I had a great experience last week, returning to where I worked 20 years ago to run a Management-RAID course there. For years people attending the RAID course have told us that we should provide a parallel course for management, and now we have. This was the third time it has run, and I was delighted with the reception it received. Not only 'straight 7s' on both the scales (Presentation and Relevance) but a nice card and an even nicer bottle of vintage Port to go home with.
Interestingly, the session that produced the biggest reaction was the one on annual appraisals. In the build up to it, we covered how 'positive feedback' can be delivered anytime, but negative feedback needs to be delivered immediately (otherwise people become 'paranoid' about what information you are storing up on them). We then went on to look at the implications this has for annual appraisals, and how, if you follow this to its logical conclusion, you can't give any negative feedback at that point. They produced some fantastic work on how to follow that through in a good way, in 'real-life' after the course.
So, all in all, it was a great three days. Over 11,000 people have been through the standard RAID course now and, who knows, maybe the same will eventually be the case for Management-RAID.