“When I was a boy of 14, my father was
so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to
be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven
years.”
I
really love this quote by Mark Twain; it’s so accurate, if a tad wince inducing
when I reflect on my teenage
self!
Beneath
Twain’s subtle, self-effacing humour lies an important message – it is only as
we get older that we learn to understand and appreciate the knowledge and
wisdom that comes from every year of life we’ve
lived.
Yet that doesn’t
mean that we adults can’t learn from what we did as a
child.
Think back on
your younger years. What can you remember about the times you learnt a new
skill such as learning to swim, sew, bake, roller skate, skateboard or ride a
bike? How did you go about it? Who helped you? How long did it take? What did
you do to get better and
better?
The chances are
you will have had lots of encouragement, lots of practice, the occasional
mishap, more encouragement and the happy feeling of mastering a new skill that
brought you much happiness; maybe that joy is still there today when you ride
your bike, hurtle around on a skateboard, or bake a cake.
Is this an experience you recognise? Can you
relate to the
journey?
Hopefully the
answer is a resounding
“yes!”
But is that
experience replicated after formal training in the workplace? How much time do
you get to practice, make mistakes, learn from them, and apply what you’ve
learnt by practising some
more?
Sadly, when it
comes to formal workplace learning, the chances are that your answer, like most
people’s, is “not enough!”
The
good news is that wanting to do something to address this is precisely why we
developed Managers’ Library. As training professionals, we know that new skills
are only truly learned with a combination of
Practice, Coaching
and
Reinforcement.
That
is after all how we all learned to swim/ride a bike/bake a cake etc. That cycle
of Practice,
Coaching and
Reinforcement is why we have those skills
today.
So, next time you send someone on a training
course, take some time to think about how you can support them as they apply
that learning. Here are a few top tips to
help:
1. Before the
training, help your team member set personal objectives for what they want the
training to achieve.
2. Ensure they complete
any pre-course work.
3. Book in a 1:1 the day
after the training to discuss what they
learnt.
4. During that
1:1, go through their Action Plan to
agree:
- Targets.
- Behaviour
changes they will implement.
- What support you will be
offering.
- When and how you will follow
up.
5. Follow up on their progress; congratulate them when
you spot them applying their
learning.
As a Managers’
Library member, you can also use our
Training
Activities to reinforce that learning. If in doubt, just
ask me and I’ll happily assist you to identify material that will
help.
So, remember to
learn from your younger self; whether you’re hoping to develop your own skills
or those of your team, it’s all
about:
Practice,
Coaching and
Reinforcement.
Until next time...