Open Door Conversations

Ep 56: #AskAkua //Tired of Wasting Money on Building Your Team's Capacity?

Episode Summary

As a team leader, department head, or founder, it can be challenging to know where to invest in order to increase your team’s capacity. In this episode, coach and facilitator Akua Nyame-Mensah talks about the different questions you need to ask yourself in order to decide if a training, workshop, or course would be most beneficial to your employees and team members. With so many online and in-person options, it can be hard to know where to start. Here you’ll find out important differences between training, workshop, and course, and then what questions to reflect on to make sure you are investing in the right place and the right people. This is the second in a three-part series; the first part is about whether hiring a coach is a good investment for all employees, and the third part will be focused on ways to find the right person to deliver the appropriate support to your team.

Episode Notes

As a team leader, department head, or founder, it can be challenging to know where to invest in order to increase your team’s capacity. In this episode, coach and facilitator Akua Nyame-Mensah talks about the different questions you need to ask yourself in order to decide if a training, workshop, or course would be most beneficial to your employees and team members. 

With so many online and in-person options, it can be hard to know where to start. Here you’ll find out important differences between training, workshop, and course, and then what questions to reflect on to make sure you are investing in the right place and the right people. 

This is the second in a three-part series; the first part is about whether hiring a coach is a good investment for all employees, and the third part will be focused on ways to find the right person to deliver the appropriate support to your team. 

Highlights in this Episode: 

• Be sure to engage with the team, so you know what they actually need. It might not be what you think!
• Be sensitive to whether your team is open to consuming the information/training they are given and whether they have the capacity to implement and test what they learn. 
• Akua outlines the difference between a workshop and training. A training is more direct, typically has a standard approach, and teaches hard skills. 
• A workshop is usually a group having intensive discussion and activity that is not as prescriptive as training. It’s more of a personalized approach. 
• Group coaching has similar outcomes to a workshop. 
• Courses are becoming increasingly important as a tool for capacity building. A course is typically a little bit more like a training. 
• A course is not the best for those with poor time management skills. 
• Akua gives leaders key questions you can ask yourself to get clarity on the type of service provider you might need for your team. 
• You need to know if you have the capacity to reinforce what your team learns. 
• What are your teams’ learning styles? Are they open to getting support?
• How long does your team need support? Do they need one-off training or support over a longer period? 
• Ask yourself if your desired result is realistic. 
• There are many advantages to online vs. in-person support because you can have access to the facilitator beyond the initial engagement. A good service provider should be able to deliver in many forms of media. 
• Budget can be a factor for many leaders looking for support, but don’t make it your main thing. Remember, support is an investment. 
   

Resources Mentioned in the episode:
Ep 53: #AskAkua Episode: Listen to This if You are Thinking About Investing in a Professional Coach

 
A note from Akua: Enjoy this podcast content and guests? These are the kinds of conversations (and amazing humans) we will have in my new community and container. If you are an action-oriented and accomplished professional who is pivoting into service-based entrepreneurship and are ready to get out of theory and into practice, join my waitlist to cut through the noise and get to the money here: www.akuanm.com/cheatcode

Connect with Akua Nyame-Mensah:

Instagram: @akua_nm
Website: www.akuanm.com
LinkedIn: @Akua Nyame-Mensah
Twitter: @akua_nm
Work with Akua
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