The Role of Standalone L&D With Aimee Young

Learning & Development roles can vary greatly depending on the individual’s specialism, ambition, and the opportunities within any given team. But the opportunity to run an L&D department solo is a unique experience and one that brings as much freedom and excitement as it does challenge and resourcefulness. In this episode, Aimee compares and contrasts her experience in L&D teams and her solo role now and provides insights into how to make this successful and a career move of choice. KEY TAKEAWAYS The term standalone R&D roles different things to different people. In this case, it means working alone in an organisation, as a generalist, doing whatever is required.  Working alone forces you to grow your skillset quickly. With standalone L&D you have to lean on others in the organisation. You have to be careful not to burn out when working in a standalone role. Working in a standalone role forces you to properly identify what is effective.  You cannot afford to reinvent the wheel. Tapping into what is there and building on it is essential. You end up being very close to all of your internal clients. BEST MOMENTS 'What is rarely explored is how one person does this (L&D) on their own. ' 'In a standalone role, you really have to be passionate.' 'Reserve your energy. Please look after yourself. You can´t do it all. ' ABOUT AIMEE YOUNG Aimee is L&D Manager at Snowplow, a behavioural data company, and is the only person in L&D. Before this role, Aimee worked in L&D for OLIVER Agency, Sumitomo and Taylor Wessing. Aimee began her L&D career at Towards Maturity benchmarking L&D teams and providing insights for the profession.   VALUABLE RESOURCES The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523  L&D Masterclass Series: https://360learning.com/blog/   ABOUT THE HOST David James  David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa.  As well as being the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.  CONTACT METHOD  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/  L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective/ Blog: https://360learning.com/blog/ L&D Masterclass Series: https://360learning.com/blog/