Insights Discovery Training isn’t just a one-day event: Why your people struggle to implement learning and what you need to do about it

Mike is getting on your nerves again. He won’t stop talking.

You’re trying to solve a tricky problem that’s made all the more fiendish by a troublesome internet connection that keeps disrupting your virtual meeting. Yet he keeps on steering the group chat towards his weekend antics and away from the critical task at hand. 

You need to get a handle on this. The deadline is looming, and your team is barely halfway through the project. But your team is distracted, and vital information is getting lost in a stream of inane chatter.

A training session from a couple of months ago pops into your head. Insights. Personality types. Colour preferences. As the memories trickle in, you’re buoyed by a sudden surge of confidence. It’ll probably provoke a difficult conversation, and you need to tread carefully because the whole team is listening. You’re equipped to deal with this.

Mike is clearly a Firey Red. His constant interruptions come from a need to be seen and appreciated for the work he’s doing. Mike’s probably bored and frustrated by the lack of progress, and miles ahead of everyone else. Hence why he’s acting out.

So you resolve to fight fire with fire.

You offer a few curt, but polite words that will surely appeal to his sense of duty and pride. Firm, but fair.

And then it all goes wrong.

You see it in his face. He’s hurt, and he stops contributing. Sure he does his work, but the spark is gone for now.

It’s not just Mike that’s affected, either. Now he’s not so chatty, everyone seems to have withdrawn back into their shells a little. Especially David, he was always quiet, and since the move to remote working has been a nightmare to get in contact with. Mike did a great job of keeping him in the loop, but that just isn’t happening any more.

You see, Mike isn’t a Firey Red.

He’s a Sunshine Yellow.

The difference between the two is subtle but important. Communication styles that resonate with one will have a devastating effect on the performance of the other.

Get it right, and you’ll get the best out of your people. Get it wrong, and all that training has gone to waste…

Make the most of your investment

Training is a serious investment.

We’ve all sat through training sessions that we know aren’t going to result in any major change to the way we do things. Admittedly, they’re a nice break from routine, but if we’re honest, we know that our time would be being better spent elsewhere.

If you’re going to spend significant amounts of time and money on developing your people; you should expect to see results. However, you can’t expect results from a one-off event. Memories fade and enthusiasm wanes until, before you know it, you’re back where you started.

If you want your training to spur change and boost performance, you need to view it as an ongoing process. Especially when you’re trying to change something as fundamental as your culture. New procedures, products, and technical detail don’t need as much ongoing re-enforcement. Often, open access to documentation and written training material is all you need to ensure compliance. If your people aren’t sure, they can look it up.

But when we’re dealing with something deeply personal like communication styles uploading the PowerPoint to SharePoint isn’t enough. Sure, some of your people might look at it and earnestly try to change their behaviours. But old habits die hard. And without continuous re-enforcement and support, they’ll struggle. And then, consciously or not, they’ll give up.

It gets worse. A little bit of knowledge can be dangerous.

As time passes the memory of an event starts to degrade. Little bits of information get muddled or lost altogether. This means that when you come to deploy that training, you’re working from a patchy foundation. Simply put, you’re more likely to make mistakes, and this can have a devastating effect if you’re navigating the tightrope that is culture change.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

If you want your training to make a difference, you need a set of processes to take the learning out of the classroom and into the real world. And no, those action plans that you write at the end of the session aren’t enough.

Your people need follow up. They’re craving continuous re-enforcement.

This works in your favour. If you’ve ever felt exasperated after the fifth member of your team asked for ‘more training’ at their appraisal, the chances are they’re not expecting you to source and deliver something new.

They’re likely asking for the opposite- they want more of the same!

Most people don’t see training sessions as an excuse to put their feet up for the day. They’re eager to do their jobs well and trust that the training you do provide will help them do just that. Problems arise when they struggle to implement that training. This is because they recognise its importance. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have set aside a day or two for them to complete it. So, when they’re unable to put it into practice, they feel like their training needs aren’t being met. 

They might have a nice certificate that proudly proclaims their proficiency. But inside, they feel anything but. 

What this means for your Insights training

Insights Discovery is easy to grasp but hard to master.

In many ways, it’s similar to weight loss. We all know how to lose weight, just as you’ll know how to adjust your communication style after an Insights Discovery Workshop.

But if you’ve ever thrown yourself into a diet and exercise regime, you’ll know it isn’t as simple as that.

Life gets in the way, you slip up, and then you give up.

You can avoid this with a plan and a support network. Just as you can prevent your people from slipping back into their old ways of communicating with the right measures.

In practice, this means your people need:

A plan

You can’t expect your people to arrive at their destination if they don’t know where they’re going.

Defined goals are a non-negotiable part of any behaviour change process. The more granular you make them, the more likely your people are to achieve them so you’ll need to set them against a formal framework.

If you’re stuck for ideas, SMART is a classic go-to for goal setting that covers all the bases.

Peer support

Changing the way you think about communication is a challenge.

A few stumbles are inevitable and without the support of peers, getting back up and staying on track is tricky. Make sure your people know who they can check in with, and set aside time to allow them to have those mutually beneficial conversations.

Accountability

Accountability leads to ownership.

Your role as a leader is to set expectations and hold your people to them. This isn’t a punitive process. It’s there to empower your people to do what they need to do and provide tailored support when they don’t meet the mark.

Ongoing training

If you really want their learning to land, they’ll need ongoing training too.

I doubt you’ll have the time or budget for multiple Insights training days over a year. The good news is, you won’t need them.

Team meetings are the perfect forum for activities and exercises like role plays or case studies; little bite-size reminders to refresh their knowledge and build their confidence.

Ready to use Insights to drive ongoing change in your workplace?

If you and your team have completed an Insights Discovery course, you’ll appreciate just how powerful it is.

But there’s a lot to take in, isn’t there?

Too much for one day if you want to radically change the way your people communicate for the better, for good.

You’ll enjoy that post-course burst of enthusiasm. But if you don’t do something to keep the material fresh in everyone’s mind, it won’t be long before it has all faded away.

You could book onto another course if you have the time and money to invest.

Or, you can design a package of post-course support yourself. After all, the material is out there.

Better yet, we could give you all the tools you need to build on the foundation laid by your Insights Discovery training.

You don’t even need to have done the training with us. All that we ask is that you’ve completed an Insights Discovery course recently. And that you’re eager to use what you’ve learned to transform the way you and your people communicate.

We can provide:

• 60-minute bite-sized webinars, facilitated by an expert Insights Discovery trainer
• A range of exercises from 5-minute energisers to 60-minute reviews for Team Leaders to run at meetings
• Personalised summary cards to remind your team of one another’s communication preferences
• Bespoke mini-training packages to linking your Insights training to core competencies (selling, leading, managing, account management, etc.)
• Custom outlook signatures detailing Insights communication preferences
• …and that’s just scratching the surface

Sound interesting?

Let’s have a conversation. DM me and lets talk.