Ban the word training

Some days, I wish we could just ban the word ‘training,’ as it relates to learning in the workplace. It kind of makes me think of ‘teaching an old dog a new trick.’ I’ve always embraced it, by thinking of it in terms of practicing & developing core skills required to ultimately excel in any field, but when it comes to ‘training,’ I think we have to be careful to avoid allowing the ‘teach me a new trick’ mentality to overshadow the ‘developing core skills’ mentality.

There are no ‘new tricks’ that will make it easy to thrive in the rapidly changing environments that have become the new norm for most forward thinking organizations. However, coming together to share knowledge, ideas, and best practices – now that’s the mentality we need to bring to ‘training.’ Don’t just come to consume, bring something to share.