Training expert, Theresa Hummel-Krallinger, and former senior
executive, Jim Yoakum, draw from several decades of experience to
define just what skills are needed to "get-a-seat-at-the table,"
and how these skills can be developed. Hummel-Krallinger and Yoakum
sound a clarion call to the training profession: training
consultants need a strong presence and clear, resolute voice in the
executive suite. They offer a simple 3-step model practitioners can
employ to develop these critical skills: (1) broaden the
practitioner's traditional focus on training to include business
and consulting, (2) project a professional attitude and reject the
view that training is "a nice-to-have extra", and (3) build the
credibility, reputation, and relationships needed to get, keep, and
leverage "a-seat-at-the-table."
In this interview, Theresa Hummel-Krallinger and Jim Yoakum share
their views on:
- Performance Consulting
- Obsolete Stereotypes
- Delivering Bottom Line Results
- Collaborating with Executives
- Quintessential Skills
George Hall (GH): What are the greatest
challenges in the practice of workplace learning and performance
consulting?
Theresa Hummel-Krallinger (THK): There are two
great challenges in the practice of workplace learning and
performance consulting: (1) 'the bottom line' and (2) the
'stereotype'. First, I think that proving bottom line return on
investment (ROI) is going to continue being a challenge. I follow
the work heavyweights like Kirkpatrick, Phillips, and others have
done in the evaluation arena. It is critical for the field to
further refine outcome measurements and evaluation techniques.
Second, I think that overcoming the field's perception of being
"nice to have" is going to be difficult. Training is not an extra,
and need not be perceived as one. I want training, and I think all
of us want training, to be regarded as an integral part of the
business. But I don't think we are there yet. I think that there
are still many organizations that view training as a nice-to-have
addition.
Jim Yoakum (JY): In today's business world, we
often pigeon-hole people. We believe people are their function and
that this defines their professional contribution to the business.
Consequently, this expectation limits workplace learning and
performance professionals to training activities. Executives often
view training through a restrictive and largely obsolete filter
that clouds their perception for what the learning and performance
professional can really offer.
GH: Do you see the two challenges as linked? Does the
training profession's difficulty in demonstrating bottom line value
perpetuate the training as "nice to have" stereotype?
THK: Absolutely. Practitioners need to think and
behave like a business person first, and think and behave like a
trainer second. I am not suggesting that trainers abandon their
prior commitments or sacrifice one skill set for another. In
contrast, I suggest that practitioners need to think more
holistically: they need to consider integrating other disciplines
and perspectives into their everyday practice and meet today's
challenges head-on.
JY: Without robust metrics, training and
development professions are handicapped. They are forced to measure
their effectiveness in a manner that doesn't inspire management's
trust. Without management's trust, training professionals can't
hope to earn a seat-at-the-table.
GH: What experiences enabled you to transcend prevailing
stereotypes and deliver bottom line results?
THK: To begin with, I always strive to take a
long-term view of the training profession. Instead of looking at
everything through a trainers' lens, I seek new perspectives. To
begin with, for example, I try to understand my boss. I try to
really understand what is keeping my executive up at night
(literally and figuratively). To get inside my boss' head and see
the business from his/her point of view, I ask myself several
questions: What are the things that are gnawing at him? What
are the things that are people-related that also prevent him/her
from focusing on core business objectives?
GH: These are certainly penetrating and thought-provoking
questions. Many training professionals don't ask them.
Why?
THK: Great question. Historically, trainers have
been taught to ask different questions - what training is
needed? Unfortunately, this focus is now too narrow. The field
has largely outgrown this focus and, in fact, has been forced by
the current business environment to redefine itself. This redefined
profession has a broader focus and asks new questions - what is
keeping my executive up at night? What is gnawing at him or her
that I can somehow alleviate with my skill set and my
knowledge? Asking these sorts of questions makes you a
collaborative partner who can, finally, rightfully claim of
a-seat-at-the-table.
GH: What are the quintessential skills any Workplace
Learning and Performance Professional should strive to acquire?
Why?
THK: I love this question. The quintessential
skills any Learning and Development Professional should acquire
include (1) the ability to think like a business person, (2) the
capacity to align your contribution to the business, and (3) the
skill to listen and hear the unmet need. I think that consultants
must be able to read between the lines to find out what is really
going on. What are people actually saying? Consultants need to get
out of their own heads. It is not all about you - the trainer. It
is about them - the client. The only reason we have jobs as
training professionals is to provide support. Our position is not
about getting our needs met or playing roles we were taught to
fill. We exist, as training consultants, to serve the needs of the
executive, the needs of the department, and the needs of the
company. In the final analysis, this perspective is absolutely
essential to getting "a-seat-at-the-table."
2006 ASTD, Alexandria, VA. All rights reserved.