Training or learning is a quest for improvement.
Even a gold medal winner in a race still strives for continuous improvement so that they can win again. To be able to improve they need to be aware of the possible gaps in their performance so they know where to put their efforts.
The same applies in learning; the participant needs to be aware of the gaps in their performance to be able to improve.
A participant who is new to a job role would generally find it quite easy to see gaps in their performance which need improvement. However, a participant who is much more experienced in their job role, and perhaps a high performer, might find it a great deal harder to progress their performance by finding any gaps.
A good training program will find those gaps, regardless of job role experience and a participant’s self concept of performance.
A lot of time on training programs is spent trying to create awareness in the participant, using tasks such as role play and feedback. Using role play helps the participant to look at things from a different perspective and the feedback from this can be used to identify a gap in their performance which can be improved.
Identifying gaps for improvement can be particularly difficult for sales people. They need high confidence to fulfill their job role, and this can make it hard for them to be aware of any gaps in performance.
One way you can help to create awareness is through an exercise I have designed called the Management Consultant Exercise. We often use this process to help people build awareness; it incorporates reflection and creates the illusion of being someone else outside, looking in.
Follow this link for a full explanation of the Management Consultant Exercise, which has been extracted from my upcoming book; “The Inconvenient Truth about Learning”.