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December 07, 2005

TIP #39: Tell 'Em Why

Driving from Montana to Colorado to visit family over Thanksgiving, we stopped for lunch at a well-known fast-food eatery to grab something to take with us. With only a few people in line, we figured we'd be back on the road shortly. Wrong.

Turns out the manager was training a new employee on the assembly-line process of putting sandwiches together. We've all been a new employee at some point, so everyone in line was patient as she took him through the process again and again.

But, he couldn't get it. With every sandwich he started, he made exactly the same mistakes. Not because he wasn't capable, but because she never told him why he should do certain things, certain ways.

You see, without the why, the what makes little sense. So, if you want to help others be winning at working, explain the reason behind the action. Not only will it expedite training, it will save time, increase consistency and impact results.

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Posted by Nan Russell at December 7, 2005 02:34 PM