I find it a little ironic that a good portion of my job is dedicated to training my peers.

First of all, when I started here at Rackspace, I didn’t receive any “formal” training.  I learned most of the technical skills I know today by doing.  I’m really good at figuring things out and remembering them – I rely mostly on experience to build my knowledge base.

The funny part is that this has worked GREAT for me so far in my career, and it’s just getting started.  So, why do we even have training in the first place?  Why doesn’t everyone else just pick it up the same way I did?  Why do I find myself facilitating classes on material I had to learn on the fly?

Well, let’s fast forward a bit to present day.  Since joining Rackspace, I’ve been able to participate in some real training classes, but not necessarily always for technical skills.  I’ve enjoyed being able to expand my horizons and take part in these sessions. This past week I took part in a new class that Rackspace University (RU) hosted called “Developing Rackers into Rock Stars”.

After completing the course, I jokingly explained to some of my colleagues that in the class we jammed out with guitars, wore cool sunglasses, and practiced signing autographs.  In actuality this class was designed to give Rackers more insight on useful training methods and apply principles of adult learning to deliver effective facilitation in our training sessions.  A “Train the Trainer” Class if you will.

It’s interesting that within the class, our instructor mentioned that there were a few people invited to participate, but turned down the offer because they weren’t sure they were going to receive any value from it.  Perhaps they have the attitude of either “I already know everything”, or “I don’t need a class for this, I prefer to learn from experience”.  (Sounds familiar…)

We actually talked about this concept in class.  When it comes to learning, one thing that differentiates adults from children is that often times adults rely on their own experience to help reinforce what is being presented to them. Alternatively, adults may also use their experience to discredit some of the training material as well.

Because of this, I can understand why some people might be hesitant to take part in any type of Training Class.  Unfortunately, I think these people are missing out.  There’s always going to be some kind of value you can take from attending any training session you’re interested in.

I took another class not too long ago regarding DNS; a subject I personally provide training on for our new hires.  However, I didn’t really go to the class to learn a topic I already knew a lot about, I went to the class to see how another trainer presented the material.  I wanted to get some ideas on how I could present the material myself for the class that I taught.

So to the naysayers that are quick to discredit any type of training opportunity, I invite you to open your mind up a little. You might not learn what you originally sought out to, but it really is a cool feeling when you have that “Aha!” moment and realize you’ve just learned something new.

Fergalicious…

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