Monday, July 26, 2010

Tip #333: It Helps to Lighten Up: How Humor Can Enrich Any Learning Situation


"The human race has only one effective weapon and that is laughter. The moment it arises, all your irritations go away, and a sunny spirit takes their place."
Mark Twain

It might surprise you to learn that there is an actual Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. It certainly surprised me! According to their website, therapeutic humor is: "Any intervention that promotes health and wellness by stimulating a playful discovery, expression or appreciation of the absurdity or incongruity of life's situations."

I have found that humor is a vital training tool.

Humor can help individuals feel more comfortable participating in different learning activities.
For example, when the assignment is to answer a questionnaire, I offer the participants a choice. They can either work alone or in a group. I warn them, however, that I will be calling on individuals to give an answer. If the person worked alone and gives an incorrect answer, there is no one else to blame. However, if the person worked with a group, it is possible to blame the group for an incorrect answer. In that event I will offer (tongue in cheek) to move the person to a smarter table. This adds humor and provides a safe way for individuals to save face if they do not have the correct answer.

I also try to include at least one humorous statement on the questionnaire,
to further relax the participants so that they will respond to the statements in a more complete and honest manner. For example, a questionnaire about different aspects of conducting performance evaluations may include the statement: "Performance evaluation is a royal waste of time!" I always know when I hear their laughter that they have reached that part of the questionnaire. it also gives them the freedom to voice their real concerns in a lighter context.

I use humor to prompt participant responses when no one volunteers to answer a question that I've posed. Sometimes, they really don't realize that I would like them to respond. I'll say:"I'm sorry, perhaps you thought that was a rhetorical question. Let me explain our process- I ask a question and then you answer it!" We all can laugh about that and then they will start answering my questions.

When I want to get participants in a more creative frame of mind for a brainstorming activity, I will start them off by posing a humorous question. For example, "How is coaching like a water sprinkler?" Because it is unexpected and unusual, the question generally elicits both funny and wise responses. This experience primes them to brainstorm more effectively about a more serious question.

The idea of a role-playing activity always tends to worry and even frighten some participants. If they voice an objection to role-playing an issue of concern to themselves, I merely ask them to help other participants with their issue by assuming the role of the other individual in the role-play. In this case, I give them instructions to be as extreme as possible in their responses, in order to give the person who is working through the issue sufficient opportunity to practice their new skills. They usually have so much fun playing the extreme role that they relax and volunteer to work through their own issue.

When you are giving a lecturette or providing instructions for an activity, it helps to have a sense of humor when you forget what you were about to say. At one time or another, trainers will get distracted and lose their train of thought. We have a choice- to get upset, which will further disrupt our thought process- or to laugh at ourselves. I prefer to laugh at myself, because it gives the participants permission to relax and laugh along with me. I will ask if anyone was listening to me, because I wasn't- or say that I'm going to go out of the room and then start again when I come back in.

All of this does not mean that you should run out and buy a joke book or schedule an operation to graft on a funny bone. Just keep in mind that humor can be a very effective approach to training- and lighten up!

How do you use humor to enrich learning in your training programs? Please write in with your own methods of using humor and I'll print them in the next Tip.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Monday, July 19, 2010

Tip #332: Just -In-Time Training in Group Facilitation

“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.” Jim Rohn

In the past, whenever I heard about “just-in-time training,” I assumed that it only pertained to specific technical job skills. A web search for “just-in-time training” uncovered a number of e-learning and computer software offerings.

However, a recent classroom training experience showed me that my perception of “just-in-time training” was very short sighted and incomplete.

All of the training programs that I design and deliver are intended to build or strengthen practical skills. The programs are always highly interactive and participant-centered.

Unfortunately, it is often the case that the participant employees learn the skills, but their supervisors and managers are not there learning along with them. As a result, the participants leave the training without any guarantee that their new skills will be valued and supported. As a matter of fact, it is fairly typical to hear participants comment that they like what they have learned, but they won’t be allowed to use it when they get back to their worksites.

So imagine what can happen when an entire intact work team that includes both supervisor and employees not only learns new skills but also actively incorporates them into their team goals and work relationships!

You might attribute the effectiveness of the training to the reality that the entire work team was present and participated. But this is not the first intact work team that I have facilitated, so I know that this is a necessary but not sufficient element for success.

What made the difference in this case was the fact that each member of the team was truly committed to learning and applying what they had learned- and their supervisor was incredibly thoughtful and focused on the immediate significance of every concept and tool.

As a result, they took the training content and ran with it, applying it in deeper and more complex ways than I had ever planned or imagined.

Let me give an example.

The training focus was group facilitation skills. Because the team members were already relatively experienced facilitators, the training challenge was to introduce and model specific facilitation tools that would be new to them.

One of these tools was an affinity diagram. It was introduced in an early training module as a way for the team to identify different facilitation challenges. Later in the program, I planned for them to apply other facilitation tools to determine how to meet or manage those challenges.

The participants were asked to write down current and/or anticipated facilitation challenges on large post- it notes, one challenge per note. The group was then supposed to create an affinity diagram, working together to identify categories of like challenges on a flip chart laid out on a table.

I had intended for them to create and label the categories based on the type of facilitation challenge, such as “interpersonal conflict” or “time management.” But gradually, as I watched in awe, the team recreated and relabeled the categories on the basis of what would solve the issues!

The previous day, during a team building workshop, the group had learned the importance of establishing team operating principles that set guidelines for how the team members participate and interact with each other.

When they worked with the affinity diagram, they placed the following four challenges: “all bosses on the team,” “positional power interfering with process,” “group wants decisions made but does not present decision options,” and “participants are not forthcoming with comments nor actively participating” under a category titled: ”Operating Principles.”

Talk about “just-in-time training!” They were able to take their new knowledge of team operating principles to solve real pressing facilitation challenges.

What a thrill to have every single participant eagerly absorb the content, seriously discuss its implications, and then intently apply newly learned knowledge and skills to work through real work issues.

That is the best gift that trainers can receive: to actually watch their training make a visible, significant and positive difference in the attitudes, capabilities and actions of their participants.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Monday, July 12, 2010

Tip #331: Training is Not Like Baking a Cake: It Is Not Always Easy to Satisfy Participants

“Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.” Theodore Isaac Rubin

A training program doesn’t just happen. After long research and worry and planning, after reorganizing, whittling, second-guessing and wordsmithing, a training design gradually takes shape. The final lesson plan identifies thoughtfully conceived learning goals and learning objectives, and plots out a variety of learning activities carefully selected to provide specific knowledge and skill sets. Participant materials are developed, along with supplementary handouts and audiovisuals.

In anticipation of the training day, the trainer trusts that the different phases of the lesson will play out as planned, the training modules and learning activities will flow smoothly, and the participants will be engaged to learn what they are supposed to learn.

That is what every trainer hopes and prays will happen. And when it does, when the training design works and the facilitated program accomplishes what it was designed to do, the sense of gratification and validation is amazing!

Unfortunately, it is not always easy to satisfy training participants. Providing effective training is not the same as baking a cake or building a house. The baker and the builder know the exact needs and desires of their clients, and better yet, are able to fulfill them. The trainer is in a very different situation, because the trainer’s clients are rarely the training participants.

Yes, the trainer, the baker and the builder each follow a plan: the trainer has a lesson plan, the baker has a recipe, and the builder has a house plan. Each plan identifies the necessary materials and ingredients, tools and steps, and recommended sequence of events and even timeframes. The difference is that the customer chooses the cake, the client chooses the house plan, but the training participants frequently do not choose the training.

When the baker uses the proper ingredients, follows the recipe’s instructions, has the necessary baking expertise and equipment, and, understands the baking process and how the ingredients interact, the cake will be made to order. Even if there is a power failure or other interruptions, the cake can ultimately be baked to the customer’s satisfaction. The baker knows that the customer wants this particular cake.

When the builder uses the proper building materials, follows the building plan, has the necessary building expertise and tools, and understands the building process and how the different components of the house relate to each other, the house will also be built to order. Even if there are labor disputes and weather delays, the house can ultimately be built to the buyer’s specifications. The builder knows that the buyer wants this particular house.

Conversely, the trainer can use the proper participant materials and learning activities, follow the lesson plan, have the necessary training expertise and tools, and understand the adult learning process and how the different training modules relate to each other, and still provide a training program that does not satisfy the participants.

There are two reasons for this. First, the trainer may know that the client wants this particular training. However, the client may have misunderstood or misrepresented the actual training needs, misidentified the appropriate target audience, or scheduled the training at an inopportune time. The client may have chosen to fill space in the classroom with individuals who have no need for the training. If the training is focused on the wrong topic, or if the wrong people are in the room, it is perfectly understandable if the participants are not pleased.

Of course, a seasoned trainer will adjust the content and learning activities during the training to accommodate the participants’ real learning needs, to the extent possible. It takes a lot of energy and quick thinking, but it can be done. (The trainer will collapse from fatigue after the workshop, when the adrenalin rush passes!)

Second, the purpose of training is often to push participants out of their comfort zones. It may require them to learn policies, procedures and skills that may be very different from those they have practiced for years. It may establish an expectation that the participants will change certain attitudes or behaviors. It may deal with topics that are uncomfortable. Satisfactorily completing the training may even be the basis for their job continuation, certification or promotion.

So the participants may approach the training with fear and trepidation. If the training is mandatory, they are often understandably resistant and unhappy. In those cases, the trainer is a very convenient target for their animosity.

A good trainer anticipates probable participant concerns, and designs activities to validate, address, minimize, or divert them. The unknown variable is always the participants. Will they cooperate with the trainer? Will they actively participate in the learning activities and willingly learn the training content?

Hopefully, everything comes together: the training is timely and necessary, the right people are in the room, and the participants see the benefit of learning the content.

Then training is just like baking a cake and eating it, too!

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah

Monday, July 5, 2010

Tip #330: Why It Is Good Business to Take Time for Training

“One must step back to make the better leap.”
French Proverb

It is exceedingly (and unfortunately) rare for a supervisor to insist on taking time with a team to make sure that the necessary foundations are in place.

Employees are usually thrown into team situations and expected to perform effectively, both as individual contributors and as members of the team. When workloads are heavy and schedules are full, it may seem almost irresponsible to pull the employees away from their responsibilities for a day to focus on what it means to be a team.

However, team training can introduce the concepts, provide the tools, and build the skills necessary to ensure a productive and harmonious team.

What can team training provide that is so important? Or in other words, what are the probable consequences if the team does not receive training?

1. Team members will continue to operate independently instead of taking advantage of the different strengths and capabilities of other team members.

Training activities can raise their awareness of how they typically perform in a team environment and let them experience the tangible benefits of teamwork.

2. Team members may communicate and act upon different conceptions of the team’s mission and objectives.

Training activities can give them time to create, discuss and agree upon the team’s mission and objectives, so that they act and represent the team in a consistent and unified fashion.

3. Team members may not know how they should interact with each other to work through differences and make decisions.

Training activities can help them recognize the value of and develop a list of operating principles that establish a code of conduct and procedural guidelines for team members.

4. Team members may be unaware of the strengths and skills that different team members bring to the team and the resulting roles that they can play.

Training activities can provide time for discussion, discovery and acknowledgment of individual areas of expertise and their value to the work of the team.

5. Team members may not understand how they contribute to the team or feel appreciated.

Training activities can establish a comfortable environment for team members to provide positive feedback and validate each other’s contributions.

6. Team members may be oversensitive to the behaviors of others on the team.

Training activities can help the team become aware of and understand different personality traits, so they no longer get defensive and take those behaviors personally.

7. Team members may have no idea how to manage conflict in a constructive manner.

Training activities can give them insight into their personal conflict management styles and teach them how to handle conflict in a more constructive and collaborative manner.

8. Team members may neglect to assess their group process so that they can make changes where necessary.

Training activities can provide the tools to determine team members’ concerns about different aspects of team interactions, and the strategies to address those concerns.

Team training can accomplish much more than has been covered here. However, imagine how much more productive and harmonious a team will be if all of the team members:

* recognize the value of teamwork;
* have the same understanding of the team mission and objectives;
* follow an accepted code of conduct;
* understand the roles they play on the team;
* feel valued and appreciated;
* respect individual differences;
* manage conflict constructively; and
* continually strive to ensure that the team functions smoothly and effectively.

These eight benefits of team training will more than compensate for the time it takes the team away from their daily responsibilities.

Please visit our website at for Sample Team Operating Principles.

May your learning be sweet.

Deborah