Train-the-Trainer 2

Train-the-Trainer projects are an inevitable part of my world because my clients are mostly large enough to have their own training departments.  This is an obvious point of tension and begs the question: what is the ideal relationship between the company-employed trainer and the external consultant?

As the external supplier, it is all too tempting to position myself as the genuine expert, an original thinker with a breadth of experience that affords insight to which a workaday wage-slave isn't privy.  And in the past I've made the mistake of behaving as I was the 'A' team (if only because that's how the senior client team described me) and paid the price.

This is what I've learned: -

The internal training department will always be cheaper than me, more in tune with company politics than me and will be around to promote or destroy my project long after I've been paid.  If I care about the long-term health of my brand then I need these people far more than they need me.

It never hurts to tell them as much.  There will be enough whisperings in their collective ear saying that my presence is an indictment on their ability without me adding to any sense insecurity.  Wherever possible Train-the-Trainer programmes should be positioned as meetings of equals rather than 'watch and learn' sessions.

Establishing a partnership of sorts with internal trainers is not always easy or even possible.  But a good start to is park your ego at the door.