Seeing beyond the classroom to more effective performance
Why the classroom is not the performance panacea.
As a Marathon runner, I have long since given up expecting sympathy for the aches and pains that are part and parcel of such an insane sport, but I was starting to whinge a lot when I was failing to meet my running targets due to a sore left heel. It was slowing me down and making the already arduous task of road running nigh on unbearable. My friend’s solution; “don’t run then”. My solution; application of large amounts of anti-inflammatory gel, so much in fact, I would have probably failed a drugs test. And it did help, but not in the right way. I felt like I was doing something constructive but I was still not reaching my running goals. I concluded that the gel was useless.
How familiar this is in the training world. An individual’s performance is lacking, and their manager takes action by prescribing a training course. Upon return from the course, continued failure to perform deems the training course (or even the training department!) as “useless”. However, as with my painful heel, that which highlights poor performance is often just the symptom and not the cause.
The reason my anti-inflammatory gel was not working was because I was not treating the cause of the problem. It was a session with my orthodontist that ultimately identified the issue. “How can this be? It’s the other end of the body! “I cried. In looking at the body holistically, an out-of-line jaw indicated my spine was out of line, caused by a problem with my left hip, which has led to incorrect posture when running and thus the sore heel! There was no amount of anti-inflammatory gel that would have solved the problem.
An organisation is like the human body where the knee bone is connected to the hip bone…etc. A performance problem in one area may be symptomatic of issues elsewhere. Applying training as a response to a ‘symptom’ will not on its own improve things. The classroom is usually only part of the solution. Trainers need to become more holistic in their needs assessment, looking more organisation-wide. They need to be able to analyse the impact of processes, management style, structure, infrastructure, culture, reward and performance management as well as current L&D provision on the individual’s performance. For example, just as a runner will not enter a race unless they want to finish, generally employees who work in customer service want to provide a positive customer experience. A poor customer satisfaction score does not mean that training is required; it may be that the processes within the organisation disenable excellent service. Perhaps the culture or structure is such that individuals are not empowered to ‘go the extra mile’. To assume that the classroom is the answer is like taking an asprin for a broken leg.
That does not mean that an asprin would not help. In fact in my case it did help reduce swelling, but more work was needed to fix the problem permanently. I needed to do some specific training, customised by my gym trainer to ensure that we worked the correct muscles on the left side only. Standard training would have worked both left and right sides and therefore would not have helped. In addition I used an Osteopath to re-align bones, ensured I was eating enough protein to help strengthen muscles and of course had my shoes assessed and customised. Importantly I had to change how I ran to get out of bad habits. My gym trainer had quite a challenge on his hands.
Increasingly the role of the trainer is more that of a performance or change consultant. Like my gym trainer, they need to use analytical techniques to identify the core issues and be able to develop holistic solutions to change performance. This may involve putting remedial ‘quick wins’ into place but to ensure long term behaviour change the solution may result in a change of processes, management style, attitudes and behaviours. Appropriate and tailored training is an important tool to facilitate each of these changes. However to maximise training’s effectiveness in positively impacting performance, the environment into which the delegate returns will determine the likelihood of learning transfer, behaviour change and ultimately performance improvement.
It’s a big job, indeed the marathon training has touched on all aspects of my life (no alcohol!!!) and parts of my body I would never have considered. However, reaching my goals and the associated feeling of success is a reward that I and others around me benefit from. So make sure your trainers have their running shoes on and are equipped with the skills and knowledge to get the most from your organisation. And of course plenty of anti-inflammatory gel and aspirin!
Sam Mather
Sam Mather has worked in learning and development for over fifteen years, working with blue-chip organisations both in the UK and overseas. During the last five years, she has focused on more holistic performance solutions to drive organisational change, culminating in her Masters in Training and Performance Management, gained last year.
Blog date
09 August 2007
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