Hey Everybody! It’s Jason Everett again, here from Business Refuel and I want to talk to you today about a problem that comes up in a lot of offices. In fact, it comes up more often than you might think. It’s a training problem, where you may have told somebody over and over again how to do something, or what to do and they’re still coming back with their version instead of what you wanted them to. So before you let them go, before you tell them they’re horrible/they’re no good, and they shouldn’t be there; I’d like to offer another solution because in any great leadership position, leadership starts by examining what they do before they blame it on their team.
Today in this quick newsletter tip for you, what I want to share with you is a methodology that works the same way for maybe a skill you are more familiar with like learning how to drive a car. In fact, when I was younger, my Dad taught me how to drive at a very young age. I grew up a mile and a half down a dirt road, out in the middle of nowhere, and we used to be able to drive down this dirt road when we were really small. So what we used to do when I was first starting to learn how to drive with my Dad, is we used to sit on his lap, and steer the steering wheel (and of course he used to have his hand on it making sure we weren’t driving off the road or something like that), and then once we got old enough he allowed us to use the stick shift. It was a stick shift. We would shift into 2nd gear, then back into 1st, and things like that, and then as soon as I was tall enough, we used to sit on a phonebook and just operate the pedals and then my Dad would hold the steering wheel. By that time we were pretty good at it, and then once I didn’t need the phone book anymore I was off and driving. Which by the way, I was about between 8 and 10 years old when I was driving a stick shift so I never learned how to drive traditionally like most people do when they are between 14 and 16 years old.
The reason why I bring this up is when you are teaching people, you’ve got to give it to them in small doses. In business it is the exact same way. Often times in business we are so overwhelmed by tasks that we barely know how to do ourselves, that we quickly shove off, and push off, to somebody else and say, “Hey, you figure it out. I don’t have time.” That’s how most training ends up happening, or they say, “Here is my entire agenda, and i want you to get threw that... So here’s what you need to do, here’s what you need to do.” You tell them what to do and you just give them the task and then when they come back, and it’s not right. You get frustrated, or you get upset.
So here are 4 things that you need to do that will help you to train people and get them up to speed:
1. I Do, You Watch -The first step #1 is called I Do, You Watch. So when I was with my Dad, he would drive the car, I would sit in the passenger seat and I would watch. He would say, “Watch what i do, here’s how the clutch works,” and he would explain it to me and tell me exactly what he was doing. He would not just watch me drive, he would explain to me what was going on. So that is I Do, You Watch.
2. I Do, You Help -Now, #2 in this process is I Do, You Help. This is where I would actually sit on his lap, and use the steering wheel. I was a participant in the process. I was doing something relatively harmless, and I couldn’t get in too much trouble by touching the steering wheel (and he could very quickly take the wheel back if he needed to), but he would operate the clutch and all of those things. So again, Number 1: I Do, You Watch. Number 2: I Do, You Help, and you can probably guess what Number 3 is...
3. You Do, I Help -Number 3 is, You Do, I Help. Now this is where my Dad would come into play, I was actually doing it. I was sitting on the phone book, I was operating the clutch and the pedals. My Dad would be able to use the e-brake, or change the steering or whatever was needed and he would support me as I was driving. As opposed to the other way around. The final stage that you want to get into, is Number 4 (below).
4. You Do, I Watch -Number 4 is, You Do, I Watch. Now the reason why you do that is you don’t want to just say, “Okay, you’ve got the task now, just go off and do it on your own,” which is what most people do. My Dad was in the car with me, while I was driving... maybe so I wouldn’t run off the road. Now at 7-8 years old, we were actually able to drive the car by ourselves up and down the road, and we were able to do it on our own, but that was only because we had been responsible enough to do it when he was in the vehicle.
So if you want to figure out how to get your team trained, and up to speed very quickly, use those 4 tips that I gave you today. Make sure you give them “the process,” even if you are busy, even if you are overwhelmed. I guarantee it will make a huge difference in how you train your team.
So that’s it for this week’s video newsletter tip.
Today in this quick newsletter tip for you, what I want to share with you is a methodology that works the same way for maybe a skill you are more familiar with like learning how to drive a car. In fact, when I was younger, my Dad taught me how to drive at a very young age. I grew up a mile and a half down a dirt road, out in the middle of nowhere, and we used to be able to drive down this dirt road when we were really small. So what we used to do when I was first starting to learn how to drive with my Dad, is we used to sit on his lap, and steer the steering wheel (and of course he used to have his hand on it making sure we weren’t driving off the road or something like that), and then once we got old enough he allowed us to use the stick shift. It was a stick shift. We would shift into 2nd gear, then back into 1st, and things like that, and then as soon as I was tall enough, we used to sit on a phonebook and just operate the pedals and then my Dad would hold the steering wheel. By that time we were pretty good at it, and then once I didn’t need the phone book anymore I was off and driving. Which by the way, I was about between 8 and 10 years old when I was driving a stick shift so I never learned how to drive traditionally like most people do when they are between 14 and 16 years old.
The reason why I bring this up is when you are teaching people, you’ve got to give it to them in small doses. In business it is the exact same way. Often times in business we are so overwhelmed by tasks that we barely know how to do ourselves, that we quickly shove off, and push off, to somebody else and say, “Hey, you figure it out. I don’t have time.” That’s how most training ends up happening, or they say, “Here is my entire agenda, and i want you to get threw that... So here’s what you need to do, here’s what you need to do.” You tell them what to do and you just give them the task and then when they come back, and it’s not right. You get frustrated, or you get upset.
So here are 4 things that you need to do that will help you to train people and get them up to speed:
1. I Do, You Watch -The first step #1 is called I Do, You Watch. So when I was with my Dad, he would drive the car, I would sit in the passenger seat and I would watch. He would say, “Watch what i do, here’s how the clutch works,” and he would explain it to me and tell me exactly what he was doing. He would not just watch me drive, he would explain to me what was going on. So that is I Do, You Watch.
2. I Do, You Help -Now, #2 in this process is I Do, You Help. This is where I would actually sit on his lap, and use the steering wheel. I was a participant in the process. I was doing something relatively harmless, and I couldn’t get in too much trouble by touching the steering wheel (and he could very quickly take the wheel back if he needed to), but he would operate the clutch and all of those things. So again, Number 1: I Do, You Watch. Number 2: I Do, You Help, and you can probably guess what Number 3 is...
3. You Do, I Help -Number 3 is, You Do, I Help. Now this is where my Dad would come into play, I was actually doing it. I was sitting on the phone book, I was operating the clutch and the pedals. My Dad would be able to use the e-brake, or change the steering or whatever was needed and he would support me as I was driving. As opposed to the other way around. The final stage that you want to get into, is Number 4 (below).
4. You Do, I Watch -Number 4 is, You Do, I Watch. Now the reason why you do that is you don’t want to just say, “Okay, you’ve got the task now, just go off and do it on your own,” which is what most people do. My Dad was in the car with me, while I was driving... maybe so I wouldn’t run off the road. Now at 7-8 years old, we were actually able to drive the car by ourselves up and down the road, and we were able to do it on our own, but that was only because we had been responsible enough to do it when he was in the vehicle.
So if you want to figure out how to get your team trained, and up to speed very quickly, use those 4 tips that I gave you today. Make sure you give them “the process,” even if you are busy, even if you are overwhelmed. I guarantee it will make a huge difference in how you train your team.
So that’s it for this week’s video newsletter tip.
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