When people are promoted to manager it often occurs with the wave a magic wand. “Okay, you’re a manager, now go manage!” The reason many people get promoted is they’ve done well working in the rank-and-file. But being a manager is a totally different skill set, and most companies provide little — if any — training.

Even when new managers get trained, it’s usually in the form of a seminar or workshop where they sit, take notes, and regurgitate their newly gained knowledge and understanding via a written test.

Sure, now they know the material. They may even understand it. But they’ve gained very little skill in applying it.

We can put just about anyone in a class on how to fly the space shuttle. But put ‘em into space on the real thing and it will likely end up as the sequel to Lost in Space.

Training that lasts requires repetition. It requires actual doing, not just understanding.

Hap Cooper, president of Prospect Street Consulting, talks about this in a post about our favorite Subway Sandwich spokesman Jared – the guy who lost 245 pounds by getting into a routine.

Cooper tells us that Jared’s routine was to eat the same thing for lunch and the same thing for dinner every day. His routine was so established, he didn’t have to think about it. It just came naturally. 

Obviously it worked. And I whole-heartedly agree with Cooper: It works in training, too. Repetition of doing is needed for management training to stick.

IDEA #1: When you send people to management training, get them involved with mentors who talk about specific situations for applying what they learned.  The manager saves face by discussing personal obstacles and challenges in private.

IDEA #2: Have managers document daily how they’re applying what they learned in class. This isn’t a ‘punishment.’ It’s simply a log book his or her direct supervisor can use as a springboard for discussion, much like the mentor would in Idea number one.

If you’re wondering why your managers attend training classes but don’t apply what they learn, I would be very comfortable betting that they didn’t get much of a chance to practice applying it in class. And that is why most management training fails.

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Filed in Work, Business, Opinion, Training, Management, Leadership, Workplace