When it comes to training, Leadership Expert and President of LearnToLead, Dave Anderson, believes “The more you sweat, the less you bleed in battle.”
Anderson joins us on the latest episode of Lessons in Leadership to break down the third commandment in his “15 Commandments for Organizational Peak Performance” program, a principle he credits to the NAVY SEALs.
“This is about getting your people better.”
Over the years, Anderson has heard people cite the primary reason they neglect to train as the simple fact that, once they do, they leave. He attributes the saying Zig Ziglar used to say, “There’s one thing worse than training people and having them leave. It’s not training them and having them stay.” The message reinforces the risk of underinvesting in employee development. He further argues that the “cost of ignorance” far outweighs the cost of training, which he stresses negatively impacts performance.
According to Anderson, the bottom line is that preparation builds confidence and reduces stress. He encourages dealers to evaluate how much time they dedicate to training, how they address shortcomings, and when. It’s imperative, he asserts, to effectively train employees during the “game time”, which refers to the training time between customer interactions, through repetition, drilling, rehearsal, and accountability, rather than only during formal sessions.
Ultimately, Anderson believes leaders can improve performance by maximizing the opportunities they already have and investing in the development of their people.
“To reduce stress, we have to get them ready.”
