"The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision . You can't blow an uncertain trumpet." Jason Walker What if " moving the curriculum online " wasn't the real challenge at all?... Five alternative challenges for restless Learning and Development leaders: 1. Leading with new  Confidence 'Learning' means enabling chang e - with and in the organisation. Choosing to take responsibility for change is the definition of leadership work. The age old Learning and Development question of " When will we be given a seat at the table? " is a hangover from the industrial management model - based on scarcity and positional power. Learning and Development can lead by choosing to take new responsibility  - rather than waiting to be granted more 'authority'. 2. Connecting to a new work Context There have been two unstoppable forces at play in business which fundamentally shift the context within which the Learning and D

"It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it." Upton Sinclair ' oxymoron ' - noun ' a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction ' Here is a collection of direct quotes from some (random) ' Head of Learning and Development ' job descriptions I found online. The first set of quotes are from the " Objectives of the role " sections: "Drive the new strategy" "Supporting behavioural change in accordance with the People Strategy; aligned to the strategic vision and priorities of the organisation" "Create new knowledge and confidence across the organisation" "You will mould the learning culture from he group up and partner with clients to develop a learning community" "Make a big impact by implementing a future thinking learning strategy" "Set up and drive forward our Learning

"Some people are just toolists. They believe that tools change the world. Not insight." Nils Pflaeging The world now seems to be changing faster than many would have thought possible. Ideas around ' leadership ', ' the future of work ', ' purpose ', ' connection ', ' activism ' and ' change ' all have renewed resonance and urgency. Against this dynamic backdrop, the work of "corporate learning" often seems like a relic of the industrial era. An outdated model - a small cog in the 'old system'. Learning leaders can also choose to start to change - by influencing the management system within which they operate, otherwise the cycle of " doing the wrong things righter " will persist. A powerful starting point for Learning and Development leaders can to change they way they describe the  ambition, intent, focus   and  contribution  of their work: We help people to connect, participate and take

" Each system is perfectly designed to give you exactly what you are getting today ." W. Edwards Demming The new role of 'Learning and Development' is to help the organisation to connect with its new "living with COVID" context. This ambition helps to deliberately re-position the work of Learning and Development beyond that of a 'content delivery team'. These three questions can help to re-frame and elevate the focus and contribution of Learning and Development, around: The organisations' business model - now and looking forward The competitive context within which the organisation is now operating The new definitions of ' performance ' now needed - to build a differentiated business The different types of work within the organisation - that create value now and looking forward Q1. How stable (and differentiating) is our current business model? Will this change? Is the organisation deliberately aligning around the