Glossary
Action Learning
is a popular and effective method of facilitating learning in the workplace, developed by Reg Revans in the 1940’s. It is often the preferred approach when dealing with actual work challenges and projects. Participants study their own actions, without the instruction of a leader, and consider how their reactions in certain situations could be improved. Action learning is similar to ‘experiential learning’ (see below), but with some key differences. With this method of ‘learning through doing’ not only does action assist the retention of new knowledge; further reflection helps to cement this knowledge in place. Action learning groups or sets are a popular way of continuing learning at work, where individuals, with the help of a facilitator, address new and ongoing projects which enable people to grow and develop at the same time. If you’d like to know more about developing your people through action learning, click here to get in touch.
Attitudes at Work
are integral to the success or failure of your business. A good attitude at work will enable the worker to reach peak performance and collectively, a team with the right attitude is the key to your company’s future. Inspiring positive attitudes at work is crucial to the company’s success because they create a ‘can-do’ culture which can then be turned into direct results. Needless to say, the wrong attitude can be seriously detrimental to your business needs and training and coaching can offer an effective solution (see ‘Motivational Training’ below. Where you are experiencing poor work behaviours or attitudes it is often useful to conduct a Training or Learning Needs Analysis where an external expert spends time with key members of staff to understand their challenges and concerns and what barriers may exist to a more positive work attitude. If you’d like to know more about how to identify the root cause of poor work attitudes, Farscape has a team of experts who can help you. Click here to get in touch.
Behavioural Skills Training
refers to a focus on raising an individual’s awareness of their behaviour in the workplace, considering current behaviour patterns and learning new approaches which allow people to develop and adapt to difference working styles. Behaviours are often the result of people’s values, emotions and motivations although often people do not recognise how their values and emotions impact on their behaviour and the people around them. With an increase in behavioural awareness, both of self and others, people are able to modify their behaviour and communicate with other people more effectively. Put into practice, this behavioural skills training will then enhance performance at work. Farscape specialises in creating learning experiences which expose emotions and behaviours for positive change. Click here to get in touch.
Belbin
is a theory developed by Dr R Meredith Belbin in the 1970’s which gives a team of people the opportunity to discover how they individually interact and behave around one another in a business environment. The team identifies specific traits by answering a series of questions called a Self-Perception Inventory. With an increased understanding of the different roles in a team, people can learn how to manage teams more effectively, utilising people’s strengths and managing weaknesses. This can be especially useful when creating teams to complete projects and tasks. At Farscape we use Belbin Team Roles as a development tool to help people understand themselves and those around them. It can be used as part of a bespoke course or as a one day masterclass. Click here to get in touch.
The Disc Personality Test
is a psychometric method used for measuring and observing individual behaviour. Participants answer a series of questions and their responses will indicate which of four categories they fall into; Dominance, Influence, Steadiness or Conscientiousness/compliance. Each of these categories has a collection of personal attributes associated with it and so the conclusions of the test indicate the personality type of the participant. Individuals often have a preferred style and the detailed report will also explore how a person reacts under pressure or stress. In a learning and development context this is extremely useful in helping people to develop their self awareness and how they behave in different situations. It can also help people to identify how to communicate with people who are different to them. For more information about how this can be used as part of a learning and development programme, click here to get in touch.
Emotional Intelligence Training
is about learning how to identify, use and control emotions through body language and communication. American personality psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer argue that Emotional Intelligence (EI), or using emotions intelligently, can be just as vital in the workplace as IQ based intelligence. Emotional Intelligence can be broken down into self awareness and awareness of others and how effectively people can understand and manage their own emotions and their relationships with other people. There are various tools that can be used in training and coaching to help develop people’s awareness of Emotional Intelligence. Farscape specialises in the Emotions and Behaviours at Work (EBW) tool to facilitate the development of Emotional Intelligence at work. Click here to get in touch.
Employee Engagement
is a term used to describe when an employee is fully involved in and enthusiastic about their work. Research has proven that engaged employees work harder, are more successful in furthering their organisation and are happier at work at the same time. However, studies show that only 29% of employees are actively engaged in their jobs. It is up to the employer to engage and inspire their workforce and maintain this engagement through actively developing shared motivations, goals and attitudes and ensuring that staff feel valued and involved in the company decisions which effect them. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has reported that engaged employees are 43% more productive than disengaged employees. If you’d like to talk about how learning and development can enhance employee engagement we’d be happy to help. Click here to get in touch.
Experiential Learning
can be defined as the development of personal understanding and skills through the analysis of, and reflection on, activity. See also ‘Action Learning’ and ‘Experiential Training’. Experiential learning is all about giving people the opportunity to experiment with a variety of techniques in different environments, indoors or outdoors, based upon David Kolb’s cycle of learning – Plan, Do, Review, Apply. It is founded on the idea that if people experience something (through doing it) they are more likely to remember it and therefore take action. At Farscape we specialise in creating experiential learning programmes. We start by understanding what results you need and then build a programme which combines rigour with experiences to create a powerful learning platform. If you’d like to explore how experiential learning can work for you we’d be happy to help. Click here to get in touch.
Experiential Training
is similar to experiential learning and action learning. The idea of ‘learning through doing’, as well as discussion and review, enables the individual to identify, remember and implement behavioural practices. Experiential Learning is something that comes naturally and anyone can learn in this way. By putting people into situations where people can experiment, learning is more active and memorable. At Farscape we specialise in creating experiential training programmes. Successful experiential training combines opportunities to experiment with simple, useable tools, models and techniques and rigorous reflection and action planning. It should always be outcome focused and relevant. If you’d like to know more about how to create a powerful learning platform using experiential training, click here to get in touch.
Incentive Travel
is traditionally used as part of a reward and recognition programme. Incentives are imaginative and innovative ways to inspire and motivate staff and to reward top performers. The Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development research suggests that over a third of all workers aim to leave their current employment once the recession has subsided and the job market has been re-ignited. This could leave UK organisations with an unwieldy bill of £63 billion upwards to foot over the next year. The CIPD suggests that prevention is better than a cure so installing engaging total rewards solutions that offer employees aspirational incentives for achieving long-term goals could well prove to be the best strategy. At Farscape we combine training with reward and have developed the Overseas Learning Experience, which can be used as incentive travel and that delivers results for both employers and employees. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Leadership Training
is about equipping leaders with the necessary skills to lead and manage a team. Leadership is a behavioural quality and good leaders are able to inspire and motivate others to deliver results and achieve success. There are many theories and models that exist about leadership. For example Situational Leadership examines how individuals must adapt their leadership style according to the person and the situation. The Kouzes Posner Leadership Practices Inventory is a behavioural framework designed to help leaders focus on the behaviours that will promote success. The most effective leadership training focuses on the individual. Everyone has a different natural style and some people will be more confident and effective than others. Successful leadership training will help people to identify the different styles that exist and when to use them. At Farscape we specialise in delivering leadership training which develops the individual through powerful and memorable experiences with constructive coaching and feedback. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Management Development
is the process by which managers improve the way they manage themselves as well as the way they manage their team, in order to deliver positive working results for the organisation. Effective management is a proven factor in terms of a company’s success. Management encompasses some hard skills, in contrast to leadership training which tends to be more focused on behaviours. Management development helps people to learn from and engage with their own day-to-day experiences and to identify and improve their actions and behaviours, in order to equip them with long-term management skills. At Farscape we specialise in delivering effective management development programmes to drive effective management performance. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Motivational Training
encourages you to learn about your personal values and drivers and consider what motivates you and those around you. A shared vision between an organisation and its employees is crucial to its success, however establishing a goal will only be productive if the values of people and organisation are aligned. Employees will be motivated towards targets that they can relate to and can believe in. Motivational training is an effective way of engaging people in a company vision and communicating exciting possibilities for the future. It can encompass a motivational speaker and will often involve some form of exciting, experiential learning platform to inspire changes in behaviour and help people get in touch with what motivates them. At Farscape we specialise in designing and delivering high impact, motivational training. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Outdoor Development
uses the outdoors as a medium for learning. It can include scenario based exercises and challenges as well as stretching outdoor experiences. Outdoor development allows people to step outside their comfort zones and try out new skills and techniques. This offers people time and space to experience familiar challenges in an unfamiliar way and can often draw attention to areas in need of improvement. It also exposes behaviours and provides the opportunity to understand why issues occur and what action needs to be taken to resolve them. People often respond to difficult situations better outside of a classroom environment because their reactions are authentic, rather than theoretical. They can then receive instant feedback which aids their personal development. Farscape specialises in designing high impact learning experiences, utilising the outdoors as a medium for learning and development. See also ‘Outdoor Training’. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Outdoor Training
creates opportunities for experiential learning and action learning in an outdoor environment. It can include scenario based exercises and challenges as well as stretching outdoor experiences. Outdoor training allows people to step outside their comfort zones and try out new skills and techniques. Often when people push themselves beyond their normal boundaries and experiences they have a powerful and memorable learning experience which challenges their behaviours and how they operate, both as leaders and within a team. Farscape has a team of outdoor experts who design and deliver results focused training, using outdoor experiences as a medium for learning. See also ‘Outdoor Development’. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Overseas Leadership Experiences
are designed to offer people a unique learning platform combined with a powerful personal journey. Sometimes to achieve exceptional results you need to take a different approach to training. Farscape’s Overseas Experiences take people away from the workplace and immerse them in a learning experience where they have to lead and manage people in an exacting environment, make decisions under pressure and examine positive and negative behaviours. Away from mobile phones and emails, this learning approach has long lasting impacts and delivers significant results. Farscape runs tailored coaching journeys to countries like India, Costa Rica, Norway and Namibia, with expert leaders to facilitate the experience. If you’d like to know more click here to read more about our learning experiences.
SDI
stands for Strength Deployment Inventory. The SDI is a learning model for effectively and accurately understanding the motive behind behaviour, which greatly enhances people’s ability to communicate more effectively and handle personal and interpersonal conflict more productively. As a development tool this can be used to improve communication within a team, thus increasing productivity and building strong working relationships. When used alongside other learning methodologies, the SDI becomes an extremely powerful tool for helping people to improve performance through more effective communication. Farscape has a team of experts who regularly facilitate the SDI. If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
Team Development
enables teams to become more effective and therefore more productive and profitable. There are many theories and models that exist about team development, the most famous of which is Tuckman’s Forming, Norming, Storming, Performing model. This looks at the development of a team through different stages to high performance. Team performance will depend upon the motivations and behaviours of the individuals in a team and the effectiveness of the leader. Effective team development programmes enable teams to examine the behaviours that exist in the team and how these contribute to performance. It can break down barriers, enhance communication and help to form a common vision and strategy. Farscape has a team of expert facilitators who know and understand the challenges of effective team development and can deliver high impact programmes to deliver results. The foundation of Farscape’s team development is drawn from Patrick Lencioni’s theory ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’ If you’d like to know more click here to get in touch.
The Five Team Dysfunctions
is a concept coined by Patrick Lencioni and can be explored further in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. This term refers to a model for identifying the common problems that a team might face and provides actionable steps to resolve these difficulties to develop and grow the productivity of the team. Often issues are interrelated and to isolate them can be impossible, meaning that the dysfunction of a team can only be remedied through the attention of a trained, objective outsider. See also ‘Team Development’ and ‘Leadership Training’ or click here if you’d like to talk to someone about how the Five Team Dysfunctions can be applied to your team.