Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2024 - 20

HOW-TO
TOP 10 COUNTDOWN TO BEING A
TRUSTED L&D ADVISOR
BY MARILYN GOODWIN
A few years ago, ByteDance,
the
parent company of TikTok, convened
a brief five-minute virtual meeting
with its over 70-person talent
development team, and in that
short meeting, they eliminated the
entire department. Why? Leadership
wasn't informed about what the
talent
development team actually
did. While some initiatives may have
been helpful individually, they weren't
bringing the business forward or
demonstrating value. Many roles and
functions weren't in tune with the
strategic development plans, and,
ironically, many learning events were
mediocre for a company like TikTok,
with
content that could easily be
found online.
This story is not unique: Experienced
learning and development (L&D)
professionals see staff reductions,
even when improving employee
performance is the goal. So, how do
you make sure this doesn't happen
to you or your team? This article will
count down the 10 ways to become
trusted advisors and make the L&D
team a valuable asset.
10. DELIVER AS PROMISED
If you don't consistently deliver what you
promise, don't worry about anything else
in this article. You must be dependable
and manage expectations on what you
and your team can do and when. You must
always keep leadership informed about
your progress and communicate early if
a deadline is missed. Most importantly,
adopt a " no excuse " attitude. Once you've
20
8. PLAN AND ANTICIPATE
Stay on top of what's happening
in the business to recommend
the best solutions for enhancing
employee performance. What skills
do employees need? What behaviors
need to be reinforced? What is
needed to support the successful
implementation of strategic initiatives?
You must be aware and anticipate
what is coming. Once you know what
is needed, communicate what you
and your team can do to help achieve
those goals.
7. GATHER MEANINGFUL ANALYTICS
There are many L&D analytics
available today, but how do you know
which ones are valuable for you and
your organization? Leaders can be
promised something, communicating
reasons why it didn't happen just doesn't
sit
well with leadership. Always keep
leadership informed.
9. BALANCE, INNOVATION
AND PRODUCTION
Standards, tools, processes and the
ability to manage the team's capacity
enables you to track progress and
prioritize work. Using these systems
builds leadership confidence in your
ability to deliver. Credibility is the
currency you need to implement new
and innovative learning technologies
or methodologies or grow your team.
distrustful of training data. Perceptions
count. If their perceptions of how
a particular training initiative was
received differ from what the training
data indicates, they may rely on their
perceptions or what others say (even
if it is just one or two people). Be sure
to learn what kind of data and reports
leaders use to run the business. Align
your training data and reporting to
create meaning for leaders. Take the
time to educate leadership on the
validity of training reports and how L&D
solutions are impacting the business.
SPEND TIME
LEARNING THE
LANGUAGE OF
THE BUSINESS
YOU SERVE.
6. REPORT ON OUTCOMES,
NOT INPUTS
How you manage L&D through
capacity plans, prioritization and
status updates is important. How many
training sessions
were
delivered?
How many people attended? All of
that is what you do. But the real key
to being a valued partner with the
business is the " so that. " You do these
things " so that " the business benefits.
What is the business outcome for
your solutions? Communicating and
https://trainingindustry.com/wiki/strategy-alignment-and-planning/strategic-alignment/ https://trainingindustry.com/wiki/strategy-alignment-and-planning/strategic-alignment/
Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2024
