When you identify that you have a developmental need, the knee-jerk reaction is often to look for a relevant training course. But is a training course the panacea of supporting your developmental requirements?
A training course imparts information to the learner, opening your eyes to new knowledge and teaching you the skills to use that new knowledge. It allows you to discuss in a safe learning environment the benefits and challenges of implementing those new skills. Good training courses provide opportunities for you to practise the new skills, undertake role-play scenarios, discuss how you feel about implementing the new skills and receive feedback from fellow-learners. You leave the training motivated, with all the best intentions of using your new skills and knowledge within the workplace. Only to regress to your old ways of doing things.
In a recent McKinsey survey only 25% of respondents believed that training measurably improved performance. Whilst a report by 24×7 Learning: Workplace Learning found that only 12% of employees actually use the training they receive at work.
With such damning statistics is it worth going on a training course? Of course it is. Training courses are an incredibly powerful way to receive new information. The problem comes when you step out of the training course and go back to your reality. So the training course is only as good as the mechanisms put in place to support you back in the workplace.
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus pioneered experimental studies of memory in the late 19th Century, culminating with his discovery of The Forgetting Curve. He found that if new information isn’t applied, we’ll forget about 75% of it after just six days. Therefore it is imperative that you use your new found knowledge and skills immediately.
In addition, research and consultancy business Gartner found that “Participants are 40% more likely to achieve their goals if they write them down. This increases to 70% if the goals are shared with someone to keep them accountable, such as a mentor.” So what is the role of the mentor in this developmental process:
- Studies show that people apply what they learn more effectively when they have a mentor, somebody who has walked their path previously and who is committed to helping them be successful.
- Having a mentor also provides the learner/mentee with the courage to implement what they have learned.
- Mentoring provides an opportunity for the mentee to reflect on what is working and what isn’t and why. The mentor is able to spot gaps in the mentee’s information and can advise them on how they could improve their implementation of their new skills.
- A mentor guides the mentee helping them to implement their new knowledge and skills into their specific work context, they enable the mentee to embed their learning, to practice and receive feedback on their skills and behaviours.
- A mentor can answer questions that may not have been answered during the training course, and help guide the mentee through various situations while understanding the specific obstacles they’re likely to face.
- A mentor provides on-going support, advice and guidance to enhance the long-term development of the mentee.
- A mentor provides accountability, someone with whom the mentee needs to check-in, someone who keeps the mentee focused.
The mentor is critical to you locking-in and practising your new knowledge and skills, acting as a sounding board and providing you with constructive feedback to support your continual professional development. So next time you are considering attending a training course to develop new skills or learn new information, make sure you have a mentor in place for once you have completed the course.
NAHT’s Mentoring Scheme
A leader’s career can be a long, winding road, so we want to support this community the best way we can. One such way is by facilitating contact between leaders at various stages of their career allowing them to share best practice and invaluable guidance. By working together and tapping into all this knowledge we can make education the best it can be.
This platform provides a space for school leaders to share and gain knowledge that will benefit those starting their leadership journey as well as seasoned leaders.
For mentees, it’s a great way to build on areas that you’re less familiar with or that are completely new to you, and in turn build a strong working mentor relationship that’ll inspire you. For mentors, it’s a chance to give back and help strengthen the profession by sharing your experience and knowledge.