When we talk about leadership, when look towards engaging hearts and minds and empowering people to deliver of their best what do we really mean? We may be forgiven for focusing our efforts solely on helping people in order that they can deliver great business outcomes but is that really the best approach?
Let’s take training for example. Look around and you can find lots of material about training for the job, training for the task; and there is plenty of evidence to support the growing perception of the improved outcomes which can arise from blended learning and the delivery of a more holistic viewpoint: but how much of this literature talks about training for the person?
In other words, have we got the chicken and the egg the wrong way round? Should we focus less on training people in order to deliver great business outcomes and more on helping people to improve themselves in order that they are more able to bring something positive to the business?
Start to look at training in this way all sorts of different parameters come into play; not the least being the question of motivation. It’s a subject which is explored in great, and interesting, depth by David Maister in his book “Strategy and the Fat Smoker.” He draws a parallel between strategic planning and New Year resolutions, commenting that people aren’t going to change simply because you tell them how great the goals are. So when the leader or consultant or strategic planner stands up and delivers their latest vision the instinctive response is to say “We knew all this a long time ago. Why don’t you ask us why we don’t do it?”
Personally and professionally, it’s easy to know what we should be doing, quite another matter to develop the understanding and resolve which results in permanent change. In other words there is a vast difference between knowing and doing and no matter how much you promote learning, true learning (understanding) has only taken place if it results in behavioural change.
Training for personal goals
What that means in a nutshell is that it’s more than time to think about taking training away from business outcomes and towards personal ones. You might find it hard to convince me of the importance of an increased focus and energy within my work in order to deliver the strategy, your approach may be far more convincing if the end goal is an increased sense of personal fitness and well-being.
In line with this we came across an interesting report recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Scientists have long known the link between exercise and physical health, with regular exercise being seen as one way to reduce the risk of certain diseases including type II diabetes and some cancers. Now a study has linked exercise with improving brain function, particularly in the over 50s. Apparently if you want to improve cognitive abilities such as thinking, reading, learning and reasoning then aerobic exercise such as cycling or walking should be on the menu, whilst muscle training has been shown to have a significant effect on both memory and the brain’s ability to plan and organise.
It’s food for thought isn’t it? Admittedly it may be counter-productive to hold your next strategy meeting whilst lifting weights at the gym but it could mean that simply by helping people to identify and meet their own personal fitness goals, the organisation will benefit in the long-term. And if we see training across all areas as a long term commitment rather than a series of one-off events then detailed planning and support could help people not only to reach their personal goals but also to bring long-term rewards to the business.
At the end of the day training is not and should not be seen as simply a matter of task knowledge. When we help people to bring their healthy best to the workplace, everyone benefits.
