Jon Hammond

At first glance you may think this is an article about what to do when the taxman knocks on your door in search of all that undeclared money stashed under the bed.

It’s not, but there’s a danger that the outcome could be the same

The thought process started for me a couple of days ago when I was having an animated (and enjoyable) conversation with a financial director who is ultimately responsible for the money his company spends on overall training especially improving leadership skills.

Despite being a gregarious character and a pleasure to spend time with, he would readily admit to being somewhat old school in his thinking when it comes to spending money on training.

He told me how they typically send executives on a one or two day course and expect them to be ‘experts’ when they return. The course is highly processed with set modules at set times and based on a one size fits all model (he didn’t seem too happy when I pointed out the same process was being used by everyone including their competitors!)

We talked about whether this was the most effective way to produce the great leaders they need for a sustainable future or just a process that made box ticking easier.

The conversation then moved towards successful outcomes and how to achieve them.

I passionately believe individuality is important. We’re all different – so why give people all the same training techniques and then expect great outcomes?

Let me give you an example.

Many communication trainers come from the acting profession.

Their general approach is to teach people how to act so when delivering a speech, acting techniques are heavily relied on such as breathing and enunciation. Now whilst these skills can be important, I really believe that becoming ‘comfortable’ and ‘yourself’ on stage is key to any successful delivery. If you’re not careful, the breathing, enunciation and other acting techniques will be right at the forefront of your conscious thought, taking your concentration and preventing you from ‘connecting’ with the audience, for me a vital element in successful communication.

If you don’t believe me try this out.

Try telling a story in an accent you are unfamiliar with and if possible get someone to film it.

See how much concentration you need to make sure your accent stays in ‘character’.

Then review the film and see how far removed from your normal persona you became.

Did you stop being yourself in order to concentrate on the ‘character’?

Actors train to be actors – to take on a character that is not them.

Great leaders need to be authentic. They need to convey trust and belief, to communicate well every day – not just play a role.

The many methods of communication technology available (Google, YouTube, Facebook) will soon spot the actors and expose the fake.

So where does the burning cash come in?

It’s all the money paid out worldwide for ineffective training which doesn’t create a long term successful outcome!

So rather than waste time, why not set light to the budget right now?

Or perhaps start the conversation with what a successful outcome will look like, where the value will be, how effective you need it to be and how your chosen coaching professional will help you get there.

It’s a conversation I always look forward to.

If  you would a coffee and conversation about improving communication in your organisation give me a call or drop me an email jon@jon-hammond.com +44 (0) 1484 680444

www.jon-hammond.com