The Hidden Traps In Teaching Your Expert Process

What are two hidden traps in teaching? Common traps you can fall into when you are working to teach a process you are very familiar with to someone else.

Transcript

In this video, I want to talk to you about the hidden traps you can fall into when you teach a process that you know so well, like the back of your hand. 

Trap #1: You Are Likely To Forget Some Steps

When you outline your process, they’re most likely some steps. You will forget some of them. You might think that you’re saying steps 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 when actually you’re saying step one, step 10, step 15, step 23, etc.

There are a whole bunch of steps that might have been left out. That is normal because you are unaware that you are doing these steps – until you dig into it. What really is that process? Unearth what is otherwise “unconscious competence” on your part? 

Trap #2: Your New Person Will Be Different From You In At Least Two Ways

I discovered there is yet another trap you can fall into. You may have (will have) acquired some knowledge and built some relationships that any new person who takes over this process for you does not have. 

For example, if you are an engineer and work with various city’s parks and recreation departments, and you know all their parks inside and out, you may not need to go on a site visit before giving a pre-proposal. But a new person definitely would have to do that.

Furthermore, you may have a relationship with someone who will answer your phone call no matter when you call them, but your new person does not have that relationship. 

That means in this example, there are already two huge differences between you and the new person learning that process. 

Those are some hidden traps you need to address, or the teaching of your expert process will not go nearly as well as you hope.

I’m Curious

Where have you experienced these traps yourself?