On Understanding the Right and Duty of the Manager to Train Subordinates

The article deals with the following issue: how do managers understand their responsibility to train their subordinates? The authors focus on the most common errors that can turn the function of training into useless edifications, which trigger negative consequences and reactions of personnel. One of such errors is forced training when the employee is not ready for it. Another error is when manager fails to take into account the motives of the employee’s actions. Other mistakes include inappropriate learning methods or improper use of an initially appropriate method; public humiliation during training; negativity, criticism, and anger; inappropriate mode of communication; intrusion of manager’s opinion upon subordinates; inadequate conditions; no clear goal; no monitoring of behavioral changes, no feedback, etc. The paper contains useful recommendations to managers on how to avoid such situations: take into account the background of your communication partner; state your message clearly; avoid unnecessary personifications; explain the meaning of your advice; use your intonation wisely; avoid negativity and threats; address your employee by name; do not hesitate to use compliments; do not avoid questions; make joint decisions, etc. The optimal conditions of effective training include the following recommendations: demonstrate you care and support initiative; familiarize the employee with your vision of the situation; trust the trainee; be careful with humor; obtain feedback; use actual environment as a source of training cases; avoid criticism and public humiliation; do not postpone criticisms to the end of the day; use the advice of subordinates in their domain of competence, etc. The proposed recommendations can be used by heads of organizations to improve the training of subordinates, as well as to form and maintain long-term business relationships in the team.