How to Answer: Have you ever trained a group of your superiors? If so, how did you approach the situation?
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Training and Development Manager job interview.
28. Have you ever trained a group of your superiors? If so, how did you approach the situation?
How to Answer
Even though it can be intimidating to train managers or supervisors, the more you prepare, the more confident you will feel. Describe a situation that gives examples of how you prepared and explain how the managers responded to the training.
Written by Ryan Brown on June 29th, 2020
What You Need to Know
When an interviewer asks if you've ever trained a group of your superiors, they're really trying to gauge your ability to navigate complex power dynamics and deliver effective training to a potentially challenging audience. If you have indeed had this experience, it's a great opportunity to showcase your professionalism, your adaptability, and your skill in engaging learners at all levels of the organization.
The key is to approach your answer with a balance of confidence and humility. On one hand, you want to demonstrate that you have the expertise and the presence to command the respect and attention of senior leaders. On the other hand, you don't want to come across as arrogant or disrespectful of the experience and knowledge these leaders bring to the table.
One way to strike this balance is to start by acknowledging the unique challenges of training one's superiors. This shows that you understand the context and the stakes involved, and that you don't take the responsibility lightly. From there, you can dive into the specific strategies you used to make the training effective and engaging for this audience.
One key element to highlight is the importance of understanding their needs and goals upfront. You might talk about how you set up one-on-one meetings or sent out a pre-training survey to gather insights into their specific challenges, priorities, and learning preferences. This shows that you didn't just dive in with a preset agenda, but took the time to tailor the content to their real-world context.
Another strategy to emphasize is your focus on making the training interactive and collaborative. Senior leaders are often used to being the ones sharing knowledge and directing conversations, so it's important to create opportunities for them to contribute and engage actively. You might share how you used techniques like small group discussions, case study analysis, or role-playing exercises to tap into their expertise and encourage peer learning. Or perhaps you highlight how you facilitated a session where each leader shared a real challenge they were facing, and the group brainstormed solutions together. The goal is to show that you designed the training not as a one-way lecture, but as a dynamic, participatory experience that valued and leveraged the leaders' own insights.
It's also good to touch on how you framed the training in terms of strategic value and business impact. Senior leaders are typically very focused on bottom-line results, so it's important to connect the dots between the training content and the organization's key goals and metrics. You might share how you started the session by outlining the key performance indicators the training was designed to impact, or how you included real-world examples and case studies that demonstrated the ROI of the skills being taught. This shows that you understood your audience's priorities and made the training relevant to their day-to-day work.
As you wrap up your answer, it's nice to reflect on what you learned from the experience and how it's shaped your approach to training more broadly. Maybe it taught you the importance of always doing your due diligence to understand your learners, regardless of their level. Or perhaps it gave you a new appreciation for the power of peer learning and collaborative problem-solving, even among the most senior leaders.
Written by William Rosser on March 18th, 2024
1st Answer Example
"Our company was switching to new enterprise software, and I asked to train the management team after learning how to use the system. I prepared a presentation and printed out handouts for everyone to follow along. I tried to make the information easy to understand by using informative but not too technical terminology. I also had everyone divide into groups to try out what they were learning firsthand. Even though I was training some more experienced managers, I came so well prepared that I wasn't nervous about delivering the training. I received compliments on my approach, and the leadership team asked me to facilitate the next training."
Written by Ryan Brown on June 29th, 2020
2nd Answer Example
"A couple of years ago, our company was undergoing a major digital transformation initiative. We were implementing new technologies and processes across the organization, and it was critical that our senior leadership team was not only bought in, but actively championing the changes. The CEO approached me and asked if I could design and deliver a training session for the executive team on the key concepts and skills they would need to lead the transformation effectively. This was a daunting request - these were individuals with decades of experience and expertise, and I was being asked to essentially teach them new ways of working and thinking.
I knew that the traditional 'sage on the stage' approach to training wouldn't work in this context. These leaders weren't going to sit through a lecture or a slide presentation. I needed to design an experience that was highly interactive, practical, and focused on their specific needs and challenges. So, I started by setting up one-on-one meetings with each executive. I wanted to understand their individual perspectives on the transformation - what they were excited about, what they were concerned about, and what they felt they needed to learn to lead effectively. These conversations were eye-opening. I learned that while they all supported the overall vision, they each had very different questions and concerns based on their functional areas. The CFO, for instance, was focused on the financial implications and ROI, while the CHRO was more concerned about the impact on employee engagement and skills development.
Armed with these insights, I designed a highly customized training agenda. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, I created separate modules that addressed each leader's specific priorities and pain points. I also made sure to include plenty of opportunities for discussion, debate, and collaborative problem-solving.
On the day of the training, I knew I needed to set the right tone from the start. Rather than positioning myself as the expert, I framed the session as a collaborative working meeting. I acknowledged the vast experience and expertise in the room, and positioned my role as a facilitator and thought partner. Throughout the session, I focused on drawing out the leaders' own insights and ideas. For example, when we were discussing the challenges of leading change, I had them break into small groups and share their own experiences of what had worked well and what hadn't in past change initiatives. We then reconvened as a full group to distill the key learnings and apply them to the current context. I also made sure to anchor the discussions in real business outcomes. When we talked about data-driven decision making, for instance, I didn't just focus on the concepts - I had them work through real datasets from our company and practice drawing insights and making recommendations. This made the learning feel immediately relevant and applicable.
At the end of the day, the feedback from the executives was overwhelmingly positive. They appreciated the interactive, practical approach and felt that the session had been a valuable use of their time. More importantly, I saw a noticeable shift in their engagement and advocacy for the transformation in the weeks and months that followed. For me, this experience really underscored the importance of tailoring training to the specific audience and context. If I had tried to deliver a standard, off-the-shelf leadership training to this group, it would have fallen flat. By taking the time to understand their individual needs, designing an interactive experience, and focusing on practical application, I was able to create real value and impact."
Written by William Rosser on March 18th, 2024
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