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In this episode of The Science of Excellence, I sat down with Michael Trinder, Director of Workforce Solutions & Capability Architecture at AlixPartners, a global consulting firm. We talked about why L&D struggles with credibility, how validation-seeking creates transactional relationships, and why inaccessible language alienates the business.
Michael shared his S.E.A.T.S. framework that helps L&D professionals win credibility:
- Spot the opportunity
- Earn credibility
- Architect for impact
- Tell the story
- Sustain the seat
As we spoke about ways to practice S.E.A.T.S. in real life, these 5 insights stood out:
- Stop Seeking Validation from Delivery
- Fall in Love with the Problem
- Prototype Lo-Fi First
- Ask What They'll See Differently
- You Start the Year as a Cost
1. Stop Seeking Validation from Delivery
In Michael's Words: "The business is focused on delivery, so they come to L&D and just ask for stuff. I want this, I want that. Our profession gets its validation from delivering that thing. I was asked for this, I delivered this, I'm told well done. We are obsessed with delivering the thing, the packet, the package, because that's what the business has asked for. We go round over and over again where the business gives us our validation. We have ostracized ourselves from the people we serve by using a language they don't understand, and because they don't understand that, they've just got used to saying 'I just want this.'"
When L&D runs on validation, it creates transactional relationships. The business asks for something, you build it, they say thank you, you feel valued.
When we use inaccessible jargon to sound intelligent, it alienates stakeholders who then default to ordering solutions. You deliver the solution, get validation, repeat. Breaking this cycle requires rejecting validation as your driver and treating requests as hypotheses rather than instructions.
2. Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution
In Michael's Words: "The business says I've identified a problem and this is the thing that I want because I know that's the thing that's gonna solve it. Rather than just taking that pizza order and going 'I'll get my validation in three months when I give you the thing,' it's understanding where that came from and the stories that surround that. I don't think having a million reps at something or having a background in consultancy is the absolute precursor for that. I think asking questions, being curious around what has generated that need is the ultimate starting point. Fall in love with the problem. Fall in love with solving problems, solving challenges. That's where the opportunities exist."
The business diagnoses problems and prescribes solutions that are usually wrong because they're not learning professionals.
When someone requests e-learning, pause and get curious. What's the actual problem? Who does this well? Is the solution just connecting two people? In 20 years, Michael has rarely had someone refuse to answer questions. People want to be heard. By understanding their process, you earn permission to show them yours beyond what they knew you for.
3. Ask What They'll See Differently
In Michael's Words: "I sit with my stakeholders and try to pin them down to stuff. What am I gonna see different? What are the leading indicators I'm gonna see? Classic example: presentation skills. The deck tells you you'll speak with more clarity and confidence, use hand gestures. The business doesn't care about that. If this person went on presentation skills, what are you going to see differently? I should be able to leave them who can talk to a mid-level client and walk them through our four page review deck and get signed off so we can start the next work package Monday. All the other things in that deck are needed, but it's not what the business is looking for. Understanding what the business hopes to see or expects to see and being able to deliver to that makes a huge difference."
ROI is the curse. Everyone wants the top of the pyramid and ignores the thousand other things affecting that number.
Ask: What will you see differently? What are the leading indicators? Michael worked with leaders who spent four hours nightly correcting junior staff slide decks at 10% quality. Getting those to 60% would save two to three hours per night and get the leaders emotionally attached to that outcome. Don't tell stakeholders what they'll see. Instead, get them to tell you what they expect, then discuss if it's logical.
4. Prototype Everything Lo-Fi First
In Michael's Words: "People that do architecture really well accept that any version they build isn't gonna be perfect first time. They get the right people in the room. They don't go off and try to teach themselves something. If you know you've got eight or nine things that are gonna make this brilliant and you're good at two of them, how might we make the other seven great? It's normally personnel and expertise. We're big proponents of lo-fi prototypes. Let's not walk down a road too far when we know it might not work. If you've got a big event you're gonna build with Lego, don't go and buy all the Lego. Just throw some lollipop sticks in the middle of a table with some tape and see if the concept works."
You can't master every modality. E-learning, facilitation, AI coaching, PDFs, SharePoint. One person can't do it all.
Bring expertise into the room for what you can't do. Prototype lo-fi before committing resources. Start with what needs to change at minimum and test rigorously before launching at scale. Where it fails: starting with content, treating everything like a big event, creating rollout plans before testing if it works.
5. You Start the Year as a Cost
In Michael's Words: "The light bulb moment was when I started seeing my role as a cost to the business on January 1st. Every year I start off knowing that my salary, bonus, the budget we have to architect, all of that is a negative on the balance sheet on January 1st. My only aim is to pull that from a red number to a black number in whatever way I possibly can. The difference between mediocre being a transactional team and an excellent one isn't intent, it's curiosity. Especially when budgets are being cut and people are under pressure, the desire to be heard is higher. If you're in that transactional relationship taking requests, that relationship is 'if I stopped asking you for things, what do you do?' If you stop treating requests as instruction and treat them as a hypothesis, you start building business solutions."
On January 1st, your salary and budget are red on the balance sheet. Your job is moving that to black.
When budgets get cut, transactional relationships expose you. If people stop asking for things, you have no reason to exist. But when you treat requests as hypotheses and build business solutions, you become indispensable.
Michael has never had someone refuse to answer why they're making a request. Asking questions builds relationships in business language instead of jargon. You might get praise from individual leaders, but people deciding if L&D stays are levels higher. If you're satisfied with validation without thinking about business contribution, you're at risk.
Until next time,
Vince
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