Objectives and outcomes are words often bandied about in the world of work and in particular within HR and Learning & Development. To many people they are ‘management speak’ and don’t hold much value. Perhaps this is because the objectives and outcomes are not clear or not clearly communicated.
The focus of this month’s blog is why both objectives and out comes are important to me and the work that I do in Learning and Development.
An objective is something that you plan to do or achieve. In terms of learning and development a training objective is usually driven by an organisational need.
An outcome is the way something turns out. A consequence.
It is virtually impossible for me to design and deliver effective training if I am unsure of the need for that training. I admit to being like a dog with a bone in initial meetings when trying to get to the bottom of what the need is for the training. I ask lots of questions!
- What things do you want the team to do different / better after the training?
- What is the consequence of them not doing this at the moment?
- How does this impact the organisation / team / performance at present?
- Why are they not currently doing this? (lack of knowledge / training / attitude / change in job)
- How will the effectiveness of the training be measured?
For me, its really about getting inside the mind of the person engaging me to do the training. The most important thing, is that I have a very clear understanding of the expectations, so that what I produce ticks all those boxes. Sometimes the answers to these questions are not known, which is where my questioning technique comes in. Asking the question in different ways and summarising what I understand to get to the root.
Only when I have a clear understanding of the objectives for the training and the outcomes expected, can I get to work. Of course, it helps if the objectives are SMART (see below!)
An example of this is the management development work that I do. I know from grilling (in the nicest possible way 😊) the CEO that she wants to up skill the team.
She wants her managers to:
- Improve how they direct and delegate to their team to ensure increased productivity
- Improve how they prioritise their workload and manage their time so that deadlines are met
- Take more ownership and accountability for their performance and that of their teams
(I won’t go into the specific detail of each of these objectives or this blog would turn into War and Peace, but rest assured, I have it and these objectives are indeed SMART!)
So, I am clear on the objectives of the training and the desired outcomes. I know the specific detail and we have worked out how the effectiveness of the training can be measured. We know that it is achievable for the managers to make these improvements, as I have supported managers in these areas before with fantastic results. We also know that as managers of teams, improving their management skills is realistic – in fact it is essential to the efficient performance of their duties. Finally, we have agreed the timeframe, both for the training and how long we believe it will take for the managers to put into practise their new skills and knowledge.
I love to train managers in the theory of management. There are many a model that can give them practical steps to improve how they work. There are many trainers and training company’s that train management development. This usually entails group sessions on management topics.
BUT IT DOESN’T ADDRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!!
We are all different. Therefore, the reasons we are or are not doing something are all different too!
As I said earlier, I aim to deliver. For me to really support these managers, I work on a two phase approach of both personal and professional development.
What does this mean?
Firstly, I work one to one with the managers to understand them better. No surprise that this is where my passion for DiSC behavioural profiling comes in. We work together so that they can understand their strengths and areas for development, how they like to communicate and work. We also look at how they can stretch themselves to understand others better. This work in itself is hugely developmental for them. I love to witness the lightbulb moments when people realise what drives them, what motivates and also stresses them and how they can improve communication and understanding of others. Somehow seeing it on paper (or computer) really helps with a deeper understanding of self.
Once I have carried out this work individually with the whole team, we can start on the group training sessions. By this stage, everyone has a good understanding of themselves and others and a new common language inDiSC. We have created a safe space to have conversations about how we are all uniquely different but all uniquely valuable to the team.
This means we can really get the desired outcome of improved management of time and priorities. Now that we know that Christian struggles with managing his time because he works at a slower pace and values accuracy over everything else and is often a bit too preoccupied with the detail. We have also learnt that Imogen struggles with managing priorities as she always focuses on social interaction with her team and loves to engage and chat much more than sit in an office writing reports.
In terms of supporting the managers to develop their directing and delegating skills, we have learnt that David struggles with delegation a she fears a lack of control and likes to get immediate results, therefore tends to do things himself. We have also learnt that Sarah struggles with ownership and accountability as she is totally focused on team harmony which often leads to her being indecisive and she struggles to work without very clear goals.
I know that by addressing management development training in this way, working with the individual before the group that I will meet the initial objectives resulting in the desired outcome.
One size doesn’t fit all.
We need to understand and embrace our differences and our own unique behaviours. We need to take our differences into account when developing new skills.
IN MY OPINION GROUP MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT TRAINING WITHOUT DEVELOPING THE INDIVIDUAL FIRST IS LIKE PUTTING LIPSTICK ON A PIG.
