During times of change, people will need to learn new skills. One of the biggest mistakes that leaders make is to assume that giving people tools, manuals and information is all that people need. But information does not equal training. But knowledge does not equal understanding or ability. Information does not equal training.
Let me illustrate. Three weeks ago Olivier Meilleur was wrapping a day snowmobiling in mountains of British Columba, when he noticed a group of men searching frantically in the snow. An avalanche! As a guide, he could see they were in trouble. They were all digging in a different areas. It was obvious that they didn’t know where their friend was.
When Olivier arrived, he told them he was with Search and Rescue. He asked a series of questions:
Is somebody buried? Yes!
How long? 10 minutes
Just one person? Yes, his name is Noah Morrison.
Was Noah wearing an avalanche beacon? Yes
Are all of your transceivers on search mode? Yes, But we can’t find his signal.
Olivier took out his own transceiver and did a signal search. Immediately he found Noah’s signal, but it was pretty far away from where they were standing. Following the signal, he ran to the right spot. The others followed Olivier. They started probing in the snow and immediately got a strike. That took about five minutes, which meant that Noah have been under the snow for fifteen minutes, which is a long time!
When they pulled Noah out, he was blue from lack of oxygen. Quickly Olivier did CPR and his color came back. A few minutes later, he started breathing. After ten minutes, a helicopter arrived and airlifted Noah to the hospital. Noah survived and is doing well.
Afterwards, an interviewer asked Olivier, “What would have happened if you hadn’t been there?” Olivier replied, “He would be dead for sure.” Olivier summed it up this way. They had all the gear, they just didn’t know how to use it.”
During times of change, people will encounter many new tasks, responsibilities and roles. People need to be trained. Set them up for success. Identify the skills that people need to learn and train them how to do the job, before they need it.
Dr. Mark DeVolder is a Top Change Management & Transformation Expert, Award Winning Motivational Keynote Speaker Empowering Confidence through Change. Mark can teach you how to change, anticipate business trends and accelerate future-proof transformation. He’s done it before with industry leaders like Qatar Petroleum, PepsiCo, Royal Bank of Canada and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
