After months exploring why L&D’s best evidence and intentions still stall, Editor Jo Cook shares a new report shaped by Training Journal’s 60th Anniversary Conference. It introduces the Readiness Enablers Index and highlights practical conditions like stakeholder access, data, experimentation and support. Download it free and join the 2026 survey.
What helps L&D move from good ideas and strong intentions to meaningful action? That question sits at the heart of this new report.
At the centre of the report is the TJ Readiness Enablers Index. This looks at four practical factors that shape whether L&D can act with confidence and momentum:
- access to decision-makers
- access to usable data
- time and permission to experiment
- the tools, support and processes needed to put ideas into practice
The report is designed to do more than present findings. It is also a prompt for reflection. Whether you work in-house, independently, or with clients, it offers a useful way to think about where your own barriers and opportunities sit right now.
Drawing on insights, reflections and data gathered through TJ’s 60th Anniversary Conference and Speexx labour market insights, this report explores the conditions that help learning teams make progress, influence the business and create visible impact. Inside, you’ll find key themes, practical observations, and a clearer picture of what it takes for L&D to turn evidence into action in real organisations.
The message is practical and positive. L&D is already doing amazing work. The opportunity is to sharpen focus, strengthen enablement, and make impact easier to see and scale.
“Capability is becoming the most important risk-control and growth lever available to leaders.”
Armin Hopp, President, Speexx
In the foreword, Researcher Donald H Taylor states: “Jo Cook and Training Journal have brought together reflections, questions and imperatives from practitioners working across the field. Some of these are practical, some are aspirational, and many are refreshingly direct.”
If you’d also like to contribute to the next stage of this work, you can take part in our separate Readiness Enablers Index survey and help build a wider picture of the profession.
Fill out the form to download the The TJ L&D Influence Report 2026 to see what’s shifting in workplace learning and what L&D teams can do next:
In association with Speexx, a Time Magazine Top Edtech company and the leading platform for people development in the digital workplace. Speexx provides business coaching, corporate language training, intercultural programs, strategic mentoring services, and skills assessment to large organizations, fully integrated with client people tech and delivered in a secure online environment.
