Many L&D professionals are on a quest to move from a role where they are regarded as transactional order takers to one where they are strategic business partners within their company. This is awesome! Working as strategic business partners, we can have a much larger impact, add more value, and solve talent challenges. But getting there can be complicated…
I wish it were as simple as L&D professionals deciding to do our work differently. But this work isn't about us alone. The rest of the organization also needs to embrace this change. Many organizational leaders aren't even aware there is a need to change or that L&D leaders could be more potent contributors. That means the move for learning leaders to work as strategic business partners is a cultural shift for the entire organization. It involves changing behavior patterns, expectations, and legacy thinking about L&D and what we do. How do we get there?
The strategic business partner spectrum
The concepts of order taker vs. strategic business partner, while different, are not mutually exclusive. Instead, they exist on a spectrum, with order taker at one end and strategic business partner at the other. Most L&D leaders find themselves more toward the middle than either end or they move along the spectrum in both directions from day to day based on several different factors, like the emergence of new strategic initiatives, critical issues, or stakeholders.
Some stakeholders in the company may see you and your L&D team as strategic business partners while others, on the very same day, see L&D as order takers and treat you as such. It's more likely that you will be working as an order taker and a strategic business partner simultaneously to varying degrees than entirely on one side or the other.
The goal is to position yourself closer to the strategic business partner end of the spectrum. The work to get there and stay there is continuous. Maybe the most surprising part? To get there you often need to start by taking the order.
Take the order; make the change
It turns out that taking orders or requests for training is a vital part of the change process for L&D to move from a transactional role to a more transformational working partnership with the business. If you have an order, you have an opportunity to begin making a change. Finding and capitalizing on that opportunity is a powerful strategy to start moving the needle down the spectrum. Begin this process through the use of the "4S Opportunities."
The 4S opportunities are the most common ways to tap into and utilize an order to start moving the needle. They are:
- Shift Mindset Opportunity
- Strategic Approach Opportunity
- Surprise and Delight Opportunity
- Sure Thing Opportunity
The Shift Mindset Opportunity
Start working within the training order by shifting your mindset. Instead of thinking of yourself as performing a support function or as someone who takes and delivers on orders, think of yourself as a partner who is working with the business as an equal.
It's akin to wearing the clothes for the job you want vs. the one you have. Remember, even those working more frequently as strategic business partners occasionally need to take and deliver on a training order. Imagine this is one of those times. How do you approach the work differently? What questions do you ask as a partner instead of a support person?
By acting like a partner within the request instead of waiting for the day you are seen as a partner, you will begin to crack open the door on what is possible. Your own mindset shift begins to enable the mindset shift of others.
The Strategic Approach Opportunity
When you must take a training order, chances are you won't be able to proceed according to the ideal plan of doing a needs analysis first, followed by design and delivery. At least, that's been my experience. The training is needed stat, the key influencers are already on board, and your ability to push back and ask questions is nonexistent.
But you still have an opportunity to be strategic: It's the opportunity to put pieces in place that allow for the next request to be handled according to the ideal format. This means thinking about what you can do while fulfilling the order that also illuminates a better way for the future.
For example, can you add in measurement to show what did and did not work? Can you ask to do a full needs analysis after the fact? This might seem backward, but it can work. When I was asked to do a last-minute webinar series to "fix" a customer education issue—without any analysis and no time to negotiate—I agreed, but only with the stipulation that I be allowed to conduct a full analysis of the current customer education process after the webinar series was complete. I wanted to help the requesters make customer education even better; a full analysis would more specifically show us where customer education was working and where it was falling short.
The Surprise and Delight Opportunity
How can you add unexpected value to your work within this training order? Using your learning and performance expertise, get creative. Deliver something that they didn't see coming or show how performance is positively impacted without being asked. In other words, don't just fulfill the training order as it is written, expand on it to add value.
I recently spoke with Sarah, the learning and OD manager for a mid-sized retailer who shared how she received a request to update the company's safety training videos. She added unexpected value through changes that resulted in a more effective and efficient training program. After interviewing managers to find out the most common safety mishaps, Sarah created shorter, more enjoyable videos that used humor and thus, were fun to watch. She set up a program that would deliver the shortened videos to employees throughout the year, when each incident was most likely to happen, instead of asking employees to watch all the videos at once. She also calculated the cost savings accrued from pulling employees off the floor for shorter periods of time. Finally, she put measurement in place to monitor the safety incidents before and after employees watched the videos. Note that the initial ask was simply to re-create training videos and the expectation was to do this the same way it had always been done. No one expected the surprise and delight of increased efficiency, measurement, and fun.
How might you surprise and delight the requester to exceed their expectations and highlight more of your skills and expertise?
The Sure Thing Opportunity
There is one opportunity that is completely within your control, no matter the request. It is a sure thing. You can always build and/or improve relationships with stakeholders and learn something about the business with each project you take on.
As you work to fulfill the training order, engage in conversations with the stakeholders to learn more about their business. Get curious about what it's like to sit in their seat. Aim to discover more about how their portion of the business functions, their team's biggest challenges and successes, and their goals. Listen to their responses as insights. Refer to what you learn when thinking about how to work more proactively with them in the future, especially when it comes to partnering with them to solve their challenges and achieve their goals.
Leverage opportunities to move the needle
I guarantee there will be times in your L&D career when you need to take and deliver on a training order, when conditions and processes are less than ideal. It doesn't mean you can't or won't be able to work as a strategic business partner. Especially if you can find the opportunities to move the needle and work differently within that request.
Stretch your strategic muscles
Join Jess Almlie at Learning 2024, where she's presenting "What Learning Leaders Working as Strategic Business Partners Do Differently" and participating in Leadership Insights conversations on developing strategic relationships. While you're there, select from dozens of strategic or skills-focused sessions, network with other learning leaders, and find solutions to some of your greatest challenges. Learning 2024 is December 4–6, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. Register today!
Can't get to Orlando? Jess Almlie is also presenting at DevLearn, November 6–8, 2024, in Las Vegas. Catch her session, "Proven Tactics of L&D Leaders Who Work as Strategic Business Partners," build new connections, and explore the latest in learning technology. Register for DevLearn today!