by Sherry Engel
Learning Director, Performance Consultant, Training Partner…is your title similar to any of these? How does your client view you…as a learning partner or a business partner? I don’t know about you, but while my title is Performance Consultant, I want to be viewed as a Business Partner. After all, in our profession, what really is our goal? Is it for individuals to learn more? Is it for them to apply their learning and perform differently? Or is it to truly provide a measurable impact to the business’s bottom-line? Ask any CEO, and I can guarantee what their response would be!
So how do we become business partners and not just the typical learning or performance partner? Here are some quick tips!
1 – Know your client inside and out
- What are their business goals and objectives?
- What changes are they facing in the industry and/or marketplace?
- What metrics are on their scorecard?
2- Establish a consultative relationship with your client
- Think like your client (Check this book out! “What the CEO Wants You to Know” by Ram Charan)
- Create trust (Check this book out! “The Speed of Trust” by Stephen M.R. Covey)
- Plan how to grow and nurture the relationship
- Be a consultant, not an order-taker
3 – Discover the true source of performance and business gaps
- Analyze causes/sources of performance gaps
- Identify how those gaps impact business results
4 - Link learning and performance interventions to business impact
- Plan for evaluation from the beginning (Check this book out! “Beyond Learning Objectives” by Jack and Patti Phillips)
- Evaluate beyond just Level 1 and 2
- Speak the “business speak” not the “learning speak”
So, let me ask you again…..do you want to be viewed as a learning partner or a business partner?
