“Training and development is like advertising. Nobody has any real idea how it adds to the bottom line!” Harsh words but true.

Always squeezed and not enough, the Training & Development (T&D) budget has tended to be spent in three main ways:

  1. One-size fits all resources, from IT assisted learning to traditional classroom training, around specific themes. Its focus is mainly organisational remedially – there to fix widespread capability gaps. Typically, attendance is mandatory, regardless of whether individuals are strong or weak in the context.
  2. Narrowly remedial, focused on individuals or teams, whose weaknesses are seen as disruptive to the wider organisation.
  3. The “worried well” – generally competent managers vie for central resources to support their team’s developmental priorities through external facilitation. It’s easy to get addicted to this external support, rather than develop the skills within the team.

The advent of AI and coachbots hasn’t changed this pattern significantly. It has simply squeezed the amount of resources available for everything else. The result is that much, if not most of the budget gets spent on quick fixes, rather than systemic change.

Now comes the game changer. PERILL Diagnostic for Teams (the only team diagnostic to address teams as complex, adaptive systems) makes it possible to exert greater control over T&D spend and target it to where it will have most impact. PERILL reveals the key differences in perspective and experience of people in the team, as well as difference between the team and its stakeholders. It treats T&D as a system, with the result that:

  • Most issues arising within a team, which is reasonably well-functioning, can be dealt with effectively by the team. PERILL not only shows where the gaps in perception are, but suggests how to structure conversations to deal with them.
  • It becomes obvious where the team leader is the team’s biggest problem. Performance appraisal and potentially individual coaching can be targeted on the leader and improvements closely monitored.
  • Where external coaching or facilitation is required, the scope and focus of this can be determined and progress measured.
  • It helps identify the common issues that exist across your team systems – allowing you to address company wide issues. As an example, across the 650 teams assessed so far, Embedded Learning & Developmental Planning are identified as the worst performing areas out of 30 different systemic themes.

It’s all about having enough understanding about what is happening in each team to provide the right intervention at the right time.

Why not try PERILL Diagnostic for Teams for FREE to find out more. Invite the team and its stakeholders to score their environment (takes 15 minutes) & you’ll get a comprehensive report & an actionable team coaching plan.

©️David Clutterbuck, 2026