5 misconceptions with 5 solutions for training and development industry.

Have you ever attended a training session or camp but been dissatisfied?

Training Dissatisfaction is a result of many reasons. Let's check together:

• 5 fatal misconception about training and development industry
• and the relationship between such misconceptions and training satisfaction results.

let's check why trainees attend a training in the first place?

Trainees expect the training to cover both knowledge and actions. while in fact the below is the main objective of a training:

You attend speeches and trainings to change your way of thinking and your behavior towards a specific practice in your life. And hence, you can take a lot of actions. Training is supposed to

1. enrich your knowledge
2. and guide you to think about the most effective method to make the right decision
3. and take a successful action to reach your goals.
4. in success camps that last for several days, an action plan might be identified and fully developed by the end but action itself is not on the trainer. Action is on the trainees for a simple reason:

A trainer's goal is to deliver knowledge required in order for the trainee to

• get inspired
• change the way of thinking towards specific problem
• then develop a problem solving techniques based on the knowledge shared by the trainer
• and lastly, apply such problem solving techniques with the belief of trial and error. trier and error is a key factor for development.

so, the question now: Who takes the action by the end?

the answer is: the trainee not the trainer.

And here is the first fatal misconception about trainings: it is the bias of identifying the trainer's mission versus the trainee mission.

So, A trainer's mission is to

• firstly, know the goal of the trainees by answering this question ( why do you want to attend my training? )
• secondly, identify the objectives based on the needs of the trainees goals.
• then, share the objectives with the trainees. taking into consideration that objectives must be relative to the given time. for example: we cannot share a quarter strategy full of details in one hour. On the other hand, A trainer is wasting time by training "active listening skill" for 6 days.

A trainee's mission is to:

• listen to the objectives of the trainings carefully
• then ask him or herself "Are objectives relative to my goal?".

- If yes, so, a trainee need to set balanced expectations taking into consideration that knowledge is on the trainer but action is on the trainee.

-If no, so, simply, do not attend the training.

Here is the second misconception: trainees might

1. not listen to the agenda or pay attention to the objectives.
2. so, they do not link the training objectives to their goal
3. and hence, they set their expectation high about achieving their goal just immediately after the training.
4. so, they do not appreciate the knowledge shared by the trainer as they expect the trainer to be Genni of Alaadin who is able to do both, share knowledge and take action or even tell them what to do.

Here is the second misconception: The trainer does not tell you what to do but the trainer shares with you many suggestions and recommendations to help you to take the right action but here is a pause! you need to use the knowledge shared by the trainer to develop an action plan then consult the trainer by the end about the action plan and work on action plan development and improvement techniques suggested by the trainer.

now, we can answer a question. How a trainer can help a trainee with developing the action plan if the trainee did not develop an action plan yet?

yes, the trainer can help.

and this is the 3rd misconception about the training and development industry.

the trainer can help by

• designing the training model to be a workshop so that the trainees can develop their action plan during the training
• giving more time for trainees to

-brainstorm,

-develop creative ideas,

- present their ideas,

-listen to feedback,

-work on the weakness points of the feedback then

-develop a final action plan.

Action takes time, right! and this was the 4th misconception. Trainees always think that one or 2 hour of training can include both knowledge and action. and all is on the trainer. No! training is an active process with the below sequence:

• needs analysis
• agenda development
• objectives development
• Trainer to share knowledge
• Trainee to develop an action plan
• Trainee to present an action plan
• Trainer to give a feedback on the action plan
• Trainee to develop his action plan based on the trainer's feedback
• Development part comes as the continuous follow up after application of the action plan on the ground.

conclusion, what to do then a message:

1- Training is for #knowledgesharing , #experience sharing and opening new neural #connections in your head then

• you take the action as a trainee or
• you give a feedback on the action as a trainer. ?

2- People who do not appreciate #knowledge?or do not appreciate how their #criticalthinking?and #problemsolvingskills and abilities developed after a training session, will always be dissatisfied of the trainings and always classify trainings as bla bla bla and a show that has nothing with their #mental development and professional growth.?once a trainer shares the objectives clearly in the beginning of the training and once the trainee knows that that the training is an active process that needs the participation of the trainee and the trainer. both parties will get satisfied.

so, what to do now?

The way we think is more powerful than most of us believe.?

Think about it after every training you attend and ask yourself:

1- " ARE THE OBJECTIVES RELATIVE TO MY GOAL?"

2- "Did a specific shared topic in the training changed something about my next step or a guided me towards the action that I should take?"?

And most importantly:?

3- "Did I expect the trainer to change my life in one or 2 hours? and what do I expect from myself? Knowledge is on whom and action is on whom? "?

A message to the recruiters of the trainers:

If you are a corporate or a startup trainer #recruiter, please, take the above and below mentioned facts about training into consideration while setting the job description and the KPIs of the trainer.

Unfortunately, The trainer's job description is not to put money in your pocket as much as share new ideas, new strategies of both success and failure then you take the action. Because the action that the trainer will do after the training is #feedbackanalysis then have a #break after long hours of preparing for and delivering the training.??

This article's purpose is similar to the training purposes. Just adding a fact or a new idea then action is on you now whether you are a trainee, a trainer, a trainer manager or a recruiter.