They say, “trust who you train and train who you trust, I completely agree. Training the right people with preferable qualities will result in higher productivity and enhance performance. Staff are more confident, compliant and competent by increasing their knowledge and understanding. Training someone or a group of people insinuates a level of trust where your investing knowledge, expertise, time and exercising patience with a level of expectancy. You expect a return on your investment. You expect commitment, loyalty, growth and development. 

If you are going to train your team, allow room for mistakes but enable them the freedom to fail forward. To turn things into teachable moments. Micromanagement of any kind will aggravate and increase anxiety.  If they are properly trained and are well equipped and have adapted to their roles, then if they make wrong moves you can address it because at this point they should know better.

Training individuals you trust is tricky. You can pour into an individual and they either aren’t teachable or have a fixed mindset. That can feel like a tug of war on most days but its best to train anyway and enable them to be liable for the outcome. Sometimes we invest in the wrong people. We fail to recognize potential and good character in others and select sub-par participants. In life, things will happen and people will fail you. However. A good leader you must be able to pivot outcomes. 

Person may have certain skill but require character development. Quick thinking and being a solutional leader are needed here. Everyone should be cross trained to enable gaps and voids to be filled. Sometimes, we humans tend to train people we will perform well in a certain area and neglect others whom we are oblivious to their potential. It’s imperative to be aware and observant. There is potential all around us. Maybe we trained someone in systems management or logistics and although the information is good to know, it’s just not their thing. Could it be they are better off in another department?

A person may fail to produce results. Maybe this person is misplaced and doesn’t need to be thrown away (fired or moved unbeknownst to them) but reassigned. Their strengths have yet to be tapped into. Could it be this person outgrew this role or the role outgrew them?… a major factor to consider.

Anyone who is unfulfilled, underestimated, under stimulated or unchallenged will seem lazy when they are actually frustrated. Your role as a leader is gauge and redirect that. Maybe your company or organization grew and the role is now bigger than their ability. You might need them to partner up, gain new skills or enhance previous ones. They could be overwhelmed and trying not to disappoint the team. 

Most would argue that we can’t always build on strengths, while that is true. Its best to do basic trainings across the board and then have people developed within the area of expertise. We are not neglecting weaknesses. This is were professional development, coaching, “shadowing”, guidance and most of all encouragement is necessary. My mother used to say, “Encouragement sweetens labor”. Some folks will need that push just to keep them motivated and confident. Know that there are various learning styles, levels of understanding and everyone’s abilities are not infinite.

Many Leaders fail at training which is a failure to invest. Don’t allow nepotism or favoritism to take over. I call it the “”shiny new toy syndrome” Trust me, it can be subtle but will always be extremely noticeable. Sometimes, we are eager to train and engage the new that we push the old aside. This will ultimately lead to a decline in productivity, discord, disdain, anger, low morale, decrease in camaraderie and worst of all, division. A leader’s goal should be securing everyone in their place to build a strong team.

New people need to be introduced and integrated without causing a disruption within team dynamic. Leadership is responsible for establishing a culture and managing the environment. If you allow your team members to get lost into the background. When team new team members join, sometimes staff needs to recalibrate. While others may welcome with open arms, others may feel replaced, overshadowed or lose sight of their significance especially if someone new has the same expertise. Stages of a team may need to be revisited here. There are five stages of a teams’ development cycles such as:

1. Forming – Excitement, questions, expectations and trust building.
2. Storming – conflict, adaptation, frustration, a shift.
3. Norming – inclusion, flexibility, resolve, acceptance, cohesion, synergy
4. Performing – progress, team effectiveness, high competence
5. Termination – strong conflict or needs change.

Having great knowledge about where your company is and going is critical. Strong conflict management and attention to behaviors are skills a Leader should always possess. The next step is access what type of individuals are needed in each area. Be prepared to develop, train and see where changes need to be implemented. Consider boosting morale in a shifting culture. Its imperative to have on going personal and professional development. Organizations who balance the two have higher productivity, retention and content team members.

Here are some benefits to training your team:

1. Overall Retention
2. Strengthens Skills
3. Increases Understanding / Clarity
4. Refreshes Current Staff
5. Provides updates on protocols and methodologies
6. Increase Engagement
7. Develop Future Leaders
8. Builds Relationships

Hope this blog helps you as a leader to develop a healthy work environment and healthy team, all the best!