Ask a Chief of Staff: Establishing a Learning & Development (L&D) Program
- Date
- 2023-12-07
- Host
- Personal
About this event
Building a learning and development program can feel deceptively simple until you have to decide what to teach, who owns it, how to prove it matters, and how to make it stick. This in-person Ask a Chief of Staff session is designed for people who want practical answers to those questions, with a focused conversation on how to establish an L&D program that actually supports growth inside a real organization. About the Event This meetup centers on one of the most useful and often under-defined internal functions: learning and development. Whether you are building from scratch, formalizing something informal, or trying to improve a program that already exists, the goal is to help you think more clearly about what effective L&D looks like in practice. The Ask a Chief of Staff format makes this more direct than a typical presentation. Instead of broad theory, expect a conversation grounded in the kinds of questions operators, team leads, and builders are already dealing with: where to start, how to set priorities, how to align learning with business needs, and how to create programs people will actually use. Because this is an in-person event, there is also a strong community element. You will be in the room with other thoughtful people who care about team development, organizational effectiveness, and the systems that help people do better work over time. That makes this as much a space for insight-sharing and honest discussion as it is for learning from one perspective. What to Expect Expect a session built around practical conversation, live questions, and peer exchange. The core topic is establishing an L&D program, so discussion will likely stay close to the real design decisions that shape whether a program gains traction or fades out after launch. You can expect the event to include: A focused discussion on what an L&D program is meant to solve inside an organization Space to ask questions about strategy, rollout, ownership, and prioritization Perspectives on balancing employee growth, manager enablement, and business goals Informal networking with other attendees before, during, or after the main conversation Opportunities to compare notes with peers facing similar challenges This is a useful setting if you want more than high-level inspiration. Bring the questions you are already wrestling with, such as: How do we identify the most important learning needs? What should come first in an early-stage L&D program? How do we structure programs for different teams or levels? How do we get buy-in from leadership and managers? How do we know whether training is working? The atmosphere is intended to be conversational and useful. You do not need to arrive with a fully formed plan. In many cases, the value of a session like this comes from hearing how others frame the same problem, where they got stuck, and what helped them move forward. Why Attend If L&D sits somewhere between “important” and “hard to operationalize” in your organization, this event gives you a chance to turn vague ambition into clearer next steps. Rather than treating learning as a side project, the discussion can help you think about it as a function that supports performance, retention, culture, and internal mobility. You should leave with sharper thinking around the building blocks of a strong program, including scope, audience, goals, and adoption. Just as importantly, you will likely leave with better language for talking about L&D internally, especially if you need to explain why it matters, what resources it requires, or how it supports broader business outcomes. There is also value in being in a room with people who care about organizational development in a practical way. If you are often the person translating between leadership priorities and team needs, or the person expected to create structure where there currently is none, this conversation should feel relevant. Attendees may find value in: Learning how others approach early-stage program design Pressure-testing ideas before rolling them out internally Getting unstuck on common implementation questions Meeting peers interested in talent development and operational excellence Expanding their network through a topic-specific, high-signal conversation Practical Details This event takes place in person on Thursday, December 7 at 10:00 AM PST. If you prefer live discussion over passive listening, that format matters: it makes it easier to ask nuanced questions, read the room, and continue conversations organically with other attendees. Because the session focuses on a specific operational topic, it is worth showing up ready to participate. You do not need to prepare anything formal, but it may help to think ahead about your current context: what stage your organization is in, what learning needs are emerging, and where you are hitting friction. A few ways to get the most out of the event: Come with one or two concrete L&D questions Be ready to share context if you want more useful feedback Stay open to both strategic and tactical perspectives Leave time to connect with other attendees after the session If you are looking for a grounded, in-person conversation about how to establish an L&D program with more clarity and less guesswork, this is the right room to be in.
Who should attend
This is for you if you are thinking seriously about how people learn and grow inside an organization and want practical guidance, not generic advice. - You are a **Chief of Staff, operator, or internal builder** who has been asked to create more structure around training, onboarding, or capability-building. - You work in **people, talent, HR, or organizational development** and want to sharpen how you design an L&D program that aligns with real business needs. - You are a **manager or team lead** trying to support employee growth more intentionally, but need a better framework for what effective learning support should look like. - You are at an **early-stage or scaling organization** where learning is happening informally and you want to turn scattered efforts into a more coherent program. - You are responsible for **cross-functional enablement**, internal communications, or operational effectiveness and need to understand how L&D can support performance and adoption. - You learn best through **live discussion and peer exchange**, and you value being able to ask direct questions in a room with others tackling similar challenges. If you have been circling questions about ownership, priorities, buy-in, or program design, you will likely find this session immediately useful.