Learn through the Academic system or learn in the trenches........who learns to succeed?

Recently it seems to be that I meet many staff who are bubbling below supervisor/middle management positions and are focusing on being the most technically clued up member of their department, the star Trainer or admired PT. When asked about progressing to Supervisor/Manager the response is invariably 'I am looking to do so and so course and get my level 3 Instructor etc etc.'
Perhaps this focus is perpetuated when we look to promote from within, as we look for the standout performer within the team to move up a notch to supervisor. The issue for me is how important is the course gained academic knowledge vs the practically gained experience in producing the high calibre managers that we need. Does the best Trainer make the best Manager, (or is it easier to justify the appointment to the rest of the team.) By way of comparison how many sports teams make the 'best player' captain/manager/coach? Some of the best coaches were only average players. So how do we justify the investment, whether by the company or the individual, in training courses?
I came up through 'the trenches' and walked every inch of the path to where I wanted to be, no leapfrog/fastracks, hard work, applying every bit of training I received to the role I had at the time. I certainly don't underestimate the value of the training I received but I truly believe that much of the success was due to attitude and application. I think some good people get appointed because they apply knowledge gained, with some not so good people get appointed because they are qualified.

Every job is different and the skills/competencies will vary but are we identifying the right people, are we assessing what we need rather than selecting from what we have?

There are those who believe Education, Education, Education, problem is in my experience not all Education is equal. Business is always concerned about investing in it's employees, training budgets and time are put aside to send it's people on courses that tick boxes. Even the individual sees training as the pre-requisite to progress, (usually) via more 'technical' biased training. So the end result of all the investment in education is...?
The ideal outcome is they apply the new knowledge to be more effective in their work, stay loyal, motivated, become valuable assets to the business and develop to be high calibre managers. Too often they take the training, leave before the new knowledge has been applied to the role they fill. Is the answer just to put training agreements in place to recover costs if they leave?



I really feel that the identification of future management candidates should be more structured, more succession planning rather than reactive once the present manager hands in a resignation! So maybe a skills and attitude review of all staff is in order? Can we show staff there is a path to the top based on attitude and application?

Are we going full circle or have we been standing still?

If like me you have a constant urge to learn, find how other businesses have different ways of achieving success and solve longstanding issues that won't go away, then you may also have a problem finding genuine new ideas out there for your particular business type. I am always looking at businesses in other Industry's, seeing who is in a developed market and how they got there, as well as looking at the new bucks out there who have written a new rule book and who leapfrogged established players to grab market share with something exciting. Along with this is 'thinking time' when I can think without constraints. The growth of Apple, the rise of coffee houses, supermarket chains and Gyms all of these give me food for thought.

The other day I stopped myself saying (for the umpteenth time)we had those 20 years ago! I keep seeing people buying 'retro' clothing, (do they not realise I have a wardrobe of the stuff, only I call it old fashioned). My daughter who raves about the latest King of Leon CD, heard my Hootie and The Blowfish CD and thought it was a new band,just goes to prove keep hold of something long enough something thinks its great. Which is when I stopped and thought how much of the latest trends in gyms are what I call 'old school'. Since finishing my Military career and entering the private sector, I have seen a resurfacing of some great trg tools that we used and produced great results: Body pump (this was Instructor led barbell trg) Kinesis (was cable & band attached to wallbars) isolated body part machines(used to be Multigyms) and Kettlbells (a home made lump of something heavy!!) Ok so the tools now are 'ergonomically designed', the materials more aesthetically pleasing, the price (a lot more!) but when all is said and done it does.............the same thing!!

So what is different about gyms now? Air Conditioning, machine looks, all under one roof, TV screens, ipod docking, a huge range of equipment and gadgetry) but what else? The problem I keep seeing is that the training of our most important asset is left short of innovation, THE GYM STAFF. Basic Instructional technique is there, was there before, REPS is only voluntary and only shows paper trail of the qualifications achieved.It does not prove that the knowledge gained is being applied Do the staff think any differently? Do they open their minds to other ways of working? Perhaps Management should take some responsibility here, assuming that they are the leaders who aim forward and ask staff to follow? Many staff qualify and Instruct, but all too often the knowledge of exercises is all they focus on, who will develop their thinking, ensure they have effective communication skills and improve their ability to conduct thorough needs analysis to set SMART goals?

So how do we create a different focus for 2010 within our gyms, more about individual needs and goals, less about using the latest gadget. More exposure to different training methods and variety for the member, would have the additional benefit of stimulating staff by providing a varied work day. If we focus on the latest gadget/equipment, we are always waiting for the next new thing to move things forward. I think its time to look seriously as what we deliver. I have worked with several gym operators who have introduced a Member Journey or Fitness Menu, in essence a set of contact sessions that the member can opt in to on a fixed bi-monthly basis.The content is where the member really sees the difference. The ability of the Gym team to create exciting and innovative sessions has shown to create value and stimulate both members and the gym team.

For too long the Industry has stood around looking for the new machine/device that will drive our businesses, when the best tool in the world for retaining is at our feet, The Gym Service. We have to establish where we add value to the member relationship.
Perhaps we should be looking for more than basic Instructor qualifications?
If we don't move this forward, we could find ourselves standing still in.Some operators have stood still and still deliver a one off hour and a half induction!Maybe if we refocus on service standards, then I will be able to say "I have never seen that before"