Akhilesh Soni: Trainer vs Facilitator - Learning vs Knowledge Transfer

I was speaking to a client recently about how their teams actually learn best—and which learning modalities truly work in the real world. Here’s what I believe is important. When it comes to learning approaches, there are four main ways leaders can train their teams: 1️⃣ Asynchronous, self-paced micro learning This is usually delivered through a learning platform with videos, podcasts, reading material, and activities. It gives people the flexibility to learn at their own pace, reflect, and apply what they’ve learned over time. 2️⃣ Virtual live learning These are real-time sessions on Zoom or Teams where participants come together to discuss ideas, ask questions, and learn collaboratively. 3️⃣ Cohort-based coaching This often starts with a larger group and then breaks into smaller cohorts of six to eight people. The format allows for deeper discussion, experience-sharing, skill practice, and role plays. This is where real engagement and follow-through tend to happen. 4️⃣ Traditional in-person training Face-to-face sessions that allow for immersive learning and stronger human connection. Now, at Global Leader Group, we understand that many organisations are working within tight budgets. That’s why we usually recommend a layered approach, which tends to work best. ⏩Senior leaders are fewer in number, but the ripple effect of their decisions is wide—so the work here is often deeper and more personalised. ⏩Middle managers are supported in ways that help them translate strategy into day-to-day action. More in-person and cohort coaching. ⏩Frontline teams are reached through more scalable formats that still stay aligned with the same intent. We do find that in-person still is important, but may be done in larger cohorts to maximize benefit and minimize costs. Ultimately, building a learning strategy is about balancing what’s possible with what’s practical. I often describe it as combining the art of the possible with the science of the doable. When learning is designed well, it pays off. We consistently see improvements in sales performance, client outcomes, and team engagement. In several cases, programs have paid for themselves within months through measurable business results. And at the end of the day, the goal isn’t to just check the learning box— It’s to actually drive results through changed behaviors.

Here’s where leaders, trainers and coaches need to pay attention ‼️ ⭐ Your teams don’t learn by absorbing information. They learn by connecting new ideas to moments they already recognise. When we deliver our workshops and programs, we always consider relatability and adult learning principles. Think about a performance conversation you’ve avoided. You will have experienced these three behaviours and triggers: 1️⃣ The internal rehearsal 2️⃣ The tightness in your chest 3️⃣ The desire to “get it right” That is your episodic memory at work, recalling past experiences, emotions, and outcomes from badly planned and difficult conversations. We have a story in our mind, already narrated that something is going to be difficult. We haven't nurtured and developed these scenarios and skills for new leaders, so it is an unconscious battle each time they have to have a less easy conversation. The framing of it is negative and somewhat unhelpful to both parties. The same thing happens with new Execs (in fact up to 80% of them in my most recent survey). New Execs and leaders have often not had a comfortable set of skills, then suddenly they perceive their new environment as a threat, because the next chapter needs influencing, persuasion and push back. ......... For the trainers and coaches, experienced Execs, this means: ----- If learning doesn’t feel familiar, it won’t be usable. #memoryrecall #trainingenvironments #makeitrelatable 👇🏽 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 A couple of years ago, I delivered a large leadership program and the common theme was fear of difficult conversations, because that was the cultural language and there was a distinct ratio of "old school" boardroom tenure. Most of the Execs and leaders had been in role for 8-12 years and fresh blood upset the applecart. I build well-designed blended learning, not a program to hit a KPI, OKR training request. I am a partner, not a training provider. Over the past five years, we’ve lost sensory richness. We have less 👇🏽 --Fewer physical cues --Less shared environment We have More screens and that's fine, but how do we design the right conversations, language , messages? ................................................................................................. Pre session ⭐ Prime sessions and conversations.Before the session, priming the episodic memory with intentional pre-work is key. ⭐ 1️⃣ “Recall a moment you felt hesitant speaking up, what was happening internally?” During the session 2️⃣ Chunk learning deliberately (respect working memory) Use familiar, real-world scenarios. Name emotional states as data, not weakness. Normalise feelings and responses. After the session 3️⃣ Reconnect learning to lived experience Ask:“Where did you notice yourself responding differently this week?” Last, but not least, our training and coaching environments require cues and triggers to recall what we have learnt. 👇🏽 ⭐ Want to discuss more?

🐎 Why horses are powerful partners in experiential coaching In leadership and coaching, insight alone is rarely enough. Sustainable change happens when learning is experienced, reflected upon, and embodied. A compelling article by Dr. Karen L. Stock and Dr. David A. Kolb explores this through the lens of Equine-Assisted Experiential Learning. Their research shows that working with horses creates learning experiences that are not only memorable, but deeply transformative — particularly for leaders and managers. David A. Kolb, Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behavior at Case Western Reserve University and MIT Sloan School of Management, is the founder of Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) — one of the most influential learning frameworks worldwide. ELT describes learning as a cycle of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Equine-assisted coaching brings this cycle vividly to life. Horses offer something rare in organizational contexts: Immediate, unfiltered feedback — they respond to presence, intention, and authenticity, not hierarchy or status Heightened self-awareness — participants experience how their behavior impacts others A leveled playing field — roles dissolve; leadership becomes relational Embodied learning — insights are felt in the body, not just understood cognitively As Stock and Kolb describe, these experiences often lead to lasting changes in leadership behavior, trust, communication, and systems awareness — effects participants can recall and apply even years later. This is why experiential coaching with horses is not a trend, but a research-based, theory-grounded, and deeply human approach to leadership and development. 📖 Equine-Assisted Experiential Learning ✍️ Karen L. Stock & David A. Kolb

Coaching: The Missing Element in Most Training ✔️ Training introduces concepts; coaching develops capability ✔️ Feedback on application drives behavior change ✔️ Integrated coaching accelerates skill development ⚠️ Training without coaching is like giving someone a gym membership and expecting them to become an athlete. 🔥 Information alone doesn't create capability. Practice with feedback does. Yet most enterprise training programs provide content and hope for the best. Learners return to their roles, attempt to apply new skills, encounter challenges, and gradually revert to familiar approaches. 🗝️ The programs that create lasting capability integrate coaching: ▪️ During workshops: Instructors coach learners through exercises and provide immediate feedback ▪️ Between sessions: Managers or peer coaches support application of concepts to real work ▪️ After programs: Follow-up coaching reinforces new behaviors and troubleshoots challenges This is especially critical for leadership development, communication skills, and complex technical capabilities where judgment and nuance matter. 💡 Instructor-led programs create natural coaching opportunities that self-paced learning can't replicate. Practitioners who coach while they teach help learners develop not just knowledge, but judgment. ❓ Where does coaching fit in your current learning programs? ❓ How do you ensure your employees are making behavior changes after the initial training event? ❓ What are the greatest challenges when it comes to incorporating coaching into your learning programs? #Coaching #LearningandDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment #TalentDevelopment #SkillBuilding #InstructorLedTraining #OrganizationDevelopment

If only 10–15% of what people learn in formal training shows up in day-to-day work, then 85–90% of the investment is stuck in “knowing” instead of becoming “doing.” That gap is rarely about intelligence or motivation. Transfer is socially embedded: it depends on the context people return to: support, time, norms, and the networks that help ideas travel. 👉 Where coaching & mentoring make training implementable #Coaching & #mentoring are not “nice-to-have add-ons.” They are the implementation layer that turns learning into behavior change. 🚀 From content → goals: Coaching turns training takeaways into clear, work-based goals and practice plans (not just notes). 🚀 From insight → repetition: Coaching supports deliberate practice, feedback loops, reflection, and course-correction, key mechanics for transfer. ✨ From individual → system: Mentoring accelerates sensemaking, role-modeling, access to real “how we do it here,” and opens doors to knowledge networks. 🎯 From event → runway: A short post-training runway (4–8 weeks) of coaching/mentoring creates structure, accountability, and psychological permission to experiment. 💡 Practical takeaway for L&D and leaders: don’t ship a training without a transfer plan - pair it with coaching (action + habit-building) and mentoring (context + navigation). 🤗 We’ll keep pushing this shift: from learning as an event → learning as an intervention system.

I feel one of the most overlooked problems in training is learner motivation. It doesn’t get talked about or designed for enough. If learners aren’t motivated, everything else is irrelevant. Attention is the first gatekeeper to improved performance. That’s why I prefer courses that include some form of motivation. For example: learners have to pass an assessment with an actor. At the same time, I resist these programs (who actually wants to calm an angry actor?). But I remember almost nothing from training that hasn’t involved a degree of discomfort. But there’s a trade-off: for some learners, these assessments feel overwhelming. It’s a fine balance. You can add too much pressure, which inhibits learning (the Yerkes–Dodson curve comes to mind). One way to reduce overwhelm is to frame the process as a challenge rather than a threat — and provide lots of support (behavioral criteria, practice runs, coaching). P.S. I also think the best L+D teams use non-training levers to improve motivation — for example, prompting and equipping managers to run a short 1:1 before training. The manager helps the learner set a goal for the course, then commits to supporting that goal. If leaders show up like this, learners often do the same. #Training #LearningDesign #LearnerMotivation

Classic but effective method of teaching. Why it works? Because it mirrors how humans actually learn—not how we wish they learned 🙂 Here’s why Tell–Show–Do–Review works so well: ⸻ 🧠 It aligns with how the brain learns People need context, demonstration, practice, and feedback. This method hits all four in order: • Tell → builds mental understanding • Show → creates a visual model • Do → forms muscle memory and confidence • Review → locks learning in and corrects gaps Skipping any step weakens retention. ⸻ 👀 It addresses different learning styles (without overthinking it) • Auditory → Tell • Visual → Show • Kinesthetic → Do • Reflective → Review No learner is left behind—and no single style is over-prioritized. ⸻ 🔁 It reduces cognitive overload Dumping information and expecting performance doesn’t work. This method: • Breaks learning into small, digestible chunks • Moves from passive → active • Prevents overwhelm while keeping momentum ⸻ ✅ It builds confidence fast By the time learners reach Do, they’ve: • Heard it • Seen it • Understood what “good” looks like That lowers anxiety and increases willingness to try. ⸻ 🎯 It creates measurable outcomes The Review step: • Reinforces what went right • Corrects errors before they become habits • Confirms competency, not just exposure This is why it’s loved in training, coaching, onboarding, and performance-based roles. ⸻ 🚀 It’s efficient and scalable Once designed, the method: • Works for 1:1 or groups • Can be repeated consistently • Produces predictable results That’s gold for leaders, trainers, and managers. ⸻ Bottom line: Tell–Show–Do–Review works because it respects how people actually learn—by understanding, observing, practicing, and reflecting. #learninganddevelopmemt #training #teaching #developer

Can you really teach a manager to be "Visionary"? Most people think "Visionary" is a trait you are born with.  We proved it is a muscle you can build. We partnered with a global pharmaceutical giant to transform their Area Business Managers. These leaders manage teams of 5-10 people, and the organization needed them to evolve. They had a specific competency framework called VACC: Visionary, Analytical, Coach, and Catalyst. The challenge? You cannot learn to be a Catalyst in a single afternoon. So, we refused to do a standard training workshop. Instead, we designed a blended learning journey that lasted for months. It wasn't just a seminar. It was a regimen: Month 1: Game-based assessments to benchmark their current skills. The Kick-off: A high-intensity business simulation experience to break their old mindsets. The Grind: Monthly virtual reviews and facilitator-led workshops to practice specific skills like problem-solving and decision-making anchored to their competency framework. The Finish: A formal graduation ceremony to certify their transformation. The result? The organization reported that most of the participants were able to double their revenues during the learning journey. They didn't just learn new words. They built new habits. This learning journey made me realize that - A one-day workshop creates awareness. A six-month journey creates revenue. If you aren't reinforcing the learning, you are wasting the budget. Abstract concepts like "Visionary" mean nothing until a leader tries to apply them under pressure. Don't sign off on training that doesn't have a follow-up plan built into the contract. Visionary is what happens when pressure meets practice. -------- Follow Solomon Salvis for leadership insights that survive the real world. Visit SimuRise to build future-ready leaders through immersive business simulations, games, and experiential learning 😊