Couldn’t agree more, STRATEGY is so often ignored by those supposedly responsible for L&D or indeed HR, Talent, Performance (choose your own version). I have often asked the question, “can I see the L&D (or equivalent) Strategy (or even plan)” only to be met with a dumbfounded look! This is not a tar brush response to everyone, everywhere but if the cap fits, you’ve gotta kind of wear it! The lack of any kind of alignment to the business strategy/plan and just lumping everything into an LMS and hoping they will come and devours is not only misguided, ill informed and completely mindless, it is a dereliction of duty to those who need the learning at the point of need (in the workflow) so they can just get on with their jobs. Planning for this kind of approach requires intelligence, intellect, and inspiration, most of which is lacking in modern day L&D. Oh yes and AI is not the answer!!!
Yesterday I was talking to the L&D leader at a global org w/ 10k+ employees. We got to talking about the ‘systems vs. strategy’ mistake in L&D. Here’s what it is and how L&D leaders can avoid making it in the future: When I say ‘systems vs. strategy’ mistake, I’m talking about how we in L&D tend to put systems BEFORE strategy. When in reality, systems should come AFTER. In other words, we let our learning tech platforms determine our approach to L&D. A brand new system that’s customised and branded with the company logo, called the (insert company name) Academy/University, and jam-packed full of generic content is NOT a strategy. Your L&D strategy links to your organisation’s strategy and lays the framework for developing people in ways that can help you all achieve it. Quantifying the current situation at the outset and determining what the desired state would look like is a great initial step. Articulate what success looks like beyond ‘a high percentage of the workforce will use the platform’. There might be something in there about enhancing performance, upskilling for a distinct purpose, reskilling in order to adapt to the market, internal mobility to make the very most of the people in your organisation and for their engagement and ambitions. Those listed above might be broad themes but your organisation will have specific needs and you will need to tool your L&D team with what it needs to achieve your strategy. Processes will help you. A clear identity and team brand will help you. A robust approach to consulting and analysis will help you. An iterative approach to solutions will help you. Standing for impact will help you. But starting with the tools will not. Believe me. Make no mistake - the right tools will help you deliver on - and execute - your strategy once it’s in place. But resist the temptation to put the cart before the horse. Know where you’re going first, then decide what you’ll need to get there. Thank you Paul Morgan for inspiring this post with our chat. Feel free to weigh in.
