Editorial
LinkedIn estimates 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change by 2030, driven largely by AI and the rapid evolution of work. The capabilities gaining momentum blend technical fluency with human strengths like adaptability, collaboration, critical thinking and leadership.
The need for capability building is high. The perceived availability of time is low. It feels like an impossible tension to balance. But this isn’t a time problem. It’s a design problem.
Calls for micro-learning are on the rise. These quick hits of knowledge promise efficiency, can reinforce concepts and offer nudges. But when micro-learning becomes the strategy instead of a tactic, we reinforce the belief that learning and development is an act of consumption. And this is the real root of the issue.
Too much of the learning being delivered today feels like an expenditure of time. Because it is. We don’t need to reduce it. We need to turn that expenditure into an investment that pays off real-time. We need to change the way we’re doing learning and development. We need to evolve from telling and teaching to activating new skills, capabilities, habits and behaviors.
Here are five ways we can design L&D for that kind of impact.
1. Make Relevance Non-Negotiable
Tools or frameworks will never deliver maximum impact if learners don’t see a clear need for them in the rhythm of their days. Any great L&D program should begin with a conversation about the why. When participants understand the problem a tool actually solves, the game changes.
Too many L&D programs rely on compliance. A tool or skill has been taught, so participants should use it. But the real imperative of a program is to help participants feel a need to use it.
So ask people to interrogate the tool: Where would this help? Where might it fall short? What parts do they want to take forward, and what can they leave behind? When participants see a legitimate need for the tools they’re offered, change stops feeling like a mandate and starts to feel like a choice.
2. Surface Barriers and Design L&D Programs Around Them
Knowing how to use a tool doesn’t necessarily translate into it being used.
Insufficient time, a lack of confidence, organizational silos, lack of support from their leaders or other challenges can prevent new behaviors and capabilities from gaining traction. So teaching the how is insufficient. Impactful L&D must openly discuss what holds participants back, and how they might address barriers.
Programs that surface those barriers give participants space to name what might block them and start solving for it. That might mean reframing what “practice” looks like: 10 minutes here instead of an hour there. Or building confidence with a peer before trying it live.
If the program doesn’t make room to wrestle with friction, the learning won’t stick.
3. Invite Signals of Progress
If participants walk out expecting to apply new tools perfectly, most will give up after the first stumble. Learning programs should help people expect imperfection and know how to keep going anyway.
The purpose of a program should be to help participants activate new muscles and to know how to grow them over time. The false hope of stellar performance out of the gate will only discourage further practice.
Instead, share some signs of progress they should watch for to show they’re on the right path. The first time, for example, someone tries the new coaching framework they will stumble. So the definition of success on the first try might not be a massive insight from their direct report. Instead, it might be seeing their team member take a single deep breath, or have one small insight about their own performance.
Successful L&D delivers resilience and longevity. Participants need to be willing to keep on keeping on. So helping them find small wins feeds momentum.
4. Use the Cohort as a Catalyst for Learning
Shared context is a powerful learning tool. Participants inside the same business bring shared language, systems and blockers. Design learning efforts to harness that shared knowledge.
Ask them to test ideas against real scenarios. Let them unpack what’s worked and what hasn’t. Encourage them to share challenges and pressure-test each other’s plans. The learning environment will feel relevant, safe and useful as a result.
That peer accountability carries forward. When the session ends, people who’ve coached each other are more likely to follow up. More likely to act. More likely to keep going.
5. Redefine the Facilitator’s Role
Facilitators shouldn’t aim to be the smartest voice in the room. They should bring a particular expertise designed to blend with the expertise brought in by the participants. Facilitators should inspire learning rather than passively deliver it.
This Shift That Makes Learning Sustainable
When learning is designed this way, the payoff is immediate. It doesn’t feel like time taken away from the work. It feels like time invested directly into it.
This isn’t just tactical. It’s strategic. It shifts learning and development from a support function to a performance driver. It earns attention, trust and follow-through.
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It also raises the bar. The right question isn’t “What should they know?” It’s “What should they be able to do differently?” The job isn’t to teach faster. It’s to make the learning matter more.
We don’t need more content. We need programs that create fast and lasting change.
Editor's Note: Read more about the shifting world of learning and development:
- The Thing Employees Want Most From Your L&D Offerings? Peer-to-Peer Learning — As workforces get more dispersed, the need to connect with colleagues is growing — and L&D is no exception.
- How AI Is Changing Learning Technology: The LMS Vendor View — Learning platforms are moving past AI hype and focusing on practical integration and real value for both learners and administrators.
- Learning That CLICS — Behavioral science holds the key to unlocking how learning actually happens.
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