Welcome, guest blogger, Tiffany Funk, who joined Humanergy in June.
As the newest member of the team, I was given the opportunity to participate in a recent “Effective Meetings and Time Management” session of the Supervisory Leadership Certificate program. I was excited to see Humanergy in action! I knew that it would be an invaluable experience for my professional development, and I could gain the perspective of the participants in the twelve-course program.
Too many trainings and workshops serve up standard fare – a PowerPoint presentation read verbatim, completely devoid of constructive interaction wtih other attendees, received by blank stares in return (or there’s one oversharer in the room that takes up all of the time). Strangers are sequestered in a room to complete an obligatory CEU, or maybe they just want to get out of the office for a few hours, and they leave as strangers.
From the first moment, Humanergy’s training seemed different. When the participants began to arrive, I was pleasantly surprised to hear them greet one another by name and listened to the easy flow of conversation around me. I assumed they were all coworkers, but soon found out that wasn’t the case. There were employees from various for-profit and nonprofit companies, large and small, in attendance.
I took note of the differences from my past training experiences:
Accountability. Our facilitator began by reviewing each person’s commitment from the past session, a self-determined goal for the month in between each course. Each person committed to use the new strategies they’d learned in the previous session, and now it was time to share how that went. (Public accountability works!). Each participant’s boss was also emailed about the training content and what the person agreed to do. (Accountability multiplied!) So not only do participants leave every session with tangible tools they can readily use in the workplace, there’s a lot of incentive to do something with their learning on the job!
Community. I was taken aback when they discussed their experiences freely – no teeth were pulled, no arms were twisted. Everyone seemed comfortable talking about their progress and challenges they’d encountered with the rest of the group . The camaraderie built throughout the program enhances the impact of each session. The peer-to-peer dialogue is motivational, and hearing the different perspectives leads to growth within each participant’s own role.
Experiential learning. Strategies for managing universal issues in the workplace were presented, but most importantly, the facilitator related the information to real-life challenges that we’d faced by leading an open discussion. While we were in small groups creating action plans using the new tools, our facilitator circulated the room and stopped to check in with each one of us. Everyone was engaged and positive about the effect that their individualized plans would have in the workplace, and even at home, which leads into my next observation.
Versatility. The material presented is relevant in all aspects of one’s life. Who doesn’t want to hold more efficient meetings, or improve their rapport with co-workers? The same tools used in the workplace are also effective at home. If you’re trying to juggle too many commitments outside of work, or are having a difficult time communicating with a loved one, chances are you’ll carry that stress into the office each morning. One of the topics that seemed to be most impactful in the time management course was that it’s okay to say no. How many times have you agreed to a request even though you knew you didn’t have the time to spare and other commitments might suffer for it, both at work and at home?“To say yes to the right things, you have to say no to a lot of other things.” William Ury
Have a training best practice you’d like to share? Comment below! If you’d like more information about the Supervisory Leadership Certificate program, feel free to contact us here. We’d love to show you the big difference!
Photo from AdobeStock.