1. Leave the ego at the door: The definition of creativity in training is slightly different from its popular definition. The training consultant is not a free agent here. Individual creativity takes a back seat. The customer’s project is not an opportunity for the consultant to exemplify their own ‘cleverness’. The training design needs to be aligned to the business need, and be constrained by budget and time constraints. Oftentimes, and frustratingly, the training consultant finds that the most creative solution is not necessarily the best one. This constant restraint on one’s self can be a real struggle at the beginning of one’s career in training- it was for me and it still is for many of my junior colleagues. But learning to discard the ego, situationally, can be a valuable moral exercise.
2. Be structured: Creating a training strategy is as much a science as an art. Especially during the analysis phase, it is critical that we complete the requirements analysis in a step by step process, eliminating assumptions one by one based on discovered facts.
3. Appreciate beauty: In a training team, every day we work with instructional designers who structure memorable learning stories, visual designers who create amazing images, programmers who write elegant code, and interaction designers who create intuitive user interfaces. Not only are these individual artifacts aesthetic, but the way they all come together is a beautiful process to participate in or even to just observe.
4. Be inspired by everyday things: My work does not stop when I leave office. Training is an interface with human beings, so it is possible to find inspiration everywhere for training design. Reading a book, gazing upon a gigantic fashion billboard, cutting a pineapple, or sailing down a quiet river, can all inspire training ideas. Conversely, the creative ideas generated in a training team can inspire one to write a book or draw a picture.
5. Learn when to speak…NOT: Knowing when to keep the mouth shut is a valuable skill, and I often think it is more important than speaking! Speaking at inopportune moments, whether it is in front of our client or our partner’s mother, can make us look uninformed, ignorant, and stubborn.
6. Learn to let go: This Zen concept is as important in training design as it is in life. At the beginning of my career, when I worked as an instructional designer, learning to let go was one of the critical skills I learned to appreciate. The Subject Matter Expert will always request to include a ton of information in every course. It is up to us to advise them on why this is counterintuitive, and why an information overload will actually reduce the effectiveness of the training and reduce learner motivation.
7. Appreciate diversity: Creating training programs for a global audience makes you realize the effect of culture, nationality, history, economy, gender, and age on learning styles. An effective training program will address all such requirements.
8. Stretch a budget: I’m not sure if this skill makes me a better person, but it certainly is very useful- both at work and at home. Oftentimes we work with clients who have a finite budget assigned to training, but a number of competing training needs. As training consultants, it is our responsibility to advise them on how to best use the budget to assure the maximum possible returns on investment.
9. Make facts-based, value-based judgments: A training program is successful only if the Learner is eager to participate and complete the training, and allows the training to influence their behavior at work in a positive way. And to achieve this, the training needs to be designed to address their learning needs, and the business needs of the organization.
10. Empathize: It is difficult not to empathize with our clients when they present their organization’s learning and performance challenges. As training consultants, it is our job to probe for information and arrive at the root causes for these challenges. This skill helps me not only in forming a trusted relationship with my clients, but also to help my family and friends in personal life.
