The Biggest Leadership Myth

Perhaps the biggest and most widely believed myth is that leaders are born, not made. But the fact is that the skills required to lead can be learned through effective training. You've probably heard the statement: "leadership is a rare skill". Well, that may be true. But the reason is simply because of the lack of training and coaching required to develop leadership skills.

Another reason that leadership may have become a rare skill is because of our perceptions of what a good leader should look like. These perceptions affect our ability to identify and train… >>>

Social Learning Occurs by Default or Design

Social interactions contribute to workplace learning whether by default or design.  Businesses certainly consider the layout of a work area, the location of departments, or even the type of furniture that will be used to design a workspace keeping in mind how it will impact social interactions among employees and consequently, productivity. 

Social Learning: Making it a Part of the Formal Professional Development Plan

Employees often consider how social interactions will play a role in their professional development which is why things such as attending conferences, joining professional associations or participating in… >>>

Training imparts knowledge, skill, and behaviors; however, training alone will not cure poor performance. If training is provided as a solution to a non-training problem, performance will continue to be poor and resources will be wasted. As a supervisor or manager, it is important to always consider what training you need for yourself before deciding on training solutions for your employees. You may find that a change in your managerial style can produce a significant improvement in your employees' performance. There are differences in managing inexperienced employees vs. those who are experienced. Here are 5 tips for managing the more… >>>

In post-training observation, it should be clear that you are not rating faculty as good or bad instructors, rather you are observing them for professional growth.  Though the observation instruments may contain different assessment levels, their purposes are to highlight those areas, from a professional development perspective, where an instructor demonstrates mastery of a training application or where improvement may be needed.  Your intention is to provide positive feedback and support as they progress through your faculty development program and accomplish their individual objectives. An instructor should never feel that his or her job is on the line!

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Observing instructors in class is an essential component of a successful faculty development program.  The observation process provides a platform for faculty to demonstrate techniques and strategies acquired from, or enhanced by, training.  Observation is the primary way to assess the program’s training outcomes.  

Many instructors may have never had observers in their classrooms except to evaluate them through required performance appraisals.  In post-training observation, any concerns about the upcoming visits will have to be addressed.  How you approach the observation process is essential if you want to gain a true picture of how your instructors are delivering… >>>

When an employee's job performance does not meet your expectations, training may or may not help.  It is important to analyze the discrepancy between desired performance and actual performance before taking action.  Analysis may show that training can help.  However, poor performance may be due to many other causes. One factor that has a significant effect on performance is how you manage your employees.  Even experienced managers can forget the basic do’s and don’ts of management. For example, here is a fundamental managerial technique that seems to be ignored by many supervisors and managers when managing inexperienced employees.

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How do you maintain an environment that gets the best from your employees, whether they are analytical thinkers, team decision makers, lone rangers, risk-takers, or bottom-line seekers? You can support each type of employee with a flexible environment. You will reap the benefits of innovation and maximize performance when your employees operate in a climate that builds their success. In a “learning organization,” employees are encouraged to tackle stretch assignments, challenge ineffective processes, and offer innovative solutions with confidence.

Below is a list of best practices to create an effective learning organization.

• Provide freedom to try new methods
• Balance the

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In my previous blog, Providing Constructive Feedback (Part I): 6 Tips to Follow, I pointed out the importance of constructive feedback as an essential component of effective employee development and performance management and provided 6 fundamental tips. Here are 6 more tips on how to give constructive feedback.

6 More Tips on How to Give Constructive Feedback

1. Be a witness, not a judge. In other words, concentrate on describing instead of judging. Focus on what would be useful in the future (lessons learned) - not on blaming.
2. Be objective. Good example: "Your manner resulted in two employees complaining about

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Knowing how to give constructive feedback is an essential component of effective employee development and performance management. Managers who understand the value of constructive feedback know that it benefits them as well as their employees. Addressing mistakes or substandard work in a nonjudgmental, problem-solving manner benefits employees by giving them a chance to improve. Managers benefit because errors and poor performance are kept at a minimum. Also, their stress level becomes lower because they are not internalizing their concerns. Below are some basic tips on providing constructive feedback.

6 Tips on How to Give Constructive Feedback

1. Get the facts before… >>>

So you want results from your training programs? Don't underestimate the importance of perception! Below are some factors to consider.

Neutrality - Employees may not be attentive to learning if they perceive the trainer as being biased.

Here is an example. At one career college campus, whenever the campus president, the education director or a corporate officer talked to instructors about the importance of student retention, the instructors would talk among themselves about how "the management guys are just driven by profitability." Even though management provided techniques and strategies for student retention and discussed the benefits for the students and… >>>

What are Career Education Institutions Doing to Meet their own Workforce Needs?

As career educators, we understand the value of training and career development. We motivate and train people to prepare them for the workforce. Now, the question is - what are we doing to meet our own workforce needs? Are we investing enough to provide adequate continuing education and training opportunities for our employees? Before you answer this question, consider the points made below.

The Two Ends of the Spectrum

As an employee training provider for the career college sector, MaxKnowledge has served a wide range of educational institutions… >>>

Scores of information have been written about effectively managing and empowering workplace teams. The basic precept has centered upon ensuring that your workplace team members are together focused on a common goal. Yet in the competitive spirit of the career college environment, empowering team members to achieve performance results, in whatever their functional or departmental responsibilities are, is much more than simply the emphasis upon a unified strategic goal.

To take it to the next step, as managers we must ensure that 4 Keys are accomplished as follows:

1. The specific expectations of our team members are clearly articulated
2. The necessary

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While on business travel I recently read an article in the Harvard Business Review that suggested technology was outpacing evolution. Though I don't want to necessarily initiate an argument on the validity of the evolutionary process, it did initiate my thinking on our use, as educators, of available technological resources.

We have sought creative ways to integrate technology into our learning environments to support teaching, enhance communication challenges with our students and speak the language that today's learner understands. It is no doubt an excellent tool!

Perhaps though the question is - from an educational perspective, has technology itself,… >>>

First, an effective Faculty Development program is an ongoing and communicative partnership among faculty, staff and school leadership where colleagues actively engage in their own development and are totally supported by their mentors.

Second, such a program is multifaceted, including not only the identification and accomplishment of teaching performance goals, but also attendance in discipline-specific activities and membership in professional organizations.

Third, an effective Faculty Development Program is performance-based. Rather than simply completing a training module or attending a workshop, it provides opportunities for faculty at all levels of experience, through demonstration and observation, to apply newly… >>>

Recently, I discussed several things that can be done prior to training to enhance performance after training. I would now like to share 7 things to do after training to enhance employee performance. These practices will help you achieve results from the training you provide to your employees.

1. Coach the trainees: Review the highlights of what was learned and how it applies to the employee’s job. Meet one-on-one to communicate your support for the transfer of training; offer help ("Tell me what I can do to help you apply what you have learned."). Remind the trainee that the application… >>>

Training is ineffective unless the desired behavior, knowledge, and skills are transferred to the workplace. There are many reasons why good training does not automatically result in good performance. Below is a list of 5 best practices to be done before training to enhance the transfer of training to the workplace. These practices can help you get results from the training you provide for your faculty, management and staff.

1. Brief trainees on the importance of the training and how it applies to their jobs - Tell employees how the training course is relevant, why it is likely to improve their… >>>