20 March 2020 Do you manage trainers? Are you looking for ways to get their enthusiasm for the job jumpstarted? Here are several ideas we’ve used with great success. Stretch them professionally Your trainers may not always put their hands up for additional professional development, but it is important to keep them actively engaged in their profession. This can include involving them in conference proposals, article submissions, learning event development or even collaborating on a resource. Honour their experience Often in our training departments, we find combined experience adding up to hundreds of years, but career progression within organisations can be limited. Solve this dilemma by taking the time to recognize their contributions and honour their experience – this will help them feel valued and motivate them to continue to work at their best performance. Recognition can be as simple as a job title change (i.e. Senior Training Consultant or Lead Assessor), a public display of years served or an honour board listing key milestones. Role model best practice Great leaders are not defined by what they do but how they do it. Inspiration can be found when we practice what we preach and are prepared to do the same work that we ask of our teams. Standing side-by-side with them in the trenches builds respect but also helps the team understand the expectations of the business and what good practice looks like. Give them ownership, but allow them to make mistakes It is well documented that risk-taking is an important part of learning. However, if we create clinical environments where no one is prepared to try something new, organizations will stagnate. The key is to give ownership of projects along with the latitude for them to provide their own ideas while being available to provide guidance, mentoring and support when things don’t go according to plan. This, in the truest sense, becomes a “miss-take,” rather than a mistake and learning and growth can come out of it. This approach, which shares the fame and the blame, creates a collegial atmosphere where great ideas and achievement can thrive. By Marc Ratcliffe