Why L&D Keeps Solving the Wrong Problems

The Comfort of Fast Answers

Organisations are full of smart people making fast decisions, yet L&D repeatedly gets pulled into the same trap. It is asked to solve the wrong problem. Time and energy are poured into solutions that look sensible on the surface but never touch the underlying cause. When nothing changes, the cycle restarts. New initiatives, new workshops, new noise, but no real shift in behaviour or performance.

This is not a failure of intent. It is a failure of diagnosis. Most organisations jump straight from symptom to solution. Collaboration appears weak, so we prescribe communication training. Engagement drops, so resilience workshops are rolled out. Deadlines slip, so time management sessions are booked. It feels proactive, but the real issue is usually somewhere else entirely.

The Real Problems Hiding Beneath the Surface

Clarity, not communication, is often the missing ingredient. Culture, not resilience, is usually the barrier. Leadership, not time management, is often the true cause of missed deadlines. Symptoms are visible, but they reveal almost nothing about the system that produced them.

Organisations keep solving the wrong problems because it is easier to address the surface than to confront the truth. Quick fixes protect current habits and shield leaders from uncomfortable questions. It is far simpler to send people on a course than to ask whether expectations are inconsistent or the culture is working against performance.

Why Nothing Changes After the Workshop

The outcome is predictable. People return inspired but unchanged. They walk back into the same environment, the same leadership behaviours, and the same unclear expectations that made success difficult in the first place. The workshop was never designed to fix the culture that produced the problem.

This is how L&D becomes busy but not impactful. Training becomes a distraction rather than a solution.

Where L&D Creates Real Value

The L&D teams who make a genuine difference refuse to accept requests at face value. They slow the conversation down and ask the questions others avoid. They explore what is happening beneath the surface, not what is easiest to see. They investigate culture, leadership behaviour, decision making, clarity, and the environment people are operating in.

These teams help organisations understand the problem they actually need to solve, not the one that feels convenient. They uncover the root cause rather than addressing the noise.

The Role of the L&D Academy

This is the consulting capability developed inside the TwentyOne Leadership L&D Academy. The Academy builds L&D professionals who diagnose deeply, ask better questions, and influence leaders through insight rather than assumption. It helps L&D shift from order taker to strategic partner, from content provider to capability consultant.

This is where L&D becomes a force for clarity and behaviour change rather than a provider of quick fixes.

Solve the Right Problem, Not the Easy One

L&D does not fail because people resist learning. It fails when it solves the wrong problem. When L&D understands the system, challenges assumptions, and targets the real barriers to performance, everything improves. Solutions become sharper. Leaders become clearer. Culture becomes intentional instead of accidental.

Solving the wrong problem keeps organisations stuck. Solving the right one moves them forward.

If your L&D team wants to lead that shift, the TwentyOne Leadership L&D Academy is where it begins. Email me matt@twentyoneleadership.com