A split-screen illustration compares two settings labeled “Tactical Trap” and “Strategic Alignment” under the question “Where Should L&D Sit?” On the left, in a dark basement-like space, an overwhelmed L&D professional sits among piles of burning paperwork labeled “Urgent,” symbolizing reactive work. On the right, in a bright outdoor corporate setting, two professionals have a strategic planning discussion beside a growth chart, with the words “Visibility,” “Influence,” and “Access” floating nearby. The caption at the bottom reads: “Align L&D Strategically, Not Tactically.”
Posted on by Dr. Treca Bourne

A Quick Thought on a Long-Running Debate in L&D

Where should Learning and Development sit in an organization? It is a familiar debate, but the answer is often simpler than we make it.

If you expect L&D to operate strategically, align it strategically.
Do not tuck the function deep inside an operational unit and then wonder why the work becomes reactive. Placement shapes scope. If the function’s position limits visibility, decision rights, and access to strategy, the work will inevitably skew toward putting out fires in the space where it sits.

Hoping a strategically minded function will somehow behave strategically while structurally positioned to be tactical is backwards thinking and history shows it rarely works. Strategic outcomes require strategic placement, authority, and access.

It is not just where L&D works. It is whether the function is positioned to influence the work that truly matters.

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