For L&D practitioners, the strongest professional development combines learning expertise, business knowledge, technology, and influence. Your goal should be to become not just someone who creates training, but someone who can identify performance problems and help the organization solve them.
Here are some ideas on how to get there:
Go beyond course creation
Learning professionals need to become comfortable with needs analysis, setting learning objectives, deciding when learning isn’t the solution, and understanding and integrating adult learning principles into training. These are the skills that will help learning professionals adapt their role for the future.
How can the Learning Guild help? The Instructional Design Certificate Program will help you master these skills. Then you can also stay for DevLearn and follow the Learning Design Learning Path.
Develop AI fluency
Experiment with AI for outlining courses, creating scenarios, generating assessment questions, summarizing learner feedback, developing facilitator materials, personalizing learning, and brainstorming activities. Also learn where human judgment, verification, privacy controls, and subject-matter expertise are still necessary.
How can the Learning Guild help? The AI for Learning Summit at DevLearn and Learning Leadership is a great option. But if you can’t get away, you can join in virtually for the AI & Learning Design Online Conference.
Increase your performance consulting knowledge
When someone says, “We need training on X,” practice asking: What are employees doing now? What should they be doing? What’s causing the gap? The answer could be a knowledge gap, but it could also be unclear processes, poor incentives, inadequate tools, or management issues.
How can the Learning Guild help? In addition to our articles, you can check out the DevLearn Pre-Conference workshop on performance consulting.
Study learning technology
Understand LMSs, LXPs, authoring tools, virtual learning platforms, content standards, accessibility, and emerging AI capabilities. Focus on the problem each technology solves rather than the platform itself.
How can the Learning Guild help? DevLearn has 200+ learning activities related to the latest learning tech, and if budget is tight, you can still see cutting-edge solutions with an Expo pass. If traveling isn’t in the cards, check out the Everyday Tools in Learning Development Online Conference.
Connect learning to organizational priorities
Learn how your organization makes money, what its strategic priorities are, and which KPIs leadership cares about. When proposing an L&D initiative, connect it to outcomes such as productivity, retention, sales performance, customer satisfaction, or other metrics important to your organization.
How can the Learning Guild help? In addition to articles on learning data, our Learning Leadership event will explore this topic in peer-to-peer discussions.
Develop a network
Find fellow practitioners that you can bounce ideas off of, discuss shared problems with, or benchmark your learning. Also, share your wisdom with them to strengthen your reputation and the learning community as a whole. You never know when having strong connections will come in handy.
How can the Learning Guild help? To start building your network, become a Learning Guild member, participate in discussions at Online Conferences, and attend in-person events.
