How do learning facilitation competency and self-leadership relate to learning outcomes?

Purpose This study aims to empirically examine how instructors’ learning facilitation competency and learners’ self-leadership are associated with engagement, satisfaction and transfer in corporate training contexts. It further investigates whether learning engagement mediates the relationships among these key variables. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted with a sample of 537 adult learners who had prior experience in corporate training programs and was grounded in facilitation learning theory and self-directed learning theory. Findings The findings show that instructors’ facilitation competency is significantly associated with learning engagement and satisfaction but does not show a significant direct relationship with learning transfer. Learners’ self-leadership is positively associated with all three outcomes: engagement, satisfaction and transfer. Learning engagement functions as a key mediator, especially between facilitation competency and transfer. Overall, facilitation competency shows stronger associations with engagement and satisfaction than self-leadership. Research limitations/implications This study has several limitations. First, cross-sectional self-report data limits causal inference and common method bias may inflate associations, particularly for learning transfer. Second, the sample is limited to Korean adult learners, which may affect generalizability across cultural contexts. Third, organizational variables – such as supervisor support, learning climate and transfer opportunities – were not included, though these are known predictors of transfer. Future research should adopt longitudinal or experimental designs, incorporate organizational-level variables, replicate findings across diverse cultural contexts and reexamine discriminant validity between self-leadership and learning engagement. Practical implications Findings suggest that both instructor facilitation and learner self-leadership matter for training effectiveness. Organizations should invest in developing instructors’ facilitation competencies – not just content expertise – to foster engagement and satisfaction. Equally, training programs should be designed to strengthen learners’ self-leadership skills, as these are associated with engagement, satisfaction and transfer. Since learning engagement emerged as a key mediator, instructional strategies that deepen active participation are likely to improve training outcomes. Psychologically safe learning climates and structured instructor development are essential for transfer-oriented instruction. Social implications When instructors move beyond simply delivering content and truly function as learning facilitators, learners develop the capacity to think for themselves, adapt to new challenges and apply what they have learned in meaningful ways. Corporate training must not stop at learning – what matters is whether that learning carries over into practice and shows up in organizational outcomes. By investing in facilitation competency and learner self-leadership, organizations can cultivate workforces capable of continuous adaptation. In an AI-driven era, human facilitation remains irreplaceable for fostering autonomous, transfer-ready learners. Originality/value These results provide empirical support for Rogers’ (1969) assertion that instructors, when functioning as facilitators rather than one-way deliverers of knowledge, foster meaningful learning experiences. Ultimately, this study offers both theoretical and practical implications for improving learner satisfaction and instructional effectiveness in workplace learning contexts.