The Importance of Immersion for Effective L&D Design

Many L&D teams are under pressure to deliver business impact—but are held back by disorganisation, unclear positioning, and a lack of strategic focus. In this episode, Guus van Deelen, author of Organising L&D for Results, shares a practical approach for transforming how L&D functions operate from the inside out.

Drawing on his experience and research, Guus explores why traditional L&D structures fall short, how organisational context shapes what “good” looks like, and why it’s time for L&D to get closer to the business. He introduces key tools like the L&D Quick Scan and the five L&D ‘chessboards’ that help leaders navigate complexity, make conscious trade-offs, and align their teams for real impact.

Guus unpacks the value of structured experimentation, the trade-offs of reporting lines, and how L&D can move from a reactive service to a proactive, credible partner in driving performance.

For L&D professionals looking to bring clarity, structure, and business relevance to their function, this episode is a timely and actionable guide.

Take your L&D to the next level

Take advantage of thousands of hours of analysis. Hundreds of conversations with industry innovators and 25+ years of hands-on global L&D leadership.

It's all distilled into one framework to help you level up L&D. Access the L&D Maturity Model here - https://360learning.com/maturity-model

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·  Don´t let day to day tasks stop you from spending time ensuring your L&D department is working optimally.

·  Stop serving the person who shouts loudest.

·  Automate your admin and processes, if you don´t the business will replace you.

·  Truly immerse yourself in the business.

·  L&D Quick Scan is effective and free to download.

BEST MOMENTS

“Making sure an L&D department is set up for success is very fundamental to everything you want to do .”

“An L&D department is never done; it's more about keeping things moving and constantly improving.”

“It's not about talking with a manager. It's about going out there, listen, smell, feel. What´s the root cause?”

Guus van DeelenGuus van Deelen is a seasoned L&D leader, consultant, speaker, and author of Organising L&D for Results (original Dutch: Leren organiseren). He began his career leading L&D teams at major multinational organisations such as FrieslandCampina, ProRail and SHV, gaining deep insights into the complexities and “messiness” of internal L&D operations.

For the past six years, Guus has been operating as an independent consultant, working with over 100 L&D departments across sectors including government, retail, industry, and financial services. He guides organisations through the (re)positioning of their L&D functions—helping teams define governance, structure, and strategy to drive measurable business impact.

His first book offers a robust model and actionable methods, including the L&D Quick Scan and the five strategic “chessboards”, that L&D leaders can use to build teams that are credible, aligned, and structured for scale .

https://www.linkedin.com/in/guusvandeelen/details/experience

Organising L&D for Results book: https://www.amazon.com/Organizing-results-Managing-Learning-Maximum/dp/9462724407

L&D QuickScan and more: https://guusvandeelen.nl/en/downloads

RESOURCES

The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523

L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media https://disruptivemedia.co.uk