Podcast Summary - “Supporting People Leaders With Customized Coaching & Development Tools with Mat Winer of Rheem Manufacturing"
When you chat with Mat Winer, Senior Director of Talent and Learning at Rheem, one thing becomes instantly clear: she doesn’t just do leadership development, she lives it. With a warm, strategic mindset and a deep commitment to scaling learning that actually sticks, Mat is shaping what L&D looks like across a global manufacturing organization. In this episode, she dives into her path into the field, how her team is building leadership programs from the ground up, and where she believes L&D is headed.
From Accidental Facilitator to L&D Powerhouse
Like so many in the L&D world, Mat didn’t start her career dreaming of LMS administration or competency models. Her journey began as a subject matter expert delivering audit training. “I love talking about what I do,” she shared though her first session didn’t exactly earn a standing ovation (she describes her early style as “a wooden mannequin”).
But she stuck with it, moved into leading training sessions, began developing content, and discovered her love for designing case studies and scenarios. That passion for making learning both engaging and effective never left and it continues to inform everything she leads today.
Learning From Hire to Retire
Mat currently leads Rheem’s global talent and learning function, a small but mighty center of excellence that handles everything from onboarding to succession planning. “If it involves people,” she said with a laugh, “we’re going to poke our nose into it.” Her team supports a diverse workforce that includes both production floor employees and corporate staff, which means programs must be both scalable and deeply relevant.
After the pandemic, Rheem knew it was time to rebuild its leadership development infrastructure. Mat led the charge by grounding everything in a refreshed competency model. With 13 key competencies applied at four leadership levels, from leading self to leading the entire organization, the model became the foundation for every talent initiative that followed.
The Manager Essentials Program That Scales and Sticks
One of the first major rollouts was the Manager Essentials program, aimed at arming new managers with the skills they need most: goal setting, performance evaluation, feedback, and one-on-ones. Rather than delivering a quick-hit workshop, Mat and her team designed a two-month, cohort-based virtual experience with built-in job application and peer learning.
Crucially, they also developed a parallel experience for the participants’ managers, helping them support the learning transfer process. That module, called Maximizing Learning Application, reinforces a culture of leadership, not just management, and emphasizes that people leaders must lead both people and processes.
The program has been such a hit that it’s now in its sixth cohort, with versions rolling out across Latin America and in development for Europe. Mat’s approach isn’t just about content, it’s about culture change.
Essential Skills, Personalized Learning, and the Role of AI
Not every learning initiative is tied to a job level. Mat and her team are also building curated learning pathways around essential skills, things like project management and communication, mapped back to the same competency framework.
She’s excited about the potential of AI to personalize and scale learning, but she’s also clear: “AI doesn’t replace L&D professionals, it augments them.” Someone still has to define the business problem, craft the learning strategy, and make the human connections that drive behavior change.
Even for those in non-facilitator roles, she advises developing presentation skills. “Host a lunch-and-learn. Lead a team meeting. Practice presenting,” she urged. “It makes you invaluable to your team.”
What’s Next for L&D?
Looking ahead, Mat sees more flexible, embedded learning. Tools that bring training to the flow of work, not away from it. AI will help personalize experiences, but the human elements like coaching, consulting, and relationship-building will remain critical.
And if she had an unlimited budget? She’d double down on two things: more AI-enabled tools and more L&D consultants embedded in the business to drive real impact.
Go-To Resources and Must-Reads
Mat keeps her learning muscle strong by tapping into practitioner-driven communities like the Leadership Development Community of Practice (hosted by LEADx), ATD, SHRM, HR Brew, and the McKinsey Talent and Learning newsletter. Her book picks?
- The Facilitation Advantage by Kat Koppett and Therese M. Llorente – a 2024 release perfect for new L&D pros, with practical tips for facilitation and influence.
- Drive by Daniel Pink – a classic on human motivation that’s still hugely relevant for anyone designing learning today.
Mat Winer’s episode is a masterclass in building L&D that works. Mat is grounded in strategy, scaled with intention, and always focused on what people actually need to grow.
Elements of a Learning Journey for Instructional Designers
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