The Updated Trainer's Dictionary
By Haider Imam
Would you describe yourself as a workafrolic, capable of entertrainment of the highest value, greeting every problem as a delightmare? Haider Imam explains some fantastic new training terms.
Entertrainment: Sticky, fit-for-purpose learning and a 'hoot' at the same time. Whether it's a trainer being a stand-up comedienne or the group making a presentation on performance management (in the style of a Scooby Doo episode). Humor aids learning.
Delightmare: A wonderful 'problem' to have. For example, do I drive the Porsche or the Aston to work today? Nightmare! On a more useful note, it's a 'reframing' attitude at it's best: unless you're facing imminent physical or emotional threat, you can always find a way that your current challenge serves you. Delightmare!
Workafrolic: Doing what you do because you simply love it and can't imagine not doing it. For example, a workafrolic wins £10 million on the lottery and still goes back to work because they can't think of a better way to spend their time than pursuing their passion.
Learnertic: A learning monster; a voracious consumer and sharer of research, stories, theory, applications, case studies, courses, media. Learning something gives a learnertic an opiate high!
Funcomfortable: It's fun. It's uncomfortable. It's edgy. When you experience this state you're alive and in the present moment and open to major learning.
Co-op-etition: A scenario where an organization is working hand-in-hand with a competitor to produce a new product / service, or to service a mutual customer (increasingly common in progressive organizations).
Draining officer: Someone who runs draining workshops when people expected training workshops. They literally suck the life out of you with 57 PowerPoint slides, chalk-and-talk and boring content. Avoid.
Penergetic: A creative state where you're inspired to pick up a pen (or type an email) to write down some fabulous ideas and the words flow wild and beautiful, like the Amazon River!
Manageritis: An illness of leaders whose heads are spinning due to an inflammation of their 'power' and influence glands, thus alienating themselves from the rest of the organization.
Co-aching: When coaching turns into a sympathy session, and the coach fails to help the coachee create empowering choices, they simply "ache" together!
[Another we found on the web and enjoyed from Kirsten in London: PowerPoint karaoke-when the presenter reads the bullet points on the screen]
Haider Imam is a trainer, coach and facilitator for Kaizen Training and the 2007 National Sales Trainer of the Year in the UK. This article first appeared at www.TrainingZone.co.uk.
