Tabletop Training FAQs
If you don't find the answer to your question here, please feel free to post a comment below or email us at info@consultingstance.com and let us know what's on your mind. We are anxious to give you all the information you need to decide whether our training kits are right for you.
Do I have to get four other people to do the training with me? Why can't I just do it by myself?
For one thing, it's more fun that way. For another, the value in tabletop training comes from the discussions that are spawned when two or more people try to agree on an answer. During the training, you are polishing your skills at persuasion and negotiation just as much as you are discovering new processes for task execution or conflict resolution.
Why can't I just read the handouts and get the answers? Why do we have to go through the exercises?
Tabletop training involves case studies and real-world simulations. In the real-world, there isn't just one right answer, and our answers may not be the right answer for you. By going through the exercises, you and your co-workers will decide for yourselves what the right answer is -- the right answer for you, right now. Our answers may provide an additional opportunity for conversation, and can serve as a tie-breaker when you can't agree, but you'll never hear us say that we know your business better than you do. How could we?
Are the kits re-usable?
Of course, we would prefer that you buy a new kit every time you have 4-5 employees ready for a training session, but we created these training kits as a cost-effective solution to the need for quality skill sharpening. The kits are re-usable. You'll find that you can use each kit for a training session three or four times before the cards begin to show wear and tear, and many more times before you absolutely have to buy a replacement.
I teach training classes. Can I use your training modules as part of my curriculum?
Yes! All we ask is that you allow the class participants to go through the training exactly as we designed it. It works. After all of the breakout groups in your class complete the steps of the module, bring the group back together and go through the discussion questions in the De-Briefing section again. Different groups will have different answers for some of the questions and you can reinforce the learning in the class by having them share their results. Good luck!
I'm thinking of buying this kit for my team. What will happen when I give it to them?
Funny you should ask. We recently published a whole newsletter about this. Here's what it said:
It’s easier to explain what happens when four or five employees sit down with a training kit from Consulting Stance than to explain why, even for the folks who created the kits. The best way to understand this training is to see it in action.
Invite five employees from a single department or project team to a conference room for a brown-bag lunch training session. Give them the Accomplishing Objectives Training Kit and sit back to watch. Here’s what you’ll see.
The Born Leader in the group will open the kit and distribute its contents on the table. He’ll open the Instruction Guide and begin reading aloud while the others examine the rest of the materials.
Welcome to Workgroup Training! For the next 90 minutes, your group will work together to perform six tasks. To complete each task successfully, you’ll have to follow instructions, talk, listen and make joint decisions.
Along the way, you’ll find that you each know more and less than you think you do. If you are doing it right, you’ll also have some fun.
Start by setting up your table. Unfold the workmap and place it in the middle of the table so that everyone can see it. Separate all of the cards and place each stack in the appropriate space. The top card in each stack will tell you where to place that stack on the workmap.
By the time he finishes reading this section, the Organization Junkie and the Multi-Tasker will have found the most efficient method for separating cards, the workmap will be arranged correctly, and even the Grumbling Skeptic and her sidekick, Silent Sally, will be looking over the game pieces with curiosity.
The Born Leader will then turn the page and read the Pre-Brief section, which explains what the training is all about. When he gets to the following paragraph, he and the Multi-Tasker realize that this is going to be fun. You can hear it in his voice.
As you go through the workmap exercises, you’ll probably be reminded of situations in your own experience where these issues have arisen. Feel free to share them with the group. The value of learning in workgroups is being able to learn from each other, as well as from the training materials.
When he reads the next paragraph, Silent Sally sits up a little straighter and leans forward.
This is an exercise in collaboration, so you won’t need to elect a leader. Everyone should participate. If you are a natural extrovert, try to draw out others’ opinions. If you are naturally reserved, speak up.
The Organization Junkie will say, “Why don’t we take turns reading the instructions?”
Over the next 90 minutes, as the group goes through the six exercises in this kit, you’ll see them explaining project or collaboration tasks to one another, working together to understand the challenge in each game, and sharing stories from their own experience as they try to reach agreement. Silent Sally will talk. The Born Leader will listen. The Grumbling Skeptic will say, “I wish we had done this years ago!”
At the end of each exercise, the group is instructed to compare their solution with ours. You’ll know the training is working exactly as we intended if the group, at least once, decides unanimously that their answer is better than ours for their particular environment. Someone may even remember that the kit instructions said, “There is no single right answer.”
Colleagues bond because of shared interests and experiences. They bond fastest over shared victories. The seemingly simple task of assigning critical skills to project phases or putting process steps in the best order gives these participants the opportunity to rely on one another, the requirement to share what they know, and the thrill of achieving something together.
After they’ve completed the exercises, most likely amid laughter and good-natured debate, you’ll listen as they answer the Discussion Questions at the end of Instruction Guide. At this point, they’ll remember this is a training session, not a game. You will hear them talk about the things they will do differently in their work as a result. You’ll hear them agree to help each other apply what they’ve learned.
Most importantly, you’ll be prepared when the Born Leader says, “This was great. Now how do we get everyone else to do it, too?” and you’ll be able to respond, “Meet me back here next week at the same time and I’ll have the Establishing Strategic Relationships kit ready for you. I’m pretty sure the answer is in there.”