I saw this from David James the other day:

Too often, we recognise something as a learning need based on minimal observation. Somebody somewhere saw people do a thing, therefore, it’s applicable across an entire level or employee group.

David James – LinkedIn – 4th March 2021

The occasion of the one-off error gets highlighted and a full training regime is suggested because someone ‘in charge’ says so. There are layers to unpick here, including the hierarchy and influence, the nature of the observation, the desire of the learning function to please and craft something supportive, as well as the cost to value, the time taken and the likely impacts – both expected and unknown.

Key is to help the person ‘in charge’.

They’re the one who needs the support. Whether that to be something around their confirmation bias, control, desire to please, or need to be seen to be ‘doing something’.

If you want help exploring how to manage these relationships with people ‘in charge’, please get in touch.