Because 'good training' is simply not good enough!

Can you set your own rules and live the life that you want? These are the two questions that Chris Guillebeau, author of the online manifesto A brief guide to world domination, tackles in his book The Art of Non-Conformity. The book starts with an experiment that has caught my attention and got me thinking about the power of education – how can you relate to this experiment? Is the same method applied by parents or by teachers? What are the consequences?

The Monkey, Banana and Water Spray Experiment

A monkey-hating sadist put five monkeys in a cage.  The monkeys could not escape, but were given food and water at the bottom of the cage.  The food was bland an uninspiring but it was enough to sustain life.  The monkeys were destined to spend their lives looking out of the cage; watching an exciting life pass them by.

One day, the sadist placed a ladder in the middle of the cage.  At the top of the ladder sat a bright yellow bunch of bananas.  One monkey, eager to break free from the bland food they were forced to eat, scaled the ladder.  Just as the monkey reached for the bananas, a hose appeared out of nowhere and doused the monkey with icy cold water.  The other monkeys were also doused.

Over the next few days, different monkeys would attempt to reach the bananas.  Each time they were met with the same icy fate.  Eventually the monkeys began violently attacking any other monkey that attempted to scale the ladder.  The monkeys stopped trying.

About a week later, the sadist removed one monkey and replaced it with another new monkey.  Almost immediately, the new monkey started scaling the ladder to reach the bananas.  The other monkeys, familiar with their impending dousing, pulled the monkey off the ladder and beat it without mercy.  The monkey did not try again.

The next day, another monkey was replaced.  The same scenario ensued.  After five days, all the original monkeys were replaced with new monkeys.  These new monkeys had never experienced the dousing, yet they violently attacked the new monkey when they tried to scale the ladder.

The experiment has been described here: Stephenson, G. R. (1967). Cultural acquisition of a specific learned response among rhesus monkeys. In: Starek, D., Schneider, R., and Kuhn, H. J. (eds.), Progress in Primatology, Stuttgart: Fischer, pp. 279-288.

If intrapreneurship is the answer – what is the question? This is the line that sums up the Intrapreneurship Conference that took place Friday, the 2nd of december 2011 in the Brussels Hub.

Gathering 10 speakers from different business fields, the conference aimed to explore new ways of creating and leading innovation in organisations, through the use of an entrepreneurship mind set for the employees (Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur within a larger organization).

Starting from the premise that innovation in companies has become rigid and that change is becoming more and more the norm and not the exception, a series of study cases were presented by the speakers of the conference.

From the principles that Google is using to foster innovation to the way innovation and sustainable development is combined by EXKI, from how Alcatel-Lucent are using innovation and entrepreneurship as vectors of transformation to how intrapreneurship models have been designed by consultancies, the conference also tackled subjects such as obstacles and enablers for intrapreneurship, how social networking can support intrapreneurship or how can intrapreneurs be supported by the HR departments. More about the content discussion, you can read on Bogdan’s blog and in future posts here (or follow #intrapreneurcnf on Twitter).

An early Christmas present to myself, I have never expected the conference to have such an impact on the participants – and yes, I mean myself. I have to admit that it has been a while since I took part in a conference in which to find  so much new and interesting information, presented in an easily digestible way and with plenty of practical ideas.

It has been a while since I took part in an event that had so much to offer, not only in terms of content, but also in terms of the amazing people that I met – thank you!

PS. Because innovation means change – everything discussed there was directly related to my current activities. It also reminded me about a short Connie Podesta clip that I always loved: a three words workshop on change: Change – Deal with it!

Did you know that Public Speaking holds the first place in the top of human fears and phobias? Are you willing to invest in your personal and professional development? Join the Impact Public Speaking training course that will take place in Brussels, 27 -28 of August 2011.

Designed for both those wishing to be initiated in the art of public speaking and for those who want to take their public speaking skills to the next level, the training is the first one in Brussels and comes after a series of similar trainings delivered all over Europe.

So, if:

• you are afraid of speaking in public
• you fail to capture or maintain attention throughout your presentations
• you would like to increase the impact that your presentations have
• you want to develop your own personal style for public speaking

I invite you to take part in a two days training course where you will discover which are the ingredients of a super-presentation and how to use them, you will work on your own personal presentation style and put everything into practice.

Sign up here!

Note: The training course is more than 80% practical and uses methods of non-formal learning such as presentations, role plays, group work, fish bowls, etc..

The agenda of the training course will be later defined taking into consideration the needs of the participants but will include:

• Ingredients of super-presentations
• Managing the audience (and difficult participants)
• Personal presentation styles
• Attracting and retaining attention
• Body language
• Super public speakers
• Communication. Persuasive communication. Impact communication
• Practice, practice and more practice …

At the end of the training course you will:

• be able to identify and optimise different parts of a presentation;
• apply the steps needed to develop a super-presentation;
• maximize the use of verbal and nonverbal communication in all processes
• know and use the ingredients needed for an impactful presentations
• have tested methods of speaking in public

The number of participants is limited to 12 and the enrollment is done on a first-come-first-served basis.

Sign up here!

For details, questions, registrations and comments, call me at +32 488 343 369 or e-mail me at contact@raduseuche.ro

The training course is a concept developed and implemented by Radu Seuche. More information about the trainer can be found here.

Tens of thousands of trainers. Maybe hundreds of thousands of trainers. That is the number of trainers that Europe has at this point. The result of a boom in trainings for trainers, many of them still have a problem with differentiating between formal and nonformal learning.

If asked about the main difference between those two, the answers vary and the temptation to tackle any of the following is big: it’s the setting (formal/informal), it’s the recognition (yes/no), it’s the learning objectives, it’s the learning style and so on…

I strongly disagree: I believe that what makes the difference is level to which the needs of the subjects (students/participants) are taken into account both when setting the learning objectives (and yes, nonformal learning should have clearly definied learning objectives) and when designing the learning experience.

Basically, for all learning programs, two different categories of needs need to be taken into consideration: the organisational and the individual ones. In the category of organisational needs we have on the side of formal education, the needs identified by the ministries of education (comprised by the school curricula) and on the side of nonformal lerning, the needs of the organisation facilitating the learning process such as the development of the organisation, the promotion of the organisation and its values and so on.

Many formal education systems are nowadays promoting the idea of student – centred education which would mean that the learning also takes into consideration the needs of the students. And most of them have come to naught.

On the other hand, nonformal learning has the needs assessment as a core component of the development of a training program.

Or at least it should have it: we develop bulletproof methodologies to asses the needs of the participants before the training program and also throughout the training program. And we put them in practice. Unfortunately, there are times that they remain just that: a bulletproof methodology because the organisational needs are stronger and we cannot adapt the learning process. And that is the point were nonformal lerning becomes formal: the organisation knows better what the participants need… And that is not only a low quality learning process but also very sad…

So, when was the last time you totally changed the learning process that you designed because the needs of the participants asked for it? When was the last time you developed your training concept and methodology also after going through the applications of the participants? When you last told the participants that you are willing to change everything if they ask for it, did you really mean it?

***

•    Formal learning takes place in education and training institutions, leading to recognised diplomas and qualifications.

•    Non-formal learning takes place alongside the mainstream systems of education and training and does not typically lead to formalised certificates. Non-formal learning may be provided in the workplace and through the activities of civil society organisations and groups (such as in youth organisations, trades unions and political parties). lt can also be provided through organisations or services that have been set up to complement formal systems (such as arts, music and sports classes or private tutoring to prepare for examinations).

•    Informal learning is a natural accompaniment to everyday life. Unlike formal and non -formal learning, informal learning is not necessarily intentional learning, and so may well not be recognised even by individuals themselves as contributing to their knowledge and skills.

Until now, formal learning has dominated policy thinking, shaping the ways in which education and training are provided and colouring people‘s understandings of what counts as learning. The continuum of lifelong learning brings non-formal and informal learning more fully into the picture. Non-formal learning, by definition, stands outside schools, colleges, training centres and universities. lt is not usually seen as ‘real‘ learning, and nor do its outcomes have much currency value on the labour market. Non-formal learning is therefore typically undervalued.

But informal learning is likely to be missed out of the picture altogether, although it is the oldest form of learning and remains the mainstay of early childhood learning. The fact that microcomputer technology has established itself in homes before it has done so in schools underlines the importance of informal learning. Informal contexts provide an enormous learning reservoir and could be an important source of innovation for teaching and learning methods.

(Source: A Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, European Commission, Unit E-3)

Everybody likes challenges. Or at least this is what they say. But how much are we actually willing to take a challenge, something that really takes us out of our comfort zone?

A couple of months ago, a dear friend of mine came with the idea of doing some ‘non-formal education’ magic for some of the students of Greenwich University in the UK doing an MBA there and without thinking too much about it, I took the challenge. Its not very usual that a university, by definition one of the greatest formal educational institutions, would give enough credit to non-formal education and even more, to ask for help.

Pre-event challenges

The preparations were long and many of the initial points changes throughout the way, but in the end the details were fixed: University of Greenwich, team building and project management, 2 days (30^th of April – 1^st of May), students of different MAs with no experience in other forms of education, 16 full hours, 65 participants, 7 working groups.

65!

Of course, the number of the participants was not the only issue, since they were divided into 7 teams, with 7 being an impossible number, since you are alone and cannot be in more than one place at a time. And to work with 65 participants at one time also seemed to be impossible.

One of the ideas was to have 5 or 6 of the 7 groups working individually and the other 1 or 2 to be facilitated – and have rotations (some sort of huge world café) for different workstations. Of course, because of the perfection of the number 7 and the total number of facilitators (me and one junior), rotations are not actually possible and also quality in the workgroups would be plummeting. The math was killing me!

Finally, the decision was made: we will be working all together, doing the exercises in the 7 teams but debriefing in 3 steps, workgroups – plenary – workgroups. This type of debriefing would be supported by the use of the ‘Do not panic’ Manual – a learning diary and self reflection tool that each of the teams developed during the weekend.

Also, having the individual/team learning points and conclusions compared with the results from other teams in the plenary and taking them back to the small teams was a good way of insuring a higher quality in the given circumstanced. The plenary discussion were also a strong indicator about the impact that the exercises had on the participants and how the next steps need to be adjusted.

The main challenge

The adventure began much earlier than expected since there was a signal failure on the Tube that morning and it took more than 3 hours (3 tubes and 2 busses) to get to Greenwich.

A classic university hall, old and dimly lit with 45 students ‘eagerly’ wanting to start was waiting for us. I couldn’t help myself and asked from the very beginning how many of them brought their laptops and I saw many hands up in the air: I had to disappoint them and explained that we will not be using them throughout the weekend, they might just as well put them aside.

While I was explaining why are we there and what we are going to do, there was a general ‘wow’ in the room. Unfortunately not a positive one – I understood immediately that I will have a rough crowd – I had to adjust. I learned that they would be graded depending on their attendance and that almost took the ‘non’ out of ‘non-formal education’…

We reached a consensus that they have to stay only if they find it useful and are learning new things – but if they are here, they need to actively get involved.

After the first activity, everyone was amazed how many things you can learn from playing – they were asking for more! It is true, some of them decided not to take the challenge and left – I was more and more convinced that it was their loss as time passed by and seeing the results of the activities.

Sunday, the second day, only 16 of them were present – the perfect size for the group. If Saturday was a good day, Sunday was amazing for the group – the morning was actually the point were learning started to hurt. Together with the participants, I was once more amazed by the effects of non-formal education and how it impacts the personal development of the participants.

Challenging formal education

Out of the 45, there were no native-speakers – they all came from different countries and cultures and of course different educational systems. Nevertheless, the educational systems seemed to have the same result: decreasing the creativity and the freedom of thought of the students, lowering their problem-solving capacity, teaching them to never question use the question WHY, always use the manual or never challenge the status-quo.

Overall, the experience was an amazing one and I believe the participants learned a lot, but the challenge that they face now is to put thing into practice. How many will actually take the challenge? Do you challenge yourself to learn more that the school teaches you?

We learn to talk, we learn to walk, we learn to read and we learn to add, we learn to learn and we stick to it. But at which point do we learn to un-learn? And why does this hurt so much?

It happens often during training courses that participants are extremely reluctant to learning and it took me some while to understand why they act like that: sometimes learning hurts! Moreover, most of the trainers are not prepared to handle the situation.

The formal educational systems are established on the basis of passing the knowledge from the (smart) teacher to the (stupid) student, the students have no choice but following the teacher – mostly because the students have no previous knowledge in the areas they are studying and the teachers are the experts in the student-teacher relationships.

Sometimes, in non-formal education, the situation is the same: the participants do not have previous knowledge so the transfer is done from the trainer to the participants – and this is usually the model of ‘training’ that is being introduced to trainers during Trainings for Trainers.

The over-used Kolb model has this flaw: it presumes that there is no previous experience at the beginning of the learning cycle – therefore no pain and no reluctance.

What happens if the knowledge, skills or attitudes of the participants need not to be provided or developed but to be changed? And changed 180 degrees! This is the main source for the reluctance to learn that often the trainers (and probably teachers as well) are facing quite often – a situation that they do not know how to handle.

One of the learning models that offers an explanation for this process is the Four Learning Level Model, according to which there are four learning levels in which a learner can be:

1. 1. Unconscious incompetent – the learner does not have the skills or knowledge and is not conscious that he/she does not have them (e.g. You don’t know how to drive and you don’t know that you don’t know how to drive);
2. 2. Conscious incompetent – the learner does not have the skills or knowledge and is conscious about that (e.g. You do not know how you drive and you know that you do not know how to drive);
3. 3. Conscious competent – the learner has the skills or knowledge and is conscious about it (e.g. You know how to drive and you are conscious about how you drive);
4. 4. Unconscious competent – the learner has the skills or knowledge but is unconscious about it (e.g. You can drive a car and you donnot think about the process – it becomes automatic).

To get from level 4 to level 3 hurts participants in a moderate way – they would just acknowledge how they (re)act in certain situations. But going even one level down usually hurts a lot more. A lot!

And going from level 4 to level 2 is a must (un-learning) if a change in knowledge, skills or attitude is needed (re-learning). Because people do not like to be hurt, they become reluctant and that happens unconsciously. Unfortunately for the trainers that do not understand what is going on and why things are not going according to plan. Simple but not easy!

So how do you deal with this kind of pain? Of the participants or of yourself in a learning process?

18 months. 18 incredible months for a very special process: the Process of the Structured Dialogue. According to the European Youth Forum, ‘Structured Dialogue means that the relevant institutions and actors are involved, leading to a common goal, with mutual respect for the partners (whether institutions or interest groups); that the process is participatory and meaningfully structured (in order to ensure coherence between the actors consulted and the consultation process). To ensure ownership of the dialogue process by all the actors involved, its agenda and priorities should be decided together.’

The process of 18 months had 3 phases, each of them being organised by each country from the Trio Presidency (Spain, Belgium and Hungary) and was composed of a round of National consultations and a Youth Conference where the results of the consultations were discussed and prepared for the next phase.

Facilitated by the International Support Structure (where I am one of the 8 facilitators that form this structure ), the Youth Conferences in Jerez (Spain), Leuven (Belgium) started from setting youth priorities related to employment and social inclusion and than focused on concrete recommendations for those priorities.

Between 2nd and 4th of March 2011, I had again the chance to facilitate together with my other 7 colleagues from the Support Structure, what was the third Youth Conference of the Trio Presidencies of the Council of the European Union – under the Hungarian Presidency, where 8 strong recommendations were prepared. The Conclusions will make the basis for a Council Resolution on the Structured Dialogue, to be adopted by all the EU27 in May

18 months ago it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel but with a bit of courage, together with the international team and the teams from Spain, Belgium and Hungary, we made it happen although there was no manual describing  the process and how to use it.

18 historical months because it was the first time in history all relevant actors sat together, on equal terms, to discuss the future of young people, and the decision was not made exclusively by policy makers. Also, it was the first time we had National Consultations as a tool of ensuring quality, consistency and reality of the Conferences.

More about the Structured Dialogue here.

Every day I meet people who I have something to learn from but, from time to time, I meet a person that inspires me deeply. Totally lost in Bruxelles, the first day I moved here, I met Mihaela. I wasn’t at all expecting to live in the same building with another Romanian and moreover, with a Romanian trainer. Sharing books and witty comments, we got along really well.

A few weeks back, she held a workshop for our colleagues at the ICA (the place where we live) on ‘Being irresistible – being true to yourself’, a workshop that inspired me to do a follow-up activity related to personal leadership, more specifically on long-term personal objectives and planning.

Therefore, during today’s workshop, I led a group of young people through an imagined forest to help them reach their true wishes about their future and, even more important, to put them on paper. For most of them it was a great challenge on one hand because they were not used to non-formal education methods and, on the other hand, because being true to yourself is not always easy (almost never is).

Based on the idea that 97% of the people on this planet never put down their objectives and that the 3% that do have a much higher chance of being successful, the participants mapped their objectives for the next 30 years, both on personal and professional level and discussed about ways of  avoiding the limitations that would come their way on the path of achieving their dreams.

I would like to congratulate my friends and colleagues that took this challenge and wish them all the best in making things happen. Because we do have inside everything that we need although sometimes we are just too afraid to let it out.

Thank you, Mihaela!

It’s been a time of silence on the blog although I cannot say the same thing about myself:  I moved to Bruxelles to be the Training Co-ordinator for EEE-YFU and a new adventure began here!

I re-discovered the city and many of the friends that I have here (and not only) who helped me a lot to adapt to the change. A few weeks ago, the Ice Queen moved here too, and now we might move in together – a new adventure.

The first event I co-ordinated for EEE-YFU was a Training Course on Volunteer Recruitment where I was in charge of not only the administrative part but also coaching the team of trainers. It was quite an experience letting go and not being in front of the group but rather asking questions and helping the fresh trainers develop. You can read more about the TCVR here (link to follow soon).

The next adventure begins next week, with the last Presidency Youth Event of the Trio – the Hungarian Presidency Youth Event (1-4 of March 2011) closely followed by the Open Networking and Synergy Meeting that I will be co-ordination for EEE-YFU also in Budapest (9 – 13 of March 2011).

‘Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride on Gendrian Spacelines! We would like to inform you that you have just been abducted from Earth and will travel with us to Planet Gendria to help our researchers discover more about gender issues’. This is how the training course “Mainstreamning Gender Isssues in organizing youth exchanges and training courses on international level” organised by YEU International in Azerbaijan from the 15 to the 21 of November 2010 kicked off.

During the 6 full days of training, participants from 22 countries explored gender issues from different point of views, from culture to policies and politics, from religion to identity, from gender roles and their evolution throughout the ages to stereotypes and taboos.

Using non-formal education methods, the team of 28 specialists had to solve a number of tasks and seize as many learning opportunities as possible inside the University of Gendria or the Gendrian Parliament, in the spaceship or during the field exploration (the Baku visit), developing both personal and social competences. The training course focused more on attitudes with an out-of-the-box approach creating challenging situations that helped participants to discover hidden resources in each other and within themselves.

Interacting with local people and connecting the local reality in Azerbaijan to the realities the participants have in their home organizations or countries were another important points of the training course.

As a result of the whole activity, the participants contributed to the creation of a booklet with concrete recommendations to youth NGOs for promoting gender equality in their activities and tackling the different elements covered by the training course.