You know I love you dearly … but, dang!

After 30 years of working on your behalf, this must be said:

On average, roughly one-third of the participants in every leadership academy I conduct have … NO IDEA WHY they’re in the course NOR what to expect NOR what the course topics are going to be.

That information is on each registration / course outline page … along with a downloadable pdf of the training flyer for distribution to them before they show up at the training site. Remember: No Secrets; No Surprises.

Oh, and by the way …

• Roughly one-half of participants show up to a week-long leadership academy without a pen or paper to take notes. Taking notes reinforces learning. Go here to learn more: Effective Note Taking …

• Too many participants show up to leadership training and immediately – intentionally – attempt to sit in the back of the room. Really?! How is that demonstrating “leadership”?  It is widely known that (click on the sentence for the entire article) students sitting in the back are less engaged in the course, pay less attention in class, and have lower classroom self-esteem …

• And, there are always one or more participants in our academies who spend the requisite hours in the training room – but many of those hours are spent looking down, surfing the net or texting on their cell phones. While I will continue to regard and treat everyone as adults by allowing people to leave their phones on during the workshops, such choices tell me and everyone else in the room that they don’t take training seriously. Such behavior is a waste of public funds and sends a negative message to other participants. Click on this sentence to learn how it clearly demonstrates lack of respect, lack of attention, lack of listening and lack of power.

Training must be viewed as an investment by all concerned. True leaders consistently create more value than the sum of the resources they consume. They are committed to LEARNING rather than simply “training … ” They are engaged rather than simply present.

So long as training is a mere “expense” and people are sent without seeing the value, your training budget is vulnerable.

Lead like you mean it. Pass it along, please. – s