Discover The Truth about your L&D Practice

What's working in your favour and what's holding you back

This is a short diagnostic for L&D practitioners who want an honest assessment about where they are now and clear about what comes next to move their practice (and impact) to the next level.

Whether you're new to L&D or have been doing this for years, it's easy to get so caught up in the work itself that you rarely stop to look at the bigger picture.

What are you actually good at right now? What skills are you leveraging? What's genuinely getting in the way? What potential is going untapped? And what's the one thing that, if you focused on it, would move your practice/career/business forward?

This short quiz helps you answer those questions — not through abstract reflection, but through ten practical questions about how you actually work day to day.

You'll come away with a clear picture of your current strengths, an honest view of what's working well for you, what's holding you back, and some concrete ideas for what to focus on next to 'level up'.

Please select the answer that most honestly reflects what you actually do MOST OF THE TIME. L&D roles are varied, so focus on what 'normal' looks like to you. There are no 'better' answers.

1. What does your L&D work mainly involve right now?

Q1

A

I'm designing programmes and working with clients or stakeholders to shape solutions

B

I'm turning my own subject knowledge or experience into training for others

C

I'm drawing on years of experience to create resources, products or materials that can work without me

D

I'm delivering workshops or training sessions, mostly using existing materials

E

I'm overseeing learning programmes and working through others who deliver them

2. When a new training request comes in, your first thought is usually...

Q2

A

Who is best placed to deliver this?

B

What do I need to cover?

C

Could this become something reusable or scalable?

D

What outcomes does this actually need to achieve?

E

What do I already have that I can use or adapt quickly?

3. What's your biggest challenge in your L&D work right now?

A

Finding the time and headspace to design anything new

B

Maintaining quality and consistency when I'm not the one delivering

C

Learning how to turn knowledge into interactive training that actually works

D

Capturing what I know and do so it can work without me

E

Designing strong solutions and managing stakeholder expectations

4. When you're working with other people — whether that's a group, a client or a stakeholder — you'd describe your role as mostly...

A

Sharing my knowledge and experience with others

B

Facilitating sessions and keeping groups engaged and on track

C

Working with stakeholders (and learners) to ask the right questions and shaping how others think about a problem

D

Influencing key decision makers and building support for a solution

E

Setting the strategic vision and enabling others to deliver it

5. When it comes to designing learning, how would you describe your approach?

A

I'm refining and repurposing what I've already built over the years

B

I work from existing materials and adapt them to what's needed

C

I focus on designing solutions and creating resources that others can use

D

I'm still building a reliable process — I tend to start with the content

E

I start by clarifying outcomes and structure before anything else

6. Where do your conversations with clients or stakeholders usually focus?

A

I'm discussing learning strategy, not just individual courses

B

I'm helping shape the solution and pushing back on vague or unrealistic briefs

C

I'm mostly understanding what they want covered and how long I have

D

I'm talking about how the work supports the business goals, regardless of my own involvement

E

I'm confirming the brief — the focus, the audience, any constraints on the day

7. How would you describe the materials and resources you currently work with?

A

I work from materials that are provided for me, or ones I've adapted over time

B

I have access to a substantial body of work that can largely stand alone

C

I'm mostly creating or sourcing things for the first time based on my own knowledge

D

I have strong, tried and tested solutions but they need documenting so others can use them

E

I'm gradually building programmes and materials I own and can develop further

8. What does your current role/business model look like?

A

I'm new to L&D, or work in a role where I sometimes have to train others

B

I have more work than I can deliver personally and need others to help

C

I deliver for others — as an associate, in-house trainer, or on contract

D

I'm actively thinking about how to reduce workload while protecting my service and income

E

I find and manage my own clients, or decide which projects to prioritise, and take responsibility for the solution

9. When a request comes in that's outside your current experience, you typically...

A

Consider whether it's worth taking on or whether you should refer to someone else

B

Draw on existing frameworks and consult with the client to scope it properly

C

Look for a template to follow, ask for some help, or politely say no

D

Identify which parts you can do personally, and which parts could be outsourced to a partner (or done another way)

E

Adapt something you've used before and make it fit

10. Which of these best describes how you think about your L&D work right now?

A

I'm learning the craft — I know my subject, but I'm still figuring at lot of things out

B

I'm a good facilitator, but short on time to design anything new

C

I'm ready to take more responsibility and build own my solutions, not just deliver other people's

D

I need my work to scale beyond what I can personally deliver

E

I want what I've created to keep working, with less of it depending on me being there