Training for failure

It is not an unreasonable assumption that when people undergo training that you would expect them to be able to accomplish the job, task or mission that they are asked to do. Unfortunately, in numerous occasions where the training was a failure, this is brought about by four basic factors: First is that the instructor or mentor was incompetent or did not do his job right. Second is that the trainee was not suitable. Third is that the objective of the training was corrupted. Fourth, there was insufficient time and resources available.

In the first case, it is a certainty that an incompetent person will not be able to do his or her job right. I have seen many cases when an incompetent person was appointed to the position or task, not on the basis of merit but by personal preference, erroneous perception or simply by the sheer incompetence of the appointing authority. Even when the mentor is competent and capable, it can still happen that the training does not end well and the trainee ends up a failure. This would be particularly true if there is no rapport between the mentor and the trainee, the mentor feels threatened by the trainee or the mentor purposely throws the trainee under the bus.

Sometimes it also happens that the trainee is unable to fulfil expectations due to distractions, lack of basic skills and training, different priorities, or no respect for the instructor. It is also possible that in the selection of the trainee, other factors were considered by the one making the selection such as favoritism, nepotism, or inadequate selection criteria.

When the objective of the training or mentoring is unclear, chances are both the mentor and the trainee do not have the same expectations or understanding which will certainly result in failure. The same thing happens when the objectives are not logical or has changed. A corrupted objective is very hard to sell to both the trainor and the trainee since it will most likely run counter to the organization’s vision and mission statement.

Finally a mentoring program will fail even if both the mentor and the trainee are good, when there is not enough time and resources allocated for the training. We should also take into account the changing standards and advancement in technology. When I took my MBA more than 30 years ago, we were encouraged to have our own personal computers but it was not mandatory. However, in today’s environment it would be hard to imagine taking an MBA program without using a computer.

To avoid training for failure, it would be a good idea to have an independent audit on how the training program is progressing at various stages. Obviously, this would require mile-posts where deliverables are expected and when not delivered should be a signal that something is wrong. Just being able to point out which of the above four factors is the problem will already be a step in taking corrective action. Of course, the key is really in admitting that there really is a problem in the first place and if this does not happen then we really are just training for failure.

( Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@yahoo.com)