Are L&D Leaders Stepping Away from Strategy Discussions?
Learning and development has long been positioned as a cornerstone of organizational growth. But a growing body of research suggests that the people leading L&D functions may be quietly losing ground where it matters most — at the strategy table. According to findings from RedThread Research, employees are increasingly turning to their direct managers for development guidance rather than relying on formal learning frameworks designed by L&D teams. This shift raises a critical question for HR and business leaders alike: are L&D professionals disengaging from strategic conversations, or are they simply being left out of them?
The Manager Feedback Phenomenon
RedThread Research's findings shine a spotlight on a pattern that many in the industry have quietly observed for years. When employees want to grow their skills, improve their performance, or plan their next career move, they are far more likely to turn to their immediate manager than to a learning portal, a structured development plan, or an L&D-led program.
This makes intuitive sense. Managers are present in day-to-day work. They observe performance firsthand, understand the team's goals, and can offer context-specific guidance that a generic training module simply cannot replicate. The relationship between an employee and their manager is one of the most direct feedback loops available in any organization.
However, this preference for manager feedback over traditional development frameworks presents a significant challenge for L&D leaders. If employees are bypassing formal learning structures, what does that say about how those structures are being designed, communicated, and embedded into the flow of work? And more urgently, what does it mean for the perceived relevance of the L&D function itself?
Why L&D May Be Losing Strategic Influence
The concern goes beyond engagement metrics or course completion rates. The deeper issue is whether L&D leaders are actively participating in the conversations that shape business direction. Strategy discussions — the ones that determine workforce priorities, capability gaps, and organizational transformation — require learning leaders to have a seat at the table and a voice that's taken seriously.
Several factors may be contributing to L&D's reduced strategic presence. First, there is a persistent perception problem. In many organizations, L&D is still viewed primarily as a delivery function — responsible for producing content and managing training logistics — rather than as a strategic partner capable of diagnosing business problems and designing solutions. This perception limits the conversations L&D leaders are invited into.
Second, the speed of business has accelerated dramatically. As organizations face rapid change driven by technology, market shifts, and evolving workforce expectations, strategic planning cycles have compressed. If L&D functions are not already embedded in the business at a leadership level, they can easily get bypassed in fast-moving decision-making environments.
Third, the rise of manager-driven development — while reflecting something genuinely positive about the power of close, personalized coaching — can inadvertently fragment the learning ecosystem. When development becomes decentralized and informally managed, it becomes harder for L&D to measure impact, identify skill gaps at scale, or align learning investments with business outcomes.
What This Means for Learning Strategy
The RedThread Research findings should not be read as a death knell for formal L&D. Rather, they are a signal that the function needs to evolve. The future of learning and development is not a competition between manager feedback and structured programs. It is the intelligent integration of both.
L&D leaders who want to reclaim and strengthen their strategic role need to reframe how they operate within the business. This means moving away from a program-centric mindset and toward a performance-centric one. The starting point is not "what training do we need to build?" but rather "what business outcomes are we trying to drive, and how can learning — in all its forms — support that?"
It also means investing in manager capability as a core part of the L&D strategy. If managers are already serving as primary development agents, then equipping them with better coaching skills, clearer frameworks, and real-time data becomes one of the highest-leverage activities an L&D team can undertake. Rather than competing with manager-led development, smart L&D functions amplify it.
Rebuilding L&D's Strategic Presence
For L&D leaders looking to strengthen their position in strategic discussions, there are several practical areas to prioritize.
Connecting learning data to business metrics is essential. When L&D can demonstrate how capability building influences retention, productivity, or revenue, it speaks the language of the boardroom.
Building relationships with senior business stakeholders — not just HR — ensures that L&D is present in conversations long before training needs are formally identified.
Designing learning ecosystems that embed into the natural flow of work, rather than pulling employees away from it, makes learning more visible and more valued.
Using workforce and skills data proactively allows L&D to anticipate future capability needs, positioning the function as a forward-looking strategic asset rather than a reactive service.
The Opportunity Ahead
The research from RedThread is a wake-up call, but it is also an opportunity. The fact that employees trust their managers as their primary source of development insight tells us something important: people want learning that is personal, relevant, and connected to their real work. L&D leaders who understand this and build strategies that honor it will not only remain relevant — they will become indispensable.
Stepping away from strategy discussions is never the right move for a function that exists to build the organization's most important asset: its people. The challenge now is to step back in with clarity, data, and a compelling vision for what great learning leadership looks like in a complex and rapidly changing world.