Your Legacy is Investing in the Other’s Future

Your Legacy is Investing in the Other’s Future

Training members of your team is an essential responsibility of every organization, and at every level. It does not mean spending thousands of dollars on sending team members to courses; it can be as simple as mentoring – often underrated as a training tool, but one of the most powerful training methods available to help employees at all levels to develop in their craft and enhance their professional skills.

I have previously written about the power of mentoring, and the amazing mentors I have been fortunate enough to have throughout my career. Today, I focus on a Forbes ‘problem / response’ article which struck a chord – about an organization which did not deliver on the promised training to their employee.

Not only does non-delivery affect the person’s long term career (they could end up well behind their peers), but it impacts upon motivation levels, and general capabilities within the workplace. Moreover, it reflects poorly upon the organisation’s leaders – for not developing internally. As I said, it doesn’t have to be expensive courses – training can involve time invested, shadowing, internal training, peer partnerships, and a plethora of other options.

In our creation of our legacy, or responsibility is to create the next generation – to honour our responsibility, we must find ways to train and develop talent at all levels.

I shall leave you to reflect on the Forbes post, as the response offered is certainly sound advice.

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Image Source - Shutterstock

They Promised To Tain Me -- But That Training Never Happened

Dear Liz,

I took a new job in March. I interviewed with four managers, and they were all very nice.

I liked them a lot. That's one reason I took the job.

I still like some of them. Some of them turned out to be con men. The CEO in this company is the biggest con man of all. He's a salesman. He's not a bad person, but he speaks without thinking.

He was the last person I met during my interview process.

I was flattered that the company CEO wanted to meet me. He said "Everybody here likes you and I like you, so the only remaining question is 'Do you like us?'"

I took the job.

I'm a Regional Operations Coordinator. There are six of us in my department. We were all hired within the past year.

The company is growing fast -- way too fast in my opinion considering there are no processes, we work way too much overtime (unpaid) and our leaders are constantly making changes.

It's really stressful.

Before I was hired, they promised to train me. On my interviews, I asked a lot of questions about the training for this job. The CEO told me I would get two weeks of training followed by three weeks of shadowing a current employee.

I think he made that up on the spot. I haven't had two minutes of training. They threw me into the job on my first day. My coworkers and I constantly exchange ideas but we are all in the dark. We are all floundering. We feel like idiots and our customers are starting to complain more and more.

I have tried in my very limited personal time to create a training outline for new hires in my department.

I've listed about 80 critical topics already and I'm nowhere near done with the outline. I've talked to my boss a dozen times or more about the need for training. She says "Yeah, we need to get to that" and then the idea evaporates again.

What else can I do?

Thanks,

Marisa

Dear Marisa,

It sounds like a crazy environment -- but what amazing learning you are getting!

I don't know if your CEO is a con man or not, but he certainly sounds like a person who lives on the edge. It was not cool of him to promise you training that turned out to be vapor ware -- but there is a huge opportunity in front of you!

It's time for you, with or without your coworkers by your side, to speak up in a way you haven't done before. Make a business case to your manager and/or the whole management team.

This is not the story of an aggrieved and misled employee. It is a much bigger story than that -- but only when you get altitude on the problem and address it as a business issue.

You have the opportunity, if you want to grab it, to step back and create a business proposal that your boss will have a hard time turning down. To accomplish that, you must see the problem through  "business eyes."

How does it cost your company money to go without a training program for people in your position? Begin to quantify and note the complaints you're getting and the volume of business the unhappy customers generate for your firm.

Before outlining the training program itself, start building the case to get a training program established - either with the help of an outside consultant or by giving you and your peers enough time and space to build the training program in-house.

Your first step is to understand the pain your employer is experiencing now or will experience as a result of your missing training program and lack of procedures. Looking for the pain will teach you critical consulting skills we all need to develop.

If you don't feel like diving into this project, your alternative is to start looking for another job.

No one would blame you if you did -- but I hope you stick around and overcome this obstacle. Your mojo and muscles will be enormous if you do!

All the best,

Liz