“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question.   I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”   Albert Einstein

Asking powerful questions is at the core of what we do as OD consultants and coaches.

Slowing down to allow for the question can be a challenge.   When I am engaged in building a relationship I often want to jump to conclusions and make comments.   I know my extroverted intuitive personality type makes this especially hard — but of course, never an excuse.   We need to understand our limitations and challenges before we can effectively work in teams and successfully solve complex problems.

Action Learning

As a team coach I help by reframing the questions people might be asking to avoid assumptions and to help them to become question askers themselves.  It is important for working teams to be inclusive with a diverse membership as they explore and identify the problem.   Sometimes this can take hours.  It is a process of SLOWING DOWN and asking questions rather than making comments. A qualified facilitator or coach can help teams to make this transition in a safe environment.   With practice this can become a more natural and desired process before jumping into potentially the wrong action.

One comment from the poll caused me to think about the initial engagement and after the training or coaching program, the long term impact of either of these investments in professional development –  provided by Pat Marum

“For me, there are two principle differences – the approach and the aftermath. Regarding the approach, there is an embedded collaboration in coaching which engages a client more than a top down approach. When it comes to the aftermath, often there is a furlough at the end of training but coaching walks with the client/trainee through the changes – that follow-up piece is critical for change sticking.”

Are we motivated as we go into a learning contract or event?  And will the new knowledge or insights stick with us in spite of our previous behavior and beliefs?

The world-renowned expert on the design of training,Robert F. Mager’scomments about the learner – “there is only one justification for instruction: it is that one or more people cannot yet do something and there is a need for them to be able to do it.”   He also states that “people often don’t do what they know how to do because of one or more of the following reasons:

• They don’t have the tools to perform as desired.
• They aren’t given the authority to perform as desired.
• They don’t know what they are expected to do.
• They are punished for performing as desired.”  (Making Instruction Work, Mager, 1988)

Those of you who responded to my initial question on LinkedIn made comments about how we learn.

• It’s easy to forget what you learned in training unless you have a way to internalize the learning and apply it.
• A learner wants to understand what they are learning, how to apply it, and how to evaluate performance or results.
• A learner can be empowered with hands-on practical information.
• Even if someone learns something, do they have the discipline to make personal changes in behavior?
• The learner wants to first begin by understanding, then learning and ultimately teaching oneself.
• As a learner I expect to receive only a “Nugget” of information that I can use from training. I expect and usually experience significant impact to unconscious perceptions and behaviors when I am being coached.
• The learner wants guidance in decision-making.
• The learner needs follow-up after class by the employee and their manager regarding how will they use what they learned.

From your comments above and my understanding of the principles of coaching, I would suggest that there are a lot more than the few reasons Mager provides for why people perform or not.  As coaches through the inquiry process we work with the learner to uncover and reflect on the unique set of circumstances, belief systems, strengths, etc. that motivate us to learn and perform as we think we should.

How do you make decisions when deciding whether to invest in training or coaching?   How do you measure your results?

]]> http://developcoach.com/blog/2009/07/what-do-learners-need-to-retain-the-knowledge-acquired-in-the-training-andor-coaching-process/feed/ 0 http://developcoach.com/blog/2009/07/what-are-the-benefits-from-training-vs-the-benefits-from-coaching-for-an-individual-looking-to-make-some-changes/ http://developcoach.com/blog/2009/07/what-are-the-benefits-from-training-vs-the-benefits-from-coaching-for-an-individual-looking-to-make-some-changes/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:47:29 +0000 leslie http://developcoach.com/blog/?p=244 In May of this year (2009) I asked 29 of you the question above on LinkedIn. I am delighted to report that 100% answered the question I put out for your consideration.  Thanks for that. I did not intend to make it a private question (still learning LinkedIn).  With this, and a few more blogs on my web site, I will attempt to summarize your thoughts and make them public.

First, an overview…

I feel that this question is of particular interest to us at this time for the following reasons.

• Quick and authentic adaptation to a changing environment is essential for the survival of organizations (or our economy for that matter).  We are all engaged in learning new things daily.

• We are living in chaos.  We do not know what our systems are going to look like a year from now. Generally, our concepts of training are archaic and based in their design in the days of Henry Ford when people were in very narrow jobs and training could teach hundreds of people to do their jobs at once. (The Coaching Revolution, Logan, King, 2004)

• The definition of coaching is still up for grabs and often misunderstood.  As learning professionals we need to understand the distinctions so we can leverage the appropriate services we design for leaders, groups and organizations.

The assumptions and principles brought to the discussion are the following…

• In most cases training and coaching services can be more effective if they are designed to support each other to reinforce learning.
• The audience for the purposes of this review will be working professionals in organizations.
• Training and coaching are distinctly different than the experiences in higher education learning opportunities.
• The level of the learner’s motivation at the onset of either coaching or training is directly related to the success of the outcomes (unless, of course, the coach or trainer’s performance and/or interventions results in de-motivating the learner).
• The essential principle of understanding the return on investment (ROI) of workplace professional development programs is the stickiness factor – how effective is the retention of the new knowledge gained in the process?

Who are YOU?  Who provided me with the thoughts and opinions for this brief review?  A diverse group (29).

-    Human Resources Consultant
-    Virtual Assistant
-    Attorney, and Mediator
-    Operations Manager
-    Senior Program Director
-    Financial Representative
-    Professional Lifestyle Design and Career coach
-    Dean of University Continuing Education and Community Services
-    Several business development (and sales) consultants
-    Several trainers
-    Several OD Consultants or Managers
-    Several University Professors
-    Several Leadership Coaches
-    Several Entrepreneurs
-    AND, most interesting!  most of you are a combination of the above

My (current) overall statement on training and coaching…

Training is a group event lead by an expert with the intention of teaching a skill defined by the trainer.
Coaching is a conversation where one person is the only focus and the primary designer of the learning outcome.
Further definitions (unedited) provided by the group (with particular thanks to Mary Lindquist for the majority of these insights).

Training OR Coaching?

Will this be helpful as you make decisions about your learning programs?   Are there any distinctions here that you would like to comment on?

What I am saying here is that several hours in front of the collective minds of a few beginners working towards a common goal could have more impact than one hour listening to the wisdom being handing down by the expert.  Now, that is not to say that a group of fumblers muddling through theories together with an expert lurking nearby for guidance isn’t also ideal.

How do you learn?

Or better, how do you learn when it really sticks and stays with you?

Don’t overlook the fumbling process.  Real learning takes time.  Those of us who are addicted to immediate results will prefer the short version supplied by the expert.  This has its place.  When baking a cake all you need to know is the facts, the ingredients, the tools, measurements and the timing.  But when we are engaged in having to change our behaviors, learn how to bake the better cake or learn how to draw potential clients to our services there is no tried and true, one size fits all, top ten list to step us through to our ultimate goal.  Ideally in these situations our goal will shift and change with our deeper learning along the way.  A combination of brainstorming with colleagues, trial and error, some sound advice, sought after constructive feedback, and most of all, sometimes lengthy sessions of self-reflection will lead us down the new path that seems to be calling to the answer an expert could never know about.

Have you surrounded yourself by a support team?

Does your support group or confidants value the fumbling process?

Do you find yourselves jumping to quickly into an action you find you need to back out of later?

What are you learning in the process?

The team will go through a natural progression of first forming and then storming, norming and performing.  Have you ever watched your reactions to these stages as you work through a team project?  Does your behavior shift as you receive feedback over time?

For example, do you find you need to be “the hero” and have all the answers?  If so, how have other’s reacted to your proactive behavior?   How can you bring about teamwork into this role?  What do you think the motivation is for your need to be the hero?

Or perhaps harmony on a team is very important to you.  Do you see yourself acting as the moderator as you facilitate the processes of the team?  Again, how do the others respond to these actions?  What kind of feelings do you have when disagreements arise?  Do you sense that others share your sentiments?

We all bring our baggage to the table.  How often do we stop and take a look at it and think about how it is impacting our relationships as we evolve together through the group process?

If it is at a time in your life where stress is building to take you over it is often hard to step back and observe yourself with any positive results.  When we are “out of sorts” it is hard to see ourselves clearly.  This is the time to take advantage of those solid relationships we have developed over the years.  See if you can get the gentle feedback you need to make the right choices from those you have grown to trust.

Or, if you are ready to have a closer look at why you choose and behave the way you do hire a coach.  A coach can be a consistent objective observer who is entirely focused on your needs.  Reflection is a complex process.  We all can get wrapped up in our own belief systems to the point of justifying behaviors we haven’t checked on in years.  Is this serving you well?  We won’t really know until we have tested them out.  Learn to become your own truth teller.