What are you doing in your agency or academy to continually provide your trainers with professional development training? I am not talking about sending your DT or firearms instructors to certification and recertification training, which of course is important. I am talking about ongoing training to make them better trainers, teachers and coaches.
What could that ongoing training look like? It can come in many forms. Some examples would be:
- Regular workshops and presentations from educators, coaches, athletes, corporate trainers, on key elements of training, coaching, mental preparation, conflict management and leadership. The presentations would involve a question and answer period and be followed by discussions with the the training cadre on their key takeaways as well as discussions and action steps on how to apply those takeaways.
- Book reviews and discussions. Once a quarter every trainer could be given a book which they would each read. They would then discuss as a group their greatest takeaways from the book followed by a discussion on how those takeaways could be implemented in their personal lives and/or their training. The books could be on learning, leadership, communication, innovation or any other relevant topics. The majority, or even all, of the books would be non law enforcement to ensure a variety of perspectives.
- Regular workshops on the latest research related to how people learn. These workshops would be followed by group discussions on how to apply the research to the design and delivery of the various elements of your training programs.
- Sign up for a Training Unit membership to The Excellence in Training Academy (use the code eitmonthfree to get the first month at no cost). Each week the trainers would listen to the interview of the week and write down their two biggest takeaways and at least one potential action item based on the interview. The trainers could have informal discussions over coffee and lunch to discuss the interviews and once a month they could convene as a training cadre to discuss, as a group, one or two of the interviews from the previous month. You could also do the same with the 15 webinars currently in the Member’s Area of the EIT Academy.
- If all the members of the training cadre are ILEETA members you could have them listen to the weekly interviews in the ILEETA Learning Lab. Once a month, on a rotating basis, you could have one or two trainers make a 10 or 15 minute presentation on the interview that most impacted them. They could speak about the key learning points, their biggest takeaways and suggested action steps from that interview. These presentations would be followed by facilitated group discussions.
- Conduct facilitated discussions on what each area of training actually teaches and all the demands on that area and their trainers. This will help trainers discover the areas of overlap between the different elements of training and get all the trainers talking about how they can be of service to each other and how they can reinforce the information, principles and concepts taught in other areas. This will also help to break down the silos in training and assist in developing a common language among the training staff.
- Conduct facilitated discussions on potential gaps in training and how to fill those gaps in order to best serve your learners and your organization. These gaps will become evident in the facilitated discussions focused on breaking down the silos and also will be revealed during reality based training scenarios.
- When any trainer attend a conference, seminar or workshop have them give presentations to the entire group of trainers on their takeaways and thoughts on implementation from every class they attended at a conference or from the course, seminar or workshop.
- Have regular discussions with the training cadre on problems different trainers are experiencing in their training classes and work as a group to explore options on how to overcome those challenges.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Dedicated to helping good trainers become great trainers and great trainers to deliver awesome training.
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Interested in hosting an Excellence in Training Presentation, Seminar or Course? Contact to me at winningmind@mac.com and we can work together to determine what will best suit your needs.