On 'Order taking' and 'No seat at the table' in corporate Learning and Development

"Managers love empowerment in theory, but the command-and-control model is what they trust and know best."

Chris Agyris

"Order taking" and "No seat at the table" are symptoms for legacy L&D teams. We know that if the work of L&D is positioned, structured and measured in the traditional way then frustration with the lack or resulting influence and authority is inevitable.

Some common signs of tactical, 'cost centre' positioning of the L&D function from my experiences include:

The 'L&D' team lack understanding of business goals / strategy / brand strategy / commercial differentiation

There's no connected, aligned, L&D strategy, tactics and success measures which enable the business goals / differentiation in the market

Traditional expectations from 'senior leaders' of the work of the L&D function (training courses / 'solutions' / 'content' / events / programmes / curriculum / compliance)

A focus on "Learning" (capital 'L') as the goal - rather than enabling work performance

'Received' L&D priorities, only centred on:

"Increasing productivity"

"Reducing costs"

"Meeting statutory obligations"

"Closing skills gaps"

"Ensuring effective delivery of our existing processes"

An overriding focus on the "learning content"

Transactional vendor and supplier partnerships; (KPIs not aligned to change and business goals)

A need to control "content", "learning delivery", "administration"

Evaluation focused around "learner satisfaction"

A lack of 'senior level' practical commitment and buy in 

L&D plans constantly under pressure from "business critical" and "cost reduction" initiatives

L&D budgets managed 'top down' and annually.

The alternative? - to waiting to be granted more authority? - is for the L&D function to choose to take new responsibility:

Take responsibility for identifying and developing the new capabilities that will set the business apart from its competitors.

The L&D team can only grow their impact and influence on the organisation by focusing on what is now difficult and differentiating in its chosen market - and therefore most valuable to its customers. 

 

Dynamic organisation development strategy for mid sized companies

www.jocelynconsultingltd.co.uk

I work as a thinking partner and advisor with mid sized, value oriented companies going through significant change. I help you to build new capability and mindsets through shifting your approach to organisational development.

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