Responses | Date | Author |
Thanks all for your responses.
They have certainly got the grey-cells going. Most importantly the need for the recognition, by my directors, that this is not a training fix and more importantly that successful culture change only really occurs when the desired behaviour comes from the top AND is consistent (good old walking the talk).
I was also thankful that my L&D colleagues thought about me. That warning really resonated and stopped me from taking the monkey on my back and setting myself up for being held to account that training didn't change the company culture.
My push will now be for proposing a "facilitation support to the directors" solution that every manager (senior and operational) needs to participate in and get behind. Colin |
| 03/03/2020 | Colin |
Hi Colin, Surely this is a matter of culture, ethics and values and would appear to be a top down issue of communication initially, then a collective 'where we are' - 'where we want to be' gap analysis prior to the magic training wand. Training can support the change and assist with the communication of change but not 'make the change'. Good luck with that one and perhaps start at the top. Bob
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| 25/02/2020 | Bob |
Hi Colin,
I totally agree with Helen. It sounds like Senior Management want to tap into employee's discretionary effort but that needs, as you yourself have already identified, the right culture in place for that to happen. It is the SMT's responsibility to address the cultural issues that exists and, yes, as Helen says, your role can be in facilitating cultural discussions. Be careful about taking this on alone - this isn't something that training can fix. In my experience, it's a long journey to get to the place where staff feel empowered, and it requires a multidimensional approach. Management could be part of the problem and so need to be open enough to put themselves in the spotlight and develop their own leadership skills. |
| 24/02/2020 | Karen |
Hi Colin, At the risk of being unhelpful, your question reminds me of a challenge I came across earlier in my career: "Could your trainee do what needs to be done if you put a gun to their head and/or paid them money to do it?.... If the answer is yes, it's not a training challenge, it's a motivation challenge". In your situation, I don't think any degree of "training" in the sense of upskilling is going to fix this. If senior management want something to change, they need to use their leadership skills to explain why the behaviour needs to change, and then either inspire everyone to work in a new way by creating a compelling vision and/or create consequences for people who aren't behaving the way they wish (the good old carrot/stick). In this situation, the training team CAN add value by offering to facilitate these discussion sessions, and creating a constructive environment to enable these issues to be discussed. However, I would personally push against the idea of it being the training team's issue to "fix". If the training team do want to do something more formal, I would suggest that perhaps supporting the leadership team with coaching and development around change management initiatives might be more useful. |
| 24/02/2020 | Helen |