The Convenient Choice

By Ginny Telego

A couple of months ago I changed my diet to see if I could resolve some health issues through adjustments to my diet instead of medication. The changes weren't major -- I just started eating less processed and fatty foods and more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.  It started with a week long "Clean eating challenge" that I was invited to participate in by a friend who is a Beach Body Coach. All I had to do was participate in a Facebook group that required me to report in every day on what I ate.  Accountability. Yikes. At first it was kind of fun.  For about 3 days.  Then I really wanted some of my "normal" foods -- ice cream, chips, etc... Not a lot of bad stuff, just a "little something."  But I knew I had to report that to the group if I ate it (okay -- I could have lied and told the group I ate super healthy, but I couldn't bring myself to be dishonest, even though I didn't know most of the other people in the group).  As hard as it was to be accountable, the fact was that for the first time in two years, I went an entire week feeling great.  After the week-long challenge, I had the choice to continue doing something positive - knowing that it would require some additional investment of time and money for healthy groceries -- or I could return to my "normal" habits and go back to not feeling good.  I made the choice to continue to invest in myself knowing that ultimately it would pay off in my overall health.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago.  I'd been doing really well with my eating choices and enjoying feeling good.  But then I had a really jam-packed day and knew I wouldn't have time to make myself a healthy dinner.  I had to grab a quick dinner and eat on the way to an evening meeting.  I made the decision to go through the drive thru at a fast-food restaurant -- one I had not visited in almost 3 months.  I really should have ordered a grilled chicken wrap, but I convinced myself that I just couldn't eat another chicken wrap so I purchased a less expensive combo meal of a double hamburger, fries and an unsweet tea.  The first few bites tasted really good.  Then I started thinking "Is this really what I needed?" And then I realized, in the words of the ancient knight in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," that I had "chosen poorly."  The next 6 hours of my life were horrible.  My body rebelled against that dinner choice with full force. 

In the world of professional development, there seems to be an unlimited number of options.  Often times an organization just continues to do what they've always done with professional development, even though they aren't getting the results they need.  Other times they only look at cost and don't take the time to really look at the ingredients of a training.  It can seem overwhelming, especially if you are in a hurry to decide and on a budget.  And change is never easy.  How may times have you heard "We've always done it that way, and it's too hard to do something different?"  Or an organization invests a little bit of time and money in professional development that gives positive results, but returns to old habits when it seems too expensive or time-consuming to continue the training that worked.

Study after study shows that organizations that invest in professional development for their employees have higher profits, are more innovative and have a higher percentage of employee engagement.  Like our food choices, when making decisions for professional development, we can either do what's convenient and maybe less expensive in the short run, or we can see that there is a longer term benefit to making better choices.

Know your goals:  When I did the "Clean eating challenge" group, my goal was to see if changing my diet and eating habits would make me feel better and reduce the necessity of medication.  When making decisions about professional development training, it's critical to know not only what your short term goals are, but also what your long term goals are.  If you don't know where you are going, it's easy to get sidetracked with decisions that don't help you get there.

Learn the ingredients:  One thing I learned in changing my diet was to really look at the ingredients on any food items that weren't fresh fruit or vegetables.  I was stunned to see how much sodium is in many "convenient" frozen meals - even ones labeled as "healthy."  Not all professional development programs contain the same ingredients.  Sure they'll fill your need in some way, but what are the consequences of programs that really don't have a positive affect on your organization in the long term?  Fancy marketing and packaging doesn't always mean quality ingredients.

Think about the outcomes: In changing my diet and eating habits, I constantly have to keep myself focused on the outcome of the choices I make.  If I make poor choices, I cannot expect that the outcome will be good.  As difficult as it sometimes is to make better choices, the outcome is much more desirable so I'm able to feel good about the choices I make.  Making good choices when choosing a professional development program will likely to lead to positive outcomes. 

Not all professional development programs are created equal.  To get the best return on your investment, it's critical to honestly assess what outcomes you want, understand what makes up the curriculum and realize that less expensive and more convenient may not be the best investment of your time and money.  Choosing a program that fits your staff development needs is important to the well-being of your organization.  Don't just make a convenient choice.