Are your training programs "events" or "kickoffs"?

Learning is a process. It is the height of folly to believe that learning a specific skill can be completed in one class or workshop, with nothing ever to be learned again after the certificate of completion is granted.

Why do we treat a training program as an event? We're apparently thinking, "Well, you start it on a date/time, and you end it on a date/time, and afterward, that class is in the past." So it's an event!

But this leads us to believe that the associated learning is done and completed.

But we know that isn't true!

Mentorships, apprenticeships, Ph.D. programs, and affinity groups all are recognitions of this lie. Each sets up long-term relationships based on both an interest in and a need to learn. Joining any one of these is an announcement of an interest in learning. You enter into one of these and, from then on, you know where you can go if you have a question about that topic. The entrance into that program is a kickoff to learning about that topic. After that entrance, all of the participants—leaders and learners—are resources for learning.

Why shouldn't a training program be the same if your organization wants a culture of continuous improvement and continuous learning?

A training program should be a kickoff to a lifetime—or at least a period that's much longer than the program—of learning about that topic. It should be an announcement to the community, whatever it may be, that the enrollee

• Is interested in this topic,
• Is interested in learning about this topic,
• Will be dedicating time to learning about this topic,
• Will possibly be in need of help on this topic, and
• Will be willing to help others with this topic.

Certainly, this won't apply to some training programs, but for mission-critical or performance-critical skills, it does.

What do your programs do to support community building during the program so that learning can continue after the program has ended?

• Do you support the building of a network among the participants—both peer learners and subject matter experts?
• Do you provide a channel for communication among participants who are interested in the topic—or, at least, enrollees in that specific program—after the program has ended?

If your answer is "no" to either of the above, then ask yourself why not. What do you think should be done? How will you begin the change process?

Comments would be welcome, and, if you would like to chat (about this topic in general or about how Engageli can support your community-building efforts), please reach out to me.