Since I was a little kid, I have always enjoyed putting puzzles together. I liked getting the corner pieces and edges in place and looking back and forth at the picture of the complete puzzle to check my work. It was very rewarding to have to sort through all of the available pieces and find just the right one that fit in just the right place. As a family, I fondly remember time spent putting puzzles together and enjoying time to visit. It was also nice to work the puzzle with other people so that I had help when I got stuck.
In the training class I taught today, I enjoyed working on what I call a “trainer puzzle”. It reminded me of all the puzzles that I had put together over the years. In today’s class, we were designing PivotTables in Excel. One of the students wanted to streamline the process and customize her PivotTable. The constraints and conditions she had on her data created a situation that neither I nor any of the students had ever dealt with before.
Almost all of the students in class (they were all from the same department in the same company) had encountered the problem too. So, we took some time to brainstorm and try different options to see what might work. We had a good time puzzling through the different Excel features we knew and finally hit on a great solution. None of us could have figured it out by ourselves, but together we finished that trainer puzzle successfully.
Intentionally or unintentionally, puzzles help us develop our skills in whatever application or life challenge we dare to endeavor. We may complete a puzzle with more gray hair and with a few more wrinkles, but we have learned and improved ourselves.
In the training environment a puzzle can be a unique opportunity for the growth and development of employees. Puzzles foster the growth of a business by the opportunities that individuals within a firm take to develop their skills in that particular area. In turn those skilled individuals give that business a unique edge. The employees also develop skills that are beneficial for their career advancement.
Training is just one important area in which puzzles in business can be solved or brought to light to the advancement of everyone around.
Archive for August, 2009
Trainer Puzzles
August 31st, 2009 - by AngelaConfessions of a Trainer
August 25th, 2009 - by AngelaWhen talking with my friends, family and clients, I am sometimes asked about what it is like to be a trainer. Often, they say that they are terrified of getting up to speak in front of people. Others wonder about the crazy questions I might have received from students. They want to know what it is “really” like to go to different businesses and train employees.
Just like in every other career field, there are myths and questions about what it is like to “really” do that job. (I often ask those same questions to lawyers and pilots. I think I specifically ask people in those two careers because when I was younger, I had wanted to be a lawyer or a pilot when I grew up.) When I am asked these questions, here are some things I tell people.
1) Yes, I do get nervous sometimes but not as much as when I first started years ago. There are even some nights before a really tough training class that I don’t sleep well. My husband can tell you exactly which classes those have been because, unfortunately, he didn’t sleep well either with all of my tossing and turning. With years of successful training classes under my belt you would think that I wouldn’t worry about being asked a question that I am unable to answer properly. I guess I just want to be prepared.
2) I still get an adrenaline rush when I am training. (If I am honest with myself, I think I may be addicted to it…kind of like a runners high.) I think it probably results from the nervousness in combination with the excitement of helping others. If I am doing a full-day training class, I start to feel the exhaustion about 1 hour after class is over. So, by the time I drive home, I’m completely exhausted. However, I’ve spent the day on high alert, trying to keep my brain one step ahead of what I am explaining, attempting to answer questions that can be very complex at points, and reading the students’ non-verbal signals to make sure everyone is satisfied and understand what we are going over in the class.
3) I actually do read all of the evaluations after the training. I obviously enjoy the compliments but also learn from the suggestions too. I try to adjust my training style or content for the next time.
4) I don’t do my job “just for the money”. I actually enjoy helping others and care that they learn the software. I think that most trainers would tell you the same thing.
I hope some of these “confessions of a trainer” help people understand what it is like to be a trainer. Or, if you are a trainer reading this blog, I bet you may be smiling and nodding right now.
Training the Next Generation
August 10th, 2009 - by AngelaI recently spent a week of vacation with family, including my four teenage cousins. Looking back on that week I realize two things: 1) I am getting old; and, 2). I need to adjust how I do training with the younger generation.
Two examples stand out during my vacation. The first was when my 15-year old cousin, Alison, managed to hold a conversation with my aunt and myself while texting back and forth with her mom and a friend. She never missed a beat of our conversation and managed to text pretty inconspicuously, too. She balanced everything very well.
The second example was when I was working on a PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming training class and my 14-year old cousin, Marcus, stopped by to watch me work on it. He said that he knew PowerPoint so I decided to use this as a learning opportunity, for myself and for him. I showed him a few advanced tasks in PowerPoint and asked if he knew how to do them. He didn’t know how to do them, but picked them up immediately as I showed them to him. He then took what I had shown him and tried a few other tasks, just to see how far PowerPoint could go in animation. He was fearless in his trials and didn’t get frustrated when something didn’t work right. He just kept going until he figured how to do the task or until he found PowerPoint’s limits.
I learned that I am going to have to really test and push the limits of the software that I teach to the younger generation that is entering the workforce right now!
While thinking about those two examples, I remembered a workshop I attended a couple of years ago. It was entitled “Digital Natives versus Digital Immigrants”, which basically refers to younger people who have grown up with computers (natives), and those of us that were around in a pre-Facebook and Twitter world (immigrants) .
Marcus’ characteristic of fearless experimentation and Alison’s ability to juggle technology without hitting information overload are two traits that seem to be innate in digital natives. All four of my cousin fall into the category of digital natives. They have grown up using computers, the Internet, cell phones, etc.
The other group are the digital immigrants. (I happen to fall into the transitional generation between digital natives and digital immigrants. I have characteristics from both groups since I grew up with computers but did not have Internet and cell phones until college.) Digital immigrants knew what life was like before the computer, Internet, cell phones, etc. Digital immigrants may assimilate and use/enjoy all of the available technology tools but still have some habits from their prior life. I think about how I sometimes print an email to read it on paper instead of on the screen. Also, some of my older colleagues still compose their writings on paper before entering them into their computers.
As I look at all of this in the context of training, I see many ways that I will be adjusting my classes and workshops as I encounter more digital natives in the classroom.
Software Training in a De-personalized World
August 3rd, 2009 - by AngelaLast week I was working on my laptop in the living room and received an email from my husband. He was in our bedroom study…just a couple of steps away in the room next to me. I’m not kidding! In another instance, a friend of mine told me about the time she found her four children all sitting in the same room together but arguing with each other on Facebook. What’s happening here?
On a television show last month, I watched an interview with a dad whose daughter had racked up thousands of text messages in one month. Fortunately he didn’t have to pay the almost $3,000 that the bill would have been because he had an unlimited texting service plan. Instead of talking to the daughter in person, the father texted her to tell her that she was grounded from texting. These are three examples of de-personalization in our everyday lives.
Advances in technology (such as chatting online, communicating via Facebook and Twitter, and texting on cell phones) have depersonalized so many social parts of life. It’s not necessarily all bad, but it’s important to be aware of it.
In many of my software training classes with Versitas, I hear students comment on how important human interaction is to help them learn. When offered online versus in-person classes, I have many students that choose to attend the in-person training class. It seems that many people are craving training that is taught by an actual instructor in the classroom. Especially when employees are sitting in cubicles all day communicating via email and phone, in-person training often seems to boost morale by allowing actual human interaction between the employees.
Although online classes might be the perfect match for some students, other students consistently prefer to attend an instructor-led training class. Every training method must compete for the attention of students, who must often check email or voicemail during the training. This is where in-person training can be very helpful. The personal touch of meeting eye-to-eye with an individual gives a personal contact that happens during in-person training. The nuance of feeling the moment and understanding when an individual needs that extra bit of attention is an important ingredient and helps to really teach the skills that are needed in today’s corporate environment.
Individuals in a corporation like everyone else want to know that they are being listened to and taken seriously. Learning new applications or programs like Microsoft Access, PowerPoint, Excel, etc., can be anywhere from overwhelming to monotonous and impersonal when an individual tries to learn something on their own. With an instructor carefully listening to their questions and needs, I believe it can help create a better learning experience.
After all, isn’t that what it’s really all about?
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