To managers: Training is mostly futile.
‘Even if you point a gun at my head, Dave, I would still refuse to do it.’
‘Really?’ - I couldn’t believe what Amin had just said. He was AhaSlides’ Head of Growth. He was also a seasoned manager/coach. I thought he would have mastered the art of training by then.
‘Yes, Dave. I used to provide training services, and you know my rates weren’t cheap. But that topic you were talking about yesterday - that was really hard to train,’ Amin concluded, with a smile. ‘Frankly, I knew you would fail. So don’t feel too bad.’
That’s when it really came together for me.?
Training is so damn hard.
I say this from my personal experience in these 3 roles:
Training typically serves two end goals for trainers: (1) to transfer knowledge and (2) to change behaviour.
Training solely for goal (1) is relatively easy - all it takes is that the trainer understands the subject well enough. But it is also getting obsolete. Thanks to technology, nowadays there is almost unlimited access to knowledge in all shapes and sizes. As a result, there are fewer and fewer needs for trainers and training for goal (1). Even my 4-year-old could obtain information on her own: she often gets much faster and more accurate answers from our Google Home Assistant than from her dad.
When I talk about training, I want to talk about goal (2): training to change behaviour.
Most trainers have lofty causes: they want to change the trainees' behaviour for the better. However, they will probably fail.
Organisations spend almost $400 billion globally annually on training, a staggering amount. Yet most managers were dissatisfied, and only a small percentage of the employees thought it helped them (source).
Last week, our team at AhaSlides travelled to Bali on our long-awaited company trip. During the journey, the team went through an internal training workshop on a company value I had been trying to promote at work: Ownership.
Our trainers and I thought it would be the best time and place to run the carefully designed workshop: between Bali's beautiful ocean and breathtaking landscapes. Everyone should be in a joyous mood and ready to absorb whatever great ideas the trainers had to say.
But we got mixed results. It didn't work for everyone. Some participants later said they wished they didn't have to go through it.
Why is training so hard?
There are many factors at play. I want to point out 2 major blockers that prevent training from being effectively delivered:
Show-stopper #1: It's hard to change human behaviour.?
Behaviour change requires a person to disrupt a current habit while simultaneously adopting a new, possibly unfamiliar, set of actions. Even with 100% cooperation, the process takes time. And that's on one person - organisational behaviour change takes even more time.
Many trainers fail to realise how gigantic of a task it is.
One of the most common corporate training topics is leadership training. But leadership qualities, being a core human character, take a very long time to build.
In some cases, the trainees might even feel that their identity is being challenged. Our habits define who we are and what we believe in. Hence, when the trainer (eagerly) introduces a new way to think or act, the trainees might feel that their values, beliefs and habits are being questioned or even attacked. Naturally, there will be resistance, either subconsciously, consciously, or even outright rejection.
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Show-stopper #2: People are easily bored.?
Social media and smartphones have spoiled us all. There's always something super interesting to look at, from the moment we wake up til our head hits the pillow at night. All those apps and games have mastered the art of keeping us hooked.
We are living in an age where attention is a scarcity. It's getting harder than ever to engage.
Meanwhile, training sessions are often lengthy. There will be some boring parts. It requires mental energy to focus.
While some trainers enforce a no-smartphone rule, it's not always possible. And good luck with online and hybrid sessions!
As a trainer or manager, what can I do?
Here are my own lessons to fight the show-stoppers above:
Lesson #1: Lower your expectations
Are you hoping to make a systemic change to your team? To inspire a life-changing revelation? Don't count on it. Actually, don't even think about it.
When it comes to behaviour change, aim small. Focus on a few simple, concrete actions that the trainees could take as a result of your training.
Lesson #2: Stay out of the way
Let the trainees figure it out themselves.
Start with their current situation: their problems, concerns, and dreams. Try to know your audience, and understand their underlying questions. And let them work it out themselves. Along the way, you can step in to provide guidance, knowledge, stories, and techniques, but only if they ask for it.
At the end of the day, every behaviour change is a personal journey. As the trainer, you could be very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, but you cannot walk it for them. If you do too much talking, you will risk sounding dogmatic. Give your trainees space and let them figure it out on their own.
Takeaway #3: Engage, engage, engage
Design the session so that all trainees would actively be doing something other than listening. Break them into small groups or pairs and encourage them to talk, bounce ideas, and help each other.
Keep their gears turning. Keep the mood up. Make it fun.
There're plenty of simple games and activities that you could pick up and integrate into your training.
For offline sessions, take a look at these facilitation games.
For online and hybrid sessions, AhaSlides has plenty of resources you could check out, such as:
What was your experience with training? Do share your success/failure stories, I’d love to hear them!