⚔️ Adventure awaits you, Frodo (but not before you train Sam)
We’re off to see the elves — *ahem* — get a promotion… but we need a backfill first. Ask Your Work Wife is here to help you find the freshest hire and train him up to do all the things holding you back. New episodes drop Wednesdays on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In today's email:
Read: Adventure awaits you, Frodo (but not before you train Sam)
Listen: Newbies need love, too
Join the convo: Why "Ask Your Work Wife"?
How to get what you want: The Ask Your Work Wife course
READ
Adventure awaits you, Frodo (but not before you train Sam)
🎧 Take the adventure on the road — listen to Episode 58 | Why Training a New Guy Makes You the Peter Jackson of Corporate America on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Remember Your First Day?
Faking proactivity and capability when in reality you had NO idea what was going on. Riding that learning curve can be tricky when there’s a tidal wave of information. Keep in mind what worked best for you and how you wish you were trained.
Level 1: Get Frodo to Mordor
Yeah, you read that right. All you should be concerned about is relaying the basic information they need to get A to B. In Peter Jackson’s case when synthesizing massive books into the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, he had to strip away anything that wasn't getting Frodo (A) get to Mordor (B).
If it doesn’t have anything to do with moving the box from A to B, your intern doesn’t need to know.
—Holland
Level 2: Sauron’s Time to Shine
Want to take it up a notch? Divulge the relevant context to why they’re doing what they’re doing. If you can provide your trainees with the relevant context, that empowers them to think better on behalf of you, the project, and the company at large.
This level should inspire suggestions and improvements that could benefit everyone. That’s why you hired them, for their fresh take!
And if you need to train huge clusters of newbies, adjust to scale with supplemental materials like video explanations, visuals, or practical exercises.
The Good News for Trainers
You want to be replaceable because that means you can move up. Nobody wants to be stuck in the Shire just because they’re Hobbits.
Also, the learner bears the responsibility of learning in this educational duo because their livelihood depends on it. You're not a middle school teacher begging their students to read a book they hate, you're teaching someone how to do their job...or teaching a man to fish, if you will.
LISTEN
Newbies need love, too.
JOIN THE CONVO
HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT
The Ask Your Work Wife Course
In the Work Wives' first-ever course, Vanessa & Holland introduce an entirely new way to think about Corporate America and give you step-by-step instructions on how to focus your energy to get what you actually want.
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