Processing what you learn

Earlier this week, I hosted a leader’s training for our junior high and high school adult leaders. Our focus was equipping leaders to facilitate small groups.

During this crash course in leading small groups, we addressed basic tips and tricks for facilitating a good discussion that involves everyone. It came just in the nick of time, too. Leaders put those skills into practice the very next night when our ministries kicked off. (What can I say… I started a month ago. We’re playing catch up).

The night went well. Leaders were engaged, despite the fact that this is one of the few trainings I lead in which I do nearly all of the talking.

As I wrapped up the training portion of our meeting, I asked if there were any questions. I then addressed the few there were before preparing to move on. That’s when my new boss interrupted and asked a question of his own – not to me but to the group. I can’t remember his wording exactly but it was something along the lines of, “What’s one new thing you learned tonight that you found helpful?”

Several people responded.

Here’s what was interesting to me about this.

I am, to a fault, a processor. I believe in its value. I emphasize it in pretty much everything I do.

Even so, it never occurred to me to ask a processing question in order to help leaders solidify their learnings from a training (although interestingly, I always process with leaders when we attend an outside training together.)

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