Competition and power struggles between and within organizations are an inevitable part of business. That’s not news. But an interesting item submitted to Creative Traininng Techniques newsletter by Mike Smith, a human resource manager back in the 1980s for Research Cottrell, Somerville, N.J., reminds me of the delicate balance trainers must strike vying for power within companies – strength that translates into healthy budgets, plentiful learning resources, appropriate staffing levels, involvement in important projects, but that does not intimidate or manipulate learners. The success of a training department is based on a complex formula; one of the most important factors is how we handle people in our classrooms. Smith writes:
“Do trainers have power? Of course we do. And to the degree we understand power dynamics in the training situation and use them correctly, we enhance our effectiveness as trainers.
“In elementary and secondary school, the predominant learning method is the old teacher knows best – the student listens, observes, remembers, and regurgitates for tests. So when adult students arrive in the classroom, they are often predisposed to sit and listen. Those who by nature want to be in charge but don’t like to take direction from others tend to fight the trainer. When I finally realized this (and I won’t admit how long it took me), I concluded that the most effective trainers I know don’t emphasize their power, but they certainly do have and use it.”
Based on that insight, Smith says, Research Cottrell now uses exercises in train-the-trainers sessions to make the point with all instructors. “We ask participants to do a series of tasks that have no true meaning, but, explicitly or not, say ‘trust me.’
“We use the University Associates ‘T’ test, originally designed to introduce the concept of personality traits:
- Without explaining why, tell the group that you will administer a test.
- For two minutes, have them make as many ‘T’s on a sheet of paper as they can, then count them.
- Prepare a distribution of the scores on chalkboard or easel.
- Now the fun begins – invent reasons why some people do better on the T test than others. Invite questions and make up answers. When the questions die down or get too difficult to answer, stop the exercise and start another.
“The next exercise is a power line-up. After participants arrange themselves in a line, we move one or two people to illustrate our power and to encourage them to move each other. When they stop moving, and before they get restless, we have participants face the front of the class, bend over and hold their knees, and look up. By this time one or more have usually had enough and don’t comply. While the rest are in subservient position we say ‘This is an example of trainer power.’ Then we begin debriefing.
“Like it or not, trainers are authority figures. Learners respond as they have responded to authority figures in their past; some fight, others surrender. It is our job to recognize the power we have and ensure we use it wisely. To ignore the power issue is to ignore a fundamental, interpersonal dynamics issue that can enable us to facilitate and, when necessary, control a training class.”
Smith’s suggestions are good reminders that, whether training trainers or reflecting on our own training skills, strength, power, and control can be gained from understanding other strong forces and sometimes giving way in order to redirect their energy.
