Training the Core Workers
Fred Smith Sr.
Leaders must steer a wary course between keeping their fingers in every pie, dictating in detail what is to be done by whom, and on the other hand slackening the rein so that assistants learn only by experience and make costly mistakes.
People have great potential if they want to train themselves. Perhaps the greatest challenge in training someone else is getting the person to want to be trained.
The gateway, I believe, is personal relationship. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I've never been able to fully motivate a person I didn't like. The same is true of training. I can instruct someone I don't like. I can teach a person the expressways of Dallas whether I like him or not, but I could never develop that person's skills and talents.
I learned this from experience. While working with a certain individual, I wasn't making any progress, and I wondered why. Finally I realized I didn't like the man. He was outgoing and had good comprehension skills—but he overrated himself, and that irritated me. I consciously tuned out his bragging, and that prevented me from getting close to him personally.
Finally I realized what was happening, and I began to find other things in him to like. An interesting thing occurred: He began to develop very well.
Before any of us can be trained, we need to believe somebody wants us to do well, believes in us, likes us, respects us.
Train Strengths, Not Weaknesses
In developing somebody, the odds of improving existing strengths far outweigh the odds of improving weaknesses. An individual can improve his weaknesses, but it's rarely done from the outside.
You can threaten the person. You can make him afraid. But that won't bring improvement. On the other hand, if you point out strengths and help develop ...
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