Part of my pastoral training was in counseling, where I learned a technique that has been useful in all of my training and performance work. I challenge you to put it to work for yourself.<\/p>\n
As counselors, we sometimes ask clients, \u201cWhat\u2019s the story you\u2019re making up about what happened?\u201d Most clients don\u2019t like hearing this because they are reminded that there are certain facts and behaviors surrounding what happened\u2014and there is also a story that was made up to explain those facts and behaviors.<\/p>\n
Say, for instance, someone is late. The lateness is a fact. It\u2019s also a behavior. What is made up to explain the behavior or fact is the story. For example, someone is late because \u201che doesn\u2019t respect my time\u201d or because \u201cshe doesn\u2019t care enough about me to be on time.\u201d Unfortunately, people often act on such stories as if they were true\u2014and that is where problems begin.<\/p>\n
What are the behaviors we experience relating to training and performance in the workplace\u2014 and what are the stories we make up to explain those experiences?<\/p>\n
EXAMPLE 1: BUDGET WOES<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOur training budget was cut because management thinks training is just a nice thing to do, but not critical or necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact is that the training budget was cut. The story is: The budget was cut because management thinks training is nice to do, but not critical or necessary. Is that really why the budget was cut? Maybe…or maybe not. Perhaps the budget was cut because management can\u2019t see how training is helping the organization. Or perhaps it was cut because management never gets any feedback about what training and performance solutions really accomplish. So in the absence of evidence, they begin making up stories about the value these solutions provide.<\/p>\n EXAMPLE 2: DESIGN AND DELIVERY<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have time to design and deliver training the right way because management doesn\u2019t want people to be away from their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact is this: \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough time to design and deliver training to meet the objectives of the program.\u201d The story is that management doesn\u2019t want people away from their jobs for as long as it takes to deliver training properly.<\/p>\n Is this true? Maybe…or maybe not. What drove the decision to provide the training in the first place? Does it solve a problem? If so, is not solving the problem (or living with the problem) costing the company right now? If we are not asking that question as part of the assessment process, it is difficult for management to feel any pain. And if they don\u2019t feel pain, it becomes difficult to value something that, to them, is only taking time away from meeting organizational goals.<\/p>\n HAVING \u201cPAIN\u201d CONVERSATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n What\u2019s the point behind these examples? When managers feel pain, they will find ways to alleviate it. If they think training and performance experts can help, they\u2019ll use us. If they don\u2019t, they\u2019ll go somewhere else. So it is up to us to educate, inform, persuade, sell, and communicate our message. Our clients have learned that they always have a choice\u2014and we are only one of them. So are you having \u201cpain\u201d conversations?<\/p>\n What stories have you been telling yourself about your managers? What stories have they been telling about you and your efforts? Most importantly, what are you going to do to make those stories the kind of stories you want to hear?<\/p>\n And I\u2019d like to hear from you\u2014what is one question, issue, or concern you\u2019d like to see me answer in an upcoming column? Just send an e-mail to me at: Bob@CTTNewsletters.com with \u201cTrainer Talk\u201d in the subject line, and I\u2019ll see what I can do.<\/p>\n Until next issue, continue to add value and make a difference.<\/p>\n Bob Pike, CSP, CPLP FELLOW, CPAE-Speakers Hall of Fame, is known as the \u201ctrainer\u2019s trainer.\u201d He is the author of more than 30 books, including \u201cCreative Training Techniques Handbook\u201d and his newest book, \u201cThe Master Trainer\u2019s Handbook.\u201d You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook using bobpikectt.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What are the behaviors we experience relating to training and performance in the workplace\u2014and what are the stories we make up to explain those experiences?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[26],"class_list":{"0":"post-10646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-magazine","7":"tag-trainer-talk","8":"magazine_issues-november-2016"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n