Make a Clear Case for Supporting Learners – comes from the Free Guide – ‘Are You Annoyed by How Little Line Managers Support the Skills Training of Their Teams?’
At MBM, we have used the HBDI (Herrmann Brain Dominance Index) tool for over a decade (for supporting learners). The tool is basically a psychometric test, like Myers-Briggs, Jigsaw, or Thomas International. The reason we favour HBDI ® is because it is easy for Learners to grasp at the beginning. Also, it has a series of deeper levels that Learners can discover as they progress.
In essence, HBDI ® measures someone’s thinking preference. We can think in all 4 quadrants, however, we usually prefer to think in 1 quadrant. A simple version of the HBDI ® model is to the right:
The guys at HBDI ® refer to it as ‘Selling to the whole brain’. We suggest that you do this when you engage your Line Managers about their support for Learners. Whether it’s a presentation, discussion, or any other format, the basis of the ‘sell’ is as follows:
Blue Quadrant – Facts
‘Line Manager support has been proven to deliver a 5.45-times return on investment’ (The actual study was about external coaches, but this could be legitimately transferred to a Line Manager scenario).
Yellow Quadrant – Future
‘By not supporting your Learners through their learning, ultimately you could be holding back your team because ‘if you are not moving forwards, you are going backwards’’.
Green Quadrant – Form
‘Discussing development with your Learners can take place in your 121’s, so please add it to your 121 agenda.’
Red Quadrant – Feeling
‘By not supporting your team, they’ll feel as though no one values the effort they put into their training and it is a waste of time.’
Actions (for Supporting Learners)
Sell to the whole brain by ensuring that your presentation, email, or conversation includes communication that appeals to all 4 quadrants.
