The challenge
When I joined, there was no mature L&D function. Training was happening through recordings, tribal knowledge, and urgent support from people who were already busy.
The company was growing across countries and roles. That meant the learning function had to do more than create courses. It needed hiring, delivery, content production, LMS operations, program governance, and measurement.
The risk was building a team around immediate pain only. That feels faster at first, but it creates a function full of single-person dependencies and unclear ownership.
The approach
I treated the department like a product. The first question was what the function had to reliably deliver. From there I designed the role families, manager layer, decision rights, and team rhythm.
I also had to change how I led across regions. Direct feedback, fast decisions, and low-context communication do not land the same way everywhere. The team needed clarity, but it also needed trust.
The practical move was to create standards and room for local judgment at the same time. Global teams fail when everything is either centralized or left to each region to invent.
Downloadable takeaway
A one-page version of the model with the decision questions, sequence, metrics, and red flags someone can use after reading the case.
What I built
Mapped the capability architecture
I separated the work into content production, program delivery, learning operations, technology administration, measurement, and management.
That map shaped the roles we posted, the skills we screened for, and the places where we needed managers instead of more individual contributors.
Built a manager layer
As the team grew, I hired and developed five managers. Each needed a different coaching path because each manager was stepping into leadership with different strengths and blind spots.
We used regular coaching, clearer expectations, and calibration around performance decisions so the team did not get five different versions of what good looked like.
Created global operating norms
The team needed handoffs, documentation, and meeting rhythms that worked across time zones. We made decisions visible and reduced private side channels where work could get stuck.
The goal was a shared standard clear enough that local judgment had guardrails.
Operating artifacts
These are sanitized work-product examples. They show the kind of artifact I would expect the team to use. They are sanitized and exclude confidential company material.
Function Capability Map
Function Capability Map
The operating view used before opening roles or adding layers.
Global Team Rhythm
Global Team Rhythm
The routines that kept the team connected without overloading calendars.
First-Time Manager Coaching Card
First-Time Manager Coaching Card
A practical artifact for helping new managers know what to do when the work gets unclear.
The results
The operating insight
A global L&D team needs more than goodwill. It needs a working system for decisions, quality, communication, and escalation.
The out-of-the-box move was designing the management layer as part of the operating model instead of treating it as a reward for tenure or the default answer to span of control.
What this proves
- I can build an L&D function from the ground up.
- I understand that org design, manager development, hiring, and operating rhythm are connected.
- I can lead across regions without pretending one communication style works everywhere.