The importance of continuous learning

One of my most favourite magazine articles is “You never stop learning”, by James Michener, which appeared in the December 1962 issue of Reader’s Digest. A truly inspiring article on the importance of continuing to learn and grow one’s mind.

Let me quote a part of this article:

“Specialization is not enough. For the big jobs – historically, culturally, morally – what the world needs is well-rounded human beings.

I remember a day in 1942 when the U.S Navy was hungry for talent. Four of us would-be officers were shivering in our shorts in a small room. A grim-faced selection committee asked “What can you do?” and the first man replied, “I am buyer for Macy’s and I have trained myself to judge very quickly between markets and prices and trends.” The board replied, “Can’t you do anything practical?”, and shunted him off to one side.

The next man was a lawyer. He had to confess;” I can weigh evidence and organize information.” He was rejected.

I was third and when I answered, “I know language and a good deal of history”, the board groaned and I went shivering away.

Then the fourth man said boldly, “I am a college trained engineer and I can overhaul diesel engines.” The committee practically embraced him and made him an officer on the spot.

But this is not the end of the story. When the war was over, the Macy’s buyer was assistant to the Secretary of the Navy, in charge of many complex responsibilities requiring instant good judgment. He had given himself courses in Naval management and government procedures and had become a top expert. The lawyer wound up as assistant to Admiral Halsey and in a crucial battle deduced logically from intelligence reports just where the Japanese fleet had to be. He came out covered with medals. I got the job of Naval Secretary to several Congressional committees who were determining the future of America in the South Pacific.

What was the engineer doing at the end of the war ? He was still overhauling diesel engines.”

Now let’s not get into debates on whether this article is biased against engineers. [I am an engineer myself] The point is that, in order to grow, it is vital to keep learning and applying the knowledge. This article really inspires me.

Handling difficult trainees – the inexperienced trainee who wants to know everything

In one of my training classes, I had a trainee who was a new grad straight out of college. She was very diligent and sincere, and anxious to learn everything on the manual- and more. While her sincerity of purpose was completely commendable, the depth to which she wanted to understand the material was out of place for that particular class. For example, if I made a passing mention of a standard optical component used in my company’s technical tools, she wanted to understand how the component worked, where and how the component was manufactured, why that component should be used, what was the basic physics of light involved, etc etc etc. In simple words, she wanted to know everything about everything. Being inexperienced, such trainees find it hard to recognize the level of understanding that is needed in different situations. They tend to over-learn or under-learn.

When one trainee wants to know things at a level of detail far beyond what a class is supposed to cover, it can really slow down the progress of the class and also frustrate the other learners who are not so inquisitive. It also puts the trainer in an awkward position. If the trainer tells the student not to focus at such a level of detail, it might sound as if the trainer is trying to avoid answering the questions or even worse, hide his/her ignorance.

So how to handle this ? My thoughts:

- Establish expectations clearly at the outset. Outline the objectives clearly. When a question deviates from the course objectives, gently but firmly remind your trainees. Explain that the course objectives may not be met within the course duration if the level of depth is too much. Set expectations about what the course will cover, and importantly, what it will not cover.

- If a trainee is very inquisitive and wants to learn at a level of detail beyond what is covered in the course, tell him/her that you will be happy to help them – after the course objectives are met. If possible, spend some extra time with them during breaks or after class hours. Direct him/her to resources (people/courses/books/websites etc.) that will help them learn more.

Handling difficult trainees: The shy trainee

(Image from: http://www.selfhypnosistherapy.com/overcoming-shyness.html)

In one of my earlier posts, I had written about handling nervous trainees. You might wonder what the difference is between a shy trainee and nervous trainee. A shy trainee and a nervous trainee are both difficult for an instructor – but for different reasons.

A shy trainee refuses to open up to conversation and discussion. He/She simply clams up and the instructor has no way of knowing what’s on the trainee’s mind, whether the content has sunk in, whether the trainee is comfortable or not, etc etc. Most of the time, a shy trainee is hesitant about expressing him/herself because of a fear of making a fool of him/herself in public. Shy persons are usually very concerned about what other people might think of them.

On the other hand, a nervous trainee is worried about learning it right. The instructor can usually find out if a trainee is nervous or not – body language and speech give it away. A nervous trainee is generally worried about whether they can learn and apply the skills correctly, and fear what might happen otherwise.

Shyness and nervousness in trainees are individually troublesome for instructors. A combination of shyness and nervousness is a perfect nightmare! It means a lot of work and patience is required from the instructor.

My thoughts on handling shy trainees:

• Identify the reason for their shyness. Is their shyness due to cultural barriers/language barriers/lack of confidence/learning anxiety ?

• Talk to them in private. Strike up a conversation and gently probe into what’s making them clam up.

• Compliment them on their work – without sounding patronizing.

• Never ever make them the target of your humour – even if you don’t mean to hurt them.

• Explain to them that overcoming shyness can actually increase the effectiveness of their training and enable them to perform better on their job. This is a very sensible reason for not being shy.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat….

Personally, I think one of the most important principles of effective teaching/presentation is repetition. Sadly, this is also the most forgotten principle. Presenters are in such a rush to pack more and more content into their presentation that they do not allow time for repetition. The net result is that they “cover” a lot of material, but very little actually percolates into the listeners’ minds. Most of the material simply remains in the Powerpoint slides or handouts.

My own style is to reduce the amount of content in my presentation to make room for repetition of key points through various means. I would much rather present ten key ideas/concepts and have seven of them sink into my listeners, than present twenty key concepts in the same time and have none of them sink in.

Ultimately, what matters is what the listeners take home with them in their minds, not how much the presenter has "covered".

Understanding the trainee's learning style

Everyone has a different learning style..some people are auditory (learn by hearing), some are visual(learn by seeing) and some are kinaesthetic (learn by doing). When a person teaches others he will use the same method to teach as the method by which he learns. So a trainer who is a visual learner himself will tend to teach by using visual displays.

Now, during a training session, it is very useful to understand the learning style of the trainees so that the trainer can cater to them accordingly. A good way to understand a particular trainee's learning style is to ask a few questions at the beginning of the class, when each trainee introduces himself. Asking a trainee about his hobbies is a good way to get insight into his learning style.

Is learning fun ?

Learning is a process of change by which new skills or knowledge is acquired. Any change is stressful..it involves some pain. Unless a person goes through this stress, change cannot be created in his/her mind. And this stress is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it is within limits. This kind of positive stress is known as eustress - as opposed to distress.

Should a trainer try to project the training class as a "fun" activity ? I believe not. A trainer should definitely not scare trainees by making the subject sound very difficult. At the same time, the trainees should get the message that they are not in the class for fun. Learning involves work and the associated stress. There is no running away from this. Trainees should be mentally prepared to accept this, and trainers should not shy away from pushing trainees so that they can achieve the learning outcomes.

How close is the result owner to the trainer ?

A few thoughts on different scenarios in training management and organization…

Simple, ideal case: Results owner = Trainer

When the trainer is directly the person who is responsible for the results expected out of training, it is the best possible scenario. The trainer knows exactly what skills are required of the trainee by the time the training is completed. So the training is squarely addressed towards transferring the skills to the trainee.

Example : This example is rather awkward but absolutely effective. Think of a parent trying to toilet-train a baby. The outcomes are clearly defined. Trainer knows precisely what skills are to be transferred to the trainee. Trainer is also the person who directly owns the results. If the training is not effective, the trainer is going to have a lot of cleanup to do ;-)

A slightly more complex case: Results owner is one layer away from trainer.

In this case, the results owner sends the trainee to a trainer and explains the expectations to the trainer. The trainer is tasked with transferring the required skills to the trainee, but is not directly impacted if the training is ineffective.

Example: A dog owner who takes his pet to a professional trainer for obedience training. The expectations are directly conveyed by the owner to the trainer. But if the training fails, the pain is for the owner and not for the trainer.

As complexity increases: Results owner is several layers away from trainer.

Example: A field manager sends his report (say a field engineer) for an internal training course within the same company. The trainer has developed the curriculum based on what the product design team told him. The field manager thinks the trainee is going to be fully competent to address field issues after the training. The trainee has some idea of what skills the training is going to offer, but not a very precise idea. The trainer has some idea what skills will help the trainee in his job after he completes the training. The training need from the field is not squarely addressed. This scenario is common as the organization’s size increases. To make the training very relevant and effective, the trainer, the product design group, the potential trainee, the trainee’s manager should all be completely aligned.