Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2019 - 26

What can provide the fuel to replace
the natural enthusiasm the others
are feeling?
* Include the emotional appeal for
using the new skills. Experiential
learning is better than simply relaying
information in this case.
* Connect participants during and
after training to leverage the social
motivation to use the new skills.
* Connect the use of the skill to something
intrinsically rewarding for them.
* Help them anticipate the external
rewards that await their changed
behaviors (i.e., higher job performance).

Design Fuel That Transfers into
Learners' Work Environments
Include these factors in your program
design in order to hold learners
accountable for using their new skills on
the job:
* Ensure there is a job feedback
mechanism that demonstrates
how the new skill is enhancing
their performance.
* Establish a process that expects the
use of the skill upon their return.
* Enable leaders and others to coach
learners on their new skills.

* Create social pressure or rewards to
use the new skill regularly on the job.
* Ensure their leaders understand,
reinforce
and
recognize
the
new behaviors.

Support Leaders in Helping
Them Overcome the Cost of
Emotional Labor
"How long will I have to do this?" is
the cry of an individual living outside
of their comfort zone. This is where
people may run out of fuel to perform
the new behavior, as it is using up
valuable energy.
Will they last? Will they still be happy
and engaged? Can they excel? These
are legitimate questions for the leader
to address once employees return
from training. The goal is to create new
desired habits in their people. Give
leaders recommendations on how to
foster behavior change in their newlytrained employees:
* Explicitly reward the use of the
new behavior.
* Ensure there are other parts of their
job that are rewarding enough to
make this a worthwhile trade-off.
* Acknowledge this is outside their
comfort zone. Ask them how
motivated they are to make the
change and for how long.

Training must serve those
with and without desired
personality traits.

| 26

* Continue to acknowledge the extra
effort needed by those without the
desired personality traits to sustain a
level of performance, even though a
habit will ease the effort over time.
* Remove the permission to use
old habits.

Energize Learners to Produce
More Behavior Change from
Your Training Programs
Facilitators are expected to be
motivating in the classroom. Arm them
with the skills they need to motivate
learners by highlighting the personality
traits that support the desired skills. This
enables them to identify those that will
require more emotional labor to do so.
To provide more value to the learner, give
them tips on how to refuel themselves
following the training program, such
as working with a peer who excels,
practicing with a colleague on a weekly
call or utilizing a personal coach. The
fuel will be needed until new habits are
formed and they taste success. Design
your programs to provide these practical
fueling plans.
Training is the business of personality. It
is essential to design and deliver training
solutions for learners who naturally
possess personality traits that align with
the desired skills and trainees who will
have to expend additional emotional
labor due to their personality. By
accounting for both groups of learners,
you will see a significant increase in
workers adopting behavior change.
Lori Preston is an organizational
development consultant at Revenue Storm,
a global sales consulting firm. With 30
years of experience in the industry, Lori has
become a change management expert with
her latest research focused on neuroscience.
Email Lori.
https://www.revenuestorm.com/
Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2019

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