But… HOW Does L&D Learn About the Business?
Where to find the puzzle pieces of business acumen in your organization.
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.
In the last newsletter, I covered where to start when attempting to up our business acumen game. These are the business basics that every learning pro should strive to learn. But it's one thing to know what to learn and another to know where and how to find that information.
Where's my business handbook?
Last I checked, most L&D pros aren't given a handbook describing the ins and outs of the business where they work and answering all their questions. I don't believe these handbooks exist, at least not in a comprehensive format. For most of us, finding information about our business feels like a randomized search for puzzle pieces. Where to even begin?
Finding the puzzle pieces for your business acumen
If you've ever participating in a scavenger hunt, you know that the most successful participants tap into a healthy dose of curiosity. That same attitude will serve you well in your own hunt to learn more about the business. Sometimes the information will be obvious. Other times you might need to turn over a few rocks.
Here are a few places to search:
Scour digital sources. Chances are you have access to more information than you think. Scour your company’s digital sources including the website, intranet, knowledge base, and shared files. Don’t be afraid to click in and learn more.
Make a direct ask. It seems almost too obvious to say, but sometimes asking for access to information, reports, planning documents, or just answer a question is all that's needed. If you need a justification, use something like, "I'm working to learn as much as I can about the business so that I can be a partner who helps to proactively solve talent challenges.” I've found that unless there is a good reason (security, confidentiality, or a cultural norm) to not share information, it’s difficult for most to deny someone who is trying to learn in order to improve the business.
Insert yourself into meetings. You don't always need to wait for an invitation. Ask to be included in key meetings using the same justification as above - learning more about the business to be a better partner. You can even offer to take notes if that’s what gets you in the door.
Listen strategically. In every meeting and conversation, listen for information that will fill in your business knowledge gaps; the pieces that will help you put together the puzzle of the business. This could include new-to-you acronyms, insights into the biggest business challenges, clues as to unwritten rules, nods to revenues and expenses, and more. Often the information is discussed without being explicitly called out. Listen for what's behind the agenda.
Find at least one business mentor. This is someone outside of L&D/HR who can share insights about how the business operates, the top business challenges, leadership pressures and goals, and navigating the company’s political landscape. You could even get as granular as finding a mentor for a specific gap area like understanding how to read company balance sheets or better understand finance.
Go to the gemba. Gemba comes from the Japanese term “genba” or “actual place." In business it refers to the place where the work is done. Nothing can substitute for seeing work completed in real time along with the nuances, real life challenges, unwritten processes, tips used only by top performers, and more. These are rarely written down but they are regularly experienced.
Learn from every project. Every project that you do presents an opportunity to learn more about the business basics. Spend dedicated time reflecting during and/or after every project on the business basics that were expanded or illuminated.
Start by trying to gather as much information as you can, per this list, but know that learning about the business won’t be completed in a day. You will continuously learn little pieces of information that fill in gaps to varying levels of depth. If you are always watching and listening for puzzle pieces, you will find them over time and the picture of your business will continue to emerge more and more clearly.
