In this transformative episode of The L&D Mindshift Bytecast, we reveal the existential crisis facing Chief Learning Officers—and the revolutionary opportunity hidden within it. Based on groundbreaking McKinsey research, we expose a stunning paradox: companies are eliminating senior learning roles at the exact moment when rapid change demands unprecedented skill development. But the smartest organizations are transforming their CLOs into growth architects who redesign how work itself builds capability.
We explore McKinsey's radical proposition: the future isn't about adding more courses—it's about making work inherently developmental. Through real examples of AI coaching agents in real-time, evaluation tools building feedback skills, and systems turning negotiations into learning moments, we reveal McKinsey's three transformational changes: leading beyond the learning function, tracking skills in action rather than completions, and measuring business outcomes instead of activities.
Through our two-part SWOT analysis, we examine both the work-learning merger paradigm itself—why learning in context creates immediate business value, how AI enables coaching at scale, and why bad implementation could poison this approach—and what it means specifically for CLOs navigating their evolution from operational to strategic business partners.
Whether you're a CLO feeling sidelined, a business leader questioning learning ROI, or an employee frustrated by disconnected development, this episode delivers reality and roadmap. When companies cut learning during a crisis, they're not saving money—they're mortgaging their future. The question isn't whether this transformation will happen—it's whether your organization will lead it or get left behind.
Be sure to check out McKinsey's research article here: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-future-of-the-clo-leading-in-a-world-of-merged-work-and-learning
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