Why Training > Teaching

I’d love to tell you if you invite me to do a talk for your company/event you’ll be transformed.

But I’d be lying.

This isn’t self-deprecating at all…it’s the truth.

And most speakers would never admit it.

I live in the real world where teaching is about imparting/transferring knowledge.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In fact, I’ve experienced many gifted teachers that left an impression on me to this day.

But if you want lasting results you have to do something more effective.

Training.

Think about how a boxer prepares for an upcoming fight.

The sparring, conditioning, weight training, dieting, etc.

Fighters train to be ready for battle.

The corporate world is no different.

Let’s take leadership development as an example.

You can take an online course, attend a conference, even be mentored yet that’s just acquiring knowledge.

Once again, I’m not knocking learning, but if its better results/changed behaviors you’re after you need to be trained.

When I speak, I describe my style as brief, conversational and practical.

Let me hone in on ‘practical’ for a moment.

• I can tell you all the components of being an active listener and you might be enlightened.

• Or we can do an active listening demonstration where you play the employee with a concern and I act as the manager.

Which one will be more impactful?

That’s the difference between teaching and training.

If communication, leadership or emotional intelligence is what you are lacking more information is not the solution.

A workshop or coaching program is.

Why?

Because in order to learn and be able to develop new skills you actually have to practice and receive feedback.

• Which is why it puzzles me when managers fail to give feedback to their team.

• How are you supposed to know if you’re going in the right direction without guidance?

Enough about my rant for now. That is a topic for a future post.

Once I coached a client how to ask for a raise from her supervisor.

She eventually got it, but the process included: mock conversations, anticipating objections and improving tone/nonverbal communication.

You prepare for the moment, so when it arrives you’re ready.

• Teaching is a band-aid.

• Training is the solution.

Maybe you’re at the point where you’re aware there is a problem, but not sure what to do about it you’ve come to the right place.

Are you ready to invest in training your people? 

Respond here for a free consultation.

And in case you need more convincing, read this article that goes deeper into why training is essential for optimal performance.

God Bless,

Scott

If you found this helpful and you’re looking to improve your soft skills as a leader, here are ways to work with me directly:

• 🗣 Hire me to speak at your company or next event (watch my speaking reel here)

• 🎤 Invite me to lead an interactive training workshop, remotely or in-person (depending on location)

• 🤝 Start 1:1 coaching with me as a new manager, current leader or executive (I once managed 30 people 1:1 weekly❗️)

Also, you can help me out by forwarding this to friends whom would benefit from it! Thank you!