Motivating Instructors and Why it's Important
By Danielle Lirette,
Human Resources
ChampionsWay Inc.
Like any student, your Instructors need encouragement and motivation
in order to be their best. Are your instructors are having fun,
feeling supported, and learning? By helping them do a better job,
won't they deliver better classes to the students? The time spent
motivating instructors provides many unseen dividends along with a
higher student retention rate.
It’s a common misconception that people are just “naturally” good at
what they do. While it’s true that some are more suited to a
position than others, true skill comes from practice and hard work.
As martial artists we teach this to our students all the
time…”perfect practice makes perfect.” Does it take a lot of work to
train people properly? Yes, Absolutely! It’s statistically proven
that 50% of what you teach gets lost within a week, unless you are
there to followup and ensure that correct behaviors are being
followed and that undesirable behaviors are being avoided.
At our school, we use the 3 T’s and 3 E’s approach. Teach once,
Expect result once. Learning takes place. Teach a second time and
expect improved results. Learning takes place. Teach a third time,
and expect your third result to be the desired result.
This type of method is not only for new Instructors, but can be used
to re-train existing staff. The longer that an Instructor has been
with you, the harder it is to change a habit, so followup is really
the key. Depending on how long an Instructor has been with your
Organization, you will need to spend an average of 2 – 5 hours per
week with each Instructor.
Here are some ways you can coach your Instructors to success:
Be the role model
Talk the talk, then walk the walk. Who better to show your
Instructors the desired result than you?! If you want instructors to
be up and enthusiastic then so should you. Get out and work the
floor. Nothing motivates the instructors more then seeing their
Sensei or Master on the floor demonstrating the techniques. Join in
and instruct one of their classes. By getting in the trenches you
establish your credibility as a leader and get to the grass roots
level with your students. This isn’t something that should be done
all the time, rather it’s something that can be done once or twice a
month depending on the experience of the Instructor you are working
with. Not only will your students love to see you in action, but
your Instructors will feel supported by you.
Connect with each Instructor
Our industry is quite unique in that how much you care about your
Instructors directly will impact the amount of care they will in
turn show your students. From time to time make time to have a
heart-to-heart discussion with your Instructors to find out how
things are going in their lives. This sends a message that you care
about them as a person first and as an Instructor second. By
building this bond they will feel comfortable to approach you when
they experience successes and also more importantly when challenges
arise, not only in their personal lives but on the floor with
students. This is all extremely valuable information as a School
owner to have when making costly business decisions.
Show your Appreciation
Everyone is motivated differently; this is why it’s important to
find out what motivates each Instructor. You don’t need to spend a
lot of money to show you care and here are some different ways you
can show your appreciation that don’t involve a lot of cost:
- Start with something simple like a personal card when an
instructor performs above and beyond what you expect.
- Acknowledge them in front of a class they are teaching or in
front of their peers. Being individually acknowledged can be a very
powerful motivator.
- Remember their birthday and give them the day off.
Yearly Instructor Awards
- Movie tickets
- A new uniform or piece of equipment you know they need.
- Spending your time with them on a social basis.
Give them the privilege of organizing and running a special
event. Having creative freedom is one of the most sought after
attributes in any job. It provides ownership and a degree of
control, which is a fantastic motivator.
Any small amount of money you spend towards appreciating an
Instructor will be far less than the cost of replacing them. By
instilling this type of recognition will deepen their loyalty and
make them want to spread the positive energy you are giving them
towards other Instructors and Students.
Overcoming Motivational Challenges
There are clear symptoms that Instructors exhibit when they are
struggling to be motivated.
- Consistent low energy classes
- Lack of motivation towards their own training
- Personal issues interfering with their work
- Negative talk
- Consistently being late or missing deadlines
These are some things to watch for as they are pre-cursers to a
decrease in Instructor effectiveness. Sometimes an Instructor may
just need a break from their regular routine, sometimes a new
vantage point will do wonders. Consider having them change classes
for the day or change the pace. Remember, like everyone else, your
instructors may need variety once in a while, as well. Find
different ways for them to get involved like participating in
special events, graduation days or birthday parties. Most
importantly though, find the time to communicate and get to the root
of what is happening, this alone will fast track their return to
motivation!
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
It’s imperative for your Instructors to not only be informed and
well trained, but also to be up to date on the latest developments
at your School in order to be effective in communicating this
message to your students.
We suggest having weekly – monthly meetings, depending on your
school size, with an agenda covering the following items:
- Last week’s successes and challenges on the floor: By
allowing your Instructors to communicate with each other, they
build a sense of camaraderie amongst themselves and as the Head
Instructor, you can see if there are re-occurring challenges
that would alert you to further training needs with your team.
- The current rate of A, B, C and NA students – this allows
you to share the retention burden with your Instructors, not
from a financial stand point, but from a student motivation
stand point. Having a statistic will allow Instructors to know
whether they are improving or not on a week to week basis.
- The number of students who are ready to test – again, this
relates to retention, students who consistently progress never
quit! A healthy school will have 20% of its students testing on
a regular basis.
- Discussion of one main challenge that all Instructors are
encountering and role play to practice overcoming it.
- Any housekeeping issues such as punctuality or
administrative or customer service issues that an Instructor
would need to be aware of.
After the meeting you should make yourself available so
individual instructors can speak with you. This is important
one-on-one time.
In addition to regular meetings it is also very valuable to arrange
ongoing training sessions in small groups to better address their
needs. For example, depending on the dynamics of your team, you may
want to separate your experienced Instructors from the newer
assistant instructors. Find ways to help them overcome the different
challenges they face.
Think about developing a performance review process with your
instructors. This is an ideal way to give them feedback that is both
positive and constructive. Help the instructor set one or two
measurable goals to work on and follow up on their progress. Follow
up is very important if the review is to be used as a tool to help
develop an instructor’s skills in the same way that you would
monitor one of your students progress for rank promotion. After all,
instructors are your students.
By communicating regularly, you will ensure that all your
instructors are on the same page and following the same guidelines
you have set in place.
Motivating Instructors is very much like managing employees at work.
What you invest in your people will come back to you tenfold and
properly
If you like the ideas you found in this article, remember to use the
3 T’s and 3 E’s on yourself. It will take time and follow up to
successfully implement change. Good luck and good success in
managing and motivating your Instructors!
By Danielle Lirette,
Human Resources
ChampionsWay Inc.
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