Monday, June 28, 2010

Tip #329: An Independent Training Consultant’s Dream: When Your Client Loves Your Training

“It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference.” Tom Brokaw

Over the past thirty years in conducting training programs, I have experienced many wonderful highs. Sometimes you can actually see that you made a significant positive difference in the lives of the participants.

One of my best training experiences was conducting a train the trainer workshop in Dubrovnik, Croatia in 1998. The war was over, but the entire infrastructure of the country had been bombed out, the large companies had deserted, and there were still land mines everywhere.

This was my very first trip overseas and I went there frightened and anxious. My purpose was to help with the establishment of small business development centers. Funded by the Open Society Institute of George Soros, the idea was to introduce entrepreneurism into a society that had never experienced it. To do this properly, small business people and college professors needed to learn adult learning principles to effectively teach business skills to adults. This is where I came in.

Since I use accelerated learning techniques, I brought candy, music, Koosh balls, and used cartoons in my training. This was a culture that never talked back to the professor. So when I had everyone stand and throw the Koosh to each other so they could introduce themselves (we had an interpreter available, since I do not speak or understand Croat), some of them initially went into shock.

However, most of them soon got the hang of it and interacted (for the first time in their lives) with increasing confidence over the four-day program. They designed lesson plans, experienced and created interactive learning activities, experimented with the use of metaphor and other accelerated learning techniques, and honed their group facilitation and stand up presentation skills.

On the last day, they each had to facilitate a 10-minute training module of their own design on a business topic, using all of the design, delivery and accelerated learning techniques they had learned. Their lessons were magnificent and their facilitation was masterful. I actually cried, because their transformation and their creativity were so astounding.

As a result of this assignment, I was asked back to work with J.J. Strossmeyer University in Osijek, Croatia, to design the first Eastern European participant-based Masters Degree program in Entrepreneurship. Over a period of four years, I trained the professors at the University in how to design student-centered training activities, worked directly with each professor to redesign their curriculum, and then audited the training to ensure they were using what they had learned.

I ultimately spent 10 weeks, two weeks at a time, in Osijek. The entire experience was transformative for me, for many of the professors, and for the students.

It was particularly gratifying to see that the students were no longer interested in sitting through lectures because they were eager to participate. It was awe inspiring to watch some of the professors become wonderfully creative in how they taught their subject areas and engaged their students.

This was an independent training consultant’s dream experience. What a gift, to be able to help to put new training skills into place, observe the positive interaction between professors and students, and know that real skill-building learning has occurred. It completely affirmed the power and impact of accelerated and participatory learning.


May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Monday, June 21, 2010

Tip #328: An Independent Training Consultant's Nightmare: When You Can't Please a Client

"Anytime you suffer a setback or disappointment, put your head down and plow ahead." Les Brown

Over the past thirty years in conducting training programs, I have experienced many wonderful highs and a few excruciating lows. Sometimes it is difficult to keep either your confidence or your sense of humor intact. I share my story to show you that it is possible to survive a bad situation to train again another day.

One of my worst training experiences occurred on the first day of a planned series of six workshops on leadership development in an academic setting. The training was designed to be highly participatory and develop specific skills that would be put into action and reported on at the next workshop. The Vice President who hired me had been actively involved in the development and review of the content.

I was excited about the program, because I knew that the organizational culture had not valued effective managerial skills for many years. I had also worked hard to design an interactive program that would generate clarity and cohesion on the topic of necessary leadership skills.

There were approximately 150 participants at tables distributed throughout a cavernous cafeteria. Most of these folks had advanced academic degrees, with long tenure at the college. Their attendance in the sessions was mandatory.

Most of the participants chose to be engaged in the learning activities. However, some of the participants made it very clear that the training was an unwelcome imposition and that they were going to use the time as a social occasion. They were incredibly rude, speaking while others were attempting to work, coming back from breaks a good ten to twenty minutes late- and then talking and carrying on as they walked in to take their seats, with no consideration for the rest of the group.

I tried every trick in the book to divert, distract, refocus, and manage these participants. However, their immature and disrespectful behaviors became even more exaggerated, to the detriment of the entire group.

Finally, frustrated, hoarse, and exhausted, I called them on it. The entire focus of the workshop was on effective leadership and the participants had already agreed that it was important for a leader to treat people with respect. Their behavior was counter to everything the program was intended to instill. Even the President of the college, who was in attendance, stood up and firmly berated the group, supporting my statement.

I accomplished what I had been hired to do and left the six hour workshop absolutely exhausted. As she helped me carry my training materials to my car, the VP told me that she was pleased with the workshop and looked forward to the next one.

However, a few weeks later I learned that the VP's supervisor had decided that she didn't like my content and she didn't like me! She had wanted a lecture, not participatory activities. When the supervisor voiced her preference during a conference call with me and the VP, the VP said nothing in my defense. She did not explain that she had asked for and approved the content. As a matter of fact, the VP never opened her mouth. I realized then that the politics of the situation were not in my favor. I was shocked but not surprised when the supervisor voided my contract after she finished scolding me.

This was the very first time that had ever happened to me. It was unpleasant, unfair, financially debilitating, and completely out of my control.

This is the kind of situation that is an independent training consultant's nightmare. But the world did not end. My business did not come to a grinding halt. New and long-term clients continued to call me for work. I learned that there are some battles you just can't win- and you can't let it pull you down. I had done the best that I could do- and that is all anyone can expect of themselves. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, You can please some of your clients all the time, and all of your clients some of the time, but you cannot please all of your clients all the time.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Monday, June 14, 2010

Tip #327: A Riff on “Why”

“I am one of the people who love the why of things.“ Catherine the Great

This is going to be a riff on the importance of knowing “why.”

1. I worked for the State of Wisconsin for ten years, primarily in the area of human resources. It became clear to me very quickly that managers generally told their employees what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. But they rarely, if ever, told them why it was important.

If you don’t know why something needs to be done, what its purpose might be, or what the consequences could be if it isn’t done- then it is very difficult to:

(a) be invested in performing the specific project,

(b) make useful decisions to further the success of the project, or

(c) make the necessary adjustments if things go differently than the
manager expected.

2. This is particularly pertinent to the issue of change management. If we really want people to change behavior, they need to see why it will benefit them. It is neither compelling nor engaging to tell them that management wants it or that the law mandates it. They need to understand why choosing not to change will adversely impact them in ways that truly matter to them.

3. For this reason, I stress the importance of having two goals for every learning program: what the participants will learn and why they will care about it. Our learning objectives evolve from our training goals. If we don’t focus in on why the participants will want to learn what we are teaching, we may have great difficulty getting their buy in.

4. Little children continually ask “why?” It is not enough for them to see that the sky is blue, they want to know why it’s blue. They seem to have an innate understanding that everything has a purpose. They want to learn the reason for things and thoughts and behaviors- and they often stump adults, because many of us have set aside our curiosity. We have lost our sense of wonder at life. I wonder why?

5. However, there are adults who retain their sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. Scientists spend their lives trying to discover the why behind natural phenomena.

6. Actually, I think that anyone who cares about doing a good job wants to find the answer to why: Why do children drop out of school? Why does a rocket booster fail? Why do plants grow in one place and not another? There are an infinite number of questions that start with why?

7. Why is ultimately a politically charged word. Unless we question why things are the way they are, we won’t be able to understand them. If we don’t understand their origin and purpose, we will have no benchmark to judge whether or not the purpose is being achieved. My guess is that all changes: all inventions, all creativity, all revolutions began with someone asking “Why?” Why is it this way and not that way? Why do some people have everything while many people have nothing?

8. I used to have a friend who responded to every why with a why not? So often, we ask someone why they are doing something- and implicit in our question is a clear judgment that they should NOT be doing that something. The flip side of asking why is looking at alternatives- why this, why not that?

9. Someone long ago responded to my question why? by saying that “Y is a crooked letter.” It is a clever way to distract someone so that you don’t have to give him or her a real answer. However, it is terribly frustrating to receive that response when you really want to know something.

10. There are times we ask “why?” without any expectation that we will receive a satisfying answer: Why me? Why do bad things happen to good people? Sometimes there is no obvious reason why. That is even more demoralizing.

However, a wise woman once told me that when sad things happen, why? is the wrong question. What we need to ask is how? How will we handle this situation? How will we help those who suffer?

Perhaps if someone had stopped to ask How will we handle an oil drilling disaster? or How will we handle it if the levees don’t hold? we might have been better prepared to respond quickly and effectively. Why didn’t anyone anticipate these issues? And if they did, why didn’t they have a plan in place?


May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Monday, June 7, 2010

Tip #326: Start With “Why”

“Those who are able to inspire give people a sense of purpose or belonging that has little to do with any external incentive or benefit to be gained.” Simon Sinek

I recently watched a TED presentation by Simon Sinek in which he stressed that people are inspired by Why we do what we do rather than by What we do.

He explained this through his concept of the Golden Circle. Imagine three concentric circles:

* The center circle represents Why we do it.
* The middle circle represents How we do it.
* The outermost circle represents What we do.

According to Sinek:

Why is the “single purpose, cause or belief that serves as the unifying, driving and inspiring force for any individual or organization.

For an organization, the why inspires the products, services, marketing, culture, hiring profile and partnerships the organization makes or performs.

For an individual, the why guides the ideal and most fulfilling decisions- finding a job you love, maintaining friends you trust and buying the brands to which you’re most loyal.”

How is the “guiding principles or actions an organization or individual takes to bring to life their why. Hows are written as verbs as they are actions to be performed and not just inactionable values to be admired, e.g., do the right thing vs. integrity.”

What is the “results of actions taken to bring the why to life; tactics; everything tangible an organization says or does. Everything outsiders can see, hear or experience, e.g. products, services, partnerships, marketing, etc.”

Sinek says that the three levels of certainty in the decisions we make are based on the levels of the Golden Circle. The levels of the Golden Circle relate to the Triune Brain:

In the outer (What) circle, rational decisions [made in the neocortex] are justified on the basis of facts and figures. Although rational decisions are the lowest level of certainty (“I think this is the right decision”) they are easily explained.

In the middle (How) circle, gut decisions [made in the limbic system] are justified on the basis of a “gut feeling” (“I feel this is the right decision.”) Gut decisions have a higher level of certainty than rational decisions, but the reasons that justify the decision are not entirely clear or easily explained. Gut decisions are highly individual.

In the center (Why) circle, Why decisions [also made in the limbic system] “feel right” and can be justified with facts and figures (“I know this is the right decision.”) Why decisions are the highest level of certainty. Multiple people who are driven by the same belief will all agree that the decision feels right and will agree with the facts to justify the decision.

According to Sinek, “People don’t buy What you do, they buy Why you do it. What you do- your products and services- and how you communicate serve as the proof of what you believe.

When you communicate with What, people can understand the facts, figures, features and benefits- but it doesn’t drive their behavior. When you communicate from the inside-out, starting with Why, you influence behavior, and the tangible things you say and do enable people to rationalize their decisions.”

He uses Apple as an example of a company that “follows the principles of the Golden Circle, which is what earns them the ability to inspire innovation and loyalty. If Apple were like everyone else, a marketing message from them would start with What, then try to differentiate with How. But here’s how Apple actually communicates: ‘In all we do, we believe in thinking differently- we challenge the status quo by making our products beautifully designed and simple to use. We just happen to make great computers.’”

Interestingly enough, Apple has just topped Microsoft in market value...

Over twenty-five years ago, I remember visiting the Small Business Development Center at UW-Madison. I wanted to go into business, but I was very concerned about the number of training consultants already in the marketplace. I’ll never forget what Steve Pinkowitz, the Director at that time, told me. He said, “It doesn’t matter how many other training consultants there are, as long as they’re good so that the industry has a good reputation. People will choose to work with you because of who you are as a person and what you stand for.”

I didn’t realize it at the time, but Steve was essentially saying the same thing as Simon Sinek. People (employees, customers, friends) are initially attracted by your beliefs and ideas (your Why). They rationalize their decision to work with or spend time with you based on how you deliver on those beliefs and ideas (your What and How).

You can watch Simon Sinek’s 20-minute presentation at


May your learning be sweet.

Deborah