By way of necessity, managers and supervisors need to think like trainers.  In fact, it’s almost like every conversation I have with people in those positions only reinforce the need for me to become an evangelist on the subject.

Thankfully, most managers I talk with openly tell me they aren’t aware of how people learn — so the soil is ripe for planting, so to speak. 

One of the most common complaints I hear from managers is “I showed them how to do it; why can’t they remember?”

Answer: Telling ain’t Training. And neither is showing, I might add. This is such a truism, there’s even a book and an ASTD Conference by that name!

When it all boils down, people learn in three areas - cognitive (knowledge-based learning), psychomotor (physical skills learning), and affective (attitudes).  I refer to these in more simple terms; Head, Hands, and Heart. And when it comes to “telling,” people remember only 10% of what they hear.  We’ve got to learn how to teach employees better than just “show and tell.”

But again, if nobody has ever taught a manager how people learn, there’s no way for the manager to know!!!

I had dinner this past week with someone who’s been a manger for a long time. She expressed the same frustration most managers do about employees not remembering what they were taught, and then took careful notes when I showed her a simple, four-step method for teaching a skill.

I recall how I went “a-ha!” when I first learned how people learned. It’s really cool to see other people get that same “a-ha!”

So, since this is top of mind, I’ll take the opportunity to invite all managers, supervisors , and leaders (and those aspiring to those positions) to our Manager as Trainer workshop coming up on May 21 and 22.

Need a little perk? How about six months of free phone support – so you can call to ask whatever questions you need to. (Oh, yes … we’re also springing for lunch on both days of the workshop.)

Let me know if you have any questions, but more and more I am convinced that when managers think like trainers, workplace excellence has a much higher chance for success.

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