The Real Challenge of L&D: Learning Avoidance, Not Learning Access

This month, our team has been trying hard to ensure learners complete the sessions assigned to them. Yet, the response has been slow. Excuses are plenty—too busy, urgent priorities, not relevant right now.

It reminded me of a striking insight: If a hundred people are prescribed a medicine, one-third won’t even buy it. Half of the rest will not take it as prescribed. The result? What could have healed them never has the chance to work.

Strangely, people are often more disciplined in giving medicines to their pets than in taking them themselves. We extend care outward but often neglect our own growth.

In my journey as a Learning & Development Head and an ICF Coach, I see a similar paradox in learning: people deeply value development in theory, but sustaining it in practice is the bigger challenge. Here are four reflections I’ve carried with me:

1. Learning is a Prescription, Not a Cure

Training sessions, workshops, and coaching conversations are like prescriptions—they provide the direction, the possibility of change. But the real cure comes only when individuals practice, reflect, and apply consistently. Without that, the “medicine of learning” remains unopened.

2. Application Needs Trust

Just as patients may not trust a doctor enough to follow the advice, learners sometimes hesitate to act on what they’ve learned. The missing link is often trust—trust in the facilitator, trust in their manager, and most importantly, trust in themselves. Coaching has taught me that trust is the foundation of any transformation.

3. We Care for Others More Than Ourselves

Employees often put their teams, customers, or even family first, while putting their own growth last. As facilitators and leaders, our role is to remind them: you cannot pour from an empty cup. Learning begins with self-care and self-leadership.

4. Follow-up is Where Change Truly Happens

One powerful lesson from coaching is that insight without follow-up is just inspiration. True change requires accountability, reflection, and gentle nudges after the session. This is where organizations, managers, and coaches can partner to ensure learning sticks.

This leaves me with a question for all of us in L&D and leadership: How do we help employees not just attend learning but embrace it as essential self-care, the same way they would never neglect the care of someone they love?

I’d love to hear your views What’s worked for you in overcoming this “learning avoidance” challenge?