By Mercedez Jones
A long time ago in an organization far, far away, the space of corporate learning entered a turbulent time of change. For as long as we can remember, Learning and Development (L&D) teams acted like Jedi Temples, guardians of wisdom that were called upon during times of disturbance or chaos. Business leaders would send their distress call of “We need learning,” and the teams would react.
But in today’s ever-changing landscape of transformations, hybrid work, AI, and much more, this organization needs more than just order-takers; it needs a strategist, someone who can sense needs and shifts before they happen. Those who can use this “force” to align people, purpose and processes will be instrumental in crafting a talent strategy that leads organizations into the future at light speed.
For decades, the L&D galaxy revolved around programs rather than partnerships. Teams created courses and tracked completion with hopes that results would follow. However, today the Force has awoken and leaders across the business have begun to ask the fundamental question: Why?
- Why are we doing this training?
- Why are my employees not developing fast enough?
- Why am I not seeing business results?
This shift moved L&D from simply content to capability and change because a learning strategist understands that learning is not a singular event or training; it’s a continuous and evolving ecosystem. The mindset shift from one-off requested initiatives to becoming connectors of business goals and talent development allows them to recognize capability gaps and needs long before a formal request comes along.
What is a learning strategist?
So, who is this modern Learning Jedi?
The learning strategist is a unique hybrid of coach, consultant, and change architect who starts with the end goal in mind. By starting with where we need to be, they can craft a journey that seamlessly weaves best-in-class training solutions with an understanding that they may need to influence business processes, leader mindset, and learning conditions.
You can think of our Star Wars counterparts and how they influence using their unique forces:
- Yoda: The coach and mentor who sees potential before others do, often helping individuals come to the right conclusions without explicitly stating them
- Luke: The consultant who influences without authority, uniting teams through emotional intelligence and a unified goal
- Leia: The change architect who realizes we can do things differently and understands that greatness isn’t given, it’s built.
And just as these Jedis mastered the Force through discipline, practice, and intuition, learning strategists can master the art of influence by aligning stakeholders, connecting insights, and guiding organizations toward talent transformation.
Become a Master Jedi of Change
Across the Star Wars universe, the Force connects all living things. In our organizations, influence connects all business outcomes. But you don’t need your own lightsaber to wield influence. You need key skills of listening, empathy, understanding, and alignment to drive connections. With three easy steps, you too can be a Master Jedi of Change:
- Feel the force: Listen for the unspoken using organizational awareness. This is your opportunity, through needs analysis and leadership conversation, to determine what is truly needed. And remember, not everything is a training problem.
- Expand the universe: Reimagine what learning can be. This is your opportunity to be inventive and move away from standard eLearning or classroom-style training.
- Activate the galaxy: Implement with purpose and confidence. This is your opportunity to scale your strategy and ideas across the organization to drive lasting change.
In practice, this can look like reframing a sales team gap analysis from a simple sales training into a talent ecosystem that aligns enablement, feedback, and coaching that empowers employees to continue to grow through a variety of modalities.
Unfortunately, even the strongest strategists can be tempted by the Dark Side of Learning. It whispers using deadlines and dashboards that say things like:
- “Just build the course”
- “If everyone completes the course, it’s going to work”
- “We’ve always done training like this”
- “We don’t have time to re-invent”
The Dark Side of Learning is the reactive nature, where we focus on a single deliverable as opposed to direction, and lose sight of the learning experience to chase the wrong KPIs.
To help them keep their focus, every great Jedi has their mentor and Council: Luke had Yoda. Anakin had Obi-Wan.
Who is yours? Building influence in learning means cultivating alliances between HR, business leaders, tech teams, and culture & change champions. As a strategist, you are operating as a convener of perspectives, bringing together everyone who can shape a shared vision for learning.
Just as the Jedi Temple had pillars, your council should have a few, too:
- Build Common Language: Translate your learning goals into business conversations by speaking ROI, retention, and readiness for the future.
- Start Small: Pilot programs that demonstrate value and show results. Your influence will grow through quick wins that turn into scalable and organizational wins.
- Invest in Each Other: You must continue to develop in yourself, each other, and your tool kits to continue to be inventive and agile.
Your council isn’t a formal department but rather a coalition of allies that all believe that learning is not a simple function but a force multiplier for the good of the organization.
Every organization has it’s awakening, and for corporate learning, this is ours. The age of order-taking is gone, and the age of influence is on the rise. So now, in organizations far, far away, the Force of Influence is calling all of us. It’s calling to us to see patterns others miss, to use empathy as power and curiosity as our weapon, and be the forward thinkers that drive the business forward.
So rise up, learning strategists. Feel the Force. Expand your universe. Activate the galaxy. The rebellion for meaningful learning has just begun, and your influence is the light that guides it.
May the Force of learning, leadership, and lasting impact be with you.
Forge new frontiers
Prepare to use the Force to influence in the coming year with our 2026 Strategies & Trends online conference, December 3‒4, 2025. Explore how emerging leaders are reshaping L&D as Mercedez Jones and fellow panelists Harry Tong and Ashley Cooks share how L&D roles are evolving, what’s changing in their work, and what skills leaders must develop to thrive heading into 2026!
During the 2-day online event, you’ll also:
- Uncover strategies for elevating your virtual training
- Gain insights into why and how to transform your organization to a skills focus
- Discover how ‘red teaming’ can elevate your impact
- Learn the value of critical thinking and curiosity
- Dig into agentic AI
- And more!
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wintrust Financial Corporation or its subsidiaries.
Image credit: BrendanHunter
