim | Personal Brand Strategist & 3x Bestselling Author has coached New York Times bestselling authors, top thought leaders, and high-performing entrepreneurs. And this is the thing he keeps coming back to.

This week on The Learnit Lounge, Mike Kim and Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins explore self-trust as the foundation of every leadership behavior that actually sticks.

They talk about:
🔹 Why the people you assume have it all figured out are wrestling with the same insecurities you are
🔹 How self-trust comes down to building a bank of more yeses than nos with every decision you’re proud of
🔹 What it means to make your ceiling someone else’s floor — and why that defines your legacy as a leader

This episode is for anyone who pours into others for a living and is quietly running on empty.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/61-the-self-trust-deficit-why-high-performers-are-their-own-worst-enemy-mike-kim

You can manage your calendar perfectly and still feel completely drained. We see leaders doing this every day. Packed sc...
06/30/2026

You can manage your calendar perfectly and still feel completely drained.

We see leaders doing this every day. Packed schedules. Back to back meetings. Endless to do lists. Yet there is no space to think or recover.

In this solo episode of The Learnit Lounge, Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins talks about a shift that changed how she works and leads.

Your real constraint is not time. It is energy.

In the episode Mickey shares practical ways to protect your energy so you can do your best work and still have something left at the end of the day.

She talks about:
• Why busy does not equal productive
• How to align work with your energy curve
• Why short work sprints outperform long stretches
• How AI can help lighten your cognitive load

If your calendar feels full but your energy feels empty, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now: https://www.learnit.com/podcast-the-learnit-lounge/60-work-smarter-by-managing-energy-not-hours-dr-mickey-fitch-collins

Last week, Learnit had the honor of participating in the graduation ceremony for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Mid Manager ...
06/25/2026

Last week, Learnit had the honor of participating in the graduation ceremony for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Mid Manager Academy.

The energy from the graduates was inspiring, and what was most impressive was that several members of BART’s executive team were there to support and celebrate these graduates.

It sends a clear message that investing in their people is a priority.

In preparing for his short talk, Learnit CEO Damon Lembi was thrilled to see that BART’s ridership is up 10%, there are several innovative projects on the horizon and rider experience has been positive in recent studies. A lot of great momentum!

And behind that progress are people.

People are the engine of every organization.

These graduates made the time to invest in themselves while still doing the important work they do every day. That is not easy. It takes commitment, discipline, and a willingness to step outside their comfort zone.

That is something they all deserve to be proud of.

Congratulations to the graduates of the BART Mid Manager Academy. Thank you to Sendy Ramos-Madsen, Prem Bajaj, and the Learnit team for a job well done!

Here's to BART's continued momentum and to these leaders, who will no doubt help shape their future.

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