Good to Great ICs with Kia Beckford Artwork

The Learning Culture Podcast

Join your host Andrew Barry, the Founder and CEO of Curious Lion, as he interviews learning leaders practicing the cultivation of Learning Culture; experts who tease out critical theoretical components of this idea; and shares learning nuggets from real-world experiences, and our own research and writing.By following along, you’ll learn:• How a shared vision sets the tone for a Learning Culture. • How shared assumptions determine our current reality. • How shared stories foster commitment to a Learning Culture. • How shared experiences, or Cohort Learning Experiences to be specific, instill the practice of a Learning Culture.Stay curious, my friends.

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The Learning Culture Podcast

Good to Great ICs with Kia Beckford

June 10, 2026 • Andrew Barry

0:00 | 7:41

What does it really take to grow from a good individual contributor to a great one? In this special edition of The Learning Culture Podcast, Andrew Barry sits down with talent leaders for short, sharp conversations about the mindset shifts, hard-won lessons, and small moves that separate ICs who plateau from those who keep climbing. ICs matter more than ever as AI reshapes how work gets done, and these episodes are built for anyone navigating that path or helping others walk it.

In this episode, Kia Beckford shares what prioritization looked like coming out of an academic environment that just kept piling more on, why the role she didn't want turned out to be the one that shaped her most, and how supporting the people behind you on the ladder gets noticed in ways most ICs underestimate.

If you're wondering what separates the ICs who plateau from the ones who keep climbing, this episode is for you.