I’ve been thinking about our recurring conversations in L&D, particularly how many themes haven’t changed over the last several decades. Much of what concerned us today concerned us decades ago. We’re still talking about not having a seat at the table, still saying employees lack time to learn, still wrestling with engagement, impact, and alignment. These challenges are real, but their
persistence suggests our approach might not be moving us forwards. We often frame these issues as things happening to us rather than problems we can influence. If we want different outcomes, we need to change how we talk about these challenges. Rather than waiting for perfect conditions or invitations to strategic conversations, we could focus on areas where we already have agency and
start building momentum from there.
So what could that look like?
One shift that could make a real difference is reframing how we talk about value. For years, we’ve tried to demonstrate ROI, impact, alignment, and performance outcomes, yet we often speak about them in ways leadership teams find abstract. What if we spent less time trying to justify our existence in theoretical terms and more time solving the immediate problems that leaders actually feel? When you fix a friction point that is already painful to the business, the conversation about value becomes much easier.
Another change could come from the way we position learning time. We’ve been saying “employees don’t have time to learn” for longer than I can remember. And while the pressure on time is real, the reality is that people make time for the things that feel urgent and useful. Maybe the challenge for us isn’t to negotiate more time, but to design learning that fits into the time people already have. If learning moments are small, practical, and linked to the problems people need to solve right now, it stops being a competing priority and starts being a helpful tool.
We might also need to be more honest about our relationship with leadership. The phrase “seat at the table” comes up endlessly, and while it reflects a real aspiration, waiting for that invitation may not be the most reliable strategy. What if, instead, we created value in the spaces we already have influence, and let the results open the door? Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is to stop asking for the seat and start demonstrating why our voice matters.
Another approach we could take is shifting from broad organisational narratives to small, scalable experiments. Instead of big initiatives that require months of planning and alignment, what if we tested ideas quickly with small groups, gathered data, iterated, and built momentum that way? This is something many other business functions already do, and it’s a way of working that tends to get attention because it produces evidence fast. When others can see movement, even in a small pocket of the organisation, it becomes much easier to bring them on board.
And perhaps most importantly, we need to reframe our own expectations. L&D has long carried the burden of feeling responsible for skills, performance, engagement, culture, behaviour change, and organisational capability. That’s a huge set of responsibilities for any single function. Maybe the next step for us is to focus less on being the owners of learning and more on being the enablers of it. Instead of driving everything ourselves,we could spend more energy equipping managers, empowering teams, and weaving learning into existing processes. This shifts the weight and distributes it more evenly across the organisation.
As I look at where we are as a profession, I can see so much talent, creativity, and expertise. We’re passionate about helping people grow. We understand behaviour, motivation, and performance better than most. The conversations we’ve been having for decades are not wrong, but perhaps it’s time to have them differently. Not with frustration, but with clarity. Not with the expectations of overnight change, but with confidence in the small and meaningful steps we can take.
If we shift the narrative from “we can’t, because” to “we can start by,” we’ll see progress take shape in ways that are both practical and energising. Because change rarely comes from waiting for permission. It often begins with a small group of people choosing to do things differently.
And in L&D, we are perfectly positioned to be those people.
About the author
Rebecca McDowall is Chair of The Learning Network, a community interest company created to support learning and development professionals through community, collaboration, and shared expertise. It offers virtual and in-person events, mentoring, resources, and networking opportunities that connect practitioners across the industry.
The article was first published in Learning Magazine, Spring Edition 2026. Click here to read the full edition.