“Training is something you do to animals, education is something you do for people.” ~ Joe Contrera

Transactions & Exchanges

When you go through the drive thru at McDonald’s, there’s a good chance you’re not going for a culinary experience.

Going through the drive-thru there is a process that happens about 35 million times a day all around the world:

• Step 1 – Read the menu and shout what you want into a speaker.
• Step 2 – Listen to someone mumble back what you just said, a total, and directions to “garble, garble, garble …e-x-t …n-d-o-w …e-a-s-e!”
• Step 3 – You move to the next window, pass money through a window, and wait.
• Step 4 – They pass your food back through that same window, hand you a bag, and you drive away while you reach into the bag for the hot fries because you know, if they get cold, they’ll be horrible.

This is not a culinary dining experience (not that you necessarily expected one), it is an exchange, money for food.

Let’s be serious, have you ever heard these words from anyone after they’ve eaten McDonald’s?

“There I was…holding that dried out, dinky, puck of beef, which was resting ever-so-gently on that half soggy, half-hardened bun! It was at that moment, I knew this would be heaven!”

Going thru a drive-thru is what I refer to as a transaction, I give you X and you give me Y, period the end!

Transformations & Experiences

Now, think about going to an expensive restaurant in Chicago, Los Angeles, or NYC. It is a much different experience.

An experience where they pay attention to every little detail, from the time you pull up and are greeted by the valet, until the time you hear the car door close behind you as you drive away, and everything little detail in-between.

You’re willing to pay more because you know that every detail of your dining experience will be perfect. Your experience will be amazing, so amazing that you will tell others about the restaurant and your experience for days and maybe even months.

And because it is transform-ational, you will go back!

Transformation means to be transformed, to make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of something or someone. What could’ve been a simple exchange of food for money, turned it into a lasting memory and an incredible experience.

Transactional vs. Transformational Leadership Development

So what does all this have to do with Leadership Development? Everything!

A lot of companies approach Leadership Development in a transactional way.  It is as if they’re going thru the McDonald’s drive-thru ordering the value meal and hoping they will get a Filet Mignon experience or result.

You don’t get Filet Mignon when you send your leaders to an all-day training seminar for $59.00. You do get classes designed for trainers to sell products who can make more money selling you products then they do from doing the training.

Some companies offer no development opportunities, others offer such a multitude of choices that the training lacks congruity, np defined path, or no accountability for results. The measurement of success is by the number of people they put through the training, instead of the outcomes, changes in behavior, or the impact it has on those who work with the participants.

6 Things That Happen When You Approach Leadership Development in a Transactional Way:

1. Some attendees show up in training classes because they were on a list as part of a group. This results in disengagement, lack of change, and a waste of money and time.
2. People walk out’ve the training feeling good, but with no discernable skills they can put in place immediately that are sustainable. See #3.
3. People walk out’ve training classes with no accountability to change or continue the learning and so it fades within days, sometimes hours.
4. Many classes are taught by folks who have never led anyone. They may have book knowledge, but because they lack actual leadership experience, they lack wisdom.
5. Leaders of companies waste hundreds of millions of dollars on training without getting a measurable return-on-investment to show for it.
6. Some training is generic and watered-down to appease the masses (larger classes). As a result, attendees don’t get the personal attention or the specific skills they need to resolve the specific challenges they are facing.

Transformational Leadership Education

Leadership development becomes transformational when you do a deep dive on your process. Starting before you offer folks leadership position and ends when retire or leave the organization.

3 Things to Remember:

• Companies are transformed when you pay attention to your leaders and the development opportunities you offer them.
• Leadership cultures are transformed when you educate your people on what it means to lead others before they are in a leadership position and while they are leaders.
• Leaders are transformed when you provide your leaders with programs that combine: Self-awareness, Skill-building, Accountability, Continuity, and Coaching into their daily work interactions.

If you are interested in learning more about how to transform your organization with a transformational leadership development program, contact us and ask for more information about The Art of Leading, Coaching, & Influencing Others ™ Leadership Development Program.