So, yesterday, I had lunch with a man who leads leadership training sessions, especially for municipal governments. He focuses on servant leadership, and he is knowledgeable, a true advocate for servant leadership, and very effective at leading such sessions.

Today, I attended a morning workshop led by Tom Niesen of Acuity Systems: Consultant Workshop – The Sales Rollercoaster. Tom is not only good at leading workshops, he also overflows with years worth of expertise. It was a genuinely helpful morning.

So, from each of these encounters (the lunch, and the workshop), I have some simple insights to share.

The question: How do you take full advantage of training/learning sessions?

#1 – You actually go to such sessions. (that’s “sessions” – plural).

And when you go, you give your full attention. You pay attention. You take notes (on paper, not on a screen. Yes, research says that this is a better way to learn). And, you go over your notes a time, or three, within a day or two of attending such sessions.

#2 – You practice action based learning.

This comes from the lunch conversation with the expert on servant leadership. He has discovered that if a person does not put what he/she learns into practice within two weeks of attending a session, he will likely never put it into practice. So, put something – something tangible – into practice.

#3 – You build a support group, and meet regularly (monthly).

The idea of talking about what you are doing now, tackling a specific challenge, getting help and advice, makes so much sense.

Tom Niesen said that every person wanting to become more effective should go to training, and receive some coaching, every month. An effective support group can certainly provide help in such pursuits.

Here’s the simple lesson. Go to training sessions, and then don’t let what you learned disappear. Put something into practice, and seek the help of others in doing so.

Otherwise, why go to such sessions at all?

And, yes, I’ve got some action steps I need to take…