Improving

Any corporate trainer will tell you that there are always people in the class who have no idea why they're there or what they're supposed to do with the skills they're about to acquire. When asked to share their reasons for attending, it's not uncommon for these hapless folks to say that they were just told to show up. I'll always remember one disagreeable fellow who confessed that he must have "pissed off the boss" because being sent to training is one of the ways his manager punished people.

This attitude is prevalent in a faltering company where conversations are laden with blame and finger pointing. Pre-training dialogue between a leader and a follower about to enter a learning situation should include answers to such questions as: How is the knowledge acquired in this training program going to improve our performance? What specific problems will this training help us solve? In what ways will the skills being taught be applied to our department, division, work unit etc…?

It's Okay To Ask For Help

Here's an example of how questions like those above were used to improve the performance of a new employee who came to the job with few expectations other than a paycheck.

Shortly after completing the orientation program, Susan was introduced to the other members of her work team who made her feel very welcome. It wasn't very long, however, before Susan ran in to trouble. She was making a lot of mistakes and falling behind, but she wasn't about to ask for help. When her team leader came by one day to see how she was doing, Susan said everything was okay. The next morning, Susan found herself in the manager's office. But, instead of being upset, her manager told Susan how importance of her work was and how the company depended upon her to do it right.

Susan's manager explained that everyone who worked there should be thinking about the highest and best use of their time and talent so as not to miss an opportunity to improve their performance. This meant that if Susan was finding it difficult to keep up, she should not be afraid to say so.

Susan was relieved to know that she still had a job. She asked for additional training and promised to try harder. Her manager agreed to the training and requested that Susan ask for help if she needed it. Susan now understood that as an employee, she was expected to take responsibility for her own performance.

Like many of today's employees, Susan believed all she had to do was find a good job with a good company. After that it's was just a matter of doing what she's told. People like Susan tend to have limited performance expectations.

A personal performance expectation is simple: Always be as good as you can be. For this to have any meaning you and those you work with and for must be willing to answer the question: How good can I be?