The Trusted Learning Advisor

Are you a trusted advisor driving organizational change, or just someone taking orders?

1. From Order Taker to Trusted Advisor

The role of Learning and Development (L&D) has evolved significantly, yet many professionals find themselves stuck in a reactive position where they simply take orders to solve short-term problems. This leads to missed opportunities for creating long-lasting impact within organizations. Traditional views on workplace learning often see it as just another expense, rather than a strategic tool for growth and success.

Trusted learning advisors take a proactive, consultative approach to their roles. They encourage organizations to align learning initiatives with broader business goals. Unlike order takers, these advisors actively guide their stakeholders to adopt better learning practices, helping their teams and businesses grow in the process. To shift this perception, L&D professionals need to challenge assumptions and help organizations see the potential of a structured learning strategy.

Your workplace environment greatly influences your ability to make this shift. Consider both the culture and placement of L&D in your organization. For example, does your leadership take learning seriously, or treat it as an afterthought? Is L&D positioned within HR, or does it have its own strategic function? By examining these factors, you can understand how to position yourself for more impactful conversations.

Examples

• Early 20th century focus on production-line efficiency showed how workplace training was once about short-term gains, not growth.
• Organizations that view L&D as a core strategy achieve better business outcomes compared to those that view it as a cost center.
• A team that integrates L&D into business strategy is more likely to achieve lasting organizational success.

2. Understanding Organizational Resistance

At times, L&D professionals encounter resistance from stakeholders when they try to steer conversations toward meaningful changes. Stakeholders often focus on surface-level issues and expect easy solutions, which may push L&D into a passive role. Resistance to deeper inquiries or broader solutions can stall impactful progress.

This resistance often stems from stakeholders’ comfort zones or uncertainties. Stakeholders may view L&D initiatives as disruptive or time-consuming, especially if they do not see immediate returns. This creates pressure to stick with conventional methods instead of exploring innovative solutions, further reinforcing the reactive "order-taker" role.

To handle resistance, L&D professionals need to reframe the conversation. Approach each "no" with curiosity and a willingness to fully understand stakeholders’ hesitations. This helps open up constructive dialogue and builds a partnership instead of an oppositional stance.

Examples

• A sales manager unwilling to allocate time for team training may need to see how it boosts performance metrics they care about.
• An HR department resistant to new learning methods may soften their stance if presented with clear data showing benefits.
• Framing "no" as "not now" and presenting small, risk-free experiments can reduce opposition to larger initiatives.

3. The Importance of Curiosity and Critical Thinking

The best learning advisors don’t just deliver training programs—they investigate the underlying causes of problems. Curiosity is a defining characteristic of a trusted advisor. Asking the right questions and digging deeper into issues can reveal patterns, processes, or structures that need attention rather than just individual behaviors.

Equally important is critical thinking, which helps connect knowledge and evidence to arrive at thoughtful solutions. It’s not just about looking at the problem presented but questioning whether it’s the real problem. In most cases, problems require interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration across teams.

Stakeholders are more inclined to trust an advisor who makes them feel understood and unveils factors they hadn’t considered. Your ability to invest time in understanding their world adds value.

Examples

• Asking a retail CFO why CRM data isn’t used properly can lead to behavioral solutions rather than redundant training.
• Observing patterns in employee performance over time might reveal larger system inefficiencies.
• Challenging a directive to retrain staff may uncover structural incentives undermining previous results.

4. Building Trust Through Action

Trust doesn’t come automatically just because of your title or expertise—it’s earned over time. Stakeholders need to believe in your reliability, intentions, and value before they grant you a seat at the decision-making table. Trust depends on showing up consistently and delivering results.

The book introduces the five "pillars of trust": credibility, reliability, professional intimacy, intention, and communication. Credibility means consistently demonstrating the expertise stakeholders expect. Reliability comes from keeping promises. Professional intimacy is about forming authentic, engaged relationships. Intention reflects acting in a way that shows goodwill, and strong communication keeps everything aligned.

By consciously focusing on these pillars, L&D professionals can create lasting partnerships that result in greater support for learning initiatives.

Examples

• Consistently meeting deadlines on revamped employee learning programs builds reliability.
• Conversations uncovering what stakeholders value reinforce professional intimacy and intentionality.
• Clear, transparent updates increase confidence in the broader goals of the L&D team.

5. Listening to Stakeholders Effectively

Listening isn’t about staying silent; it’s about active engagement. The 70/20/10 communication rule emphasizes spending most of your time gathering insights before offering opinions. Listening helps you understand stakeholders’ priorities and question assumptions that may limit learning solutions.

By asking questions, summarizing problem statements, and reflecting back, you position yourself as a solution-focused collaborator. Incorporating this structured listening approach shows stakeholders that their needs are your priority.

Active listening can also clarify how leadership decisions around learning impact real outcomes, offering strategic alternatives instead of reactive fixes.

Examples

• Spending 70% of conversations listening to employees about what barriers they face reveals hidden challenges.
• Asking clarifying, focused questions to busy executives builds insight into organizational dynamics.
• Summarizing proposals keeps conversations efficient and demonstrates teamwork toward solving problems.

6. The IDAD Framework for Handling Requests

The IDAD process—intake, discovery, analysis, and decision—provides actionable tactics for L&D professionals to rethink how they handle requests. By taking an organized approach, L&D can investigate underlying problems without simply executing orders.

During "intake," you define the problem and identify goals. The "discovery" phase involves researching how the issue impacts teams and operations. "Analysis" ensures new insights validate or modify the original problem, and "decision" solidifies the collaborative plan forward.

This framework transforms potentially shallow requests into meaningful opportunities for larger organizational improvements.

Examples

• Intake reveals a request for leadership training stems from communication breakdowns, not technical gaps.
• Discovery interviews with team members might show that meeting miscommunications prevent CRM usage improvements.
• Prototyping low-risk programs or solutions during the decision phase strengthens buy-in.

7. Establishing Your Professional Identity

Stepping into the role of a trusted advisor requires redefining yourself—not just in terms of skills, but how you present yourself and align with strategic goals. Think about how L&D fits as part of broader company systems and how you position your expertise to meet those intersections.

Your relationships, actions, and outcomes will reinforce this identity over time. Be clear that you’re not merely a service provider but someone whose work links directly to measurable business goals.

Professional branding, displaying confidence, and taking pride in transparency can help reshape how others see your role.

Examples

• Gaining credibility by regularly presenting L&D updates in high-level strategy meetings bridges communication gaps.
• Positioning L&D as integral to onboarding ensures leadership identifies it as key to success.
• Articulating and aligning goals with other departments fosters a perception of L&D as essential.

8. Why Resistance Means Opportunity

Hearing "no" as an advisor should be viewed as an open door to learn and improve. Resistance usually reflects either misunderstandings about a proposal, gaps in available data, or stress over looming changes.

Successfully addressing resistance involves understanding it—ask stakeholders why they are hesitant and what they would need to feel confident. Not every initial obstacle has to be about convincing; some need patience as you test and adapt approaches.

Small steps often offer big long-term impact. Resistance fades as trust builds based on tangible results over time.

Examples

• Prototypes for retraining programs can calm nervous managers fearing productivity losses.
• Stakeholders unsure about digital transitions might value smaller pilot modules instead of entire overhauls.
• A hesitant executive may agree if resistance is framed constructively, such as improvements without wasting resources.

9. Think Beyond Quick Fixes

Many L&D requests do little more than address surface symptoms rather than fixing root causes. As a learning advisor, prioritize solutions that make lasting change possible. Ask whether what you’ve been asked to do is truly the right solution.

Sometimes, the underlying issue isn’t directly about learning. Be honest when recommending non-L&D solutions if they’re best for the organization. Play an active role in integrating these ideas.

Stakeholders appreciate advisors who stop short of delivering unnecessary work, even if it means redirecting their focus.

Examples

• Resolving employee resistance toward using tracking tools through behavioral tweaks versus extra product tutorials.
• Eliminating redundant leadership courses by improving workflows and decision-making transparency.
• Addressing team productivity gaps by revising performance expectations rather than retraining basics.

Takeaways

1. Embrace active listening practices like the 70/20/10 rule to uncover deeper challenges and client needs.
2. Use the IDAD framework to structure how you approach and refine solution-making processes.
3. Develop trust through meaningful interactions—focus on credibility, reliability, communication, and intentionality.