Last week, Patrick Lefler made the following provocative comment about training on his Intrepid Ideas blog.
“Unlike other organizations, the Marines pull their top performers from the front lines to serve as instructors. That’s right; the Marines actually pull their top performers—both officers and enlisted—from the front lines and use them as trainers, sometimes for two- and three-year stints. This unique practice is how they get the most from their significant investment in training, and why most other organizations (which don’t put an emphasis on using top performers to train others) fall short.”
You may not be ready to re-arrange your training methods or career paths to put top performers in training assignments for a couple of years. Your top performers may not be willing to step out of an operational role to spend time in training. Even so, you can use your top performers to improve your training and make it a prestige assignment.
Trainers I talk to these days seem to divide training into three main buckets: classroom; structured online programs; and “informal training” where people choose the subject and guide the process themselves.
The classroom situations offer opportunities to reinforce culture and develop relationships. Every classroom situation also demands support after participants return to their jobs. Classroom situations also offer ways you can use your top performers, without assigning them to training. Great academy companies like GE and Pepsico have been doing these things for decades.
Use top executives to present “this is what I want you to know” classes that include an extensive question and answer session. That presents a unique opportunity for top management to share expectations directly and memorably.
Use top performers as panel members to answer questions. In my three day supervisory skills programs, we always had panels of three top performing supervisors each. They were chosen because they were credible and because they could speak well about how they did the job.
Use top performers as discussion leaders. After material is presented split participants into smaller groups to discuss the material, with each group led by a top performer. When the whole group gets back together, have each group share their two or three key insights.
Use top performers as field trainers. Police departments have done this for decades. Field Training Officers work with new officers who have completed academy training to help them transition to their new role. See “Put Some People in the Picture.”
Use top performers as resources. When people return to the job they need all kinds of support. Online resources and discussion groups have become important, but sometimes you just want to talk to a knowledgeable human being. Top performers can fill that role.
To get double-barreled benefits from this, two things must happen. These assignments need to become career enhancers so that top performers want to be selected. Once they’re selected, you need to provide them with some training and support so they can do the job well.
