SE01 E04 Building a Learning Culture as a Team of One | Tovah Wilde

What does it actually take to build a learning and development function from scratch in a fast-growing, multi-country organisation – when you're the only person doing it? Tovah Wilde, Head of Learning & Development at Curaleaf International, joins Mark Francis to answer exactly that. With operations spanning the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Canada and beyond, Curaleaf is the global leader in safe and legal medical cannabis. Tovah's challenge is to create a genuine learning culture across all of it, with no team, limited measuring tools, and a population of busy people who always have something more urgent to do than attend a training session.
This conversation gets into the practical reality of influencing behaviour change without authority or headcount – from finding early adopters in every market to building manager buy-in one conversation at a time. Tovah shares lessons from a standout programme she built at New Balance using a marketing-led approach to manager electives, why measurement is harder than anyone admits, and how she uses Maslow's hierarchy of needs to explain to leadership why you have to lay foundations before launching the exciting stuff. If you work in L&D, lead a team, or are trying to drive culture change in a growing organisation, this one is for you.

Key Takeaways:
You cannot drive a learning culture alone – you need to identify and cultivate ambassadors at every level and in every market who carry the message when you are not in the room.
Managers are the real multiplier in any L&D strategy. Getting them to understand their role in embedding learning – not just signing people up to courses – is what shifts behaviour from event-based to ongoing.
Meeting your organisation where it is, rather than where you want it to be, is the difference between a strategy that lands and one that stalls. Build the foundations before going for the ambitious stuff.
Giving learners choice in what they develop – rather than mandating the same programme for everyone – dramatically increases engagement and buy-in.
Measurement in L&D is genuinely hard, but self-assessment at the start and end of a programme, even with a simple rating scale, gives you something concrete to report back and build on.
Leadership role-modelling is not a nice-to-have. When senior people visibly engage with and reference learning, it changes what the wider organisation thinks is normal.
The biggest barriers to learning are leadership buy-in beyond lip service and the ever-present "I don't have time" – neither has a silver bullet, but both respond to consistent, clear messaging and good data.
Building a learning culture is a marathon, not a sprint. Small, quality interventions that are well-executed beat a flood of initiatives that never fully land.

Connect with Tovah Wilde:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tovah-wilde-1357a357
Learn more about Curaleaf International:
https://www.curaleaf.com

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– Mark and the Who's Your Captain podcast team

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Hosted by Mark Francis, founder of The Uspire Partnership and former senior leader at Burberry and Tesco, this podcast provokes fresh thinking, energises purpose, and transforms how leaders perform. With over 25 years of experience in learning and development, organisational change, and executive coaching, Mark brings deep insight to every conversation. He's worked across retail, FMCG, logistics, and professional services, helping leaders and organisations unlock potential and drive meaningful transformation. Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or navigating your own path, you'll discover practical wisdom and inspiration from those who know what it takes to steer the ship.

If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or professional looking to elevate your leadership, find inspiration from great mentors, or understand what drives transformational performance, this podcast will give you the insights and energy to chart your own course with confidence.