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Entelechy's Newsletter for Trainers, Managers, HR Professionals and Others Responsible for the Performance of Others.
Afraid of a Label? Training and Development Letter to the Editor
- YOUR COMMENTS
In the last issue, I ranted about the wasted energy we as trainers have spent trying to refine our name, ostensibly to help others appreciate the magnificent work we do. Apparently, many of you agree with me. Here are two representative responses:
"I just read your 'Afraid of a Label?' commentary. WELL SAID! Thank you! We as professional trainers do take more than our share of comments and
'anyone can do that job' attitude. I have always been proud of my profession and take it quite seriously. Sounds like you do too."
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"I've been saying these same things for years. I'm a trainer, in the field of training and development, and that's exactly what I do: train and develop."
At the same time, others disagree - at least in part - with my rant. Here's a response from an Entelechy client:
I "renamed Corporate Training to
Process and Performance Support. I have some good reasons for this. Training in a vacuum is just that: vacuous. People have strong preconceived notions about training as information dissemination vs. performance support and development. The department name is my way of trying to educate the organization. It's working."
From my first-hand experience with this client, the name change IS working. >From what I've seen at other organizations, The-Department-Formerly-Known-As-Training is obfuscating its function -- and, in my mind avoiding responsibility -- by creating a smoke and mirrors name game.
As a training vendor, I've run across a fair number of sales, customer service, and operations directors who would rather eat glass than try to work through/with their internal training department who are perceived as less than useful.
In the situation just described, if the client called her organization The Go-Go Team, people would still respect the contribution the group makes because the group IS making contributions - not busying themselves with name selection, navel inspection, and other tertiary activities.
Be proud of who you are and what you do. The world needs great TRAINERS! (And if you want to be a great trainer, start with Entelechy's eGuides found at
http://unlockit.com/eguides.htm.)
Entelechy is Looking for a Great Trainer
Business is a-booming and Entelechy is looking to hire a staff member. The ideal candidate is:
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Highly skilled in instructional design and development.
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An outstanding writer with advanced MS Word and PowerPoint capabilities.
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Capable of multi-tasking, working with several clients on several projects at once.
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Accepting of challenges along with the mundane.
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Independent and entrepreneurial.
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A resident of NH and willing to travel to MA, CT, and VT with occasional travel in the US.
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Willing to demonstrate his or her capability as a contractor before becoming a member of an elite team.
Note that this position begins as a contract position with the intention of moving to a full-time position.
Please submit your resume directly to Terence Traut at ttraut@unlockit.com.
The Six Competencies of Exemplary Leadership - A Conversation with Dr. Warren Bennis
Sometimes you just have to pinch yourself.
Over the last several weeks I've been working with Warren Bennis in creating the facilitator and participant materials for his
broadcast with Linkage, Inc. In my initial conversation with Dr. Bennis, I apologized for acting like a school
kid; it's just that in many of the business classes that I took for my doctorate studies, Warren Bennis ranked prominently in discussions of leadership and management.
Dr. Warren Bennis was among the first to draw a line in the sand differentiating leaders from managers. He stated in his seminal book,
On Becoming a Leader, "Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people who do the right thing." In this single statement, Bennis clarified leadership. Bennis further articulates the important distinction between management and leadership:
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Bennis isn't denigrating managers; in fact, managers are essential to the vital operation of the business. Organizations need effective managers in order to maintain operations, fulfill orders, make sales, and provide customer service. Management skills are critical to the success of the company.
Exemplary leaders create organizations that are:
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Aligned on purpose; a strong culture that is reliable and unwavering in its mission
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Empowered; a committed workforce is capable and commissioned to act with energy
and force
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Forever learning; an inquisitive workforce finding or making a better way, where mistakes are learning opportunities and the organization is resilient, persistent, and ever-hopeful
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Steeped in candor; a high degree of trust in leadership comes through credibility, integrity, authenticity, and transparency
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Rich in intellectual and human capital; a self-renewing organization in which leaders at all levels are developed resulting in a capable and loyal workforce
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Confident and proud; proud not only of the results they achieve, but proud to be known as a member of the organization
Organizations need leaders to clarify direction, set the pace, inspire, and create an organization where employees are empowered and motivated to go beyond what is expected. If management is a job, leadership is life. Dr. Bennis believes that leaders exhibited the same leadership characteristics, behaviors, and competencies whether they were in an executive suite or in a POW camp in Vietnam. Leaders "were the same people on the job and off. They used every situation they encountered as a practice field and they mined every experience for insight about themselves and the people and world around them. Leading is not only what they did, it was who they
were."
Entelechy's High Performance Management training helps turn your managers into leaders. Create your own customized leadership training using our modules as the basis for your training. Check out
High Performance Management at http://unlockit.com/HPM.htm.
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"The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why."
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"Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led."
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"These six competencies are like musical notes, each playing a pure sound. Played together, however, the notes become a chord that is much sweeter and richer than the sum of the notes."
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MAILING AND PRIVACY INFORMATION
You have received this email because you are in Entelechy's database of people that we've interacted with directly or indirectly or you've signed up for The Key. If you've received this email in error, please click on
http://unlockit.com/optout.htm
to be removed immediately from our mailing database with our apologies. (If you have trouble with the opt out link, please reply to this email directly and I'll personally remove your name.)
Send this email to your friends and colleagues who may be involved in training and the performance of others and could benefit from FREE performance tips, tools, and techniques.
Entelechy will not sell, rent, or otherwise provide anyone else your membership information for any reason. Period.
Terence Traut, President of Entelechy "unlocking potential"
ttraut@unlockit.com
phone: 603-424-1237
fax: 603-424-6361
http://www.unlockit.com
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