Tonight was the 2nd session of what is to be a 3-part team building workshop arranged for the MBA students. Apparently we have some issues..oh, and of course, as our program director would like to tell, 'is for your personal development.'
OK...
I understand the importance of teams, working effectively with others, dealing with conflict, understanding differences in personalities, perspectives and cultures, etc., etc., etc...I taught it for 3 years. Please tell me something I don't already know. Now I understand that I may have a little bit more experience regarding the topics and the concepts that have been discussed in the last couple of sessions, but when the 'facilitator' (and I use that word loosely, as I am not sure what she was facilitating) starts regergitating concepts, theories, topics, etc. that our professors have discussed over and over and over again, it gets REAL annoying.
Tonight was only slightly better than the first session. The first session involved 17 MBA students listening to the 'wisdom' of the 'facilitator' for 4 1/2 hours. Wow, what a way to apply all that learning that I have stuffed into my head over the past 6 months. There were no group tasks, activities...nothing. Now, I won't argue the fact that we are a hard group and our level of involvement can be limited at times. But it is a little difficult to participate when there really isn't an open forum, no questions being asked of the group, no solicitation of feedback...NOTHING!!
The session tonight began the same way in which the first session played out. We got to listen to the 'facilitator' jabber on for an hour and a half about concepts we had discussed way back in the fall. And then, to everyone's amazement we ACTUALLY got to become involved in a group activity, where we could apply all of these concepts and theories that have been shoved down our throat for the past few months. Who'da thunk that when taking a business degree of any kind you would actually step away from the academia part of it and get down to the important stuff - APPLICATION. How do they expect us to be GREAT MANAGERS if they don't integrate some sort of application into our learning? We are gonna leave university with a bunch of theories and academic knowledge and we aren't gonna know what to do with it once we get into the 'real world.' Cuz you know, I have never experienced the 'real world.'
I know I am being critical..perhaps too critical. And maybe that comes from my role as a facilitator. As you noticed, I did not use quotations. Mostly because I think I was a good facilitator. I would make it a priority in all of my seminars that individuals were engaged in the seminar, no matter what the topic. It was important to me that people enjoyed themselves. I found that was the best way to learn. By creating a fun, exciting, and enthusiastic atmosphere people don't even realize they are learning. And they often learn more than if someone just SAT and lectured at them.
You would think that a session on team building would actually contain some sort of activities engaging people in teams and allowing them to use the concepts previous discussed. Geez!
Ok, I think I am done with my rant.
6 comments:
I think that you should make your very valid complaints known to people who can do something about it.
Maybe next time they have to do this with MBA students, they'll find a real facilitator so that everyone can benefit from it.
I think I know who this facilitator is... LOL
My deepest sympathies that you had to deal with that kind of crap.
I am definitely going to make my comments known to the director of the program. Though I doubt she will see it in the same light as me, as she was actually at the session and appeared to enjoy herself.
Laura, it is I.F, if that is who you are thinking. This is something that they are paying big bucks to come in..they contracted her especially for these shitty sessions.
Being one of the facilitators of a training session right now for my staff, I have a big vested interest in how things are going. I have never seen a bunch of people so enthralled with learning how a program works - every aspect of it. So rushed in preparing material and never having done this training before and it's the best training session I've ever been in. There is truly a buzz in the air. It's intoxicating for me as a manager.
I'm sorry your teambuilding events aren't going so well.
Yah, BIG difference between academia and real world application. In the IT industry I got real sick of academics who put theories before practical application. There's room for theory in business, but not when it gets in the way of common sense!
Sorry Laura, I meant 'it isn't I.F.'
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