Most sessions on influence in L&D offer general advice: “build relationships,” “get a seat at the table,” “communicate value.” This one doesn’t.

This session is a reality-tv inspired format where we treat stakeholder dynamics like the recurring cast they are. You will meet the Real Stakeholders of Org Learning. The risk gatekeeper with a red pen and a dream. The metrics leader who only speaks dashboard. The urgency executive who wants it mandatory yesterday. The ghost SME. The tool collector. The manager who is drowning but still controls adoption. Expect confessionals, live audience voting, and a cast of familiar stakeholder characters who decide whether learning gets adopted. The goal is not more theory or “seat at the table” advice. The goal is influence you can use immediately, built on one epic reality-tv mantra: receipts, timeline, proof, and screenshots.

This is the reunion episode where excuses get subtitles.

In this session, you will:

Apply the “Reunion” stakeholder model to diagnose one real initiative by identifying the key players, what each one needs (receipts, timeline, proof, screenshots), and the fastest path to alignment.

Use proof-first influence tactics to shift a “make a course” request into a performance consulting plan with clear outcomes, decision owners, and a pilot that reduces risk and rework.

Visit our calendar of events to see what is happening in the ATD Central PA chapter.

Cara North is an award-winning learning experience leader with experience spanning higher education, corporate L&D, and consulting, She’s the founder of The Learning Camel, the author of Learning Experience Design Essentials, and an adjunct instructor at Boise State University. She is also a certificate course facilitator for ATD and the founder of The Monthly 60, a learning and development community of practice. Cara lives in Columbus, Ohio with her partner and their four cats: Bib Fortuna, Pollock Wallace, Sidious Milo, and Saffron Leiko. She claims to run the household, but the cats remain unconvinced.