Performance consulting gets tossed around a lot in learning and development, but it’s still one of the most misunderstood parts of our field. When I began my career in L&D more than 30 years ago, performance consulting was foundational, it was simply how we approached problems. Over time, though, the industry shifted. Training and content development became the main focus, and performance consulting quietly faded into the background.
Lately, I’m seeing a resurgence. Organizations are realizing that training alone can’t fix every performance issue, and learning and development teams are looking for ways to be more strategic, more credible, and more tied to business outcomes. With that renewed interest comes a lot of confusion, especially for learning and development consultants who haven’t been formally trained in performance consulting.
If your goal is to elevate your role, build stronger partnerships with the business, and deliver solutions that actually work, performance consulting is one of the most powerful tools you can use. Here are the misconceptions that tend to get in the way.
1. “Performance consulting is just another word for a training needs analysis.”
This is one of the biggest misunderstandings inside L&D. A needs analysis usually focuses on learning gaps. In other words, what people need to know, what they don’t know yet, and how training can bridge that gap.
Performance consulting zooms out.
Instead of looking only at knowledge and skills, it examines everything surrounding the work: processes, tools, workflow design, role clarity, incentives, environmental constraints, and even leadership behaviors. It’s a much broader approach that asks, “What’s truly preventing performance?” rather than “What do people need to learn?”
And that shift in mindset makes all the difference.
2. “Performance consulting always leads to training.”
Inside many organizations, L&D is brought in with the assumption that training is the answer. But most performance issues aren’t rooted in a lack of knowledge. They’re often caused by unclear expectations, broken processes, outdated systems, or inconsistent management practices.
When L&D treats every issue as a training issue, the business ends up frustrated because the “solution” doesn’t fix the real problem. Performance consulting helps L&D step back and ask whether training is even needed.
Sometimes the correct recommendation is a process update, a new job aid, or a quick coaching alignment with managers. Focusing on the performance issue rather than training earns L&D credibility.
3. “Performance consulting will slow things down.”
This fear tends to come from leaders who need solutions fast. But skipping the diagnostic work usually leads to problems that take longer to fix. Teams realize halfway through a project that they misunderstood the real issue, and suddenly everything has to be reworked or redesigned.
A small amount of performance-focused analysis upfront saves significant time later. It prevents scope creep, reduces rework, and helps L&D deliver solutions that land correctly the first time. It’s not a delay, it’s insurance.
4. “It’s only useful for large, strategic initiatives.”
Many L&D teams assume performance consulting is only for big enterprise-wide projects. In reality, it’s just as valuable for small, everyday performance gaps. A repeated customer service error, confusion around a new process, or inconsistent application of a policy can all benefit from this broader approach.
Sometimes the most meaningful improvements come from solving a very specific barrier in the workflow, not launching a major training program.
5. “Performance consulting just means talking to SMEs.”
SME interviews are important, but they’re only one lens. A true performance consulting approach involves observing the workflow, reviewing data, listening to frontline employees, talking to managers, and sometimes examining system usage or error patterns. What SMEs believe is happening and what is actually happening aren’t always aligned.
When L&D expands the discovery process beyond SME interviews, the insights become much richer and the solutions become much more effective.
6. “You don’t need business knowledge to do it well.”
Learning and development often focuses heavily on learning theories, tools, and content creation, but performance consulting requires a deeper understanding of the business itself. You need to know what success looks like for the team you’re supporting, how their KPIs work, how their workflows function, and what pressures they face.
When L&D considers the business context, it becomes easier to recommend solutions that leaders value. It also helps L&D move from being seen as a service provider to being seen as a strategic partner.
7. “It’s a one-time diagnostic at the beginning of a project.”
Performance consulting isn’t something you do once and then forget. It’s an ongoing partnership. As solutions roll out, L&D continues to check in, gather feedback, measure progress, and adjust recommendations.
Often, new barriers appear once the initial ones are addressed. Sometimes the environment changes. Sometimes the solution needs a small tweak. Performance consulting helps L&D stay connected to the results, not just the launch.
What Is Performance Consulting, Really?
At the simplest level, performance consulting is the practice of identifying the true causes of a performance issue and recommending the right mix of solutions that may or may not include training. It blends business insight, workflow analysis, problem solving, and human performance improvement.
When L&D teams embrace performance consulting, everything improves: the conversations with stakeholders, the relevance of the solutions, the accuracy of the recommendations, and the impact on the business.
It’s one of the best ways to shift the perception of L&D from order takers to a strategic function focused on performance, capability, and results.
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