Issue link: https://resource.opensesame.com/i/1474251
Conclusions The difficult journey to influence This year's survey shows the impact of two years of pandemic. COVID-19 forced many to work online, and it reduced budg- ets and resources for L&D. Now, as we emerge from the pandemic, L&D is caught between two related issues. We have to serve a new, hybrid world of work that requires people to adopt new skills, but the very conditions that creat- ed this new working world have also left people overworked, disengaged from learning, and stakeholders as remote as ever from the details of the workings of L&D. How to tackle this? Those in workplace L&D are more focused this year than last on reskilling, upskilling, personali- sation and particularly on coaching and mentoring. Focusing on helping individuals build their skills for the future will certainly help with the issue of engagement. It will not, however, put L&D anywhere closer to engaging stakeholders. This does not appear to be a priority for the workplace L&D cohort, which this year reduced votes for both Consulting more deeply with the business (down 0.9%) and Showing value (down 0.4%). The constant presence of these two options in the middle of the table over the years is both heartening (because they have not dropped off the table) and bewildering (because they seem unable to gain upward momentum). If L&D really does strive to engage with stakeholders, then it must reach beyond the daily tasks of delivering training and helping people learn, and seek not just to serve the business, but to influence it. This journey to influence is like climbing a mountain, with strategic influence at the peak of the snow-covered summit. To reach this position of influence, L&D has to do its day job, and do it well, proving itself on every step of the journey to the summit. This means taking care of the onboarding, compliance, skills maintenance and other tasks that make up the daily grind of L&D. However, this endeavour only proves that L&D is compe- tent in its role. It does not win it the right or the ability to influence. This comes when L&D is able to discuss the strategic implications of its work on level terms with the business. To use our mountain climbing analogy, the walk to the snowline is done with one set of equipment – perhaps boots and walking poles. Beyond the snowline, you need new tools – crampons and an ice axe. For L&D to achieve strategic influence, it has to not only do the day job well, it must also equip itself with the tools of influence. These include a deep knowledge of the business and the context in which it operates, data and the means to express it, and great consultative skills to allow meaningful dialogue with business leaders. None of this is developed in the daily work of L&D. All of it is essential to gain influence at the top. L&D faces a slew of challenges in 2022, but it may be that the greatest challenge we face is to equip ourselves to engage with stakeholders. " For L&D to achieve strategic influence, it has to not only do the day job well, it must also equip itself with the tools of influence... Donald H Taylor, Global Sentiment Survey 2022 18