ENCOURAGING LEARNERS: 6 SKILLS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

TeamOJT Tip of the Month for January, 2006

SKILL NUMBER 1: Showing Complete Acceptance.
A good relationship is the foundation of all learning. An encouraging relationship must be built on an attitude of complete acceptance - what Carl Rogers called "unconditional positive regard." In an unconditional environment, the learner is accepted as is - without any strings attached. Conditional environments only create discouragement. We all have our own values, beliefs, interests, and abilities and in order to succeed as trainers, these differences must be accepted. At no time should the trainer assume a "superior" position to the learner's "inferior" position. This vertical relationship doesn't allow trainers to encourage or strengthen others because this threatens their own position. In a training situation, both trainer and learner should behave as equals. Equality implies mutual respect, shared responsibility, and interdependence but not leaning.

SKILL NUMBER 2: Expressing Empathy.
One of the most important ingredients in an encouraging learning environment is an open mindedness, a willingness to see with the eyes of another, to hear with the ears of another, and to feel with the heart of another. Empathy allows trainers and coaches to temporarily walk in the learner's shoes. When this happens, the learner's behavior, thoughts, and feelings make sense. The ability to be sensitive to the learner's perceptions is one of the premises of encouragement that are so seldom met. Letting learners know you understand them is one of the most encouraging things you can do.

SKILL NUMBER 3: Showing Confidence.
Encouragement implies an unshakeable faith in the power of all human beings to solve their own problems, to be competent, and to direct their own lives. To be encouraging, trainers must have confidence in the trainee's abilities, especially the ability to learn. Having the confidence to allow learners to make decisions related to their learning can greatly increase their sense of being actively involved in their training and motivate them to further involvement with the material. As a teacher, W. Edwards Deming, total quality management guru, demonstrated his personal confidence in his students by giving them all an "A" at the start of the term. In all his years of teaching, he claimed that only one student failed to complete the required course work. Studies have shown repeatedly that trainees' learning improves considerably if the trainer expresses confidence in their abilities - whether or not the learner has great abilities. Without faith in each learner, trainers have little hope of being encouraging. This is another hard-to-meet prerequisite of encouragement.

SKILL NUMBER 4: Focusing On Strengths And Assets.
Encouragement involves focusing on any resource that can be turned into a strength or asset. Think of yourself as a talent scout. The ability to identify resources and to see a "diamond in the rough" is essential in the encouragement process. In the book, Now Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham and Daniel O. Goleman say, "You will excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses." Strengths and assets must be recognized and acknowledged by the trainer and learner. You need to find out all you can about the learner's prior experiences, skills, knowledge, and interests, give recognition to them, and build on the strengths. Turn any liabilities into assets. Any negative quality can be seen positively. For example, the arrogant learner might also be self-confident; the overly demanding person could be energetic, and the stubborn learner can be steadfast and independent.

SKILL NUMBER 5: Focusing On Effort And Improvement.
Encouragement also means recognizing effort (not outcome) and improvement (not comparison to prior performance). It's easy to give recognition for successful task completion. However, it is even more important to systematically encourage learners' efforts, rather than only the achievements. Encouraging trainers and mentors then accept the learners' level of accomplishment without pressuring them to do more. Too often, expectations are grandiose, unrealistic, and fuel for discouragement. Some trainers believe that by driving and forcing trainees to always do more and do it better, they will learn better and faster. This type of authoritarianism might work in emergencies, but not in the long term. It only sends the message that "You are not enough. You don't live up to my expectations." A constant message of dissatisfaction with the learner's performance only discourages, reduces productivity, and increases resistance.

SKILL NUMBER 6: Facilitating Decision-"Doing"
We all engage in decision-"making", even though we don't always follow through and "do" whatever it is we decide to do. We need extra motivation. Unless we recognize the learners' basic style and align with their goal, it will be outside their decision "doing" capability and they will not follow through. For example, for people who want to be in control, order is what gives them a sense of belonging and importance. So whatever approach you take, it must help them get or achieve a sense of order. In other words, allow them a measure of control. If they can experience themselves moving in the direction toward achieving their goal (not our goal), they will be more likely to experience success and thereby feel encouraged. When you are encouraging learners, don't do for them. Doing for learners (regardless of their style) only results in discouraging them. By doing for them, you are implying that they are not competent to do it themselves.

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