Vital Insight Into Management Training Success

How to Create the Optimal Learning Approach

The demands of the modern workplace, the evolving needs of learners, and the latest in neuroscience research all suggest it's best to deliver learning with multiple modalities. A "modality" is a form of learning, such as online learning, instructor-led training, mobile reinforcement, coaching, etc.  Many of the top learning solutions today are moving from a singular learning approach to a diverse and flexible solution that incorporates a variety of methods.

But how do you choose the training modalities that are best for your team? And how do you combine and structure the various methods for the optimal results?

Read the full Vital Learning guest blog article on TrainingIndustry.com for more information on the criteria for choosing training modalities. 

Learning and Development is a rapidly changing industry...

The L&D industry has evolved a great deal in the last few years. Workplace training has become less project based, and more integrated into workers’ day-to-day. As a result of this higher demand for workplace training comes a higher saturation of content, making those who can select and implement the best programs essential to their organization. How we define ‘quality’ training in the learning and development industry will be top of mind in 2018, and sifting through the noise will be increasingly important. Understanding the future of L&D, knowing what to do about changing tides, and implementing change accordingly are all things that can be done with ease, as long as the right steps are taken.

An online blogger across the world can share a 2-day travel diary on a 3 minute Instagram story, 5 second memories can be shared over Snapchat, and people have access to 24/7 news updates from mainstream media. We live in a cyber culture where digital technology is a push-button click away. Many of us even take it for granted – whipping out our cell phone to check Google maps when we’re lost or quickly researching a delicious restaurant located nearby. It’s apparent technology has impacted almost every aspect of daily life, and the management training space is no exception. 

For decades, management training has been dominated by classroom learning, Power Point presentations and slide-by-slide online learning, which often fail to resonate with today’s learners.  Recent technological advances present exciting opportunities to align training delivery with our industry’s ever-evolving understanding of skill development.

Some scenarios on the job are impossible to realistically recreate in training. For instance, a brain surgeon can read numerous text books on how to remove a blood clot but nothing can compare to the actual experience of being in surgery and performing the task. The most effective learning occurs hands on, preferably where mistakes can happen and not adversely affect others. But how can you replicate the experience of performing brain surgery without actually doing it? Virtual reality training programs are beginning to make this possibility a reality.

Think back to being a young child, and learning to ride a bike for the first time. From the second you hopped on the seat, were you good at it? Or did you swerve or maybe even fall before you could successfully ride down the street? Is the old saying “practice makes perfect” really true?

Recent research has shown that practice plays a huge role in developing skills. But not all practice is created equal. A special type of skill building called “Deep Practice” has been proven to develop talent far more effectively than other methods. Deep Practice consists of stretching yourself just outside your comfort zone, stopping and reflecting when errors occur, making adjustments, and continuing this process over time. 

Deep Practice can apply to a wide variety of skills – from hitting a baseball, to playing guitar, to delegating a task to an employee. We’ll first explore how Deep Practice works and the principles behind this technique. Then we’ll discuss how this applies to developing fundamental skills as a manager in the workplace.

Why is investing in management training important for an organization? There’s more to it than a simple answer of professional development, talent management or knowledge acquisition. Having effective leaders and managers is one of the most critical components to long-term organizational success. Good or bad managers can affect employee retention, engagement, quality of service and, ultimately, revenue.

Most people agree that developing employees is important, but proving the value of these initiatives to executives can be challenging. One of the most common objections to leadership development is “aren’t all of these skills just inherent and intuitive?” Or “can’t people just learn these skills on the job?” While many effective management skills are intuitive and simple, the execution of these skills can be quite difficult. And learning leadership skills without structure and guidance is often a recipe for bad habits. Management training takes time, resources and money, so why should your boss invest in it? Stated another way, what are the benefits of developing practical skills among your company’s managers?

You have two primary options when it comes to selecting the right leadership courses for your team: online instruction or classroom instruction. The major difference between these two options is the setting for which the classes are offered. Online leadership classes offer all instruction and coursework over the Internet. Students can complete the entire course from their phone, tablet, or computer. Classroom courses, on the other hand, are conducted in a in-person classroom setting with a hands-on facilitator.

New hires typically receive some type of training. Entry-level or slightly experienced employees need training to learn how to handle their responsibilities and become acquainted with business operations. Senior managers who have a multitude of important responsibilities also receive additional training to improve their own management skills and to enable them to better oversee their respective departments.

Microlearning is a technique that focuses on small, easily digestible lessons, instead of longer and more comprehensive teaching sessions. The benefits of microlearning are particularly well suited to the modern “on-the-go” lifestyle, especially when it comes to business environments.

Do you see issues in your team’s performance and think that management training could be the solution? Recognizing that you need a new training program isn’t enough. For a commitment-based training program to achieve maximum effectiveness, it must speak to the typical problems your employees face and the management skills they currently lack.

What are you currently doing to improve workplace productivity? This is a common goal for most companies, yet many don’t know how to attain it. You may be able to identify inefficiencies in daily operations, but perhaps you’re not sure what to do about them or how to prevent future challenges.

If you don’t know how to address these issues or where to start, look to management training first, as this is an effective way to boost workplace productivity.