PM ADVISORY

Train the Trainer, Before Training Others

By Jim Hopkins

USA

One of the biggest misconceptions in the learning development world is that if you are a subject matter expert in something then you can be a trainer. Not everyone that really “knows their stuff” make good trainers, facilitators, teachers or even the people that design training materials. Just because you know about something does not mean you know how to help others learn it well enough to perform the same tasks. The secret to successful training is training the trainers before they train others.

There is an entire skill set that belongs to the person conducting the training that includes knowing how adults prefer to learn, and the best ways to build the bridge from knowing to doing. We call these adult learning principles and they are the keys that will open both the door to success if applied correctly and the door to failure if they are ignored. The people that design training programs must also understand these principles so that they can be incorporated into the appropriate learning activities that train the skills and then reinforce or apply the skills to the work environment.

The good news for both training roles are that these skills can be taught and learned if they are included in the professional development plans of a training department. If they are left to chance then the results of all training is left to the roll of the dice. Now that might be okay if you are a gambler, but in today’s current economy, you would be hard pressed to find any organization that is willing to risk any dollar in their budget, let alone training that does not work…

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About the Author Jim Hopkins Author Jim Hopkins is the President/CEO of JK Hopkins Consulting. In 1990, Jim Hopkins made the leap from a 12 year retail banking career to the role of a Trainer/Facilitator, then Instructional Designer, Performance Consultant, Training Manager, Director and Chief Learning Officer. Yet at the heart of him is the role of trainer. While managing and leading the training function, Jim orchestrated large scale initiatives that always focused on the business objectives, and with the precision of a conductor allowed teams of training professionals to express their full capabilities. A devotee of Servant Leadership, Jim insists that his role is always to remove barriers to success, and allow people to become empowered. While leadership development remains one of Jim’s primary missions and passion, it was before the writing of this book even began that it occurred to him that his entire life seemed devoted to fixing things. From his early days in banking where he moved from one branch to another to bring it back to health, to the purpose of training development and even his love of home repairs, Jim likes to analyze a problem, and fix the performance. He prides himself on identifying issues early, and to be as proactive as humanly possible. Email: jim@jkhopkinsconsulting.com; Website: www.jkhopkinsconsulting.com THE TRAINING PHYSICAL is available on authorhouse.com and amazon.co.uk http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=66867