L&D as a Conductor: Orchestrating People, AI, and Business Priorities

iSpring’s second annual ROI study of 140+ L&D professionals across five regions reveals a 63-percentage-point gap between awareness and practice: 74% feel pressure to prove ROI, but only 11% can actually do so, unchanged from last year.

This session unpacks why the gap persists, focusing on design and orchestration rather than tools alone.

Through four “paradoxes” uncovered in the data (Passivity, Honesty, Expertise, and Involvement), we’ll show that the teams that succeed aren’t the ones with the best LMS or the biggest AI budget. They’re the ones who act like conductors, aligning business stakeholders, line managers, finance, and technology around measurable outcomes before building a single module.

During this session, you will learn:

• How L&D leaders design and launch programs that pay off
• How to overcome the four hidden barriers to ROI uncovered in iSpring’s 2026 ROI Playbook research
• How to diagnose your own team’s maturity level and identify the most effective next step
• How L&D leaders have connected training to measurable business outcomes
• How to make line managers, finance teams, and other stakeholders your measurement partners

Maria Starling
L&D Community Lead
iSpring

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