The role of the Chief Learning Officer continues to transform, and 2026 represents an inflection point. Budgets are under greater scrutiny, expectations for measurable business value are rising, and AI is rapidly expanding both the possibilities and pressures placed on L&D teams.
In a recent webinar hosted by Cognota titled What CLOs Need to Know for 2026, four learning leaders shared their front-line perspectives on what separates teams that simply keep up from those that shape the future of workforce capability:
- Mary Slaughter, Learning Advisory Board Member, GP Strategies
- Matt Donovan, Chief Learning & Innovation Officer, GP Strategies
- Ryan Austin, CEO & Founder, Cognota
- Stephanie Fitzpatrick, Former CLO, UnitedHealth Group
Across the conversation, one message was clear:
“CLOs who operationalize smarter, not just work harder, will secure investment and drive competitive advantage.”
Here are the major themes and practical takeaways that today’s CLOs should be planning against right now.
1️⃣ Align Learning Strategy Directly to Business Value
For years, L&D has been working to shake the perception of being a support function rather than a strategic driver. The leaders on this panel emphasized that 2026 will be the year alignment becomes non-negotiable.
Learning must be tethered to business priorities, not course requests
Stephanie Fitzpatrick noted that one of her biggest shifts at UHG has been moving from intake based on demand to intake based on outcomes:
“We start every request by asking: What business target will this directly contribute to? If that can’t be answered, we reinvent the ask or walk away.”
This shift requires:
- A shared performance language with business stakeholders
- Metrics that track capability and outcomes, not just completions
- A willingness to deprioritize low-value or duplicative work
Mary Slaughter added that alignment is not only a reporting strategy. It must deeply influence decision-making, governance, and resource allocation.
Practical takeaway for CLOs
📌 Build a prioritization framework grounded in business goals such as revenue enablement, operational performance, customer outcomes, and workforce readiness.
2️⃣ AI + Automation Are Now Essential, and Must Be Operationalized
The promise of AI has crossed the threshold into practical workflows. But the opportunity is deeper than faster content creation. It is about transforming the entire operational backbone of L&D.
Ryan Austin explained:
“AI is not about doing the same work faster. It is about finally having the capacity to focus on strategic initiatives that historically sat on the back burner.”
Where AI is driving the biggest impact
|
Operational Area |
How AI Creates Efficiency |
Business Result |
|
Intake & Prioritization |
Smarter routing, deduplication, impact scoring |
Better use of learning resources |
|
Planning & Resourcing |
Predictive forecasting and capacity visibility |
Fewer bottlenecks and delays |
|
Reporting & Insights |
Automated data aggregation and executive dashboards |
Ability to defend and expand budget |
Matt Donovan framed AI as a critical enabler of modern learnership:
“You cannot build a future-ready learning function by relying on manual, disconnected systems. AI needs a system to run on.”
That system is LearnOps, the integrated approach to managing intake, planning, design, delivery, and measurement.
Practical takeaway for CLOs
📌 Audit current workflows and identify friction points where automation can free up strategic capacity.
3️⃣ Budget Expectations Are Rising, Even for Teams With Less
Every CLO feels the pressure to do more with the same or less.
But the leaders stressed that the right budget conversation is not defensive. It is proactive.
Mary Slaughter underscored that reframing budget as an investment in business outcomes is crucial:
“Executives do not buy learning. They buy performance. If we make performance the budget story, investment follows.”
What high-performing teams do differently with budgets
- Forecast talent and capability needs, not learning hours
- Use consumption and effectiveness data to shift vendor spend
- Invest in repeatable operational platforms, not one-off tools
- Model scenarios: “With X investment, we unlock Y business impact”
Stephanie shared that UHG has introduced a portfolio management approach, where low-impact work is eliminated to fuel high-value initiatives tied to enterprise risk, skills gaps, and growth priorities.
Practical takeaway for CLOs
📌 Replace cost justification with value predictions and business risk mitigation.
4️⃣ Measurement Must Evolve From Reporting to Proof
The historical reliance on completion data and reaction surveys is no longer credible for executive decision-making.
Learning measurement must now answer:
- How did this initiative improve a business KPI?
- Which capabilities shifted and where?
- What was the time-to-impact?
Matt emphasized that analytics and dashboards should inform business conversations, not just compliance ones:
“Measurement is not the end. It is the engine. When it is done well, it becomes the driver of strategic planning.”
A modern measurement playbook includes
✔ Business-aligned KPIs and baseline performance
✔ Audience segmentation to show performance differences
✔ Capability indexes for critical skills
✔ Leadership access to real-time dashboards
Ryan connected this back to operational maturity:
“When you unify intake, planning, delivery, and measurement, you can finally show the full story of L&D value.”
Practical takeaway for CLOs
📌 Develop measurement plans before designing the solution. Begin with the outcome, not the content.
Operational Excellence: The Link Between Every 2026 Priority
A consistent thread across the discussion was that strategy collapses without execution discipline.
The panelists collectively agreed:
L&D does not have a strategy problem. It has an execution visibility problem.
Operational excellence enables:
- Better prioritization
- Repeatability and scale
- Faster response to enterprise change
- Data credibility and insight maturity
That is why the conversation repeatedly returned to the concept of LearnOps, the full-stack operating model that gives CLOs clarity, control, and consistency across the value chain.
Looking Ahead: What CLOs Should Do Now
To close the discussion, the panel offered actionable steps L&D leaders can take immediately to build momentum for 2026:
CLO 2026 Readiness Checklist
☐ Establish shared business performance goals with key executives
☐ Map your operational lifecycle and identify friction points
☐ Introduce AI-driven automations that eliminate manual effort
☐ Build a portfolio-management model to prioritize high-value work
☐ Implement outcome-first measurement frameworks
☐ Communicate L&D results in business language that ties to capability or revenue outcomes
And perhaps most importantly:
“Stop trying to prove that learning is important. Prove that learning transforms performance.” — Stephanie Fitzpatrick
The Bottom Line: 2026 Will Reward CLOs Who Lead With Outcomes, Not Outputs
Learning leaders stand uniquely positioned to drive workforce transformation, but that influence is earned by:
- Aligning to enterprise priorities
- Making AI a core operating capability
- Treating investments as value levers
- Proving impact through measurable performance gains
As Ryan Austin summarized in the session:
“This is the moment for CLOs to shift from being order-takers to strategic advisors to the business. The ones who operationalize smartly will play a defining role in shaping the future of work.”
Watch the full panel discussion
👉 Learn more about the strategies and tools that will define successful learning operations in 2026.
Watch the webinar recording here.
Take the next step
If you would like to assess where your team stands today and how to elevate your LearnOps maturity, the Cognota team is here to help.
📌 Book a LearnOps Maturity Assessment
📌 Schedule a call to see how LearnOps software accelerates operational excellence
