We’ve all sat through a training session that’s underwhelming, irrelevant to your role, or entirely out of touch with more significant needs. Instead of sitting through training that should be a pain reliever, you’re experiencing one that’s a pain giver. Even worse is when you’re the one in charge of that training! The leader controls whether their training is a pain giver or pain reliever.
The “Pain Giver” Training
The pain comes from a problem that staff is experiencing. Nobody wants to give a pain giver training that doesn’t address issues, solve problems, or relate to the audience. And yet, too many leaders find themselves in that situation regularly. How does it happen?
You’re crunched for time.
- You have so many things on your plate that you don’t sufficiently plan the content or prepare the execution for the training.
- Outcome: Staff feels like it wasn’t well put together.
You’re going through the motions.
- You’ve facilitated this training for so long, or you’re reciting a script word-for-word, so you don’t leave room for flexibility.
- Outcome: Staff is bored.
You have to deliver training that comes from above.
- Your superiors pass on a training session to you, and you have to deliver it, but you aren’t bought into it in the first place.
- Outcome: Staff senses the disconnect.
You read a great book or attend an excellent training and lead a session on it.
- You are excited about a unique new concept you learned about and immediately start planning a session for staff.
- Outcome: Staff isn’t sure if this is just your latest fad.
You decide on training without getting any input.
- You’re confident you know what type of training your staff needs and move forward on your own.
- Outcome: Staff doesn’t see how it relates to them.
You focus on a fantastic strategy without highlighting the problem.
- You plan and execute an incredible training session with excellent concepts but don’t connect it to the problem it’s addressing.
- Outcome: Staff doesn’t see how it can help them.
In each of the situations above, there’s a potentially harmful outcome that you need to avoid. Otherwise, you’re just giving a “Pain Giver” training.
The “Pain Reliever” Training
Great leaders strive to relieve some pain during every training. They ensure the training topics are relevant to their staff and solve legitimate problems. Staff members who leave a session given by a great leader often feel a sense of relief and excitement about how they’re finally going to tackle the problem they’ve been having for a while.
How do great leaders give a “pain reliever” training?
They elicit input from their staff.
- Great leaders utilize various methods to determine what pains their staff are experiencing, which could be addressed through a training session.
- Example: They give out a survey months before the expected training date(s) to collect data.
They provide differentiated training sessions.
- Great leaders know that their staff consists of people with varying levels of experience, passions, and needs, so these leaders provide different training sessions for other groups of staff.
- Example: This could be as simple as providing sessions for new staff members that veteran staff members don’t have to attend or as complex as giving sessions for different groups of staff members based on ability levels.
They work with veterans to highlight problems for new staff.
- Great leaders lean on veteran staff because these leaders recognize that newer staff members may not see the value of specific training sessions.
- Example: They work with veteran staff to share specific situations that caused them headaches to get new staff bought in.
They get feedback from veterans ahead of time.
- Great leaders recognize that veteran staff members have been through many pieces of training and could provide valuable feedback.
- Example: They have a council of veterans who meet with the leader ahead of the training to review some of the materials.
They spend a lot of time on the problem.
- Great leaders start every training session emphasizing the problem so that the staff sees a direct connection to the ideas you’re discussing in training.
- Example: They bring up stories or statistics that help bring home how crucial it is that they relieve this pain.
They push staff to remember the pain they’re solving.
- Great leaders push their staff to remember when they’ve experienced the pain and how severe it was.
- Example: They have them work together in partners or groups to discuss prior painful experiences.
Your staff already experiences enough pain. Don’t burden them with training that doesn’t solve their problems. Relieve their pain by being intentional with your preparation and execution.
Try It Yourself
Take one or more of the above strategies to help you write and deliver pain-relieving training. Your staff will thank you for the training that solves a pain they’ve been experiencing for a while.
