Involve Me And I Learn...

Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” The true art of communication and learning takes shape with involvement.

We all have a desire to be involved. If a person feels left out they often bring a negative attitude to a project. Negative attitudes can translate into a loss of time and money.

The speed of technology has brought quite a bit of “telling” into our strategies. “Tell IT to fix it.” “Tell Sara to do that.” “Tell me how you want it done.” How often we ignore the training manuals and expect someone to tell us how to use the new software or productive toy we just purchased. After we’re told, we often forget the most important points of the instruction and become frustrated instead of liberated.

We learn something new when someone takes the time to sit down with us and involve us, and this happens at any age.

My oldest son was complaining that his younger brother did not know how to take out the trash. I asked him why he felt this way and he said, “I told him to take out the trash, and he started bringing it down to the curb! Geesh Mom! It’s not even trash day!”

I asked my oldest son if he ever demonstrated to his younger brother the entire process of taking out the trash. Did he show him that taking out the trash meant doing more than bringing barrels down to the curb on trash day? That taking out the trash is something you do every day. You empty full containers from inside into the large container outside and then on the day the garbage trucks are due to arrive you make sure the outdoor container is on the curb ready to be emptied. I also asked him if he showed his younger brother that when you empty a trash container inside you need to refill the inside barrel with a plastic liner?

My older son stared at me like I was from another planet (a clean one I’m sure) and he shook his head and walked away. Later that day I saw my younger son putting new liners in the empty trash containers inside. I smiled and knew someone had involved him a bit more than telling him to “take out the trash.”

All of us can involve others to help us make our work more productive. Benjamin Franklin may have been proud of the involvement that led to completed chores in our house. If we bring that same level of involvement into our workplace it could be the key to a transformation! Ben knew something about keys too!