Your Accountability and Reinforcement is Broken

While speaking at and attending the Revenue Enablement Society Annual Conference two weeks ago, I put a poll out asking:

"What's the biggest issue getting enablement (aka training) to stick?"

Option 1: Reinforcement

Option 2: Accountability

This poll had the highest participation at 42 and the results are below:

The question is why? Granted, the options presented in the poll draw on two assumptions, such as:

1. The training delivered was timely, relevant, and engaging

2. The training was created with buy in from the entire enablement team (i.e., there were requirements gathered)

So, again, I ask, why? Why is reinforcement and accountability missing?

Here's my thesis based on 20+ years of experiences, engaging 100's of clients and working with 1000's of professionals:

? Managers/Leaders aren't trained in how to coach effectively

? Reinforcment/Accountability loops are not built into the program

? The loops that are built in, aren't reinforced themselves

?Our belief system tells us the lie that Accountability is Micro-Managing

? Leadership gets desperate for numbers and "mushes" the team to hit a number at all costs

I believe the lack of reinforcement and accountability is an amalgamation of those four components, plus probably a few more.

That being said, here are three recommendations for staying the course with your training efforts:

1. Pick one skill/competency at a time to focus on per month and press into it. It takes ~30 days to create a new habit and if our team knows what to expect, how to deliver on that expectation, chances are, we'll see real change.
2. Create your Leadership Meeting Map. Too often, we as leaders are not prepared which cascades to our teams letting them know it's ok to not be prepared.
3. Hold regular feedback meetings on the exact KPI you're trying to improve with the identified training and determine what's working and course correct what's not.

What say you? What's worked for you to drive accountability and reinforcement?