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A colleague of ours was invited to run residential training events for managers in a large
manufacturing organization.There seemed to be
at least three different reactions from different sub-groups:
Some managers looked really interested and spent the weekend frantically scribbling
notes.When
he did this, he found that none of the managers had been explicitly told why they had been
nominated for the training - their 'commitment' was a senior management assumption.We suggested he questioned the managers more closely about why they had come.He came back from the first of these looking very dispirited,
and complained that he could not understand the reactions from the group of managers,
who were supposed to be very committed to personal development.The first group of managers thought it must be some kind of test which might influence
their next promotion or regrading - they were doing all they could to impress the trainer.??

A colleague of ours was invited to run residential training events for managers in a large
manufacturing organization. He came back from the first of these looking very dispirited,
and complained that he could not understand the reactions from the group of managers,
who were supposed to be very committed to personal development. There seemed to be
at least three different reactions from different sub-groups:
Some managers looked really interested and spent the weekend frantically scribbling
notes.
■ Some managers seemed over-anxious and did not seem to be concentrating on the
events.
■ Some managers seemed to see the event as a ‘bit of a holiday’.
We suggested he questioned the managers more closely about why they had come. When
he did this, he found that none of the managers had been explicitly told why they had been
nominated for the training – their ‘commitment’ was a senior management assumption. As
a result, they had tried to devise a meaning based upon their own experience, which then
coloured their reactions to the event.
The first group of managers thought it must be some kind of test which might influence
their next promotion or regrading – they were doing all they could to impress the trainer.
They were convinced the trainer would be reporting back on their progress. The second
group were worried that this training might indicate some problem with their performance
and were mentally checking what they had done over the past six months to work out where
or how they had failed; their minds were not on the training at all. The third group saw
the event as a reward for good behaviour which need not be taken too seriously
Our colleague was only able to communicate with these groups once these expectations
and assumptions had been uncovered and discussed openly. In other words, the training
could not begin until the participants had negotiated the meaning of the training event.