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Let's address the obvious question first.

Does having a military background mean we deliver military style training?

No.

Absolutely not.

There will be no shouting.

No marching.

And we certainly won't be asking anybody to polish their boots before the course starts.

What it does mean is that the foundations of our careers as trainers were built in an environment where developing people properly really mattered.

Between the three of us at Target Training Associates, Ralph Moody, Claire Moody and myself, we bring more than 90 years of combined training experience.

That's a big number.

But the number itself isn't really the interesting part.

It's what those years have taught us.

How to develop people.

How to build confidence.

How to explain something differently when somebody doesn't understand.

How to give meaningful feedback.

How to adapt when the plan isn't working.

How to recognise when somebody needs challenging and when they need supporting.

And, perhaps most importantly, how to remember

Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with some exceptional leaders. Some have worked in the military, others have led large organisations, and many have managed smaller teams where every decision has had a direct impact on the people around them.

If you had asked me earlier in my career what made those leaders successful, I would probably have talked about experience, confidence, technical knowledge and the ability to make decisions. All of those things matter, of course, but the longer I have spent working in leadership development and coaching, the more I have realised they do not tell the whole story.

The best leaders I have worked with were rarely the people who walked into every conversation believing they already had the answer. They were the people who understood how to bring out the knowledge, ideas and capability in those around them.

For me, that is a very different type of leadership, and I believe it is becoming more important than ever especially with the use

The training has finished.

Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The feedback forms are glowing.

"Great trainer."

"Really enjoyable day."

"Loved the activities."

Someone even gave you five stars.

Brilliant.

But did the training actually work?

That’s a completely different question.

Enjoyment matters. Engagement matters. Positive feedback matters.

But none of them, on their own, prove that learning has taken place.

If we genuinely want training to make a difference, perhaps we need to stop asking only:

"Did people enjoy it?"

And start asking:

"What changed because of it?"

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Why positive feedback doesn’t necessarily mean training was successful
• What trainers should really be looking for when evaluating learning
• Why the most meaningful evidence often appears after learners return to work

The Problem With the Happy Sheet

Let's be clear.

There is nothing wrong with asking learners how they felt about a course.

Their experience matters.

If people found the training confusing,

"How did the training go?"

"Brilliant. I covered everything."

It sounds like a successful day.

But there is a problem.

We know what the trainer did.

We know absolutely nothing about what the learners learned.

Did they understand it?

Could they use it?

Did their confidence increase?

Could they actually do something differently when they returned to work?

These are very different questions.

And they expose one of the biggest misunderstandings in workplace training.

Delivering training and creating learning are not the same thing.

One focuses on what the trainer does.

The other focuses on what happens to the learner.

That distinction sits at the heart of great training.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Understand the difference between delivering content and creating learning
• Discover why covering everything is a poor measure of training success
• Learn how to shift the focus from trainer activity to learner experience

Have We Been Measuring the Wrong Thing?

Think about some of the language trainers

One question I hear more than most when I'm working with organisations is, "Why are people resisting the change?"

It might be a new system, a restructure, a different way of working or a completely new direction for the business. Whatever the reason, the conversation often ends up in the same place. Managers become frustrated because they feel they've communicated the changes clearly, while employees are left wondering why nobody asked for their thoughts in the first place.

This happens all the time.

However, over the years I've come to a slightly different conclusion. I don't believe most people resist change, I think they resist uncertainty.

They resist feeling that something has been decided for them rather than with them, there is a huge difference.

I've seen this whether I'm coaching senior leaders, delivering Leadership and Management programmes, running Train the Trainer courses or working with teams going through organisational change. See here our coaching services.

The organisations

Have you ever walked out of a training course feeling inspired, motivated and full of new ideas?

Then somebody asks you a week later what you learned.

And you struggle to remember.

It happens.

Not because you were not paying attention.

Not because the trainer necessarily did a poor job.

And certainly not because you are a bad learner.

The simple truth is that being exposed to information does not guarantee learning.

If trainers want people to remember, understand and apply what they learn, we have to do much more than simply tell them things.

Because the real test of training isn’t what learners remember when they leave the room.

It is what they can still use when they are back at work.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Why simply hearing information does not mean people will remember it
• How relevance, participation and practice help learning stick
• Why the workplace after the training matters just as much as the training itself

The Problem Isn't Memory. It Is Often the Training

When learners

One thing I think you will agree with me, is that it is really apparent with just how quickly we think we know the answer in a conversation.

It doesn't matter whether I am coaching a senior leader, delivering a Train the Trainer programme, working with a new manager or supporting anyone in any sector I see the same thing.

Someone explains a situation, within seconds, another person has a solution.

We've all done it; I know I have, in fact often.

The strange thing is that we probably haven't really understood the problem before we've started trying to solve it.

That isn't because people don't care, quite the opposite. Most managers genuinely want to help, they want to fix the issue, support the individual and move everyone forward.

The question I think you could ask is -

What if we've solved the wrong problem?

In This Article You Will Learn

In this article we'll explore why curiosity is becoming one of the most valuable leadership skills, how it improves coaching, communication and management,

Imagine asking a group of trainers one simple question before they deliver a session.

"What are you planning to cover today?"

Most would answer confidently.

They would tell you about the slides, the topics, the activities and the timetable.

Now ask a different question.

"What do your learners need by the end of today?"

That question often creates a very different conversation.

And yet it is arguably the most important question any trainer can ask.

The biggest mistake many trainers make happens long before anyone walks into the room.

They start planning their content instead of planning their learners' experience.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Discover why many training sessions fail before they even begin.
• Learn the difference between trainer centred and learner centred planning.
• Understand how a simple shift in thinking transforms learning outcomes.

Most Trainers Start in the Wrong Place

This might sound surprising, but many trainers begin designing a session by opening PowerPoint.

They

Have you really noticed how quickly we create a story when we do not have all the information.

Think about it, someone does not respond to an email, so we assume they are ignoring us.

Someone is quiet in a meeting, we assume they are disengaged. Someone questions a decision, we assume they are being difficult. Someone misses a deadline, we assume they do not care.

It happens all the time.

The interesting thing is that we rarely describe these thoughts as assumptions. We begin treating them as facts, and that is where the problem starts.

An assumption can change our tone, our behaviour and the way we approach the next conversation. The other person then notices that change and responds to it. That wonderful Botari box model in full play.

Before long, a relationship can begin to deteriorate because of something that may never have been true in the first place.

Assumptions can be expensive. Not simply in terms of money, but in trust, confidence, performance and workplace relationships.

In

Every year, organisations invest thousands, sometimes millions, of pounds in training.

Yet many still face the same frustrations.

Employees leave courses enthusiastic but quickly return to old habits.

New skills are forgotten.

Performance remains unchanged.

Managers begin to question whether training is worth the investment.

The problem is rarely the learners.

More often than not, it is the way the learning has been designed.

The good news?

Training does not have to be this way.

When learning is designed with people at its heart, remarkable things can happen.

Key Takeaways From This Blog

• Why workplace training often fails to deliver lasting results
• The common mistakes organisations make when designing learning
• Practical ways to create training that changes behaviour, not just knowledge

The Biggest Misunderstanding About Training

Many people think training is successful if it is delivered well.

It isn't.

Training is successful when people can confidently do something differently afterwards.