How many skills do we really need to be successful in L&D?

There's an opportunity within every training order to move the needle closer to working as a strategic business partner. You just need to find it.

Get started or get caught up on the L&D Must Change podcast with the episodes at the top of the 2024 download list.

Let's make sure the choice to say yes or no to requests is intentional and strategic.

Training or development? Outcomes or objectives? Workshops, sessions, or courses? Does it really matter what we call our work?

L&D needs to work with stakeholders and SMEs in order to create effective learning solutions. We need their feedback, their expertise, information only they have access to, and their partnership to make it all happen.

So, what are we to do when our work with them includes more blockers than anything?

If you truly want to move from a place where you are taking training orders to one where you work with your stakeholders as a strategic business partner, you need to know how they see you. Your stakeholders' perceptions define how they work with you. You can work to shift these perceptions, but first you need to know what they are.

Have you felt frustrated when a stakeholder comes to you asking for a specific training solution in a shortened timeline?

One day, as I was sharing these frustrations with my boss in a one-on-one, she simply responded with, "We need to train the business how to do business with us."

Too often in L&D we think that the way we are working is helpful, but these behaviors are exactly what keep us stuck working as transactional order takers.

In other words, we unintentionally sabotage our own success.

If those of us in L&D want to work as Strategic Business Partners, it's critical that we deepen our understanding of the business. We need to approach the work as business partners with learning expertise. It's one thing to know what to learn and another to know where and how to find that information.

L&D, It's time to amp up our business acumen game. If we want to move from a place where our work is transactional, where we take and deliver training orders, to one where we are working in partnership with our business colleagues, then we need to do better. We need to know more.

Like any process, intake will be most successful when it matches your company culture and maturity level. It needs to make sense for those providing the information, your stakeholders.

L&D leaders everywhere strive to move beyond order-taking and become true strategic partners, driving real impact and solving talent challenges. My research reveals four key behaviors—business alignment, proactive engagement, value maximization, and deep collaboration—that empower L&D professionals to make this powerful shift.

It sometimes feels as if the requests for training are coming across our desks or into our inboxes at breakneck speed, even when we have suspicions that training won’t solve the problem. Even when we want to do more than fulfill pre-scripted training “orders.”

Why are stakeholders coming to us with pre-scripted training requests in the first place?

Ever wonder what it takes for L&D leaders to transition from order-takers to true business partners? Strategic L&D pros aren’t just reactive; they’re invited early to the table, foster strong relationships, and collaborate deeply with stakeholders. Discover the three key signs of a Strategic Business Partner and learn how to spot a potential mentor in your own organization.

Picture this: For months, you've been working hard on the strategy for a new learning program. You confidently present it to key stakeholders, looking for their commitment to back it. They ask some good questions then say you did a good job. The meeting ends. Now what?

I remember staring at the goal planted squarely under my name in Workday with complete overwhelm, "Create an organized and repeatable L&D measurement strategy." We were already into Q2, time was ticking, and I was procrastinating.

Training cannot fix unclear expectations from leadership. Of course, we can and should help to communicate any expectations about desired behavior and job role as part of the training product we produce. But if those expectations aren't clear in the first place, no amount of training will fix the problem.

Yes, we can help managers learn how to provide effective feedback and coaching for their team members. But, no amount of even the most awesome training for their team members can make-up for a manager who does not do this work. Training isn't a substitution for manager feedback.

Reward systems can be used to motivate team members to perform or prioritize certain tasks. However, rewards that are misaligned can quickly do the opposite if a reward is administered for the wrong behavior/task or for performing a task in an undesirable way. Training cannot fix a misaligned reward system.