Asking for training - Black Hole Focus - The Cultivated Management Newsletter
Hi,
Welcome to 2017. Another year to grow as a manager and achieve the business results you're after. Do you set goals? If yes, I hope you have a couple of big and ambitious goals in there. If not, then goal setting could make the difference between achieving your dreams or not. It's not just goals though, you need the habits and system in place to support these goals.
I've set myself about 6 really ambitious goals for this year including running my own Communication workshop which I've already mentioned in previous newsletters - I've secured a cool venue in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral - more details here. It's priced low at £200 for a full days training and I have a no quibble money back offer.
Who doesn't ask for training?
As part of my day job I'm running the training and personal development for the entire organisation - it's daunting but exciting at the same time. But how do you distribute training across an organisation when budgets may not stretch to meet ambitions?
Well, I'm starting with a simple question:
Who doesn't ask for training, and why?
This question can lead to some really good answers. Answers that can influence the strategy I'll put in place for training and coaching.
Does this team, or person, already have their personal development nailed?
If so, what can we learn from this?
How can we share this approach with others?
Is this team, or person, doing learning-on-the-job?
Yay to them and what can we learn from this?
How are they doing it?
Can we copy or scale their model?
Does this team, or person, know they are allowed to learn?
Believe me, this happens a lot more than we might realise.
How can we help them become aware of training and learning opportunities?
How can we encourage people to learn more?
Does this team, or person, believe they don't need training?
This happens a lot also - yet everyone needs to develop.
There are some people who think they have it nailed though.
How can we work with these people to get them to 'empty their cup' so it may be refilled
Does this team, or person, know how to get started, or know where the central learning resources are, or who to ask to get training?
How can we improve or learn from this?
How can we improve communications around this?
Can we put in place a communication plan with regular updates?
The answers to these questions will guide the strategy. It's important, as a manager, to study, and a good way to study is to ask good questions.
If you're thinking about improving, starting or enhancing learning in your team then these questions may help to define your strategy. It's important to note though that not everyone learns in the same way and not everyone is keen on improving themselves. People also learn at incredibly different rates. The key though is to study.
Writing this week
Go Forth and Share was posted earlier this week where I discuss how sharing information helps the business.
Boook of the week
This week's book of choice is Black Hole Focus by Isaiah Hankel. The book is about focussing and directing yourself towards your goals. There are lots of hints and tips on how to carve out more time, get clear on what it is you're pursuing and then to use scientifically proven productivity methods to get there.
It's a surprisingly light and good read. If you read a lot about productivity and focus then you'll likely see similar methods and tactics in this book as in others - but it's nicely put together and it's a rapid read. Overall good book for getting focused.
Have a great weekend and thanks again for your support over the last year. Here's to another great year of growth and development.
Rob