Monday, August 9, 2010

The More They Know! The More They Grow!

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

Education is an ongoing support system that drives every part of our lives. In some areas in our life we are more open to learning and growing than others.
Embracing the power of education and growth is a personal journey for us all.

This point is important to remember when it comes to creating a training plan for your team members. As a leader, creating a powerful educational path for your team to walk down can make the difference between being successful or just average.

The importance of education can be gauged by the energy, passion and enthusiasm that is currently prevalent in your culture today. The more education you provide your team, the more confident they become, the more confident they become the effective they are, the more effective they are the better the results.

Follow these steps below to create an educational plan to raises the bar for everyone!

1. Business, Technical & Personal education. Create training in education in these three areas and rotate the focus on one each month. Developing your team from a technical standpoint is usually where we spend most of our training, however creating personal education (such as creating a budget, having more balance, how to buy a home) and business education (such as retailing techniques, consultation skills and goal setting) support you to create a well rounded salon and spa professional.

2. Get the team involved. Ask them what they feel they need to learn and create your plan for their ideas. You can also get your team to create some lessons and teach some lessons. They grow, your team grows and you save time.

3. Make it fun! Mix it up, go to different locations, use analogies from movies, sports, create power points, come up with exercises, etc. The more creative you are the more confident you will be when you teach your team.

4. Follow through. Once you teach your team, follow through. BE their biggest cheerleader! Make a big deal out of the smallest step forward that they make and acknowledge the successes when they happen. Be patient with them and remember some people get things faster than others.

Take a look at how much time you have invested into education, recreate your plan if you need to, stick to it and have fun! Your team deserves your very best and, at the end of the day, there is nothing more humbling than having a hand in the success of another person!