L&D Order Taker No More!

Collaborate with stakeholders to proactively support their business goals.

L&D leaders should become “strategic business partners” (SBP) who strive to meet learning objectives and help stakeholders achieve their business goals. Instead of asking how you can “help” or “support” others, ask how you can “partner” with them to solve problems. When people come to you with specific training requests, learn about the challenges they face. Consider the big picture — why a problem is occurring — before working out a learning plan.

For example, when one group struggled with workers not taking on complex tasks, they assumed those workers required training. However, the L&D team discovered the workers already knew how to do the complex tasks. They chose to skip them because their bonuses depended on the number of tasks they completed. 

Take a proactive approach to identifying learning and development needs. Invite yourself to meetings to learn the organization’s core initiatives and challenges. Offer to listen and take notes if that gets you in the door. Discern what’s happening in the company through intranet articles, quarterly meetings...