I was reminded recently of an advertising campaign I saw when I was a student in Edinburgh. As you descended the steps into Waverley station, there was a huge banner that read “TRAINING BEATS COACHING” – a succinct way to persuade you that trains were a better way to get you from A to B than taking the coach.
I’ve been thinking recently about the two elements of my work – training and coaching – and how they might work best together.
How often have you been on a training course, been really enthusiastic and come back with best of intentions to use your new-found knowledge in your work, only to put away your notes and never look at them again. Or more recently I’ve been on several workshops where I’ve been assured that “you don’t need to take notes; we’ll send you the slides” and after 3 weeks without receiving anything I’ve given up and moved on.
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a training session or workshop and had someone follow up 3 or 6 months later to find out if/how I was using the knowledge to improve my performance. It amazes me that companies invest in sending their people on training courses and think that’s the end of it. It takes a great deal of personal discipline, and often the support of other colleagues, to put that new knowledge into practise and change your way of working.
(One study found that managers who had been on ‘Manager as Coach’ training took on average three days to revert ‘back to normal’ after the training.)
Having someone who will check in with you, support you to make changes, and hold you accountable for doing something, will help you maintain motivation and embed the learning.
Of course, ideally the person who checks in with you and ensures the company’s investment is bearing fruit would be your line manager. But unfortunately we know that, at least currently, it rarely happens.
This is where coaching can help. Coaching or mentoring can help employees embed the learning in their work and improve their performance. That’s why coaching is often part of a leadership development programme – because including coaching has been shown to be more effective than just the training alone. Otherwise the learning is soon forgotten.
So if you’ve had some learning (you’ve attended a workshop, enrolled on a MOOC, read a book etc.) and want to make changes to help your performance at work, make sure you schedule in review, reflection, and/or coaching or check-ins with a study buddy, to give yourself the best chance of success.
So no, training doesn’t beat coaching. But perhaps the two in combination is the answer.