How Can We Create a Training Program to Tackle Behavioral Issues in Skilled Workers?

Developing a Training Program for Behavioral Improvement

I am looking to build a training program for highly skilled individuals who exhibit behavioral issues. The focus will be on self-management, self-realization, and reducing ego-driven behaviors.

Thank you.

Put yourself in their position and try to objectively look at what they may be going through.

- They might be experiencing belief issues wherein they might have been raised to believe that highly capable people get respected. While it may be true to some extent, people respect those individuals who have a better attitude than skills. You will also need to sensitize them about their attitude issues towards themselves and others.

- They might also be frustrated that they don't get recognized, respected, acknowledged, rewarded, etc. You need to align their goals with your organizational goals—what is the organization's definition of an "Achievement" and how is it different from their definition of "achievement."

- They might be misinterpreting other people's gestures, language, and interactions. We are all victims of our perception. For example, "The way he looks at me makes me angry." Whose issue is it now? They need to be taught the advantages of "giving the benefit of doubt to others."

- They need a great activity for team-building where they can learn the importance of the greater good, as against their own individual good.

- They might have a very wrong notion of leadership, where they think that winning the race will make them a leader. No—winning hearts will make them leaders.

If you address these issues, then it will probably be the first step in breaking their resistance and moving them in the right direction.

I would suggest that you structure your activities, games, and cases in such a way that they all move the participants out of their "self-obsession" and channel their energies towards others.

Hope this helps.

Warm regards,

Narmadha

Dear Sameer, it appears that you have not conducted any type of organization's survey. If you had findings from a research report, you would not have asked for the training outline.

If "highly skilled" people have a lot of behavioral issues, then probably the organization has emphasized only technical or functional skills, leaving aside the importance of soft skills. This happens in many organizations because management is blissfully unaware of the cost of conflict or the cost of a degraded interpersonal environment. A degraded interpersonal environment obviously impacts employee motivation, fostering employee attrition. All these factors combined could have a fallback on customer satisfaction. In your training, you need to sensitize these managers or other staff on the costs incurred on these counts.

Against this backdrop, I recommend you conduct an organizational survey on:

- Interpersonal environment in the company
- Management style of the managers
- Organization's culture

I have written in my previous 'n' number of posts that any training conducted without the aim of cost reduction is useless. While managers or "highly skilled" people can enjoy rubbing their subordinates or other people the wrong way, it is the organization that pays the price. This should be the motto of the training.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

I cannot reveal the situation, but my comments have been misinterpreted. There is no organizational issue as they are 10% of the total population in this role. They are purely behavioral issues that have come out of the survey and complaints, mostly by other departments. So please suggest according to that, and mind you, most of them come from very good backgrounds.

The contents of your thread are intriguing, like a puzzle. You have made the right decision by planning to conduct a training program for a selected group of people who are very skillful in their functional areas but are found wanting in behavioral aspects. You have further confirmed that the need for behavioral training has emerged as an outcome of a survey conducted in your company.

So, the starting point of your exercise is the survey results taken for every individual. Since you have not revealed the details, some generalizations have to be made. I would suggest the following questionnaire:

a) COMMUNICATION: Is the individual a good communicator? How would you rate the person’s abilities when you consider their WRITING, SPEAKING, READING, AND LISTENING SKILLS?

b) MINDSET: Does the individual believe that they could be wrong in any of their views, or is the person very obstinate?

c) ANGER CONTROL: Does the individual initially get angry and later realize the behavior as bad, or is the person very adamant—never forgets or forgives?

d) EMPATHY: What is the level of empathy of the individual? Poor or mediocre?

e) CONFLICTS: Does the individual pick a quarrel with only certain people, or is it a trait often found irrespective of who the other persons are?

f) GROUP DYNAMICS: How do these individuals behave in group tasks?

g) MEETINGS: Describe the style adopted in meetings.

h) CRISIS: In a crisis, does the individual shy away?

i) DEVELOPMENT: Is the individual receptive to new ideas?

j) LEADERSHIP STYLE: What is the leadership style of the individual?

k) POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS: List out the positives for every individual.

l) How would you rate the individuals when you consider certain values like INTEGRITY, COMMITMENT, and SEAMLESSNESS, etc.?

Once you have done your homework, you will be in a better position to decide on the course content, agency, and the duration of training.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan

You have an interesting task at hand. In organizations, we often encounter people who are highly competent in their domain knowledge; however, they sometimes equate those skills with their self-worth and build too much of an identity around it. When challenged or questioned, it delves into deeper personal identity issues, and that is where ego clashes occur.

Learnable Human Skills

'Personal leadership,' 'Interpersonal leadership,' and 'Management of Context-Resources-Strategy matrix' are human skills, and they are quite learnable like any other functional or technical competency.

Program Recommendation

I would recommend you develop a program based on Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence model. He provides a comprehensive framework, and most of the issues you mentioned can be addressed through it. I always recommend making the program contextual and reality-based. It does require process facilitation skills but provides immense credibility to the program. This could be supplemented with one-on-one coaching sessions.

If you need further assistance, please feel free to write to me at [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons].

Wishing you success!

Regards,
Rajesh

I would like to add to Rajesh's recommendations above. The Emotional Intelligence framework by Daniel Goleman is very good. I can suggest two more alternatives:

1. A program on "Personal Leadership" especially designed using some of the concepts of Seven Habits by Stephen Covey.
2. Sponsoring the participants for a T Group or Behavioural Processes Lab.

This can be a very interesting initiative for the organization.

Best wishes,
Indu Wadhwa

Anonymous has been given loads of suggestions. As suggested by others, one cannot find any remedy without knowing the cause. A good way is to work on a one-on-one basis. Coaching is a good way to find out what the underlying issues affecting their behaviors are. Part of the cultural issues can also be addressed through coaching. Training may not be the solution as behaviors are often best handled on a one-on-one basis. Marshall Goldsmith (world-renowned executive coach) has successfully addressed behavioral change using executive coaching. I have personally handled behavioral aspects in my sales coaching with executives. Their sales non-performance is often not due to skills incompetency but rather behavioral inadequacies/non-awareness.

You may start with group coaching after carrying out a 360-degree survey on the highly skilled leaders as suggested by Indu Wadhwa. Feedback from the said survey could be used to draw a common thread as a starting journey for the intended behavioral shift. Once you get them to agree that "something" needs to be worked on in order to bring the organization to a higher level, and coaching could be a way forward, half the success is done. Sell them that coaching will help to bring better results through them. As a benefit (of what's in it for them), a coaching program should be envisaged to 'grow them' to partake in the coaching culture within the organization. In a way, it's a coach the coach to help them shift their thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and behaviors. Through this, they will realize the feedback from others (done via the 360 survey) and will do something for themselves to be better. This is a good launching pad for them to shift (their behaviors) forward. These are my thoughts for you. Regards, CTFoo, Malaysia.

If you really want to solve the issues, please arrange for an outside behavioral trainer to handle them.

Regards,
Dr. G.V. Kumar
Psychologist & Behavioral Trainer since 1983
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons] / [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]