Leveraging the power of anticipation to cut through preconceived ideas
Increasingly, traditional career paths are shifting. In turn, this is placing greater emphasis on learning and development — not only for the success of individuals, but also our organisations.
Whether it's time to upskill, reskill, learn about a policy, understand a process, address a risk, or hit compliance targets, 'time for training' is critical.
The challenge is that with an increased focus on training, employees are more likely to experience learning and development fatigue if they feel bombarded by upskilling initiatives, or feel like they’re just turning up to hear the same messaging repeated over and over. And if the messaging is inconsistent or feels inauthentic, people will tune out and roll their eyes at the mere mention of new training initiatives.
So when we do secure the all-important time off tools or away from the desk for training, we need to ensure that time is well invested. Apathy and cynicism are expensive, and there are so many better things we could be putting our budget towards.
How do we get people excited about training again?
The opportunity lies in…
Anticipation.
You know that feeling of waiting for a parcel to navigate the postal system to arrive in our mailbox; booking a holiday, then the impatience of excitement as the departure date too slowly approaches; watching a trailer for a new movie, then the months dragging by before it appears on screen…
That heady blend of impatience, expectation and excitement is anticipation and it’s an excellent feeling to leverage to get your people engaged.
Launching UNLEASHED
When we worked with Kestrel Coal Resources recently to create UNLEASHED, their new leadership program, we knew the challenge for us was going to be disrupting preconceived ideas of what a leadership program was (and wasn’t), and creating a sense of openness to new ways of doing things. That’s where anticipation came in.
We knew onboarding for UNLEASHED had to be so much more than just sending out a calendar invite for the first workshop. We needed to frame the team for a learning experience that would be different from any other course or leadership program they'd been a part of. In return, we had leaders who were ready to learn, primed for a great experience, curious to know more, and excited about investing the time in their own development.
Anticipation allows us to build tension
Anticipation relies on our having just enough information to form vague expectations, yet retains enough ambiguity to offer the potential for surprise and delight.
When we manage people’s anticipation we can hold their attention more effectively, get them into the right mindset, and ensure their expectations are met or exceeded.
It’s why every great concert you’ve ever been to had a warm up act come out first. By the time the main act hit the stage, you were ready to cheer your head off and have the
time of your life.
Anticipation offer us a natural period of attention
Anticipation inevitably follows the announcement or launch of any initiative, event or program. This is a window of time where we have people’s attention, but it isn’t the moment to sit back and expect them to remain interested. It’s an opportunity to strategically map out touchpoints that keep people focused and engaged over the duration.
In the case of Kestrel’s leadership program, we surprised invitees with a package that appeared on their desk or in their locker one morning. The package contained a branded backpack containing everything they’d need to get started in the program, a welcome letter from Kestrel’s CEO designed to get them excited, and some fun additions like a specially curated Spotify playlist, opening with the one, the only, the incomparable: ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor.
Anticipation gives us an opportunity to influence mindset
We can also use the state of anticipation to shape or influence how people feel. If there’s an expectation that leadership programs are always boring, we can use messaging during the anticipation period to flip those beliefs.
We wanted our Kestrel leadership program attendees to feel excited that they had been invited to participate and like they had a hand in shaping the leadership program. We invited them to join a Microsoft Teams channel, and asked them to share their thoughts. Each message helped to keep that feeling of anticipation alive as it generated more buzz among the group.
Anticipation offers us the time to manage expectations
Work is a series of expectations. We have beliefs around what we (and others) should or shouldn’t be paid; the hours we should or shouldn’t be working; the decisions our leaders should or shouldn’t be making; the directions our company should or shouldn’t be taking; and who should or shouldn’t be employed, let alone promoted. Over time, all of these unmet expectations compound and slowly erode engagement.
Using anticipation to manage others’ expectations leads to stronger connections with our work, and with each other. Our Kestrel leadership group were assured from the beginning that the entire program would be an iterative experience, with feedback from each module informing how the next module would be rolled out. This meant they were engaged and active from the beginning,
knowing the more they participated in the feedback process,
the more the program would be tailored to their needs.
While rolling out great programs is undeniably helpful to your workforce, it’s important to remember that the way people feel about those programs is going to have a huge impact on how they show up — and indeed, whether they want to show up at all. So next time you’re planning something for your people, remember to leverage the power of anticipation and watch how this fuels excitement and improves engagement.
Want to talk about how you could leverage anticipation at your upcoming program or learning experience? Get in touch, we’ll put ‘Eye of the Tiger’ on repeat and bounce some ideas around.
