According to research, we “forget” around 90% of what we are taught in traditional training environments within about a week of participating. When you consider that, in North America alone, the spend on corporate training initiatives was more than 168 billion dollars in 2018, that’s a serious problem. Or, based on those numbers, it’s a 151-billion-dollar problem*.
[*that’s 90% of 168, in case you were wondering]
“Of course, not all training is equal, and we’ve all experienced unengaging facilitators, poor content, barely habitable training environments, disengaged participants and no doughnuts.”
Will there be Doughnuts?
Being in a well-designed training environment can be a wonderful experience. If the facilitator has done their job, participants will feel safe and supported, willing to be vulnerable, to be open to new ideas, and to interacting with each other in a way that rarely happens outside of that environment. It’s a very human experience. With Doughnuts.
Of course, not all training is equal, and we’ve all experienced unengaging facilitators, poor content, barely habitable training environments, disengaged participants and no doughnuts.
So, have we’ve solved the 151-billion-dollar problem? Is it all about the quality of the training? Is this the shortest blog post ever?
Actually, no. In fact, we can save ourselves some time by revealing that the problem is not:
- The content
- The facilitator
- The other participants
- The location
- The room
- The lunch
- The parking or transport links
- The day of the week, month or quarter
- The quality of the coffee
- The lack of doughnuts
Hmmm. So, what’s left?
“Simply knowing something is not enough – we need to be able to apply that knowledge to really say we have learned it.”
What Changes Us
Let’s take a quick step back and think about what learning actually is.
One of our favourite definitions, from The New Social Learning by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner, is: “the transformative process of taking in information that—when internalized and mixed with what we have experienced—changes what we know and builds on what we do. It’s based on input, process, and reflection. It is what changes us.”
Learning then, is about effecting personal change. It’s about receiving some new information, internalizing and reflecting on it, and then being changed by it. Simply knowing something is not enough – we need to be able to apply that knowledge to really say we have learned it.
“It’s so magical a place that it should be called Narnia and we should get to it via a wardrobe.”
Training isn’t Learning.
Training is something you can schedule. It’s done to you, at a time and in a place. Learning, however, is a very personal process that doesn’t fit so neatly into a one-hour webinar or even a three day offsite. Learning is something you do for yourself as you figure out how to take your training and apply it, in your own way, in your own world.
When we step into a training environment, we step into a bubble: That magical place where real-life ends and learning seemingly starts. We’ve probably left our laptops at home, our phones are on silent, our calendars are blocked, and our autoreply out-of-office tells emailers that we’re ‘in training’ and will get back to them when we return to the office. We can then spend a blissful few hours or days focused on one thing: ourselves.
In fact, it’s so magical a place that it should be called Narnia and we should get to it via a wardrobe.
And then, at the end, we step back out of the wardrobe and real-life hits us like a sledgehammer in the face, effectively knocking most of the enthusiasm and new knowledge out of us before we even make it to the parking lot. For we have crossed the reality barrier, and we’re back in the real-world, where there are no talking lions, and there is no room for new knowledge, habits and behaviors. The first person we meet wasn’t in the room, they don’t know what we know, and they don’t know how they’re supposed to behave when we try out our new fancy ideas on them. Frustration sets in fast, because the real work is only just beginning.
“Our work and life are optimised for the status quo that existed before we went into the bubble and is waiting for us when we leave.”
The Real Work
When we’re in Narnia, in reality most of what’s happening is the transfer of knowledge. We’re being given the raw ingredients for the changes we need to make when we leave. And inside that bubble it all seems so easy: We’re supported by the environment, the facilitator and our fellow students. We’ve practiced on each other, won praise from the facilitator, aced the test and got the certificate to prove it.
But the change isn’t real until we understand how to consistently apply it in the real-world, and our real lives aren’t designed for that kind of work. We scheduled our training time, but we forgot about the learning part. Our work and life are optimised for the status quo that existed before we went into the bubble and is waiting for us when we leave. What we were taught in there is not just an inconvenience, it’s actually a threat to that safe, comfortable life we’ve built for ourselves. Old habits die hard, and we’ll quickly slip back into the tried and tested ways of doing things.
“If you’re answering no or don’t know to any of those questions, then the harsh reality is that you probably won’t gain much from the experience. You’re a part of the 151-billion-dollar problem. Sorry.”
Three Words
Why is it so hard for us to achieve this mythical status of learning then? What’s getting in our way?
It turns out, it’s…US!
The hard work – the real work – is about creating the context within which we’re able to make the sustainable personal change that reflects true learning. The result we’re really trying to achieve is that change – not the certificate or the grade on the exam. And since that change is within us, then we’re the work**.
And, if we’re the work, then everything else is there to support us on that journey to learning. We’re not doing it for them, we’re doing for us. If our focus is on the quality of doughnuts, the irritating habits of the facilitator, the inconvenience of the pre-reading or homework between sessions, or even our grade on the test or whether we received a certificate at the end, we’re missing the most important point: it’s all there in service to our learning. It’s all there to enable us to make the change for ourselves that is true learning. That’s the only thing that matters.
We’re the work.
The ‘We’re the Work’ mindset is about being intentional. It’s about choosing to be present and engaged, to see every part of the experience as there in service to your learning, and taking ownership of your part of the learning process. The training is done to you. The learning is done by you.
We’re the work.
As you prepare for your next training experience (yes, prepare! In advance!), consider the following questions:
- What do I hope to gain from this experience – What do I expect to do differently as a result?
- Am I prepared to let go of old ideas, old ways of doing things, and to step out of my comfort zone? And not just when I’m in the training room?
- Am I willing to be vulnerable, and to accept failure as part of the learning process? And again, not just when I’m in the training room?
- Have I prepared myself, my schedule, my colleagues and family, and my workload for the fact that I will be ‘in learning’ for some time before and after the training?
- Am I willing and able to commit the time to do the real work required? Have I given myself time and space to engage with the pre-work, homework, practice and any other activities that occur outside of the room?
- Am I seeing every aspect of this process, good or bad, as a vehicle for my learning, whether by way of supporting me, or challenging me?
- What help will I need in order to make the change stick – do I need to enlist the support of one or more accountability partners?
- When I experience resistance to change, whether from my own limiting-beliefs or from those around me, am I willing to do the hard work required to push past them?
- Am I doing this for me?
If you’re answering “no” or “don’t know” to any of those questions, then the harsh reality is that you probably won’t gain much from the experience. You’re a part of the 151-billion-dollar problem. Sorry.
But that’s not why you should do the deep work required to figure out the answers. You should do it because personal and professional growth is a superpower that we all have, but few of us master in adult life. Seizing the next opportunity to challenge your assumptions and beliefs about your capacity to learn is the most powerful act of personal transformation you can engage in. Each time you learn something new, it becomes the foundation for the next learning opportunity, unlocking your potential for growth. Learning will accelerate your career and bring deeper fulfilment in your life.
“If we truly recognised that learning was a deeply personal process that happened outside of the training room, we’d all have an auto-reply email set up after the scheduled training to let people know that we’re ‘in learning’ and our replies may therefore be delayed.”
In Learning
If we truly recognised that learning was a deeply personal process that happened outside of the training room, we’d all have an auto-reply email set up after the scheduled training to let people know that we’re ‘in learning’ and our replies may therefore be delayed. Our calendars would still periodically be blocked, our laptops would sometimes be closed and our phones would be on silent. Because without giving ourselves the space and time to truly learn, we’ve essentially just had nothing more than a 151-billion-dollar vacation to Narnia.
**we are indebted to Clare Connelly for sharing this powerful phrase: “We’re the work” captures so perfectly one of the most profound insights about the learning process.
What now?
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