Saturday, April 25, 2015

On the Training Trail



A recent project: One of my clients is sending me out to train their managers and supervisors at different locations around the country. I used to have a travel territory which was linked to the Southwest Airlines region but before that I'd achieved true road warrior status by training in 100 cities in one year. [The only states I've missed are Wisconsin and Vermont.]

This particular class is interesting because it has sort of a Supervision in One Day approach and a lot of topics are covered. When I surveyed last week's class for their burning questions, the first one out of the box dealt with building the supervisory skills of employees. A great question and one which differs from the all-time favorite question of a few years back: How do I motivate my employees?

What have I learned from teaching around the country? 

Simply this: The issues that face supervisors and managers in New York City are the same as the ones facing their peers in Atlanta or Anchorage or Los Angeles. People are tired of management-by-best-seller. They hunger for practical solutions.

Despite that commonality, each class teaches me a bit more about organizations and the challenges facing employees. I listen carefully and learn along with the participants. That is truly as good as it gets.

It will be fun.

2 comments:

Eclecticity said...

Your clients are blessed to have you. I wish I could carry your bags for a training trip. Go get 'em. E.

Michael Wade said...

E,

You are very kind. I have no doubt that some day our paths will cross and we can swap training stories.

Michael