Training and development that has some aspect of career coaching is en vogue right now. It is to the training and development world what Kanye West only thinks he is to the fashion world. Many have even started using several different names for these programs interchangeably: career coaching, mentoring, career counseling, etc. Some of these programs, while certainly well intentioned, fall short in that their focus is perhaps a bit too narrow.
You see, many training and development programs right now are focusing on developing certain skills or qualities that will enable a given individual to take the next step in a specific career path within a unique organization. That’s not bad, in and of itself. However, I think we’re missing a huge opportunity to do even more.
We need to take a more holistic approach to developing people. We need to invest in people development rather than simply training the next cog in our respective corporate machines. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t invest in position- or career-specific development. Rather, that specific development needs to be part of a larger developmental context.
Think of It as People-Building, Not “Just Training”
As you consider your training and development efforts, try to frame your thoughts a little differently. Try asking yourself what you’re building. Are you building customer service representatives? Are you building bank tellers? Are you building assembly line workers? What are you building?
The answer, of course, is that you ought to be building people. Don’t simply train people to perform tasks and nothing more. Build people. Help them first work toward understanding themselves, and further, toward accomplishing both personal and professional goals.
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