Training in Action — the key to making it stick:

Just a nugget for you this busy week, prompted by a client email I received.

The client wanted follow-up material, aids, activities, or any other way to make training stick.

While those things have their place, the absolute best way to make any training stick is this: use it.

The most effective — and, conveniently, most efficient — way to keep training alive is this:

The manager/team leader refers to the training – a lot.

The only way to keep any training alive is to use it. And the leader sets the pattern.

He/she actively looks for moments or occasions to point out how the training informs a situation.

The leader starts by doing this mainly in a self-deprecating way, then gradually moving to using it in positive ways with the team, then incorporates it into feedback.

*The humble self-reference must continue throughout.

If there is a manager or team lead out there who is saying, “Doggone it, these people aren’t using that stuff I had the trainer teach them.” AND that leader is not referring to it or setting expectations for it to be used in team performance communication, then additional resources will be of limited value.

The trainer (could be you!) might be the one to hold the team leader accountable in this regard.

If your team ever complains that, “This stuff isn’t sticking,” then ensure it is being talked about and incorporated. There must be standards for this, and those standards must be regularly communicated.

It works.

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