Throwback Thursday: Making Change Happen

This was originally published in Bob Pike’s Creative Training Techniques Newsletter in July 1992.

Without proper perspective, “change” is just another corporate buzzword.

Boiled down to its most basic element, the purpose of training is to bring about change.

We want to help people either stop old behaviors that are getting in their way, or start new behaviors that will improve the way they do things.

It sounds simple, but even the best training in the world sometimes fails to take hold because we don’t look at the big picture, bigger than just design and delivery.

Without that perspective, “change” is just another corporate buzzword.

Here’s an extreme example.

Until about a year ago, I had no trouble controlling my weight. I pretty much ignored all the advice about healthy diets, but I was running about 20 miles a week and I was in good shape.

But when I had a heart attack in the spring of 1991, I knew my life needed to change in some fundamental ways.

I knew my vigorous exercise schedule had to be scaled back and I knew my dietary habits had to change.

It’s been over a year since that event, and dealing with those changes is still hard, and weight control is harder than ever.

But in that time, I’ve studied change and have reached a couple of conclusions about myself that I believe help explain why some training efforts fail to elicit the desired change.

I don’t have a knowledge or skills problem.

I’ve done a lot of reading about diet and exercise (what could be called self-paced training, I guess), and I know what I should be doing and what I should be eating.

But even with that knowledge, changing is difficult.

Slowly, I began to understand what proper diet and exercise meant to me.

How many times, then, have we seen a lack of transference and called it a continuing knowledge or skills problem?

Have we worked to make sure trainees understand what’s in it for them to change?

There are barriers to change in my environment.

It’s easy to be too busy to exercise.

It’s easy to be on the road and eat things that aren’t healthy.

Those are simple excuses to get away from the kinds of changes I know I need to make.

They are also excuses that trainees can readily find if we don’t ensure the work environment is ready to support the application of new knowledge or skills.

I can’t (or at least won’t) make these changes without help and support.

In my case, enacting change has meant giving the people closest to me the power to hold me accountable, help me hurdle the barriers to change that keep cropping up, and share my successes.

We can’t expect change to happen as a result of our training without that same kind of support.

We can’t send trainees out of training with a clap on the back and a hearty, “Good luck.”

Lasting change is a slow process, one that needs careful support over time.

And if we as trainers continue to look at that bigger picture, we’ll probably be much more successful at making “change” a reality rather than a buzzword.

Duane’s Take -

This article was ahead of its time.

Today, we know that information alone doesn’t change behavior. If it did, every leadership book would produce better leaders, every safety class would eliminate accidents, and every wellness program would create healthier employees.

Knowledge is necessary. It just isn’t sufficient.

What Bob recognized more than 30 years ago is that lasting change depends on the environment people return to after the training.

• Do managers reinforce the new behavior?

• Do coworkers encourage it?

• Are there opportunities to practice it?

Or does the workplace quietly reward the old way of doing things?

That’s why I’ve become convinced that one of the most important questions trainers can ask isn’t, “Did they learn it?”

It’s, “What will help them use it next week?”

That shifts the conversation from content to transfer.

It forces us to think beyond the classroom and consider reminders, accountability, coaching, manager involvement, job aids, and opportunities for practice.

Training may introduce change.

But the workplace determines whether that change survives.

Bob understood that long before “learning transfer” became a popular topic in our profession.

It’s a reminder that our responsibility doesn’t end when the class does.

And as Bob used to say,
Until next time, add value and make a difference.

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Bob Pike’s work has influenced generations of trainers because it focused on engaging learners instead of simply delivering information. I help organizations take those timeless principles and apply them to today’s classrooms, hybrid environments, and leadership challenges.

If you’d like to strengthen your trainers, facilitators, or leadership team with practical, participant-centered methods, I’d love to help.

Learn more at DuaneLester.com