On Learning and Development Strategy...

The perennial challenges with the impact, credibility and identity of the corporate L&D function are symptoms of it's tactical positioning within the business. 'Post COVID' its systemic focus on 'packaged solutions' risks leaving the function isolated further as sustainable business models rebuild around connectivity, adaptability and speed of organisational learning.

Jason Yip provides helpful direction for L&D leaders seeking to reform the intent and impact of their work:

“Strategy is a resolution of "What do we want?", "What do we have?", and "What is happening in the environment?" 

“Strategy is diagnosis, guiding policy and coherent action”

L&D leaders can consider their Strategy in this way. As an example:

New L&D ‘Diagnosis’ -

How our business uniquely creates value for customers

What is changing in our market / customer context that will change the way the business creates value looking ahead

Capabilities that are now scarce, difficult to develop - and therefore differentiating within our chosen market

The conditions and mindset(s) needed in our organisation if we are to succeed; (these might be new)

If we are currently a learning organisation? If this is the collective mindset in the business? If there is new consensus in the Leadership team on the importance of learning to the future survival and success of the business?

New L&D Guiding policy -

The L&D function exists to help the organisation to change

We are a professional, credible, viable, dynamic business unit which influences the performance of the organisation. We operate beyond a “Business Support Team” mindset and mantra. We deliberately seek to shatter the dominant view of the ‘L&D’ function as an ‘outsider’, ‘bit part player’ and ‘order taker’

The L&D function will support and challenge the Leadership team to embed learning into the way the organisation thinks and grows

The L&D function will focus on creating the supportive environment now needed to accelerate learning at all levels of the organisation. The aim is to build the new 'social structures' we need to enable agency, adaptability and connected problem solving

The L&D function will always ensure there is alignment, clarity and crispness between its goals, their enabling strategies and the appropriate choice of tactics and tools. (We recognise that simply 'digitising' existing approaches is not enough)

'Education' is no longer our default approach - because developing 'standardised' workers is no longer the goal

New Coherent action -

We will collaborate to agree on the type of work where performance improvement is the priority; ('known' work? / 'complex' work? / 'discovery' work?). We will agree the ‘performance’ gap(s) today and the drivers of ‘under-performance’ in our current work system and culture

We will collaborate to agree the balance of investments between 'productive learning' (improving existing process, standardising and simplifying, minimising risk and errors) and 'generative learning' (creating opportunities to generate new thinking, new ideas and new possibilities that will differentiate the business)

We will hold leaders at all levels of the hierarchy to account on their new key accountability: to prioritise, enable, facilitate and accelerate the six features of the learning organisation we now seek to develop together for the benefit of individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole:

1. A vibrant culture of learning that is independent of 'formal learning activities'

2. Intense focus on problem solving, critical thinking, feedback and performance improvement

3. Openness to ideas from 'the outside'

4. High levels of accountability and autonomy as low as possible in the hierarchy - which fosters intrinsic motivation

5. Supportive leadership and a resulting culture which respects individuals, support their development as free thinkers and actively encourages them to speak freely and honestly

6. Dedication to improvement and consistency over time

We will collaborate agree where new opportunities exist for people and teams to learn from, through and at work - and how these can be enabled and accelerated

We will collaborate to agree on the core work process where standardisation and consistency is still the goal. We will simplify / optimise / automate our L&D support for these - in order to free up time to enable and accelerate new value creation.

I work with organisations to reset the role of learning and the purpose of their L&D function.

www.jocelynconsultingltd.co.uk