In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike Dawson, a veteran and CEO of MDA Limited, about the many challenges and nuances in corporate learning and development (L&D).
We explored various topics like why most corporate training programs fall short, the art of distinguishing genuine value from upselling in consultancy, and the importance of psychological safety in the workplace.
Mike also shared his thoughts on the effectiveness of leadership training, the need for tailored onboarding processes, and the differences between military and corporate approaches to stress and resilience.
This conversation is packed with actionable insights for anyone responsible for or interested in impactful learning and development of teams and individuals.
About Mike
Mike Dawson is a veteran of the British Army, a learning and development specialist, business owner and an advocate for veteran employment in the UK and around the world.
After two separate periods of service in the British Army, Mike founded MDA Limited with no business plan or idea of how to run a business.
Over the next 4 years, through a combination of combative marketing, anti BS content and a heavy dose of just going for it, MDA Limited has carried out work for some of the largest organisations in the UK.
As well as this, Mike only hires veterans or spouses of veterans to work on their projects. To his knowledge, he’s the only company within his sector to do this.
Through the success of his business, Mike now has a platform to highlight veteran affairs, including employment, welfare, mental health and the empowerment of those that have served to realise they are much more than a service number.
Mike strongly believes that skills that veterans have developed through their service can be vital to civilian employers, it’s just a case of translating them into a language recruiters understand.
Mike has a Bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations, a Masters degree in Education, and a curse of not having a safety catch when it comes to speaking truth to power.
Especially if that power comes in the form of Big 4 consultancies who wouldn’t know how to add value, even if it was on one of their 400 page PowerPoint presentation.
You can find Mike on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikedawsonmdaltd and learn more about Mike’s work at https://mdaltd.co.uk.
You can watch the video of this episode here:
00:00 Why Most Corporate Training is Useless
01:50 The Consultancy Conundrum
02:34 Effective Client Conversations
03:57 The Value of Practical Training
06:05 The ROI of Learning and Development
11:40 Challenges in Measuring Training Impact
18:01 The Role of Leadership Training
32:22 The Veteran Perspective on Learning
38:38 The Universality of Play in Learning
39:37 Using Football as a Communication Tool
40:09 Military Experience and Communication Skills
41:17 The Impact of High-Pressure Environments
42:44 Comparing Military and Corporate Stress
45:43 The Importance of Psychological Safety
50:32 Corporate Resilience Training: A Critical View
55:43 Understanding People in Organizations
01:00:49 Leadership and People Management
01:06:51 Redefining Onboarding in L&D
01:11:42 Final Thoughts on Leadership
