Instructional Designers as Influencers: Shaping Better Outcomes

I've been involved in program development, and working with clients needs for many years. This post is 100% correct! For both developing programs and providing training, I have found that more often than not, agencies with a request for either are not really sure what it is they want. But they know they want! The right questions and guidance leads to the right solutions! Often, different than what they were originally asking for, but better served with the end result! 😉

If you’re an Instructional Designer… this is your reminder: It doesn’t stop here. Instructional Design is not the final destination. It’s the foundation. The goal? To grow into a Learning Strategist. Because anyone can build content. Not everyone can: 🧠 Diagnose performance gaps 🎯 Align learning to business outcomes 📊 Measure real impact 🤝 Influence stakeholders 🔍 Identify when training isn’t even the solution That’s the shift. From building to thinking. From creating to solving. From executing to leading. The strongest Instructional Designers don’t just ask, “What should I build?” They ask, “Why does this matter—and what will change because of it?” If you want to evolve, focus here: 🧩 Stop thinking in slides. Start thinking in systems. Learning lives in behavior and performance. 📈 Measure beyond completion. If nothing changes, nothing worked. 🎯 Design for action, not awareness. Knowing is not doing. 🤝 Strengthen your voice. Your ability to guide stakeholders matters just as much as your design skills. 🛠 Use frameworks with intention. ADDIE, Kirkpatrick—these are tools to drive results, not boxes to check. This field needs more than builders. It needs thinkers, problem solvers, and strategists. So yes—master your craft. But don’t get comfortable there. Grow beyond it. #InstructionalDesign #LearningStrategist #LearningAndDevelopment #LearningExperienceDesign #AdultLearning #CareerGrowth #ProfessionalDevelopment #Upskill #PerformanceImprovement

Why Asking the Right Questions Is One of the Most Important Skills in Instructional Design. Before any course is created, before any storyboard is written, before any tool is opened — There’s one thing that defines the quality of the final outcome: The questions you ask. Many training requests start like this: • “We need a course on this topic.” • “Employees are making mistakes.” • “Create a quick module.” If an Instructional Designer jumps straight into development, there’s a high chance of solving the wrong problem. Strong Instructional Designers slow down and ask: • What business problem are we trying to solve? • Who is the learner, and what do they struggle with? • What behavior needs to change? • When and where will this learning be applied? • What happens if we don’t solve this? These questions bring clarity. They help: • Identify real performance gaps • Avoid unnecessary content • Choose the right learning strategy • Align learning with business outcomes In many cases, the difference between: an average course and an impactful learning solution is not the tool, design, or visuals. It’s the quality of questions asked at the beginning. Because in Instructional Design, better questions don’t just give better answers— they lead to better solutions. So IDs, let me know what question did you ask from your stakeholders today? #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #PerformanceConsulting #WorkplaceLearning #LearningStrategy

The Art of Asking the Right Questions in Instructional Design One of the most powerful skills an Instructional Designer can develop is not design. It’s asking the right questions. Because the quality of your solution depends on the quality of your understanding. And understanding comes from questions. But not just any questions—the right ones. Why is this so important? Because most training requests come with: • Incomplete information • Assumptions • Surface-level problems If you don’t question them, you risk designing a solution for the wrong problem. Strong Instructional Designers ask questions like: • What is the actual business problem? • What are employees doing wrong today? • What should they do differently? • Why is the current approach not working? • What does success look like? These questions help you: • Identify real performance gaps • Avoid unnecessary content • Align learning with business goals • Build more effective solutions But there’s another benefit. Asking the right questions builds: • Credibility • Trust with stakeholders • Clarity in communication You are no longer seen as someone who “creates courses.” You are seen as someone who understands problems. And in Instructional Design, that’s where the real value lies. Because better questions don’t just lead to better answers. They lead to better outcomes. #InstructionalDesign #LearningAndDevelopment #PerformanceConsulting #WorkplaceLearning #LearningStrategy

This perfectly captures something I’ve been learning through my journey in instructional design. Design thinking helps us understand the real problem. Instructional design helps us solve it effectively. Without both, training often misses the mark. I’ve been especially interested in how combining empathy, structure, and iteration can turn training into real behavior change; not just content delivery.

Instructional design vs design thinking We obsess over Instructional Design models like ADDIE and SAM… But skip the one thing that actually makes learning work: Understanding the human. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Instructional Design without Design Thinking =Well-structured failure Design Thinking without Instructional Design =Creative chaos Let’s break it down simply. Design Thinking says: “Are we solving the right problem?” Instructional Design says: “Are we solving it effectively?” And yet… most learning journeys look like this: Stakeholder: “We need communication training” L&D: “Say no more” → builds a 2-hour course Reality? The issue was never communication. It was fear of conflict in high-stakes situations. So what did the training fix? Slides. Not behavior. Here’s what actually works: Step 1: Empathize (Design Thinking) Stop guessing. Start observing. Shadow. Interview. Listen. Step 2: Define (Design Thinking) Move from “training need” → behavior gap Step 3: Design (Instructional Design) Now bring in structure, objectives, measurement Step 4: Prototype (Both) Simulations. Scenarios. Real decisions. Test before you scale. Step 5: Deliver (Instructional Design) Build it right. Blend it smart. Step 6: Iterate (Both) If behavior didn’t change… you’re not done. What changes when you do this? You stop creating courses. You start solving problems. You stop measuring completion. You start measuring capability. You stop being an order-taker. You become a performance partner. The real shift? From: “Did they like the training?” To: “Did they do something differently after it?” Design Thinking finds the truth. Instructional Design drives the change. Together? That’s where learning actually works. Let me know if you would like a post on ADDIE vs SAM #LearningAndDevelopment #InstructionalDesign #DesignThinking #LearningExperience #CorporateTraining #FutureOfWork

Yes, more organizations should target instructional designers for leadership roles due to the skills they have, and combine other leadership attributes of OBM and Learning Sciences to see optimal results for growth and efficiency within their companies.

The Top 3 Skills Companies Look for in an Instructional Designer (and why they matter) After working with hiring managers and learning teams, these 3 skills consistently rise to the top: 🤔 1. Performance-Focused Thinking Why it matters: Companies don’t need more content—they need results. The best instructional designers identify root causes and design solutions that actually change behavior and improve performance. 👍 2. Stakeholder Management Why it matters: Most projects fail due to misalignment, not design. Strong IDs can translate vague requests, guide SMEs, and keep projects focused on real business goals. ✴️ Ability to Simplify Complexity Why it matters: Information overload kills learning. Great designers cut through noise and focus on what learners need to do, making content clear, actionable, and effective. At the end of the day, instructional design is less about building courses—and more about solving problems that impact the business. Which of these do you think is hardest to master?

Yes to #3 and #2. It feels strange to try to explain something w/o using Amazon's Leadership Principle lingo. https://lnkd.in/ech9X_By