You’re investing in your people — training, coaching, skill-building. They’re growing. But somehow, the business isn’t moving forward the way it should.
You’re not alone.
Organizations spend over $400 billion every year on human capital development, yet most still struggle to see meaningful returns. In fact, one study by the Corporate Leadership Council revealed that while leaders viewed employee development as vital to performance, they also saw their organizations’ learning and development functions as ineffective — even suggesting that removing them altogether wouldn’t make a meaningful difference.
The problem isn’t lack of investment — or lack of effort.
Employees want to grow. Leaders want to support them.
The issue lies in the connection between development and direction.
Self-Determination Theory helps explain why. One of its core components — agency — shows that people thrive when they have ownership of their goals. When development feels dictated rather than chosen, engagement plummets.
If your programs reflect only the organization’s priorities, your people won’t see themselves — or their values — in the process. That’s when learning becomes compliance instead of commitment and rarely leads to the growth both leaders and participants want.
The answer isn’t to loosen direction — it’s to align it.
When employees can choose skills and goals that excite them within the company’s mission and values, something shifts. Growth stops being a task and becomes a calling.
This is how development begins to move the business forward — when individual motivation fuels organizational purpose.
When employees connect why they’re growing with where the organization is headed, development transforms from a cost center into a force multiplier. That balance of clarity and autonomy is what transforms training into traction.
If your people are growing but your business isn’t, it’s time to bridge the gap between development and direction.
👉 Schedule a conversation with Rewire to explore how we can help you connect purpose, performance and people - so your investment fuels real business results.
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Written by: Steve Longan, Director of Coach Training Programs