Adults Learn Differently

I have been training managers for over thirty years and I still find that most organizations have not realized that adults learn differently than children and for training programs to be successful, we must understand the methods needed to help managers realize their potential growth.

As Lisa Haneberg notes in her new book, “Developing Great Managers”, ASTD-2008, people who facilitate management and development programs must be well versed in management training theory (MTT): She lists the main tenants of MTT as follows:
· Managers are too busy therefore the training must improve their abilities to succeed or it won’t be worth the diversion. In addition, shorter training sessions are easier to fit into a manager’s busy day.
· Managers often suffer from fuzzy priorities, competing priorities, scope creep, and meeting overload. Management training should acknowledge and assist with these challenges
· Many managers feel overwhelmed and stressed. The best management training programs will reduce feelings of stress and being overwhelmed.
· Many managers work well below their capabilities. For managers to try new approaches, they need more training about how to conduct their days and why the techniques are recommended.

Most training programs do not address the basics of adult learning:
· Adult learners cannot be forced to learn
· Adult learners resist forced attendance at training sessions
· Adult learners are invested in their careers and achievements
· Adult learners take responsibility for their progress and appreciate clear, concise feedback on their development
· Adult learners responds well to real-world examples and applications
· Adult learners come to training with a years of developed behaviors, experiences, and knowledge
· Adult learners may be on the defensive when their supervisor recommends training
· Adult learners need to feel that the new information and skills directly relate to their job role and help them achieve their goals

In 1999, Innovative Leadership made a conscientious decision to make sure that all our programs and courses satisfy the basics of adult learning and MTT. We focus on an “application and action” methodology for learning. All of our training has a basic foundation that is research-based or validated by demonstrated results. We find that challenging the status quo is fun, but introducing something for fun is a waste of time and resources. We use a proven process for adult learning and facilitation.

We incorporate video and audio to reinforce the issues or key points of discussion. We find that people learn and retain more if they can “see it”, “feel it”, “taste it, and “smell it”. Many of our videos and audio are usually entertaining in nature but reinforce the research or content needed to be learned.

We also find that the facilitators of any adult training program must make the connection between the new material being introduced and the application of the learned material into the workplace. We tend to differ from the academic community in this regard since we use facilitators that have previous management experience so that this connection can be related to a real workplace environment and not a text book hypothetical.

Our public workshops bring management personnel together from all types of industries and we have found in our post – course evaluations that this small inter-disciplinary group found the open discussion on how the learned material was applied in their workplace environment was just as important as the learned material itself. Sharing the knowledge of how to apply the learned skill and seeing things from a different perspective are certainly two of the most beneficial components of our unique adult learning process.

We realized long ago that people development requires a learning environment where conversation is the key ingredient to adult learning. We focus on creating conversations whereby managers learn about techniques and then tell others how they have applied their learned materials in their work environment. We provide several tools that may help the mangers implement their newly learned information in the workplace and we evaluate and allow them to re-design the tools for a more effective outcome.

Speaking of outcomes; isn’t that what learning is all about? All of our programs are goal-oriented and give the participant the opportunity to set goals that will provide success for them as managers with a system to measure the results. Most workplace environments today are results-oriented so we need to focus our managers on improving their skills to produce a desired outcome, using the tools to implement the application for the learned materials, measuring the results in terms of performance and productivity and measuring the results for sustained growth.

You can choose any training company, program, or material. When you choose a vendor or program, please ask yourself the following questions prior to the selection:

• How does the management training program meet the standards established by MMT and satisfy the basics of Adult Learning?
• Is your management development program goal-oriented?
• What tools does your management training program provide to measure personal growth and development?
• Does your management training program provide a process for implementation or application?
• Is the ROI for your management training program available upfront and how is the success of your management training program measured?
  
  Make sure your management training programs meet those requirements. If they do, you will see enhanced performance and improved productivity from your management team. It is the measured results that make the difference in achievement.