This might be the single best explanation for why development efforts fail in most organizations:

“The data shows that career development isn’t being blocked by a lack of intent from leadership. In fact, very few organizations say leadership doesn’t value it. The issue is that managers, employees, and talent teams are all stretched too thin to prioritize it properly. Managers in particular are expected to have meaningful development conversations, identify skills gaps, and guide progression, often on top of already demanding workloads,” Huthwaithe says.

https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/04/07/why-your-people-managers-are-the-weakest-link-in-learning-and-development/181127/

There are many organizations that claim to have a learning culture, but the reality is very different. The real culture is that people are rewarded and promoted based on hourly billable or other targets, leaving no time for learning.

That’s your culture.

For more on this, I recommend reading this as well, about how culture undercuts L & D efforts all the time:

What L&D inherits when it finally gets a seat (and why training doesn’t fix it)

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