Credibility in Employee Training
by Amir Moghadam, Ph.D. - January 16, 2009
Think about the following scenario. Mike is a knowledgeable and dynamic teacher. His classes are known for having the best student retention rates on campus. Management considers Mike as an "instructional delivery expert." The campus president asks Mike to teach instructional skills to other instructors at her campus. Most of the instructors have more field experience than Mike and many consider themselves as the expert in virtue of their knowledge of the subject matter. They see Mike as a teacher who simply passes every student in the class because he does not know the subject matter very well! Would the instructors listen and learn from Mike? Maybe not. Subject matter experts are more inclined to learn teaching strategies and techniques from independent instructional delivery experts who have positioned themselves as specialists in training of trainers.
Perception is reality! Don't underestimate the importance of perception if you want to get results from your training programs. After all, results are what matter.
Dr. Amir Moghadam is Founder and CEO of MaxKnowledge. Moghadam has over 20 years of experience in career education, serving in many capacities including Professor, Director of Education, Academic Dean, Director of Student Affairs, Campus Director, College President/Owner, and International Training Consultant. He earned his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and his accomplishments have been recognized in Who's Who in American Education and Who's Who in the World.