The World Changed. L&D Didn’t.

The world changed. L&D mostly didn’t.

L&D teams design learning for everyone else.
But who is designing learning for L&D?

Right now, most L&D upskilling is accidental.
A webinar here. A conference there. A template someone forwards on Slack.

That’s not capability building. That’s binge learning.

Here’s the real issue 👇🏼
Learning is shaped by the environment. Not intent.

And the environment L&D designs for has changed massively.
AI copilots. Faster cycles. Hybrid work. Shorter patience. Higher scrutiny on impact.

Yet many teams are still designing like it’s 2000.
Long courses. Heavy theory. Low practice. “Engagement” as decoration.

That mismatch is why L&D feels tired and stuck. 🤯
You’re running yesterday’s playbook in today’s game.

If the environment changed, your learning design has to change too.
That shift needs L&Ds to unlearn and relearn what they imagine learning to be.

A simple process to make L&D upskilling intentional:

1. Evaluate: Figure out where your team stands right now. What capabilities are needed for them to work effectively? What is missing?

2. Select: Pick one capability at a time. What is the bottleneck (practice design, assessment, transfer, data)?

3. Prioritise: Figure out ways to build that capability. This could be peer-sharing, finding a specific program or even just building in into your workflow/review cycles.

4. Review: See where you stand in 1 month. Maybe your team improved, maybe they need to learn more - figure out why/why not?

Repeat from 2-4.
By the end of the year, you will have a radically different team.

💬 What do you think is the single most important thing L&D teams need to learn in 2026?

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📩 If you’re looking to upskill your L&D team. Let's chat! That's exactly the kind of work I do at Field.