Training Edge University

Steve Sharon

Are You A Lifelong Learner?

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Learning involves two important factors: willingness and ability. If you have boundless opportunities but no desire to assimilate the information, real learning won’t take place. Similarly, you can be eager but lacking in the appropriate skills; again, the opportunity will be lost.

Your success at learning depends on attitudes and experience. Is continuous learning marked by opportunities or obstacles for you?  Take the following “Life Learner Quiz” to identify where you are around being a Lifelong Learner.  Answer each question with a “Yes” or “No.”

Learning doesn’t just happen; it must be a conscious activity.    Yes?     No?

In general, people learn when they need to or have to.    Yes?     No?

My learning didn’t end when I graduated from school.    Yes?     No?

All jobs, no matter how routine, offer learning opportunities.    Yes?     No?

People learn better from success than mistakes.    Yes?     No?

It is my responsibility to create learning opportunities, not my company’s.    Yes?     No?

I can recall a valuable lesson learned at work in the past week.    Yes?     No?

There are opportunities for me to share learning and hear about the learning experiences of others in my workplace.    Yes?     No?

I keep learning logs to document lessons learned.    Yes?     No?

I place a high premium on learning.    Yes?     No?

Scoring Give yourself 2 points for each yes answer and 1 point for each no answer

18-20 points: You get an A for attitude! By recognizing that effective learning is conscious, committed to memory, and communicated, you are likely maximizing learning opportunities. By embracing continuous learning, you are taking responsibility for your own development and probably enjoying significantly higher levels of achievement.

14-17 points: Don’t leave learning to chance! You might appreciate the benefits of learning, but you may also need to make more of a conscious effort to retain lessons learned. Try to make one change to enhance your learning, such as keeping a learning log or sharing lessons learned with colleagues. You’ll enjoy a considerable return on your investment.

10-13 points: Don’t let learning lag! Continuous learning isn’t just a buzzword that will fade away next year. To keep pace with change, improve your productivity, and succeed in your business, you must develop your skills and learn on an ongoing basis. Don’t wait for someone else to provide learning opportunities – they’re all around you.

If you would like more information regarding the programs and services that we provide related to this topic, please contact us at 610.454.1557 or email basharon@trainingedge.com.

Do you know what the SDI-Motivational Value System® is for your employees?

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Can you identify when someone is in conflict and do you know what to do?

Imagine how much stronger your relationships would be if you really understood what made people tick — both when things were going well and when there was conflict and opposition. The SDI® provides a window into what drives you and what drives others — an understanding that empowers you to communicate in a way that achieves the results you desire. Read More

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned?

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A common question that is often asked about Emotional Intelligence is …. “Can EQ be learned?”   We have all experienced or have met people that seem to be naturally gifted at controlling or recognizing their emotions.  These individuals seem to understand how to put others in a comfortable place, or get them engaged, or even to give another person whatever it is that they need at that time.

The good news is that while some people have EQ as a natural talent, for those that don’t, EQ skills can be learned.  There has been some clear and focused research that supports this fact. People can learn how to interact more effectively at work and increase their emotional intelligence. To make this happen, an individual needs to be personally motivated to do this.  Individuals need to first have a handle of where they are starting from (assessment) and then understand which of the five components of EQ need the greatest attention.

Each one of these five components has specific elements and action items that can help with an increase in these areas.  EQ Blog Pic
For example:

Self Awareness – Take your emotional temperature on a regular basis and asking yourself, “what am I feeling right now?”

Self-Regulation – Creating a list of things that positively impact you to reduce any negative emotion you may be experiencing.

Motivation – Creating a “Vision Board” of those things that you find motivating and goals for which you are striving.  Refer to this board often.

Empathy – Identifying a role model that you would describe as empathetic.  What are the things that this person does that demonstrates empathy?  Which of these qualities can you learn and demonstrate the same?

Social Skills – Creating a calendar for how / when you reach out to others to build stronger relationships.

If you would like more information regarding the programs and services that we provide related to this topic, please contact us at 610.454.1557 or email basharon@trainingedge.com.

Dealing with Difficult People

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We can get into a routine where it feels like everyone we speak with is either having a bad day, or we are having a bad day ourselves. We feel like we constantly meet people who seem to be inconsiderate, stubborn, incorrigible, indecent, miserable, or passive-aggressive. Sometimes we can be equally awkward ourselves. While it might seem that the easiest remedy is to lock yourself up at home and avoid people, we eventually have to pick up the phone or step outside and interact with someone.

Success comes from understanding how we behave, as well as how we can influence others. If difficult interactions are necessary, and we approach those conversations with a plan, we will find that we have less difficult people to deal with. More often than not, we will also have more meaningful and significant conversations. In this workshop, you will learn how to turn difficult situations into opportunities for growth.

If you would like more information regarding the programs and services that we provide related to this topic, please contact us at 610.454.1557 or email basharon@trainingedge.com.

Investing in Yourself

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Training Edge is a career building investmentWhat’s that expression…. The “cobbler’s children have no shoes?” While the origin of this phrase is unknown, the essence is that professionals in many given areas are so busy with their work for their clients or employees or anyone else that they fail to invest in to helping themselves. This is so commonly true for leaders. They fail to invest in their own professional development. The problem with that is that when leaders fail to put energy into their skills they get rusty, they continue bad habits, or they stop growing as a leader.

Top Excuses for Why Leaders Don’t Invest in their Own Professional Growth

  1. No time
  2. Don’t need it
  3. Don’t want to be vulnerable
  4. What can someone teach me that I don’t already know
  5. I’ll do it later.  Not now.

Regardless of the excuse that you have for not investing in yourself, it is more important to understand the ramifications of not taking the time.  Stop and think about the message that you are sending when you send others to training but yet you don’t take time to grow.

There will never be a day when you have nothing else to do, so instead of resisting, embrace it and make it a priority, because you’re worth it!  Think of the benefits for committing to management / leadership development:

Your being a good role model is one of the most influential elements in creating a powerful team.

Your relationship and ability to develop a relationship with your employees is the single most important factor in creating employee engagement.  Engaged employees are happier and more productive.

Sometimes going back to the basics can create magnanimous results. Delivering clear objectives, giving open and honest feedback, and being authentic.  Sharpen the saw. Take a fresh look at your skills.

Well-trained leaders boost morale and create a culture of positivity. Morale improves retention and creates an innovative environment.

When you feel good about yourself, you feel better about other things. There is an incredible result that happens at the end of the day when you can look back at what you’ve accomplished and give yourself a pat on the back. This comes from being the best leader you can be.

Don’t be the cobbler who always has his nose to the grind and fails to invest in what is really important…himself.

HR/T&D Professional

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HR TD ProfessionalYou’re well-educated and take a business-focused approach to managing the human resources work you do. You’re very passionate about your cause and helping others; in fact, you know it’s your calling. At the same time, you often feel there is too much to do and are always in catch up mode. You are being asked to do a wide array of tasks, all for the benefit of improving performance. You and your team are successful problem solvers; but often get caught up in a tug of war among politics, personalities, and situations. Everything is important, but you can only do so much. Still, you know what you need and are great at gaining support. You’ve had success growing people and you need to multiply this success to continue to strengthen the organization, minimize chaos, and to reach your long term vision.

What Your Issues Tend To Be

You have responsibilities for: Succession Planning, Growing Professional Skills, Maximizing Team Performance, and creating a consistent, engaging, and empowering organizational culture. You believe in training and development, however, don’t necessarily have the bandwidth or talent among your resources to conduct the training yourself. You wish that you had new programs to offer that sharpen the skills of your existing employees. You wish that you had a solid onboarding process that provided core, impactful business skills to your new employees. You want to offer training yet are a bit hesitant because others around you will ask about how you plan to measure the results, and oh by the way, the money comes out of their budget (not yours).

You and your team may be trained in some of the training methodologies, but are not able to stay abreast of new certifications and new programs. Plus, you don’t have the time to handle these types of projects. Yet, you like to be the go-to resource that can easily and effectively make the right recommendation for your internal customers.

In some cases, you are looking for easy turn-key solutions that you can implement at your discretion and have all of the know-how and tools to do so. When someone comes to you with an issue, you have the assessments and intervention programs to address the need.

What You Need Most Right Now

Your biggest need right now is to have a dependable training vendor that can provide the right training for the desired outcomes. The training vendor or supplier needs to be able to understand your needs, your organizational culture, and be able to customize the program to obtain the goals at hand. You need a vendor that will represent your department and decisions well.

You need a vendor that has a library of assessment tools to help you assess your leaders, teams, and individuals, so that employees become more self-aware and that any program focuses on the right areas of need.

And because you need to answer to the executives, leaders, or your boss, or you are spending most of the time someone else’s budget, you need a training organization that you can trust to be business-focused and manage your investment carefully. You need to be confident that you are choosing experienced facilitators who have a thorough understanding of your organization. Most importantly, in the end, you need an effective intervention, program, or assessment tools at a fair and reasonable price.

Here is what we recommend:

  • A complete review of all of current training program offerings, and recommendations on any gaps
  • Consider a pilot program with a small group who may have immediate needs
  • Consider a getting certified to offer the right assessment tools and run your own shop.
  • Many of our clients come to us because they need an analysis of where their training and development needs really are. They are ready for the right recommendation that results from analysis and validation.

L&D Independent Consultant

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Are you an independent consultant in the training, coaching, and organizational development field? Want to learn how to get certified in the best high-quality assessment tools? Learn more about how to strengthen your offerings and broaden the support of your client base in a much more powerful way.

Leader/Manager

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Leader ManagerAre you a leader or manager in search of team excellence? Want to learn how to develop and strengthen your team’s performance through gaining insight of what your team and individual employees need? Learn about the programs and tools that support your team’s performance growth.