Management Information |
Why Training Fails
Sometimes when I conduct my workshop on Effective Meetings, one of the participants will ask, "Where's my boss?" And I say, "Your boss claimed to be an expert on holding effective meetings." Then the person laughs. "My boss needs to attend your workshop more than anyone in our company. And without our manager's support, no one will use this." This is bad because if no one uses the ideas presented in a workshop, the client will conclude that training doesn't work. And then the company might abandon all training. Here are three important issues that determine the effectiveness of training. 1) People follow the leader. Any training program will be more successful if management supports it. This is why I always involve top executives in planning my workshops. I also ask them to attend. And I recommend follow-up sessions to review the material covered in the workshop. In fact, I only work with people who value and support learning. Training has earned a bad reputation because many programs were just thrown over the fence at employees who were sent to be fixed. It's unlikely that any training program conducted under these conditions will accomplish much. Key Point: Gain management support before scheduling any training program. 2) Each of us has control over our area of responsibility. And each of us lives in the environment that we create. The participant mentioned above can conduct effective meetings, even if top management continues to hold bad meetings. In fact, someone who demonstrates sound leadership by holding effective meetings could end up replacing the boss who holds bad meetings. There are two parts to every learning experience. The first part involves mastering new skills. The second (and critical) part involves choosing to use them. Key Point: You can be an effective leader even when others aren't. 3) Some people play make-believe. Many years ago I received an evening phone call from a colleague who wanted to know if I could recommend a good book on how to hold effective meetings. It seems this person was scrambling to find material for a workshop that was scheduled to start the next morning. You will learn more from an expert, rather than from someone who is delivering a book report. In this case, I recommended either of the two books that I had written on how to hold effective meetings. Many companies hire trainers who build training programs based on books that they read. And some entrepreneurs agree to speak on topics that are purely academic for them. The best trainers ARE the message, which means that they live and breathe and use what they teach. They can answer any questions, meet any needs, help with any situations that the participants may bring up. They truly know their topic. Key Point: Hire a trainer who wrote the book instead of one who (you hope) read a book. Any training program can succeed, if delivered to people who want to improve by an expert who can show them how. - - - - - - - - IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and author Steve Kaye works with leaders who want to hold effective meeting. His innovative workshops have informed and inspired people nationwide. His facilitation produces results that people will support. Call 714-528-1300 or visit his web site for over 100 pages of valuable ideas. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.stevekaye.com
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
What You Should Know if People Dont Buy From You and People Dont Visit Your Web Site It is essential to understand what work and what do not work when you run business, especially through Internet. 1. Using Outlook to Count Responses Here's a productivity tip that will save you a lot of time and trouble if you need to collate responses from staff for any reason, especially if you work for an organisation with a lot of staff.Case Study: I worked for a financial institution with 3,000 plus employees and had to identify how many employees needed compulsory training in certain legislation so that we could plan and resource the training. Leadership in Troubled Times Leadership in Troubled Times The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. - Joe BattenLeading an organization can be challenging, even when times are good. Organisational Culture for Continuous Improvement I have been working with leading Business Improvement guru, Tim Franklin, preparing the PR for his latest book which offers an introduction to Continuous Improvement (CI) at beginner level, encompassing Lean, TQM, Six Sigma and the other related methodologies of CI.He was developing an analogy of a geographic expedition to describe Continuous Improvement. The Importance of Business Goals For you to get where you want to go, there are four key steps for you to take. They are not difficult, but they are vital. The Supervisors 14 Essential Truths For Communicating With Direct Reports One amazing, but sadly true, fact of today's advances in communication tools is that we really don't communicate much better than in the past.Indeed one recent study determined the number one advancement in communication tools was the availability of cheap on-line airfares. Policy & Procedure Manuals - Tools For Greater Productivity and Efficiency In today's tough retail environment the retailer needs all the tools he can get to help improve efficiency, productivity, and the bottom line. Two of these tools are the company's Policy Manual and Procedure Manual. Vampire Meetings and How To Slay Them Meetings can be like mythical vampires - sucking the life out of intelligent and creative people. And sucking the funds out of businesses. Interviewing Applicants Can Be Hazardous to Your Wealth 1st Fact: Interviewing applicants is the most common way companies decide whom to hire.2nd Fact: Research proves most interviewers do lousy at predicting if an applicant will succeed - or flop - if hired. Too Much Time Treating Symptoms A man drives down the highway each day on his way to work. On Monday he gets a flat tire. Can What Someone Does Off-hours Affect Your Business? Q: How much do I have to worry about what people who are part of my far-flung "virtual" corporation do when they're not working directly for me? I can't share too many details because the situation is touchy, as you might expect, but basically I have someone working for me as a writer, contributing material for my blog, and I have been hearing that he's writing some pretty far out, offensive material on other sites. Do I need to worry about it?A: This is a difficult situation, no question, and one that comes up more and more as we've moved away from employee-as-chattel-for-life and towards plug-and-play cogs in all the machines of the modern economy. Re-Discovery Procedures for Building Effective Management Systems: Phase V Now we turn the corner to our final phase: Re-Discovery.Last year marked the 200th anniversary of the expedition of Lewis & Clark, and much has been written about their remarkable journey up the Missouri River and on to the Pacific. Conference Calling Can Save Your Sales OrganizationTime and Money! Conference calling can save you money. There is no doubt that inthe sales business, every second counts. How To Delegate for Fun and Profit Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to some people. Hire Winners: Ask the Right Questions How do you as a manager, supervisor or team leader hire winners? One very successful interviewing technique is behavioral interviewing---selecting the right person for the right job using a job-related rather than a gut feel approach. A job-related approach is asking for a behavioral example of skills and traits that are required for a position. Get Out Of The Stone Age: Give Leadership Talks 160 years ago, the newly invented electric telegraph carriedthe first news message. The message zipped 40 miles in a flash over wires from Baltimore to Washington, D. Internal Communication: 12 Essential Elements There are 12 essential elements of a successful internal communications strategy:1. Effective employee-directed communications must be led from the top Effective communications require the active commitment and endorsement of senior managers. Rethinking Workplace Security: How the Rules Have Changed The workplace has traditionally been a dangerous place. Very early in mankind's history perils emanated from the place and type of work they performed. Don't Forget Where You Came from - Why the Past is Important in Implementing Business Change Much of the literature and advice on implementing business change focuses on knowing where you are going and making sure that you understand and communicate a consistent vision of the future. Indeed, I have looked at the importance of this in an earlier article in this series. Problem Solving When problem solving, you may recognize that you were working on a symptom instead of the problem. An analysis of the more clearly defined problem may require an alteration to the objectives or the ideal solution. |
home | site map | contact us |