Business Need - Train-the-Trainer
If our courses were like everybody else's, our train-the-trainer process would look like theirs, too. But our courses are highly trainer-dependent; trainers must model the skills they're teaching consistently and naturally. They must respond authentically to the questions and challenges of the group - if they don't, participants may see them as hypocritical and disengage from the training. There's no place for "do as I say, not as I do" in Ridge training.
For that reason, successful delivery of our workshops demands effective use of a constellation of skills:
- Expertise in platform skills
- Graceful facilitation skills
- Constant, credible, genuine modeling of the skills taught in the course
- Savvy process skills for helping difficult individuals and groups overcome the issues that impede skill acquisition.
Our train-the-trainer course develops these four skill sets. And because each trainer candidate brings varying competence in each, we personalize the process and our coaching for each person we certify.
NOTE: The steps below represent our standard. However, every train-the-trainer project is unique. We design each project for a custom fit to your trainers, the Ridge course(s) they train, and your desired rollout schedule. In addition, we also offer The Craft of Training® which covers core training skills.
TRAIN-THE-TRAINER SEQUENCE
Our train-the-trainer process has four sequential steps to ensure trainers' success at the end: the participant stage, the briefing, the coaching days, and the co-lead or observation with feedback.
PARTICIPANT STAGE
Trainers attend the course as a full participant. Their goals are to learn the skills, experience the design of the program, and immerse themselves in the participant experience. If they don't have expertise in the skills, awareness of how the specific course design builds skills, and empathy for participants in the process of learning new communication skills, they will fail to bring about the performance change they're expected to deliver.
BRIEFING
This is an orientation to the course; trainers get oriented to the material, discuss preparation for coaching days, and resolve any outstanding details necessary for the rollout to move forward. They are also assigned pieces to prepare for the coaching that follows.
COACHING DAYS: STAND & DELIVER
The focus of these days is for trainers to stand and deliver the key pieces of the workshop, and to get feedback and coaching from a Ridge master trainer. Trainers also learn key facilitation skills necessary to lead specific parts of the course. Ridge master trainers are also master coaches: their personalized feedback is targeted and specific, leading to the greatest growth in the shortest time.
CO-LEAD / OBSERVATION
A Ridge master trainer co-leads with one to two trainers, or observes and gives feedback to two or three trainers delivering a workshop together. In-house trainers who have led our courses consistently tell us that this stage was the most powerful part of the learning process, the culmination of their personal and professional development during the train-the-trainer process.
Many trainers certified to deliver our workshops find our process to be a watershed in their professional development as well. Said one, "I've built Ridge's standards for delivery into the other courses I teach."
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