Becoming a Trusted Learning Advisor
“Helpful isn’t the same as impactful. And responsiveness is not the same as strategic partnership. The future of L&OD requires a different identity: Trusted Learning Advisor.”
- Jason Shreve
July, 2025
Inspired by the book, "The Trusted Learning Advisor", by Keith Keating.
We’re at a turning point in Learning & Organizational Development. For decades, L&OD professionals were rewarded for responsiveness:
“Can you build a training for this?” “Can you run a workshop on that?” “We need a course! How fast can you deliver it?”
We said yes. We delivered. We were helpful.
But helpful isn’t the same as impactful. And responsiveness is not the same as strategic partnership.
The future of L&OD requires a different identity: Trusted Learning Advisor.
This shift changes everything!
The Current State vs. The Ideal Future State
Before diving into the mindset shift, pause and ask yourself:
How are you currently perceived in your organization — as an order taker or a strategic advisor? And more importantly: Is that perception helping or limiting your impact?
Current State: The Order Taker Reality
Most L&D teams today still operate in a reactive mode:
Training is requested, not diagnosed
Content is produced, not outcomes
L&D is brought in late, not early
Success is measured by attendance, not capability
Stakeholders see L&D as a service provider, not a strategic partner
This is how L&D becomes a cost center.
Ideal Future State: The Trusted Learning Advisor
Trusted Learning Advisors operate differently:
They diagnose before prescribing
They challenge assumptions respectfully
They focus on performance, not content
They speak the language of the business
They co‑create solutions, not just deliver them
They build credibility through insight, not compliance
This is how L&D becomes a value creator.
The Mindset Shift L&OD Needs Now
Keith Keating’s work highlights a truth many of us have felt intuitively: L&D must evolve from order takers to strategic advisors.
Here’s what that shift looks like in practice.
1. Diagnose Before Prescribing
Instead of jumping into solution mode, Trusted Learning Advisors ask:
What’s the actual performance gap?
What’s causing it?
Is training even the right lever?
What would success look like behaviorally?
This aligns with the work of Guerra‑Lopez, Hale, and Thalheimer on performance‑based evaluation.
2. Challenge Assumptions (With Empathy)
Many requests for training are actually:
Process issues
Role clarity issues
Leadership issues
Incentive issues
Workload issues
Trusted advisors don’t say “no”, they say: “Let’s make sure we’re solving the right problem.”
Focus on Capability, Not Content
Content is everywhere. Capability is rare.
Trusted advisors shift the conversation from:
“What course do you want?” to
“What capability must we build to achieve the business outcome?”
This is where skills intelligence, talent strategy, and performance consulting intersect.
Build Credibility Through Insight
Stakeholders trust advisors who help them think more clearly.
This requires:
Business acumen
Systems thinking
Emotional intelligence
Curiosity
The courage to ask the hard questions
As Daniel Goleman and Susan Cain remind us, trust is built through presence, clarity, and emotional regulation, not speed.
Partner, Don’t Serve
Trusted advisors co‑create solutions with the business.
They:
Facilitate thinking
Align stakeholders
Map root causes
Identify the right levers
Measure what matters
This is where L&D becomes a strategic enabler, not a training factory.
Why This Matters Now
Organizations are scaling faster than ever. Leaders are overwhelmed. Teams are stretched thin. Capability gaps are widening. AI is accelerating everything.
In this environment, L&D cannot afford to be reactive.
Trusted Learning Advisors help organizations:
Navigate complexity
Build future‑ready skills
Strengthen leadership pipelines
Improve performance
Reduce risk
Increase retention
Build cultures of learning
This is the work that moves the business forward.
The Emotional Shift (The Part No One Talks About)
For many of us, myself included, this shift is personal.
We grew up in L&D cultures that equated:
Service with value
Responsiveness with partnership
Compliance with credibility
Saying “no” felt like disloyalty. Pushing back felt risky. Asking deeper questions felt uncomfortable.
But becoming a Trusted Learning Advisor requires:
Courage
Boundaries
Identity evolution
Emotional intelligence
A willingness to disappoint in service of impact
This is leadership work, not just L&D work.
The Role of AI in Becoming a Trusted Learning Advisor
AI doesn’t replace the advisor. It amplifies the advisor.
AI can:
Surface skills gaps
Generate insights
Personalize learning
Automate content
Analyze performance data
Provide workflow nudges
But AI cannot:
Build trust
Diagnose culture
Navigate politics
Facilitate alignment
Hold courageous conversations
Understand nuance
The Trusted Learning Advisor of 2026 is a human‑centered strategist supported by AI‑enabled intelligence.
Reflection Questions
L&OD doesn’t earn influence by saying yes to everything. It earns influence by helping the business think more clearly and choosing the right levers to solve the right problems.
Where in your work are you still acting like an order taker, and what would shift if you stepped into the role of advisor instead?
What assumptions about training or performance do you need to challenge in your organization?
What’s one assumption about L&D you need to unlearn?
What’s one courageous conversation you could initiate this month that would move you closer to being a Trusted Learning Advisor?
