Making Corporate Training Successful

The Corporate Training Business has started booming in the country since 1991 and has reached new heights in the past decade. Not only have new international companies entered the market, the local ones have also strengthened their hold and offerings and new ones are cropping up regularly.

Apart from needing prior experience, there are no barriers faced as such when entering into this business.

While many players have entered the business, sustenance and growth only happen of those who add value to the client and fulfil their needs.

Corporate training companies in India have not restricted themselves to offering only training programs.

At The Yellow Spot, we also started as a corporate training company in Mumbai offering Soft and Behavioural skills training programs across the country and have gradually spread our wings across the country using a blended approach of offerings.

Corporate Training using the Experiential Learning Approach

We recruited trainers at strategic locations and also empanelled them at other locations. This helped create a robust team across 50 locations across the country.Later we decided to move into the Organization Development, E-learning, Content Design and Development, Leadership Development, Coaching and the Mentoring space.

This opened up various avenues for us as well as helped expand the services we could offer our clients.

Many training companies have also created and specialised in their own products, creating a niche market for themselves. They have also started marketing some products and services offered by international players who were looking at strategic partnerships in the country.

For the client however the single question prevails as to how these offerings will suffice their needs and benefit their employees.

The answer is simple. Whether a soft skills training company, a hard skills training company, an e-learning company or a leadership development company, one has to do thorough diagnostic of the client environment. One has to dig deep into the people and place to know what is prevailing. Unless you know the current environment you cannot build a bridge for the better. Another important point to consider is that the current environment in the organization has to be understood neutrally keeping the Consultants biases aside.

The second step is to co-create a learning road map along with the client.  Unless the client is fully involved, a fruitful intervention cannot be designed. That’s where most of the training companies in India or corporate training companies in Mumbai, corporate training companies in Pune, training companies in Delhi, corporate training companies in Chennai, corporate training companies in Bangalore, corporate training companies in Kolkata, etc.  miss out.

The temptation of suggesting the pill before finding the root cause of the problem can be very strong and it can actually lead the intervention to go astray. The trap is at times also created by the client assuming the consultant to be the expert and the consultant offering himself as the expert.

The fact is that most of the programs that are not co created usually don’t meet their expectations.

Another very important aspect is sustenance of the learning. This again is a co supported requirement. The post intervention aspect is very strongly required and the most neglected at times. Most learning interventions don’t yield results because they are looked at as one time interventions and not much effort is made to sustain the learning. Regular learning circles, follow ups, refreshers, action plans, transfer climate, projects and length of interventions actually help in sustaining the learning environment and eventually making the intervention a success.

If a corporate training company focuses on these elements then success is bound to be theirs. This also then raises the question that can they learn to refuse when they feel the requirements of conducting a successful  learning intervention are not being met by the client?

To learn more about how to make your learning interventions more successful, visit us at http://www.theyellowspot.com/

Management Development Programs for Change

Management Development Programs primarily focus on skills development training. However Most of the Management Development programs fail to bring out desired results as the concerned stakeholders have not been involved in the change process and thorough diagnosis is usually missing.

Every program needs a thorough understanding about the current situation in the organization which is called as the organizational climate. Detailed analysis of the current culture can happen through sensing, systemic understanding of the organizations functioning, interviews, surveys, group discussions, detailed analysis and observation of the business and various departments. This preparatory work helps in determining if the gaps can be plugged by training alone or other interventions have to be looked upon.

Diagnosing the Organisational Climate Together

Usually training as standalone solution is never effective however many a times training programs and interventions are used as scape goats with a thought that training is the final ultimate solution and that becomes the biggest reason why training interventions fail miserably.

What also typically happens with internal and external consultants is that they decide the pill before doing the diagnostic as they feel that the tools they know and have learnt are the best approaches for the given problem. This usually leads to disaster.

What may be required is a thorough fact finding and brainstorming post the diagnosis about more long term sustainable changes using the right leverage points along with training interventions.

Once it gets established that training is the solution via detailed diagnostics, the next required step is to look at a strong supportive environment also called as transfer climate which will help the participants practice the learning’s.

This has to be provided by the HR, top management and the bosses without which the training program can become ineffective.  In fact most successful interventions carried out so far have a strong buy in and involvement of the HR and the business.

Another aspect required is action planning with regular follow up and refreshers courses apart from individual and group coaching.

Follow up on the action planning by the HR and the Business Heads/Managers is important to ensure that there is seriousness in applying the learning once the training program is complete. It also helps participants in keeping and remembering to keep the learning ready with them so that they may action it as and when required.

Learning also looses its essence if not repeated as participants forget in some time what they learnt and the role of refreshers becomes important here. This is the reason why one-off managerial skills development programs never bring desired results.  It is only a measured systemic development which helps in bringing the desired change over a period of time and when an organization focuses on quick fixes and overnight change, the results are usually poor and fruitless.

At The Yellow Spot, we strongly feel that it is not only the participants but their seniors, customers, peers and support functions who should also be considered as a part of interventions as they are the ones who also facilitate change by providing a transfer climate.

Hence the focus of any management development program or managerial skills training should not be limited to only participants and respective stakeholders should also be included.

To get the most out of your Management Development Programs, come visit us at http://www.theyellowspot.com/

Daily Dose of Leadership Training

Leadership Training or for that matter leadership, is a very broad term and is applicable to everyone, whether it is the watchman of the office, the CEO of a big company, a father or a husband at home. However it is often misunderstood as a term that most people link to leadership positions they hold in the society or in organizations.

So let's understand leadership a little more in depth to be able to know what it actually means.

I would like to share a real life scenario where i experienced leadership capabilities in a fried fish seller recently.

There is a fried fish seller who operates from the road near our office and I eat fried fish every other day from him. His fried fish are fresh and very tasty.

 This particular time that i visited him, he had just come back from a long holiday of over 3 months and I was wondering where he had been. When i asked him, he said that he had taken a break as the fish market is closed for 3 months of the monsoon season. I asked what he was doing for those 3 months and he said he drove an auto riksha for around 8 hours a day during these months.

 The next question I asked him was how he managed his house expenses with this business of fish selling being a part time business, to which he answered that it was difficult and he was just about able to manage. He also said that he was quite happy as he did not want to slog and do additional work like other people in his locality.

The Happy Fisherman

 I wondered what could be the reason behind him not being interested in working harder and making more money for his family and finally landed up asking him. 

His answer was that he had 3 sons and spent a large part of the day in teaching them and ensuring that they get the best of education, love and nurturing. He said that as a part of his efforts his 2 sons were doing very well at school and he wanted them to grow and not be a fish seller like him. If he would have not spent time with his children then they would also have no future like him and would end up on the road. His wife was also at home and ensured she was available for the children and the husband all the time. The family was thus fully focused together in their goal of bringing up their children and giving them the best environment.

 I felt it was great to see the foresight of a father who was illiterate and had no formal education and I felt truly inspired. 

Now this was an example of pure leadership for me, where the father of the house had a larger vision for his family and children. He understood how not to get sucked into the daily routine of life and to keep his vision strong and worked on it day by day. He was also self aware and felt that earning loads of money was not as important as his children’s future.

If you look deeper into this story you can learn some valuable lessons like

• Managing self & time,
• Self sacrifice for others,
• Simplicity of life
• Decision making,
• Long term growth,
• Alignment of vision with actions,
• Team work.

Such examples are all around us at all points of time and there is a lot to learn from them and then experiment and imbibe into our routine life.  In fact it's easier to learn from the little things in life rather than trying to digest big theories!

We, at The Yellow Spot, feel that it all begins with starting to know the Self and learning how to manage the self. Managing the self requires insights into ones thoughts and feelings which leads to greater awareness  and what you get aware of can be more easily changed and most of the time even changes automatically!

It is said by the great mystics that "all change is only possible outside when you get in touch with your inside" and how true it is.

At The Yellow Spot, our leadership training programs focus on helping you to start observing yourself and the way you behave. We firmly believe that no leadership program can be successful unless it is able to bring change inside the individual and hence all our leadership skills training emphasize on the same.

Self Awareness is however also a process. It is not something that happens overnight and requires lots of patience and continuity. We deploy tools like the Gestalt Therapy, NLP, Transactional Analysis, Vipassana and Mindfulness as well as Human Process Labs to catalyse the process.

Our focus is on the whole individual rather than over one aspect of him. Once self awareness is developed, all other skills get easily imbibed. In fact we have to actually make individuals unlearn a lot to be able to start learning and practicing once again!

If you would like to be a part of our Leadership Training workshops, you can get in touch with us and visit our website page at http://www.theyellowspot.com/ for more details about our Leadership Training and other Soft Skills and Behavioural Training.

Appreciating diversity through Team Building Workshops

I read two very interesting theories yesterday which I could connect to our Team Building Workshops. The first one was on the learning cycle and the learning styles that we all have. As per the theory, commonly known as the Kolb’s Learning Cycle and Kolb’s Learning Styles respectively, we all have a typical learning cycle that we tend to follow and should follow for maximum learning. We go through a particular experience, we then like to observe what happened in the experience, reflect on it, draw our conclusions from it and then go ahead and test our conclusions.

So if I was to try to learn a skill at work, say how to handle irate customers how I would do it is:

1. Experience: I first interact with an irate customer to know what happens in such a case

2. Observation and Reflection: I recollect what happened in the interaction and try to reflect on various aspects like how the conversation went, what were the words and feelings exchanged, how I reacted or responded to what the customer said, etc.

3. Conceptualisation: I now start drawing my conclusions as to what I need to do to handle the irate customer well or better like take a deep breath and allow the customer to vent while he is angry instead of defending myself

4. Testing: I now go and try my conclusions on another irate customer to see if they are correct

The testing phase then gives rise to a new set of experiences and the cycle continues.

David Kolb goes on to say that although we all follow the same learning cycle, yet we all have different learning styles. So while somebody might prefer the observation and reflection part, others might learn more by testing and actually doing things.

The other theory I read was on how all of us use different areas of our brains for performing different functions. So although we all have similar faculties in the brain which can perform similar functions, the use of some come naturally to us whereas others just don’t. So while some of us may use our analytical areas more, others may use their intuitive faculties more. Now those using the analytical areas can also use the intuitive areas with practice, but it may be a strain as it’s not something that come naturally to them.

Another interesting thing that I found in this theory is that we like being around people who use similar brain parts to ourselves and normally become friends with such people. On the other hand, we are naturally attracted to those who use complementary brain parts to ours and choose such people as a mate as they tend to complete us as cover up our so called weaknesses.

So if you look at both theories, they give us great insights into teams. They both tell us that teams being made up of humans always have a common factor in them. They have similar ways of learning as well as similar brain functions. In that sense every team has a common thread running through it.

However, if you go a little deeper you will realise that teams also have diversity. They are made up of different people who differ in the way they like to learn and differ in the way that they make use of their brain functionalities.

Diversity in Teams

So then is the commonality good or is the diversity good for a team? Am sure you all have the answer to this one and you will tell me that it’s really a no brainer! Both are good, the common pieces keep us bonded together as a single unit and the diversity helps us in performing a variety of functions which each team member excels in. Right?

My question to you is that although we all know this and say it, is it really something that we believe and practice? Is it something that really comes from our core? Do we really appreciate diversity?

The fact is that most of us are unfortunately unable to appreciate it although we may try very hard too! Why, because of an innate need to be accepted. Have you ever thought of why we like people who are similar to us? It’s because when someone is similar, it somewhere confirms to us that we are also alright which in turn makes us feel more accepted.

If you look at it the other way also, you will realise that we don’t like things which are different from us. Most of the conflicts in the world occur because of this. So we don’t like people who are of a different religion or from a different country or city. The conflicts that we have in office are also mostly because of different opinions and different personalities.

So is there some way to appreciate these differences then? Join our team building workshops and we will happily show you the way to have a bonded yet diversity appreciating team.

Visit our website http://www.theyellowspot.com/ to learn what skills your team members have and how you can leverage them.

Time Management Training or Mind Training?

Is Time Management Training really a thing? Or should I say is time really a thing that can be managed and that’s something that we can train you on?

Time is a very peculiar commodity. It is constant yet it changes! We all have 24 hours in a day, so in that sense it is constant. Yet at the same time it is variable too. It varies from people to people and even amongst the same person! Weird isn’t it? The number of hours in a day for the Prime Minister would probably seem like less than 24 whereas those for a retired man would seem like a lot more. You can see it in an individual too. Time seems to be flying by when we are watching a good movie and 2 hours really feel like an hour whereas when we are studying a subject we are not exceptionally fond off, even 30 minutes can feel like 2 hours!

How does this happen? It’s actually all to do with our minds. Frankly there is no change in the actual time available or spent; the only difference is in the way we perceive it. Why the difference in perception? It’s due to our mind.

Now let me tell you a secret. There is actually no time. It’s just something that has been created by us to give ourselves a platform to measure events against; something relative, created to keep everyone on the same page. This can be understood by when we connect to the present moment or should I say the direct neural network in our nervous systems.

There are 3 aspects that an event can be broken down into. The past, present and future. The past is what has happened previously and is over. The present is what is happening at this very instant. The future is what will happen after this present moment has passed. So each moment is a future moment, then becomes a present moment and then becomes the past, all in 3 superfast moments! Confused? It’s a bit of a funny concept as we have not really spent much time dwelling on it although it is continuously happening.

In fact I can see it clearly while I am writing this article. I frankly have no clue as to what I am writing (I know I wasn’t supposed to tell you that!), it’s just flowing through me. I have not really thought about what I am writing or what I am going to write, it’s just that something is coming to me and I am writing it down. So I really don’t have a clue of the future moments as I have no idea of what I am going to write, I am writing what is coming to me in the present moment and as soon as I write it it becomes the past! Since I am so ‘in the present moment’, I have no sense of time and do not even have the urge to measure it! All I know is that I am thoroughly enjoying writing this article and am feeling very fulfilled in doing the same.

This is the direct neural network I was talking about. When you connect to this network, time loses its meaning. Am sure you will ask me how then can I manage time while being connected to this network as I have lost complete sense of time?

It’s quite unbelievable until you actually do it. What happens in the present moment is that you don’t waste time thinking as such. Yes your working mind is working, or the conscious mind as you may call it. That is the minimal amount of mind needed to perform a task, like me typing in this case. I need my mind to instruct my fingers which keys to press for typing. The rest of my mind is not really on. I know that sounds absurd but it’s true. I am currently not making use of my subconscious mind which is actually the one that takes up a lot of our time. When we are just connected to the conscious mind, it feels like things are happening through you and you cease to get tired even though frankly you are working at a superfast speed without feeling the strain of it. When you work through the subconscious mind, there is a lot of processing that goes into it which wastes a lot of energy and time which we conserve if we just stick to the conscious mind.

The next question will be then how do we do this, right? How do we switch from our normal tendency of staying in the past and the future, (which is staying in the subconscious mind or as we call it operating from the default network) to operating from the conscious mind or the direct network. It’s done by simply staying in the present moment. Well it’s not that simply frankly because we have lost all practice of it. We knew how to do it as kids but have slowly forgotten the art. Whenever you realise you are going into the past or future, you gently bring your mind back to the present and then starts the magic. You will never have to ever manage your time once you get the hang of it.

To relearn this beautiful technique, you can definitely attend one of our Time Management Training sessions and we would be happy to assist you get back what was once yours!

So that’s me signing off and as I look at the time I have really written this article in superb time:)

Visit us at http://www.theyellowspot.com/ to learn more about our Soft and Behavioural Skills offerings.