I am having a moment. Really? Yes, this is the voice of my wife on the back of my ear. I never have moments or maybe I have moments all the time. I am never sure which one is right. Or wrong. Or whatever.
I was in a learning session with a client and we were speaking about that thing. You know the thing you always speak about; “how do you know they do that thing you are training?” Uh, what thing? Coaching? Communication? Doing ‘X’? OK, so you are confused. I get it. They wanted to know how we could make the concept we were training consistent. Now, that is a great question. This is about something I work with every day. Not the training EVENT, but the learning ADOPTION. We sat there and I went “yeah, how about this…”
I was having a left and right brain moment in what I do for a living.
In most or all or some training sessions, learners are presented in one hand, the structure. Consider this is the left brain stuff. We, as trainers want to present something logical, structural and reasonable. They want to appear logical, in an effort to appear credible. In fact, I contend many managers want this as well. They want the formula. I prefer the other side of the coin. By this I mean, the trainer who can and on the other hand, present the right brain stuff – this is the stuff that is still relevant (in fact more so), just unscripted and unpredictable. This is the basis of my first book. There is no formula in management. Well, maybe in operation or process. Not in people. Flexibility, Adaptation and Improvisation is at the heart of all things management or leadership-ish.
So, what about the managers who are left brain? These are the ones who excel at the process or structure of the task; i.e. coaching. They love the step one and then two and then so on. They want the steps, the process. If I want this, I must do this; right?
Then, what about the managers who are right brain? They want the abstract, the unpredictable. The parts not planned for with the parts that you are able to paint a new picture on the fly. They want to embrace how things go left, when the event dictates right.
How do you support either side, either mindset when providing learning or training? Does the objective of that role-play do each, or one thing or neither?
I do not follow basketball or hockey, and yet I do know Michael Jordan and “the Great One” did not worry about the basics at the apex or summit of their career. They had practiced the basics so much, that their art flowed to the surface and produced those things we said out loud or to ourselves…“Holy Crap.” Do the basics so much and with so much regularity, they become second nature and then you are freed up to do the triple Sal chow, or whatever the move is. Especially when it seem like it won’t or shouldn’t happen. Left brain – the basics. Right brain – the art and unexpected stuff.
Does this matter? Yep. As manager (and me as a trainer) must find some type of middle ground? Both matter. The structure is key and frees us up. The abstract and art lets us make it real. That is the best I can do. I am not trying to make this more complicated than it needs to be, In fact, keep it simple.
Learn what makes “it” the thing you do in your job. Learn it well. Learn it through and through. Let the process become second nature.
Do it. Do it often. Make mistakes. Make many mistakes and allow for tons of successes.
Get feedback. Ask how it looked, how it felt and what it sounded like. Then repeat…and rinse, right?
Measure what happens. Count your dice, your cards. Did you win or not?
Then do it an eleventy-hundredth time. Then evaluate your “aha”. What changed? How did it change? What might change next time?
Do it blind-folded (just kidding). Think that is not what I expected and then think about what you might do if it did happen.
Then be the leader your team expects when whatever “it’ goes live.
Listen, there is no magic pill. You will always be in conflict with the process versus the unexpected. You will not have the perfect moment embrace with you with a cold beer and warm pillow. Sorry, dude. The ideal of conflict in life, management and training, the “this” will mess with your “that”. “Man up” and deal with it.
So my left brain is in conflict with my right brain. Last thoughts, think less is more. Simplify the situation. What does the learner need to do tomorrow (at a minimum)? Do not look at the conflict, look at the solution. Is it the situation, the learner or is it trying to get them to do “x” at least once tomorrow??
Cheers