January brings planning cycles, budget reviews, and the opportunity for fresh thinking. What should L&D prioritise as we enter 2026?

Based on current conditions and emerging trends, here’s my assessment of where L&D focus should land this quarter.

Priority 1: AI Capability Acceleration

This priority persists—but with evolved focus.

Why it matters now: AI tool adoption has reached a point where basic familiarity isn’t enough. The gap between those who use AI well and those who don’t is creating visible productivity differences. Leadership notices.

Q1 2026 focus areas:

Move beyond introduction. If you’re still running “introduction to AI” training, most of your workforce has moved past it (through self-learning if not through your programs). Focus on advanced application.

Target quality, not just usage. Measure whether people are using AI effectively, not just whether they’re using it. Prompt engineering quality varies enormously.

Address integration. Help people integrate AI into actual workflows, not just use it as a separate tool they occasionally access.

Build judgment. Develop capability to evaluate AI outputs critically and know when AI isn’t the right approach.

Action this quarter: Audit your AI programs for relevance. If they’re still at awareness level, upgrade to application and integration focus.

Priority 2: Skills Architecture Investment

The shift to skills-based talent practices continues accelerating.

Why it matters now: More organisations are implementing skills-based approaches for hiring, development, and opportunity matching. L&D needs to be integral to this shift, not peripheral.

Q1 2026 focus areas:

Ensure L&D is at the table. If skills architecture work is happening without L&D involvement, change that. L&D perspective on skill development is essential.

Connect learning to skills frameworks. Every learning program should map clearly to skills in your organisation’s taxonomy.

Build assessment capability. Skills-based approaches require valid skills assessment. Develop this capability.

Prepare for talent marketplace integration. If your organisation is building internal talent marketplaces, ensure learning is integrated from the start.

Action this quarter: Identify who owns skills architecture in your organisation and establish partnership.

Priority 3: Manager Development for New Demands

Manager capability remains the highest-leverage development investment.

Why it matters now: Managers face evolving demands—hybrid leadership, AI-augmented teams, skills-based development conversations, wellness support—that many aren’t prepared for.

Q1 2026 focus areas:

Hybrid leadership capability. If your organisation works in hybrid modes, ensure managers can lead effectively across modalities.

AI team leadership. Managers need to understand how their teams can use AI and support that adoption effectively.

Development enablement. As skills-based approaches grow, managers need capability for skills-based development conversations.

Change leadership. Continuous change requires managers who can help teams navigate uncertainty.

Action this quarter: Assess your manager development portfolio against current demands. Identify gaps and prioritise updates.

Priority 4: Learning Measurement Maturity

The pressure to demonstrate L&D value continues intensifying.

Why it matters now: Economic conditions create scrutiny on all investments. L&D that can’t demonstrate impact faces budget pressure. Those that can demonstrate impact gain resources.

Q1 2026 focus areas:

Build outcome measurement. Move beyond completion and satisfaction to actual learning and business outcomes.

Connect to business metrics. Partner with analytics functions to link learning data with business performance data.

Demonstrate ROI. For major investments, calculate and communicate return credibly.

Use data for improvement. Measurement should drive program improvement, not just justify existence.

Action this quarter: Select one major program and implement comprehensive outcome measurement as a pilot.

Priority 5: Strategic Partnership Strengthening

L&D impact depends on business relationship quality.

Why it matters now: In uncertain environments, functions perceived as strategic partners gain support. Those perceived as service providers face cuts.

Q1 2026 focus areas:

Understand business strategy. Ensure deep understanding of organisational priorities and how L&D connects.

Build stakeholder relationships. Strengthen relationships with key business leaders beyond transactional interactions.

Proactive capability analysis. Don’t wait for requests—proactively identify capability implications of business priorities.

Strategic communication. Frame L&D work in strategic terms that resonate with leadership.

Action this quarter: Schedule strategic conversations with your top three business stakeholders that focus on their priorities, not your programs.

What to Deprioritise

Effective prioritisation requires deprioritisation:

Generic leadership programs. If your leadership development is generic and disconnected from current challenges, question its value.

Low-engagement programs. Programs that people don’t complete, don’t apply, and don’t value. Either fix them or eliminate them.

Over-engineered compliance. Compliance training that far exceeds requirements without evidence of additional value.

Technology projects without clear purpose. Platform implementations or upgrades without clear connection to learning outcomes.

Everything that doesn’t pass the “why now” test. If you can’t articulate why something matters specifically in Q1 2026, question its priority.

Team Development

Don’t forget your own team:

AI fluency for L&D professionals. If your team members aren’t AI-fluent, their effectiveness is limited. Prioritise this.

Data and analytics skills. As measurement expectations rise, analytical capability becomes more important.

Business partnership skills. Consulting, influencing, and relationship skills matter more as strategic positioning becomes essential.

Future-ready skills. Skills architecture, learning experience design, technology integration—capabilities for where L&D is heading.

Action this quarter: Assess your team’s capability against future demands and create development plans for critical gaps.

The Execution Challenge

Priorities mean nothing without execution:

Limit focus. Three to five priorities executed well beat ten priorities executed poorly.

Create accountability. Assign clear ownership for each priority with defined milestones.

Allocate resources. Priorities need time and budget. If everything is equally resourced, nothing is really prioritised.

Track progress. Regular review of priority progress keeps focus maintained.

Adjust as needed. Conditions change. Be willing to adjust priorities as circumstances warrant.

The Q1 Mindset

Enter Q1 2026 with appropriate orientation:

Strategic urgency. The environment doesn’t allow drift. Move with intention.

Evidence orientation. Ground decisions in data. Document impact.

Partnership focus. L&D doesn’t succeed alone. Invest in relationships.

Adaptability. Plans will require adjustment. Build capacity to respond.

Team care. Sustainable performance requires sustainable workload. Protect your team.

Your Q1 Priority Assessment

Use this quarter to honestly assess:

1. What are your organisation’s most important capability priorities for 2026?

2. How well does your current L&D portfolio address those priorities?

3. What gaps exist between what you’re doing and what’s needed?

4. What must you add, change, or eliminate to close those gaps?

5. How will you know if you’re making progress?

The answers should drive your Q1 focus.

Moving Forward

January planning often produces ambitious plans that fade by February. To make priorities stick:

• Choose fewer priorities with greater focus
• Create specific milestones for Q1, not just annual goals
• Build review rhythms that maintain attention
• Connect priorities to team and individual goals
• Communicate priorities widely and repeatedly

The organisations that win 2026 will be those that execute relentlessly on clear priorities.

The L&D functions that thrive will be those that know what matters most and deliver it.

Choose your priorities wisely. Execute them well. Make Q1 2026 count.