Train-the-Trainer 1

Train-the-Trainer sounds like such a simple, logical idea: -

Because of language issues or the overall scale of the project or whatever, doesn't it make sense for you to just transfer the skills to deliver the programme to our people and we'll take it from there?

It's very hard to argue against this logic yet it has some wide-ranging implications for my business that I sometimes struggle to fully appreciate.  Perhaps its because of my background as a performer that I am most comfortable delivering my stuff directly to the end user.  My job is to facilitate behavioural change and it's easier to do when I can look in the eyes of the person whose behaviour is meant to change.

The usual analogy for Train-the-Trainer projects is that of the children's party game 'Chinese Whispers' (aka 'Telephone') and it's hard to dispute.  Information mutates as it passes along a chain and the longer the chain the greater the mutation.  As the supplier of the original content I find myself trying to second guess a raft of possible issues faced by a deliverer who isn't me.  This 'second guessing' must account for an astonishingly wide set of variables: -

• Does that person share the underlying values assumed by the programme?
• How competent is the trainer as a presenter?  As a facilitator of discussion?
• My programmes always feature drama-based elements.  Will the trainer enthusiastically embrace, half-heartedly attempt or drop them altogether? 
• Can I assume that the programme will be given the right amount of time?  Will my room layout and other staging requirements be adhered to?  Will the handouts be properly prepared?
• How hard will the trainer fight to ensure that these project parameters are in place?

The integrity of my programme can be compromised in many ways and I have to do what I can protect my creation.  My first instinct is to proliferate documentation; try to anticipate every possible problem and script a remedy.  The obvious problem here is that I'm assuming that the trainer in question even cares enough to read my carefully constructed notes.  Another unhealthy byproduct is that my value proposition is now attached to what I write rather than what I say aloud or even what I think.

A better solution is to engender an attitude.   Instead of offering a set of mechanical solutions, if I can instill a passionate belief in the programme then the trainer is much more likely to allocate enough preparation time to deliver it well and also to fight to ensure that parameters such as programme length are kept.

I do this by investing heavily in my own branding throughout the Train-the-Trainer.  I need to endow my work with as much value as I can so that the participants leave knowing that I'm trusting them with something precious to me.  At the close I openly admit that I'm like a nervous parent sending a child out into the world for the first time and that I need each of them to do the right thing by my brand.

Always endowing our ideas with value is a big step towards ensuring that they are treated with respect.