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Haha, I can hear you all now, “Bendiness? That’s a new word, he’s finally tipped over the edge, Shaun – has officially – lost – it”.

I thought I’d explain a few things about comfort zones, as I understand them. Those trainers out there can use this explanation when setting out your ground rules at the start of your sessions. Those coaches out there can use this information to safely stretch your clients and those psychologists out there can…well…just can.

It speaks for itself really; a comfort zone is an area where we feel comfortable. In our comfort zone we perform well and feel confident. We begin to feel uneasy and even frightened when we move outside this zone. People get anxious and fearful simply because they’re stepping out of the psychological boundaries they themself have created.  Limiting ourselves in this way prevents us achieving our ultimate performance and success (whatever that is!). Therefore, it’s wise to clearly identify, challenge and expand personal comfort zones.                                                                                                                  

So, why do we need to expand our comfort zones at all?

Well, because what is comfortable for you now will, at some point, become a limitation. We all had to leave the comfort of the womb in order to grow and develop our potential. Think of another, more recent time when you were forced to move out of your comfort zone, for example when accepting a promotion or bungee jumping, now think about where it took you and the final destination.

So, here’s my take on it…

…It helps to think that there are actually 3 zones:

1. Comfort zone
2. Stretch zone
3. Panic zone

Now, if you think of these 3 zones set up as concentric circles. The inner circle is your comfort zone, the second circle your stretch zone and the outer circle your panic zone.  Can’t think?  Here’s a picture – Click.

The best place to learn is in your stretch zone. We don’t learn much in our comfort zone…we’re generally lazy like that. We also don’t learn much in the panic zone, or at least we’ll concentrate on only learning what we need to escape the panic zone; this learning doesn’t have to be permanent. So it makes sense to help people come out of their comfort zone and sit in their stretch zone. However, the stretch zone isn’t really that comfortable…come on… if it was comfortable it’d be called the comfort zone surely?
Because the stretch zone isn’t normally that comfy, we don’t have to stay in it. We can dip in and out. When we dip out of our comfort zone into the stretch zone the boundaries are blurred and, if done correctly, the boundaries between the two zones can be flexed… or bent. ‘Bendiness’… Things are sounding better now aren’t they?

When working with a client or group of learners, it’s your job to bounce them into their stretch zone and then return them safely to their comfort zone, keep doing it and the boundaries between the two flex and the result will be an expansion of the comfort zone… so, in other words, the more you do this bouncing the more you become comfortable with whatever you’re bouncing with.

How do we expand our comfort zones?

Try this exercise on for size:

1. Identify 3 of your comfort zones…and write them down.

This first step will allow you to identify and examine your limitations. What is holding you back? Are there things you want to do, places you want to go? Yet somehow you speak about it, know the theory, but just don’t take action. These are your comfort zones. For example, you may lack discipline in your fitness plan, or, as in my case, you might be fearful of letting go of your monthly salary to start your own business. Come on…You know where you are holding back!

2. Name a comfort zone you are ready to challenge…and write it down.

Pick one comfort zone you are ready and willing to change. Break it up into chunks by answering the following three questions (you can add more):

How does it hold you back?
What are your fears?
How do you know you are ready to change?

3. Face the fear and expand.

You see, the thing is, comfort zones are relative; they are merely the limited perceptions of our minds. Comfort for me might be stagnation for another and my advance is another’s retreat. We have nothing to fear in overstepping the boundaries we have created in our own minds.

Next, clearly list the actions you could take to expand your comfort zones. What are you going to do differently in the next 7 days?

You’ll need to be specific about dates and what support you will need.

I hope this article helps. Remember, you are the author of your own life; you create your own destiny. As you break down your barriers and allow for bendiness, confidence and passion emerge and grant you nothing but Forward Motion.

Hey

People frequently use metaphors to describe how they feel and what they want.  As a coach, it’s all well and good knowing the theory behind things, but unless you practice, practice, practice the best you can ever hope to be is a book worm!  I think there are enough worms out there in the world, so what I’m going to do in this post is to develop your understanding of HOW to use metaphors effectively.  If you’re coaching already and not using metaphors to their full potential this will rocket you to another level (anybody see what I did there?).  To paraphrase Einstein’s thoughts of creativity: no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.

So here goes…

You might be one of those people who think of metaphors as simply a creative way to get a message across or just a story, a tale, or a load of mumbo jumbo.  If you think this way you might also be asking, ‘Why is Shaun writing about this subject in the first place?’  And I’m glad you have asked because nowadays many linguists and psychologists believe that metaphors are far more than this; you should jump aboard.  I agree with the chain of thought that metaphoric description may be a closer representation of what’s really going on in our minds. They’re more about describing our thinking patterns and structure and less about fairy tales and stuff like that. 

Now, it has been estimated that the average person uses several metaphors in every minute of conversation, but, in my opinion, this isn’t the whole story.  This statistic doesn’t really tell us how many unexpected metaphors are used.  By ‘unexpected’ I mean the metaphors they don’t realise they’re using but still use them as an integral part of their thought structure.

Like me, the best facilitators and coaches are discovering that Clean Language can have extraordinary results (well…if I don’t blow my own trumpet, who will?).  Clean Language is a questioning process created by the psychotherapist David Grove.  It enables a deeper self-examination and investigation of a client’s own thought, habits and perceptions and allows them to go on to find their OWN unique solutions.  Just click on David’s picture to check out a bit more about Clean Language.  

This is the cool bit…By asking clean questions relating directly to the metaphoric content of a client’s conversation you will automatically deepen thinking.  I guarantee you’ll be astounded at the deeper level of thinking and understanding you can achieve in your sessions…and more importantly, so will your client.  It works because you’re focussing attention on the structure of their thinking and experience, rather than the same old problem-content thing that they’ve thought of in the same old way many times before.  The different level of thinking can’t do anything but lead to different kinds of creative solutions.  How cool is that? 

So, have you ever come across a client who has…well…sensitive issues?  I can tell you that this is a really useful way to explore difficult or sensitive issues because the client gets to describe the metaphors in detail without needing to worry about explaining the ‘sensitive’ stuff to you. 

Here’s how it goes…

Right away you can begin to take notice of how often metaphoric descriptions come up in day to day conversations.  Just start listening to other conversations- I find MacDonald’s is great for this.  The way the seating is arranged (back to back) just lends itself to ear wigging…Umm…I mean coaching development…LoL.  Here are some examples you’re likely to hear:

‘I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall’

‘She’s closed herself off from me and I don’t know how to break through’

‘I need a bit of a jump start’

In a coaching session you need only ask a few simple Clean Language questions when you hear a metaphor.  Ask questions that’ll enable the client to become more aware of their metaphoric thinking.  I apologise to the more seasoned coaches out there for teaching you to suck eggs, but a reminder never did anyone any harm; when using Clean Language in this way, generally you want to repeat the metaphoric words to the client EXACTLY how they used them, don’t worry about bad grammar or misplaced words, repeat it EXACTLY.  Even better if you can match the tone, volume, pitch and speed too.  Here’s an example to give you a better idea of what I’m going on about:

“You’re off balance today.  What kind of off balance is that off balance?  Make note of whatever the client says next and repeat back their words.

Then ask, “And when you are feeling off balance, is there anything else about feeling off balance?”  Continue to explore whatever the client says, paying particular attention to the metaphoric language they use.

So there are only two questions to remember:

1.  ‘What kind of ***** is that *****?
2.  ‘And is there anything else about that *****?’

Shaun says:  Some people just don’t use metaphors so frequently.  It doesn’t mean that they don’t think this way, just that they may not be able to consciously access these thoughts too easily.  When you ask questions around any metaphors these people do use, they’ll skirt around and offer lots of conceptual descriptions or they might even try to completely change direction…anything rather than develop their metaphor further.  If this happens to you, work with them on whatever comes up, even if there are no metaphors.  Be very patient and wait for when they do give you a metaphor, don’t miss it, work patiently on it.  When these types of people eventually ‘get into’ their metaphors, they get a massive kick out of it… Result.

Hope this helps.

Have fun on the metaphor rollercoaster.

Hey everyone, I hope you’re well?  It’s a busy time for me, I’ve been away for a while and so I’ve been thinking of something special to write about so that I can make it up you.  So here goes…I hope you like it.

The NLP related articles I’ve written before have been very popular, so I’m going to talk a bit more on NLP this time too.  The NLP allergy cure is a closely guarded technique among NLP Practitioners out there.  I don’t know why some people protect information like this.  I like to share and believe in OPEN information to all.  

Huh?  I can hear you asking, “Why is Shaun writing about allergies?”  Well….if I told you that I’m one of the unlucky few people who suffer from Hayfever ALL YEAR ROUND, I need say no more.

After we look at what an allergy is, I’m going to outline an effective technique that will help those allergy sufferers out there.  The technique does assume some prior NLP knowledge and practice; so I’ll make you a deal – if you don’t understand something or need some more explanation just drop a comment and I’ll get back to you…or you could always email me at shaun@shaunmaloney.com (NO SPAMMERS PLEASE…I don’t need Viagra!).

What is an allergy?

If you have an allergy it’s your immune system reacting to a substance(s).  Some people, for example count themself allergic to cats, dogs, peanuts…and the list goes on…I even had one client who claimed she was allergic to her husband!  Now, it’s fair to say that we know these things aren’t poisonous.  I’m no chemist, but I can categorically state that a peanut is not poisonous!  But…if you have an allergy your immune system mistakenly treats a non-dangerous substance as a threat and reacts accordingly and that’s when you get the sniffs, runny nose, itchy eyes…and all the rest.

“Can we fix it?…Yes we can”…

Quite simply, we can use NLP to re-educate the immune system.  So here goes with a few tips.  Be sure to read the footnote after this list…it’s important.

• First you must calibrate the allergic response because you need to know what you’re dealing with.  Try to work out what triggers it and pay very close attention to the person’s physiology (breathing etc).  I find it helps to ask the person, “How do you know you have an allergy?”  Don’t accept weak answers, you need to drill into them and pick it apart to be clear on the allergic response.
• Be ready to anchor the response and as with all anchors you should test it at this point.  This is a great party trick by the way…you only need these two steps to make someone sneeze, for example,  just by triggering their anchor…not sure it’s ethically acceptable though. 
• Now it’s time to re-educate your immune system.  The good thing is that it’ll quickly learn how to function more effectively.  Just re-frame the allergy as a mistake.  
• Always check for ecology so that you know all is OK.
• So, now you’ll need to anchor a resource.  This just means how the person would like to be in this situation.  Don’t forget to make this resource stronger than the allergic response or it won’t stand up to the competition.
• Ask the person to see themself responding differently in these situations.  Do this at least 3-4 different times.  Some of you will know this as dissociation
• Then re associate.  Carefully calibrate as you hold the resource anchor and notice the changes.
• Future pace. 
• Test. Imagine the allergen and re calibrate to notice the changes in the physiology. 

Shaun says:  “Be a professional – When setting anchors make sure you always have a safety anchor.  It’s safe and good practice.” 

As a busy performance coach, it’s inevitable at some stage in the relationship with my clients that we come up against beliefs.  It’s a massive subject area but there are those coaches out there who labour on it so much that those of you starting out in the coaching business might often feel daunted (come on you know you do, I was there too once).  I reckon it to be a bit like hairdressing… huh? … Hairdressing?

Haha – I know what you’re thinking…you’re thinking, here goes Shaun again, off on one of his rants, but let me explain a little – don’t send people around to my house to take me away just yet…hear me out.

Have you noticed that hairdressing has become almost a science?  It’s not really.  It’s shrouded in made up names for concoctions of chemicals that simply colour your hair.  There are apprenticeships, NVQs and goodness knows what else that qualifies someone to cut a bob…or whatever it’s called.  My point is that hairdressing seems awfully scientific and complicated to me.  It seems to me that a hairdresser would need at least a degree in rocket science in order to do all this ‘hair stuff’…yet, the reality is, they don’t have a degree do they?  The hairdressing world has talked itself up so much by shrouding itself in scientific names, a huge range of products (that are basically the same), different levels of stylist that will cut your hair in a million and one different ways and it goes on…but hey… You’re worth it.  Now, before I go on and on and blog about hairdressing (How did that happen?), the coaching world has done the same with beliefs.  I’m not denying that it’s a super important aspect to get to grips with in the coaching relationship, but it ain’t rocket science and, if I’m honest, it ain’t that hard.  Anyone who tells you different is probably a ‘hairdresser’ type coach anyway.  Don’t listen to them… You just get cracking on.

To help you though, I have done a little something based on the ‘Belief Cycle’.  I can’t claim the ‘Belief Cycle’ idea as my own, but I’ve read loads of stuff on this subject over the years and so I’ve rewritten it, the wording’s a little easier to understand, I’ve taken out the pseudo rocket science and stripped it down to the bare bones ..There’s no hairdressing on this site (just look at my profile picture!  Haha).

Those of you who have just started out in coaching and those old sweats alike will hopefully find this useful…feel free to download it on Pdf and weave it into your own practice.  Find your own methods, find your own way carefully and logically and you won’t go far wrong.  Don’t be discouraged or scared by those ‘hairdressing coaches’ and corporate coaching schools and academies that try to make things sound harder than they are to make you feel like the new guy and them to feel big and clever.  Enjoy.

There are loads of training books out there.  Many are very wordy, some make a real meal out of explaining something and a few are far too wordy and plain boring.  Most, however, concentrate on training content, delivery and methods.  Not a lot include anything on training design.  I’ve just had a thought…this may be why so much training is really pants!  Ah hah! … I see an opening for a book here. 

I’ve been doing a truck load of designing recently and so I got to thinking that maybe it would be useful to blog something about the design process.  So here is an overview of the points to consider when designing a training programme.

Some might argue that the design of training is the most important aspect of preparing a training course or workshop.  Hopefully, those L&D professionals reading this will already know that design is the second element of the well-known training cycle (Do I need to tell you about this?).  Training design is usually a natural progression from clear knowledge of the training needs.  Training needs are obtained by one or more or the many techniques for TNA and I’ve written on this before. 

Before starting to design any training at all, you absolutely must be clear about whether training is likely to be the answer.  Many managers search for training as an excuse/remedy for their own failings in managing people and as the L&D professional you must have the courage to be able to explain that ‘XYZ’ is not a training issue.  Training can only bridge the capability gap.  If the problem is caused by anything other than knowledge or skill deficiency then something other than training is required…like a conversation without coffee for the manager?

So, what is instructional design?

Many years ago, when I started out (with more hair too), the term ‘instructional design’ meant simply that the training course had a rather rigid and formal structure.  It’s still the case for more technical training sessions but thankfully, we’ve moved on a bit since then. 

Today, many current learning interventions are much less clearly defined.  They often follow more of a workshop route and trainers use facilitation techniques.  But, you’ll still need a plan.  You’ll still need to cover outcomes and the best ways of achieving them and the only way to get there is to do some designing.

Designing training step by step

I’ve made another free resource for you to download in the resources section of my website that you might find useful, but what I’ve done here is to break down the design process into 7 easy steps…just in case you can’t be bothered to download the Pdf.

1.  The initial idea – from an internal problem or open course proposal.

2.  Identify the needs – usually by carrying out a TNA

3.  Always link training to business objectives – essential to ensure management buy in and to keep the training real.

4.  Design the learning solution – covers training strategy and methods.

5.  Produce the material – detailed design of content, handouts, training aids, workbooks etc.

6.  Pilot the solution – run an exploratory course to test the feasibility and discover any problems, then feed back into the course design process.

7.  Evaluate and review – discover the value of the training and feed back the lessons learned.

I hope this has been useful. 

Don’t forget there’s a free download that you’ll find helpful…just click here and like magic it’ll appear.

Right…I’m off to carry on designing the next best thing in L&D.

Hey

…I have written a bit about influencing in the past, but strong interpersonal skills include influencing ability and great listening skills.  If you’re not sensitive with each of these skills you’re almost certainly going to end up in conflict.  You’re also highly likely to meet resistance in your teams instead of the higher performance you need.

How many newly promoted managers have you known that have jumped straight in and wielded their new power?  You’ve never come across that?  How lucky are you? Call it ‘Power hungry’ call it ‘Small man/woman syndrome’; unfortunately, it’s quite common for new managers to feel the need to demonstrate their newly-acquired authority and they seem to spend most of their time either trying to outdo their predecessor, slag off what was done previously and/or start to walk faster around the building than they used to.  You know how much it upsets you, so start working on a way you’re going to prevent this happening when you’re promoted (call it a life goal if you like).

I’m not really that religious but I am a big believer in “what goes around comes around”.  Thankfully, managers who see promotion as an opportunity to wield power can erode their own success and often lose credibility in the long term.  I take a sadistic pleasure in watching these ‘Titanic Managers’ go down – I know I shouldn’t but hey – What goes around comes around…Right?

On a more serious note, taking an approach that can, at best, be described as ‘autocratic’ and, at worse, ‘aggressive’ almost always leads new managers into hot water – you’re just not always around to see it.  It mainly manifests itself in feelings of low team morale or reduced team effectiveness, or both.

Interpersonal Skills – Quick Tips.

If you’re a manager of a team (newly-promoted or not) be crystal clear about the stage of development your team is at.  Is it forming, storming, norming, performing or adjourning? If you don’t know what Bruce Tuckman says about Team Development let me know and I’ll blog on it.

Consider what you can do to improve your listening skills. Are you really listening?  Do you listen to understand or are you listening to answer?  The latter is not so good…try looking out for people near you who simply listen to answer…they’re probably the managers you dislike most.  It becomes so annoying once you notice it, so be careful it doesn’t tip you over the edge.  If you dislike all your managers (or even yourself maybe) my suggestion would be to get out quick, take a holiday or learn some effective stress relief exercises…Or all 3!

Make sure you summarise your conversations before you shoot off to your next “I’m important” meeting.  It allows your conversation partner(s) to know that they’ve been heard and it also fixes it in your own mind.

If there’s something you’re not too sure about then just say so.  It’s not a sign of weakness (quite the opposite).  Go and find out and make sure you brief back.  Be sure to let your team know you’re going to do this or they’ll go and find out for themselves and likely miss you out of the loop.

That’s it for now, it’s been good.  Let me know if you want more.  I’m open to suggestions too.

Look after yourselves out there…it’s a crazy world… but fun too.

It’s nice to know that so many people are reading my blogs and even better now that I realise how far spread apart you all are geographically.

There’ll be more to come soon (there’s a lot in my head for such a small space!)

Stay tuned and thanks again.

Shaun

So

There are many pitfalls and finding out that you might not be managing your time effectively usually comes to light in the early days of your new role (Although, I have known managers that never seem to get it and probably never will).  In the beginning some managers are reluctant to relinquish the juicy bits, after all these are jobs they enjoy doing and have grown to be expert in…  Nobody does it better… or quicker… right? Well, it may be the case but if you look at this pragmatically, what it really means is that these managers spend less time with their people, less time coaching, guiding and being generally available for questions and so on.  Unchecked this can manifest into team members feeling undervalued and, critically, trust bonds break down.

Your job as a manager is not so much to demonstrate how well you can do, but rather to harness the resources available to you, including your people, so that your team delivers the results.  Management is about results results results at the end of the day.

But, I can hear you saying “I might as well do it myself because by the time I’ve explained this that and the other… and so on”.

There’s no doubt that some managers struggle with delegation, for many reasons, but not least because they feel guilty about asking others to do what they consider to be “their job”.  I once knew a pretty senior manager who delegated tasks, but secretly did the same tasks herself anyway…  (Totally Crazy).  Managers who already understand that delegation is an integral part of their job don’t experience the same guilt.  Don’t get me wrong though, there are managers out there who swing wildly the other way; they delegate as much as they can as quickly as they can and then take the credit (Know anybody like that?). This isn’t delegation, it’s abdication.  It nearly always and very quickly demoralises people, especially when they see that their hard work is not being recognised.

Time Management Tips…

(But not too many; I don’t want to do myself out of a job, do I?)

• Delegate.  I don’t mean that you should just delegate the crappy jobs and the stuff you don’t like (It is fun for a while though…especially on Friday afternoons).  Delegation is for any task that can be done by others and will contribute to team success.

• Don’t be a ‘Yes Man/Woman’.  There are loads of these creatures around and if you’re sitting near any right now just look up at them and smile – they’ll wonder what you’re doing.  Managers should be the ones who are prepared to say ‘No’.  ‘No’ is actually a healthy response, it can lead on to negotiation of a more realistic timeframe or additional resources being identified.  What’s more, saying ‘no’ demonstrates that your finger is on the pulse and you understand how to manage your resources to achieve the overall goal.  Some senior managers could do a lot worse than to remember this.
  

OK, so that’s it for now.  Thanks for tuning in.

Watch this space for more stuff (I’m working on it…honest)

I’ve worked in an organisation that existed with an extremely small and limited L&D function.  Limited in the skills required to cause an effective TNA to happen and consequently the L&D department’s main reason to be was to create and maintain the mother of all spreadsheets that purported to be a TNA but, in reality, was merely a wish list of courses (crazy).  I’ve decided to write a few pointers for managers who might well be in the situation where they feel their L&D department might just not be up to the job, so that they can conduct a straight forward Training Needs Analysis for themselves… it’s not time consuming or complicated.  I’ve included a FREE Pdf one pager in the resources section outlining the kind of areas you’ll need to be considering in your own TNAs.

OK…so most companies recognise that their people are their greatest asset.  Granted, some merely pay lip service, some shout about it at HR conferences and the like (but that’s about all they do) and some don’t even start to pretend that they care about their people.  I firmly believe that it’s the responsibility of managers to harness the skills, knowledge and attitudes of the people in their particular part of the organisation; harnessing these effectively directly impacts on the bottom line.  A fundamental part of the trainer’s role is to help managers identify the learning and development required to enable the people at all levels to meet the needs of the organisation.  This is done largely through an analysis process sometimes called the Learning Analysis, Training Needs Analysis…and so on… it has many names.

So, it follows that, as the professional L&D type person, a fundamental principle of TNA is helping the manager to identify needs that contribute directly to the performance of their department and to have in place a process by which those needs are met.  From this support of the manager, you, the trainer, gain credibility, while at the same time contributing directly to the effectiveness and efficiency of the company.  It is from the gathering of this information the next stage of needs analysis – what exactly the trainees need to learn – can be started.

Many commentators will state categorically that it’s the trainer’s role to ensure that the environment for training is positive and conducive to learning and also to ensure that the training contributes to the requirement of the business.  I disagree…it’s everyone’s responsibility, not just the trainer.  When this sort of thing becomes everyone’s business the engagement to learning is thrust forward massively since everyone has a stake.

I can hear you shouting “get on with it Shaun”, so here goes:

Learning a new skill or enhancing an existing skill is not just simply accomplished on a course.  The real value occurs when the learning is transferred from the training venue into the workplace. The key to making this happen is getting the needs clear at the outset and then having a process that ensures the needs are fully met.  Here are some suggestions to managers that’ll make this happen effectively.

Before the course

It is a normal part of managing people to determine what the learning needs of your people are and agree with each individual the means of meeting those needs.  You don’t agree?

Additionally, it’s usual for the manager to be involved with the person in deciding attendance at an off-the-job learning event.  Why?  Well simply because usually the manager holds the budget.

In the case of a course, the manager should review the course content with the potential participant.  Having agreed to the course, the manager and the participant agree learning objectives to achieve on the course.  In support of these objectives, the manager assigns an on-the-job task that will permit application of the learning after the course.  This is crucial to the transfer of learning into the workplace.  If no such opportunity exists, the whole purpose of the training should be questioned.

The manager then agrees with the person how they can best prepare for the course.  The person will come on the course equipped with clear back-on-the–job objectives and opportunities.

If you, as a manager, don’t do this then you’re not getting the most out of your people and you’re undoubtedly making your day-to-day life much harder.

During the course

The manager should free up the employee fully for the course and have a plan to have their work covered by someone else.  Expecting someone to participate fully in a learning event and to be on call at the workplace at the same time is highly detrimental to the individual’s learning (sound familiar?).  Unless a person is free to participate fully in the learning event they are merely acting as a delegate – someone chosen to represent, or given the opportunity to act on behalf of the organisation (just like at a meeting or conference).

After the course

To ensure the planned transfer of learning to the workplace, the manager needs to commit to facilitating the transfer of learning.

After the course, the manager will discuss what the participant learned.  Don’t bother giving any attention to stuff like the venue, the trainer or the methods used… anyway, who wants to know whether or not free range eggs were used or the soap in the washrooms was a funny shape?  It’s more important to find out what was learned and what can be applied to the job.

The manager should facilitate the on-the-job task agreed before the course, ideally observing the performance and coaching and reinforcing correct skill usage.

Where clear benefits have occurred, the manager should invite the participant to share their learning with co-workers.  It’s really valuable for a learner to share with others what they have learned.

Now the manager can establish a plan to review the progress with the person, giving the reinforcing and developing feedback.

Again… if you, as a manager, don’t do this then you’re not getting the most out of your people and you’re undoubtedly making your day-to-day life much harder.

Trainers

So, what has all this got to do with us L&D type people?  Contrary to belief, the training role is much more than coordinating and getting people on courses – a chimp could do this (sadly this sort of attitude still exists, fuelled by ignorant senior managers and incompetent trainers – yyyesss…there are still too many out there).  In the long term this scenario is detrimental to the training function.  Training to meet the business need is the key to credibility and one route, a very effective route, is by building close relationships with managers.

What is it the trainer can do to help the manager decide on the learning needs of their staff?  The normal thing I have seen is a Chinese menu of courses from which the manager can pick n mix.  It’s very tempting to do this because this way the only thing to consider is whether the right person is on the right course for the right reasons.  But a Chinese menu is not enough, nor might it be necessary.  Have confidence as an L&D professional to stand up and say that it might be the case that not every single section of the organisation requires a full scale TNA.  Be pragmatic, be efficient and be ruthless.  Demand to know from the managers what the learning need is, how it’s going build on existing standards and just how they plan to support the transfer of knowledge.  Armed with this quality information you can then set about maximising your time developing L&D further.

Hope this helps a bit.

As you know, I’m a professional trainer and passionate about learning.  I’m always keen to impart some of my 20+ year’s experience (that’s part of the reason shaunmaloney.com exists…the other reason is the mortgage, of course).  What I thought I’d do today is drop a few pointers to those of you who have just started out on the L&D road to enlightenment (It’s a long road).

So, here you are, sitting, browsing the tinterweb, drinking tea… or just doing that 5 mile stare thing; you’re coming up to the time that you’re gonna have to start thinking about what training is to be done next year.  What goes out to externals and what you can do yourself in house.  There seems to be a huge mountain.  You kinda know what you want to do but sadly, the budget wouldn’t stretch to buying an Aston Martin. To top it all, the L&D Team are exhausted, never enough time and too much to be done…sound familiar?

Here are a few tips to help you along your way when creating a development plan for your business.  Of course there are many ways to do this.  It’s even got a fancy name; it’s called a Training Needs Analysis (TNA), but it doesn’t matter what it’s called really.  All that matters is that you target your training accurately and don’t waste time with course wish lists that include basket weaving in Bangladesh as a ‘team building exercise’.  Feel free to add or delete as you see fit.

KISS (Keep it short n simple)

No doubt you’ve heard this saying before.  Don’t get bogged down just because it’s got a fancy name like ‘analysis’.  I would recommend that you constantly get yourself involved in the business, particularly when the business plans are evolving.  Sit in on meetings, read plans and talk to team leaders and managers.  Why not facilitate a few business planning sessions?  Pull the training needs directly from the business plans.  Constantly ask yourself, ‘What skills are needed to achieve these objectives?’ Spending time here will make evaluation a lot easier because any training you pull from here will automatically be tied to the business objectives.  This is probably the easiest way to accurately target training needs, but you need to go further.

SWOT Get your free SWOT Analysis Template

Grab a hold of those people you see as committed to the business and passionate about what they’re doing and passionate about their people.  Beware here, as many managers merely talk the talk…  Get to know who walks the walk… there’ll not be many around.  The best place to start is with the Senior Team.  Discuss the skills they’ll need to achieve that mountain of objectives.  Why not base your meeting on a SWOT analysis?  Remember those?

• Strengths

• Weaknesses

• Opportunities

• Threats

Get your free SWOT Analysis Template

Senior team development

It never ceases to amaze me how many managers forget about themselves when talking developing.  It’s admirable that they put their people first, but it’s a bit like the oxygen mask on the plane that (hopefully) drops out in emergencies, look after yourself first.  Managers must also look after their own development, it’s not fair on their team if they’re behind the curve and will soon lose respect.  What skills do the managers need to achieve this year’s objectives?  With each of your managers in turn, re-evaluate the capabilities and responsibilities against their job descriptions.  Don’t be surprised to see that 80%+ of the managers require some sort of communication skills training…presentation and public speaking is always a popular one too.  Just stick them on you’re plan from the outset… they’re bound to come up.

Record it

You can start writing out your training plan now.  My advice is not to bother with a mahoosive policy document though (If you work for a company that rather likes the look of monstrous policy documents get out now!  L&D success is (and always has been) measured on delivery, not policy writing).  I’ve always found a bit of a graphic representation in a flow chat or PowerPoint Presentation goes down well…again…keep it simple.  The bosses just need to know what you’re going to do, why and what the result will be… it’s your responsibility to keep it in budget – they don’t want to hear about that until you’re justifying spend another time.  I’ll write more on evaluation another time too.

Critical and desirable training

You may also want to categorise your training plan in some way.  For example, the stuff that you picked up from the business planning sessions might now be considered ‘critical’ because it’s going to help drive the business forward and make more money.  Hopefully, you’ve twigged on by now that the other stuff (like that basket weaving course) fall into the ‘desirable’ category; it’s a ‘nice to have’ BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE BUDGET.  I’ve seen headings such as Functional Skills, Business Skills and I even saw a Yes n Maybe once.  Call it what you like as long as you delineate between necessary and not so necessary (there you go…another categorisation – shimples).

Another word of caution here, those more experienced trainers out there will know what I’m talking about when I say that everyone thinks they’re a trainer.  There are also a lot of people out there who treat L&D as the poor second cousin.  Keep it in mind that YOU are the professional L&D person, not them, it’s YOU who can, and does, deliver quality training, not them and it’s YOU who says what’s in and what’s out.  You’re trained to analyse training needs, deliver training and evaluate, so it’s YOU who makes the decisions on L&D.  Be confident and have the courage of your convictions.  Enjoy being in control and enjoy delivering the material that you know adds directly to the bottom line… you do that… nobody else.

Good luck.  Let me know how you get on.