In the last two weeks, I’ve attended professional development delivered by Microsoft and the FBI’s hostage negotiation unit.
I was assisting and consulting in both sessions.
I have some excellent and possibly shocking news for you:
Outstanding professional development is possible.
For some, and probably most of you, professional development may rarely seem professional or developmental. I understand this completely. For most of my professional career, regardless of the industry, professional development has largely been a waste of my time.
The reasons are obvious:
Hastily-designed instruction
Insulting, infantilizing methodologies
Meaningless, utterly forgettable content
A disrespect for the value of time
A lack of preparation
Poorly designed, incomprehensible slide decks
A seemingly intentional contempt for efficiency
Little or no effort to engage, inspire, motivate, or entertain
It is astounding how much money and time is wasted on professional development that yields almost nothing in terms of results.
But over the past couple of days, I watched folks at the FBI and Microsoft deliver outstanding professional development. Better than almost anything I’ve ever seen in my life.
I watched in disbelief.
Their instruction was strategic, targeted, and meaningful, minus any of the nonsense that plagues most PD sessions. The instructors treated their students like grown-ass, professional adults.
No ice breakers.
No turn-and-talk.
No assigned seating.
No listing of norms.
No meaningless introductions.
These instructors were exceedingly prepared and taught at a pace that was quick, high-energy, and entirely appropriate. They were engaging, inspirational, refreshingly honest, and even funny at times. They understood how to engage an adult and deliver critical content in the most efficient way possible.
They also had no desire or need to fill the allotted time with instruction. The sooner it was delivered and received, the better. The more time they returned to their students, the better,
Both sessions ended early.
I was almost sad when it was over.
It’s also important to note that the content being taught had no bearing on my professional or personal life in any way. I am not a hostage negotiator, nor do I design products for Microsoft, yet I was transfixed by the instructors and their methodologies.
Despite the meaninglessness of the content to me, I was excited to be learning.
And it didn’t require much.
Instructors were enthusiastic, animated, and excited about what they were teaching. They worked in concert with each other, operating like a well-oiled machine. They were entertaining and inspiring. Slides were used judicially and only in support instruction when needed. Written material was relevant and meaningful. Content was delivered in an efficient, logical, sequentially sensible way. Breaks were frequent, short, and spaced perfectly. At no point did the instructors engage in sidebar discussions or laugh at inside (or terrible) jokes. Barriers between instructors and students were knocked down and pushed aside. Every instructor exuded a combination of supreme confidence and authentic humility.
Outstanding professional development is possible. I saw it with my own two eyes.
I almost can’t believe it.
