The Trusted Learning Advisor

Learning and Development departments should act as partners to their companies, not as order-takers.

Today, many people in Learning and Development (L&D) simply follow orders. Stakeholders tell them the problem, decide on a solution, and then expect L&D teams to carry it out without question. However, many L&D practitioners want to change this approach and become “Trusted Learning Advisors.” 

When L&D professionals passively take orders from stakeholders, it’s akin to a doctor unquestioningly accepting a patient’s Google diagnosis. As a Trusted Learning Advisor, you don’t merely provide learning services; you function as a strategic partner in the long-term development of an organization’s employees – its most valuable asset. You understand your stakeholders’ primary goals and help them achieve these ends by implementing solutions that create lasting and measurable value.

The process of L&D evolving into Trusted Learning Advisors doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual journey marked by small but significant steps and victories. It took one ...