National Association of Counties *
Washington, D.C. Vol. 32,
No. 17 * September 25, 2000
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I Never Metaphor I Didnt
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This is an article about the power and value of metaphorical training
as a technique available to HR trainers of public
administrators.
In any organization, training is an essential
success factor in employee retention and attracting new talent. The most
effective training is memorable, well presented and brings the subject
home to the student as something valuable to know and apply. In short, it
must be compelling; however, it also helps if the training experience is
enjoyable, thought-provoking, and not boring.
Linking training to a
metaphor is a great way to accomplish these objectives. A metaphor is an
implied comparison, that is, using one word or concept to represent
another idea. It is possible to select and apply training metaphors very
economically and effectively. The HR Doctor offers the following examples
as some successful approaches.
SWAT teamwork
Borrow the
SWAT team from the sheriff or police department to surprise students with
a demonstration of how the team works. SWAT teams cannot be successful and
safe unless the individual members are well trained, dependable and
respected by their fellow team members. The team must focus on a mission,
train and work together, with members able to count on each other at all
times. SWAT teams are engaged in constant training and will be cooperative
and available for demonstrations. The HR Doctor has often used SWAT team
demonstrations. Following the team demonstration of safely seizing a
perpetrator or entering a dangerous situation, the commander of the SWAT
team often stays behind to address the students and answer
questions.
The concepts that make a SWAT team successful are
identical to those principles of teamwork and leadership that make any
group of employees successful. They can be a powerful metaphor to begin
any group retreat or training program focusing on individual and team
responsibility and accountability.
Run with a sports
metaphor
Most areas of the country are close to a professional
athletic team or a well-known amateur team. The HR Doctor has taken
employees to a nearby U.S. Olympic Dive Team training facility. The
employees watched part of the practice and were treated to a presentation
by the team coach. The students explored how to take a group of individual
champions and get them to work as a team. The combination of a venue
memorably different from a typical office classroom setting, and the
opportunity to meet and hear from people who may be in the news or engaged
in an activity we only dream about, is a powerful device to capture and
retain the attention of students. In fact, as with the SWAT team, it
becomes quickly apparent that there are basic core principles of respect
and leadership that make any work group effective.
Enlist the
military
Cooperation with the military produces great metaphorical
opportunities. Most counties and many cities are home to or are near a
military installation. In one urban county the HR Doctor borrowed an
aircraft carrier for a tour and a discussion by executives of how to
motivate and direct staff to accomplish a mission successfully.
An
aircraft carrier has approximately 5,000 crew members, with an average age
of under 20, who come and go as enlistments begin and end. The work is 24
hours a day and inherently very dangerous. Yet the crew of the carrier is
successful in its mission. Compare that to a large county government with
the same number of employees, a much more stable workforce with an average
length of service of 10 years who are older and more experienced.
Why is it that there is less cohesiveness and mission focus in a
group that logically should be better able to accomplish its objective?
This is the question explored during the aircraft carrier tour and
briefing. The Air Boss discussed this issue with top executives from
local government whose agencies often lose sight of a common purpose and
focus on competing missions or lack focus to begin with.
Off to
a flying start
Another metaphor the HR Doctor has used is a visit
with an F-16 pilot on the tarmac at an airport. After explaining Gulf War
operations and showing them the F-16 parked on the runway, the pilot led
the students in a discussion that pointed out how much they had in common
in using technology and trusting one another to accomplish work goals.
Often national guard, reserves, and other military units are cooperative
and enthusiastic about applying their work principles and strategies to
other settings.
Service animals also offer great metaphor
opportunities. The HR Doctor has used guide dogs, police dogs and even
monkeys that serve disabled people to discuss the concept of the team of
two. Community groups and individuals often are readily available and
interested in sharing their teamwork relationships with an audience. This
is a metaphor particularly recommended by Kamala the HR
dog.
Choruses of cooperation
Music can be an effective
metaphor for life in general and work life in particular. An orchestra
conductor challenges, inspires, and shapes individual experts literally to
read from the same sheet of music. Invite a local orchestra conductor or
choral conductor to demonstrate how he or she works with a soloist to
create group success. Conduct the seminar at a local performing arts
center and hold the class on stage for a change of perspective. Mozart or
Woody Guthrie might have been very successful management
consultants!
Civil service as dinosaur
One of the HR
Doctors favorite training metaphors was to hold a seminar on the future
of civil service at a museum full of the bones of extinct animals. Is
extinction ahead for the nineteenth century concept of civil service? How
does evolution apply to the way we do work in public administration? This
setting was powerful and the briefing by a paleontologist made it all the
more interesting.
In the training concepts described above, the use
of facilities, guests speakers, and tours were obtained at little or no
cost. When you think about it, its amazing how many resources are right
in your own neighborhood.
Health care facilities, universities,
sport teams, construction sites, nuclear power plantsthe world is rich
with metaphors that public administrators and private-sector executives
can use to make training come alive.
The HR Doctor advises
colleagues to look for these tools so that traditional and boring
lecture-style classroom presentations are never used in your agencyexcept
as a treatment for insomnia.
Enjoy thinking about metaphors and
apply them regularly to your life at work and at home.
P.S. The
aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, was returned to the Navy in
good condition!
Best wishes!
(Rosenberg is the Human Resources director for Broward
County, Fla.)
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