The holy grail of People Development

"Training should make a real difference, to the individual and to the employer, otherwise what is the point in
doing it?" says Mike Ponting, director of Cotswolds-based training company Making the Link. "How many
of us have sat through courses twiddling our thumbs, feeling uninspired and asking ourselves what we are
doing there? The next day we return to our desk and carry on as before".

Mike has a different vision, and he is passionate about it. "Training needs to get to the heart of who we are and why we behave the way we do". He contends that "training for skills alone is not enough to succeed in today's marketplace; we need to have a much greater understanding of our own feelings and those of others, and to use this to guide our day-to-day behaviour, resulting in much more positive and productive working relationships".

Of course, in a recession it is easy to feel the pressure to cut costs wherever possible and the training budget is often the first to get slashed. However, the view of the CBI and others is that investing in skills and training during the recession is key to helping businesses remain competitive. For companies who have been able to maintain their training budgets, then the tougher economic times have, understandably, led them to focus on targeting their training more effectively to get the maximum return possible.

This is where the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) comes in. Psychologist Daniel Goleman developed the concept in his best-selling book on the subject over a decade ago, and since then it has been increasingly used to develop both organizations, and their employees, in a more meaningful way. Mike is an accredited trainer in EI and has more than a decade's personal experience of delivering training and personal development solutions to a wide range of business and public sector clients. He is excited about the prospect of bringing EI to local organizations and individuals as he feels that it "has enormous potential for increasing individual effectiveness and therefore organizational productivity, and can be brought to bear on many aspects of business relationships, such as management style and interpersonal skills".

MTL Emotional intelligence courses are largely practical with group-based exercises that are designed to help each individual really examine and understand how they relate to others and how to use this understanding to maximize their performance. There is also the option for individuals to complete an online diagnostic that reports back on that person's emotional intelligence in 16 key areas; this can be followed up by further group or one-to-one coaching.

Some might argue that there is no place for focusing on emotions in business. How does Mike respond to the suggestion that it might be a bit too ‘touchy-feely'? "Whether we choose to suppress our emotions or display them, they determine our attitudes and behaviour, how others see us and therefore how we relate to others. This is absolutely at the heart of our working relationships, and these must be positive and productive for our organizations and businesses to realize their full potential. In my view, managers cannot afford not to take their staff's Emotional Intelligence seriously".

To see more from Mike and Jo on EI click on http://www.youtube.com/user/makingthelink#p/a/u/2/_0Xj0pYa7Tg

Making the Link courses
Engaging Emotional Intelligence for individuals
Developing sustainable business relationships
Sales planning
Negotiating using EI
Presentation and Facilitation skills
e-learning- training on demand
Health and well being at work
Team development solutions
Individual effectiveness, 360 feedback
Sales for non-sales people
Making meetings work
Employee Engagement for Leaders

Making the Link's new training centre is situated in the tranquil surroundings of a Cotswold village, yet only
15 minutes drive from Cheltenham, Gloucester and Cirencester - a perfect place to retreat from the office
for a day or two, to learn and be inspired. See www.makingthelink.co.uk

Tags: EI and training | People development | Mike Ponting | Jo Maddocks

This entry was posted on 02 February 2010 at 08:52 and is filed under Making the Link News | Training and Development News. You can leave a response here.

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