“Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse and galloped madly off in all directions!”

Gertrude the Governess, Nonsense Novels 1911, Stephen Leacock, Canadian Economist & Humorist (1869 — 1944)

Does Training or Development owe anything to or benefit from a group environment?Not if you define “personal growth” as something best accomplished alone, sitting silently, in front of a screen.

But check your premises…

We think the best training moves the individual to a higher level of personal understanding and also underscores team play and co-ordination in the organization as a result of shared group experience and the multiplicity of feedback styles and content. Building and operating a business is a team activity.

Come Late / Leave Early

A disturbing trend in corporate training initiatives has emerged of late: the tendency of each individual to make his or her own plans to arrive and depart at will.  It’s become a “Training Cafe: Come when you can and enjoy the buffet!  Let us know how you liked it!” If you missed the first hour of a play, and left thirty minutes early, it’s likely you’d miss the point…

The Lone Wolf

It seems very open, democratic and self-directed, arriving at the best personal time, communing with the group and the instructors much and as long as desired, then concluding at one’s own pace and returning home when the flights and circadian rhythms coincide. The ultimate victory of the individual viewpoint over the organization:  I decide what to learn, when and how much to participate and what time to leave.  Call it “Training for Loners!”

Education vs. Training

Of course, the less obvious aspect of this trend is its disturbing effect on group consciousness — or more pointedly — the lack of it.  If people arrive at will, participate only obliquely on their way somewhere else, and depart whenever they feel so inclined; then what exactly is the quantifiable benefit of delivering a “standard” training program to a “group” which fails to experience it or practice together as a team?  Well, obviously what we have assembled is a crowd, but not a team.  Think Alex Rodriguez… fifteen of him… It may be education (with a small e). But it isn’t Training.

It wouldn’t work in a baseball team, nor on a football field.  A symphony would find it unsatisfying, and a retail store would not open on time, having failed to provide the on-time manpower to stock shelves, or receive deliveries or customers.

Without a shared set of understandings about Who, What, Where, When, How and How Much, organizations tend to “gallop madly off in all directions,” while every individual is merrily following their latest inclination.

But then, that is quite often what distributed national sales forces tend to do…  (Sadly, the people who demonstrate such behavior are unaware that they are not only shortchanging their company, but also themselves…)

The Cafe approach is catching on.  Everyone can have anything (and everything they can afford) almost in the time it takes to microwave popcorn.  But while it seems wonderful, is it possible that we are also losing the cohesiveness produced by shared group experience?

Companies, families, schools, cities, franchises and countries are created, managed and made into great undertakings by teams, playing together. Let’s try to avoid galloping madly off in all directions…

Applications

1.  Individually

Yeah, it’s a trade off.  That evening at home with the microwave popcorn in front of the tube with your iPad is pretty inviting.  Until you need someone, some help, or some love.  (Cats have their limitations…)  So consider getting over your Lone Wolf thing. Getting on well with other people is a more important adult ability than you may have anticipated.

2.  At Home

This may be the first of the “Walled In” generations.  Not interested.  Not involved.  Not committed.  Not really caring.  And it’s fine — until we need to connect and function together like in a school, a church, a government or a corporation.  So don’t let your kids lay the bricks in a course too high.  If they can’t peek over the wall with ease, or walk through a doorway with certainty; then they’re shrinking their habitual envelope every day.  Be the parents who force the wolves out of the den and into a pack too!

3.  At Work

Corporations, teams and people prefer “known quantities.”  Part of what group activities (training among them) create is a sense of trust, familiarity and respect among the players.

There is something timeless and unique about suffering through a “Presentation Course” together with your colleagues.

The group critique, the laughter, the feeling of being examined and returning the favor all serve not only to teach but to help the group go from being a crowd to a team.  Suffer the slings and arrows of group training, and become known and respected as a leader who went in first and came out last — triumphant!

Leadership may be as much about getting over yourself and getting into the mindset of the group, as anything.  “What’s best for all concerned?”

Not such a bad mantra for a leader. So when considering training, Mount Up, but don’t Gallop Off Anywhere until the group is formed up and ready to ride out with you!

Schedule your next training session(s) with The Fusion Group® for your leaders and other members of the organization.  Bring the “crowd” and leave as a team!

Call:     800.866.2228

Email: contact@theFusionGroup.com