a rare bird...consult and teach/train

[Jerry J]

> Subject: Re: a rare bird...consult and teach/train
> Erik Hansen wrote:
>> --- Dan Shafer <revolutionary.dan at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> It's a rare bird who can
>>> both consult and teach/train
>>>
>>
>> why is that?
>>
> As a consultant and teacher/trainer, I can answer that. Consulting
> requires hard, analytical focus on problem, process, and solution. The
> consultant's output is specific direction and procedures, typically
> communicated on the consultant's preferred level, with his or her
> preferred (paid-for, remember) methods. The objective is to deliver  
> the
> message, to change the recipient's projected path.
>
> Teaching and/or training requires a soft, empathic focus on others'
> skills and behaviors, along with a flexible ability to communicate on
> someone else's level and channel. The objective is to inspire the
> motivation to explore and integrate the message with the recipient's
> current path.
>
> Communication is the eliciting of a response. Effective  
> communication is
> the eliciting of a desired response. The consultant and the
> teacher/trainer gear their communication for different responses, and
> therefore develop and practice different methods.  It's a rare bird  
> who
> can shift from one objective to the other smoothly, easily, without
> disrupting the progress of the "objective of the moment".
>
> ---- Jerry Muelver

Jerry, that is extremely well put! I have just been in a situation  
where I had to try to do both. I'm not so bad at either, but  
switching is quite difficult and frustrating. Remembering your words  
will surely help me in the future. Its a text clipping on my desktop.

I arrived at a remote client's place two weeks ago on a Wed. morning  
with 3 days of work to do in the server room. I never even got  
started. The minute I walked in the door, the people needing teaching/ 
training started in on me. No problem, they are all friends.

Last week I arranged another visit which was accidentally coincident  
with a visit from a local independent who is *excellent* at teaching/ 
training but has never written a line of code in her life. She's also  
adept at installing & fixing, which isn't the same as programming.  
So, I got some work done in the server room. She got nothing done  
configuring the new computers.

Thanks for the insight!
-- Jerry Jensen