Learning for Organizational Development

New Times, New Needs

Organizations must develop deeper relationships with their most talented people, particularly in today’s fast-moving, volatile workplace. Learning and development (L&D) professionals must make sure employees have resources like online learning, peer learning and coaches. They must emphasize quick skills and knowledge acquisition for immediate performance improvement.

Professionals in L&D guide workers in their learning, but generally don’t prescribe training or lead it. They now spend less time designing courses and running training sessions. Instead, they help leaders, teams and employees develop their ability to master a more self-directed approach to learning and to learn independently in the context of the company’s needs. L&D and OD professionals must think strategically and use behavioral sciences to build a more inclusive learning culture within their organization, considering how interventions in one place may have a cascading impact across the organization and beyond.

The Evolution of OD and L&D

For years now, researchers and HR leaders have argued that changing management...