Training is not fun and games

 

If you are to write a caption for this photo, what would you write? This photo is from one of my training sessions. Yes, they are fun and engaging, and I specialise in giant business simulation activities, but ultimately training is not about fun and games. It is about change. One client whom I did training for in December shared that after the training, they saw a change in behaviour in their team. This is what we aim to do through training. We learn to be better people. We learn to operate better as a team. We become a more productive organisation.

Generic motivational posts

 

We see plenty of these. It is the start of the year, so we see even more. For example, those with a celebrity photo in black-and-white, accompanied by some quote. I post on social media regularly too, so I often think about these. 1. Personally I find these generic motivational messages tiresome. They get repetitive. They are not that different from the good morning messages that some WhatsApp groups ban. I sometimes feel some of these posts are written by a junior employee or by an AI. But this is one person's opinion. 2. It is social media marketing. If you are a public figure, you want to put content out to remind people of what you do. To continuously build your public face. Your persona. This is value to you. 3. There are people who find these encouraging and inspiring. I may not like or need these, but there are people who do. There is value to readers of these posts. 4. What can be done better? Share genuine personal experiences and practical tips. Share something of value. I've seen comical Thai ads which inspire me, more so that most motivational posts I see on social media. If we want to say something, let it be because it's something worth saying, not because we want to say something. What is your experience with motivational posts on social media?

What's up 2024?

 

I saw this cartoon at a meme website. Low resolution, poorly-cropped, and re-used, but the message is very much valid. No point dwelling over how bad things can be or will be. What are you going to do about it?

Watch a sunset

 

Tanjung Aru Beach, Kota Kinabalu. 

Always make time to take a break. To change the scenery.  To recalibrate. To see clearly what's next. To appreciate the beautiful things in life. 

The underrated superpower - listening

 

Often in the workplace people talk over one another, trying hard to push their agenda and present their points. However if we truly want to influence, we must seek to understand. Only then we can craft the right message to influence. If we don't understand what motivates and what is important to the other party, how do we present a solution that works for them, that they can accept? Listening gives us tremendous power. Not only by understanding, but also by building trust. One thing I have trained myself to do - when the other party has something to say, I stop talking and encourage them to speak up. One word which creates impact is worth more than ten which fall on deaf ears.

Who do you speak to first?

 

You are a department head. An employee was transferred to your department a month ago, and is performing poorly. He's been in the company for 10 years and you've known him just as long. You don't know how he managed to survive that long in other departments. He is certainly not a good fit in yours. You don't intend to keep him because he is affecting the productivity of your team. You want to ask his previous department head (your peer) to take him back. Who should you speak to, and in what order? (a) the other department head, (b) the employee himself, (c) your boss to whom the other department head also report, (d) others?

"I don't have time"

 

It's not actually about time. It's always about priority. We "don't have time" to coach an employee, reorganise our divisions, plan team development, play with our children, exercise, or date our spouses. It's not because we don't have time. It's because we give these activities lower priorities than other tasks. That is a sobering thought. "I have these three meetings scheduled. They are more important to me than helping my subordinate plan his career development". "I need to make sure this proposal is perfect so that I can send it out first thing Monday. It is more important to me than bringing my family to the camping trip".

No one has time. Whenever we are asked to do something extra, we feel overwhelmed and that we can never find time for it.

Yet everyone has time. It's just about what you have chosen to do with it.