I’m a little behind in my industry periodicals reading. (I don’t suppose you can identify with that.) Anyway, I came across an interesting article in the May 2010 issue of ASTD Training & Development magazine by Barbara Carnes called “Manager: The Forgotten Training Partner.” I had to laugh when she described a “typical scenario” about a manager approaching learning and development for help with some training. After the “usual discussions about outcomes” the L&D person suggested a training plan to which the manager replied, “Can you do it in less time?” Hey, that happened to me! I cringed in recognition when she suggested that the real message behind that question was something closer to “Can’t we just get it over with?” I can’t blame a manager for saying that. Time is precious and if I don’t understand the value of something I’m unlikely to lend my support or give up my time (at least not without a lot of whining and excuses) to participate.

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