People attend training.
They take notes.
They feel inspired.

A week later?

Nothing changes.

Businesses spend between $1,500 and $2,500 per employee per year on external training. Add time away from work, and the real cost is even higher.

So here’s the uncomfortable question:

Is it working?

In this episode of Lead to Grow, Tommy Sim breaks down why most training efforts fail to produce real performance improvement and what leaders can do differently to get genuine return on their investment.

Because the issue isn’t usually the quality of the training.

It's a transfer.

In This Episode

• Why training often works in theory but fails in practice
  
  
• The research from Grossman and Salas on transfer of learning
• Why attendance is not a measure of impact
• The flawed assumption that information equals behaviour
• How adult learning really works
• Why relevance and ownership matter more than content
• The neuroscience behind feedback defensiveness
• The four stages of competence and why leaders rush the pain step
• The 70:20:10 model explained simply
• Why psychological safety increases learning speed
• The difference between removing threat and removing discomfort
• Why reflection multiplies learning
• When learning is actually complete
• The LEARN framework for practical application
• Why lectures don’t create change but loops do
  
  

Key Leadership Lessons

• Training fails when it stops at information
• Behaviour change happens in the day-to-day
• Managers drive transfer more than facilitators
• Psychological safety increases speed of learning
• Feedback works when intent is understood first
• Reflection amplifies action
• Capability is proven when it travels
• Learning is complete when someone can teach it
  
  

Connect with us:

Tommy Sim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommysim/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/injecthr

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@injecthr

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/inject.hr/

Chapters

00:00 Why Training Feels Like It Doesn’t Work
02:23 What Research Actually Says About Transfer
04:50 Why Information Sharing Fails
07:18 How Adults Really Learn
09:44 Feedback, Ego and Brain Threat
12:10 The 70:20:10 Model Explained
14:38 Coaching in Practice
19:31 When Learning Becomes Capability
21:58 Psychological Safety and Error Reporting
24:22 Action + Reflection = Learning
26:49 Why Training Stops Halfway
28:00 The LEARN Framework

Who This Episode Is For

• Business owners frustrated by underperforming teams
• Leaders who invest in training but see little change
• HR and People & Culture professionals
• Managers stuck in the day-to-day because capability hasn’t lifted
• Anyone who wants development to actually translate into results

About Lead to Grow

Lead to Grow explores the people's principles behind high-performing businesses. Hosted by Tommy Sim, the podcast focuses on leadership, performance, culture and decision-making, with practical insights leaders can apply immediately.

New episodes are released regularly.

If you found this episode useful, share it with a leader who feels stretched or overwhelmed.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or subscribe on YouTube for future episodes

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Incentive schemes are everywhere in business. Bonuses. Commissions. Short-term rewards designed to drive performance.

And yet, for so many leaders, these beautifully designed schemes quietly fail to deliver what they promise. Worse, the unintended consequences often outweigh the benefits.

In this episode of Lead to Grow, we unpack the dark art of incentive schemes and why so many well-intentioned reward structures distort behaviour, damage motivation, and fail to improve real performance.

This is not an argument against incentives. It is a practical guide to when they work, when they fail, and how to design them intelligently if you choose to use them.

You will learn:

• Why leaders fall in love with incentive schemes and why they are often overused
  • The difference between improving performance and simply redirecting effort
  • Why money is a blunt instrument for motivation
  • The intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation equation and why it matters
  • How incentives can quietly reduce job satisfaction and engagement
  • When incentives actually make sense and when they backfire
  • Why complexity kills most incentive schemes
  • How poorly designed schemes distort behaviour and damage trust
  • The downside risks most leaders never anticipate
  • Why incentives rarely fix capability, culture, or leadership problems

We also break down where incentive schemes can work, particularly in sales and output-driven roles, and how to think about:

• Whether a role is genuinely suitable for incentives
  • Pay splits and what ratios make sense
  • Thresholds and why 75% matters
  • Caps vs uncapped schemes
  • Time horizons and payment frequency
  • Rules, edge cases, and why clarity matters
  • Retention vs attraction dynamics
  • Designing schemes that are actually self-funding

Finally, we outline the hallmarks of a well-designed incentive scheme, including:

• Job simplicity
  • Line of sight
  • Pay split alignment
  • Caps and escalation
  • Rules and edge cases
  • Time horizons
  • Thresholds
  • Management discretion
  • Base salary alignment

The core message is simple:
Incentive schemes are powerful, but they are blunt instruments. They are the exclamation mark, not the sentence.

When used well, they create clarity and focus.
When used poorly, they distort behaviour, undermine motivation, and create long-term problems disguised as short-term gains.

If you are considering implementing an incentive scheme, or questioning whether your current one is actually working, this episode will help you avoid expensive trial and error.

Connect with us:

Tommy Sim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommysim/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/injecthrYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@injecthrInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/inject.hr/

If you lead people or design reward structures, this episode will change how you think about money, motivation, and performance. Subscribe to Lead to Grow for more practical, human-centred leadership insights.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.