Before coming to your training, please do the following:
Additionally, complete one of the following items:
The purpose of this lesson is to help you run weekly development plan discussions more effectively, so that you can better support associates. There are four important elements to running successful weekly development plan discussions: (1) recognizing the importance of development plans as well as developing Christlike attributes; (2) celebrating small successes and increasing an associate’s accountability; (3) valuing and incorporating the AWARE form to create steps in a plan of action; (4) promptly and regularly documenting an associate’s progress and plans in DECM.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
In his article “Jesus: The Perfect Leader,” President Spencer W. Kimball presents the attributes Christ demonstrated as the perfect leader (see Ensign, Aug. 1979, 5–6):
Divide into pairs. Choose three attributes from the list above and discuss with your partner:
Divide into pairs and discuss:
Read the following statement by President Spencer W. Kimball:
“We must remember that those mortals we meet in parking lots, offices, elevators, and elsewhere are that portion of mankind God has given us to love and serve. . . . If our sample of humanity seems unglamorous or so very small, we need to remember the parable Jesus gave us in which he reminded us that greatness is not always a matter of size or scale, but of the quality of one’s life” (“Jesus: The Perfect Leader,” Ensign, Aug. 1979, 7).
Take a minute to reflect on this quote, and then discuss it with your partner. Create a plan for how to apply this and other points from your discussion to your weekly development plan discussions.
Weekly development plan discussions have two main purposes: (1) to help associates make progress on their respective plans, and (2) to build a rapport between the job coach trainer and the associate.
Discuss as a group:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Discuss as a group:
People often struggle to make changes in their lives because they lack hope or do not see the importance of change (see William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick, Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change [2013], 214). At Deseret Industries, we celebrate small successes.
As a group, discuss how celebrating small successes helps associates feel hope and understand the importance of making changes in their lives.
Read the following descriptions of characters:
Since she started working a month ago, Chloe has consistently come in about 30 minutes late to work. In the last week, you have noticed she has been coming about 20 minutes late. She loves smiling and gets along with her coworkers. She fears being reprimanded for being late on her next weekly development discussion.
Alani has been at DI for six months. She has always been slow at completing her duties but feels she has made progress. Alani does not know how much progress she has made in her last six months. She is currently focusing on doing better and has experienced some successes and failures. She sometimes gets frustrated with her shortcomings.
Omar struggles to remain in his assigned area. Often he thinks that nobody notices whether he remains at or leaves his area. He feels like nobody really cares about him.
Choose a timekeeper, and divide into three groups. Each group will choose to work with one of the described characters. A group member will come to the board and write the name of the chosen character. Each group member will have 20 seconds to come to the board and write compliments to celebrate success for their group’s character. After every group member has had his or her chance, stop the activity and read all compliments listed on the board. The group that has the most unrepeated compliments wins.
Then, discuss the following questions as a group:
Review the following case study:
Donna has been an associate at Deseret Industries for two months. The first month of her program, she impressed her job coach trainer, Ben, with how quickly she learned new tasks. She worked diligently toward identifying an appropriate CNA program to enroll in. In her second month, Donna began to miss a day each week and then a few days per week. During the first month, it was easy for Ben to celebrate successes with Donna. Their weekly development plan discussions consisted of congratulating her, working on minor AWARE items, and identifying future goals. Now it is difficult for Ben to have a weekly discussion with Donna because of her struggle with consistent attendance. He feels like their dynamic has changed and is unsure of how to address her problem behavior.
Before continuing, discuss the following questions:
Ben has a weekly discussion with Donna and asks her about her attendance. He finds out that Donna’s daughter is getting in trouble at school and that she has been suspended several times in the past month. Donna has been staying home to supervise her daughter on days she is suspended. In addition, Donna has also missed work a few times to attend meetings at the school for her daughter. Ben refers Donna to the development counselor for resources that could assist Donna and her daughter.
As a group, discuss the following questions:
Sometimes accountability feels like a heavy weight has been placed on us. Associates might feel embarrassed, indifferent, or frustrated when talking about accountability or addressing the behaviors they should account for at work.
Discuss the following as a group:
Take a minute to think individually about a struggling associate. Write down what small successes you could compliment or celebrate. Choose a partner and role-play the situation. After the two of you have role-played your situation, share any insights you have learned about accountability and celebrating small successes with all participants.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
The AWARE form is an objective measure of an associate’s progress in the program. Each associate will likely have an AWARE goal as part of the weekly discussion until he or she is “job ready.”
As a group, discuss:
Read the following scenario:
Will has started to work at DI. One of his main challenges is being able to work with other people, including working as a team member, not criticizing others, and performing his share of the work. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being worst, 10 being excellent), Will is probably at a 2 for being able to work well with others.
The Lord has said: “For [God] will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith” (D&C 98:12).
Demanding that Will excel at this behavior in a week might be too much. Think of ways you could encourage Will to improve his behavior gradually. In pairs, discuss the following questions:
In pairs, role-play the scenario in which the job coach trainer is having a weekly development plan discussion with Will. Discuss Will’s problematic behavior and ways to change it. After you are done with this role-play, switch roles and do the role-play one more time. Then discuss with your partner:
Goal-Setting Simulation:
Set an impossible goal to use your non-dominant hand to throw a piece of paper into a waste basket ten feet away. You could increase the difficulty of this goal by closing your eyes and asking someone to move the basket as you try to throw the paper.
Discuss the following question as a group:
Understanding the AWARE form can be difficult for an associate, so it is important to adjust your explanation of the AWARE form to the skill level of the associate.
As a group, discuss the following:
Discuss at least three ways to adapt the AWARE form to the skill level of an associate. Consider the needs of at least three associates with different disabilities or vocational impairments. The more specific your adaptations, the better.
Review the character sketches from Activity 2 under the section “Holding Associates Accountable.” Pull out an AWARE form. Work as a group to identify what AWARE issue each character needs to work on.
Each of you will role-play one of the associates (you may change the name and gender, if necessary), and his or her job coach trainer in a weekly development plan discussion. During the discussion, the job coach trainer will genuinely compliment or celebrate the associate’s success. Then the job coach trainer will turn to the AWARE form and address the behavior in need of change. Each of you take a minute to prepare for your respective role, then participate in the role-play.
After the role-play discuss with your partner:
Switch roles and do the role-play again. Then discuss with your partner:
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
As a group, discuss the following questions:
Read the following scenario:
You are transferred to another DI store. You are told that one of the job coach trainers had to urgently leave and might not be back for a few months.
As a group, discuss:
Continue reading the scenario:
The last job coach trainer had a remarkable memory and did not keep written or digital records on the associates he worked with. Thus, when you try to find the associates’ development plans, you find none.
As a group, discuss:
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner’s journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner’s journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner’s journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.
