Training and coaching letters: reader response spot

DRAMA AND TRAINING

I remain unconvinced by the use of drama as a training tool that offers more than just entertainment and a laugh at the time. I couldn’t help but chuckle at your article on the use of Shakespearian drama in leadership skills training for civil servants. Why prancing about playing roles from Hamlet and Julius Caesar would turn them into better leaders is beyond reason. I think such skills are better acquired through more down-to-earth training and development, backed up by stints on secondment to leadership positions. Mind you, acting out scenes from Yes Minister might add something valuable to the mix.
Janet Eaton
Learning and development executive
Chelmsford

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COACHING IN DECLINE?

In the July issue of Training & Coaching Today, you reported on a US survey that indicated that the use of executive coaching may be in decline based on responses from 2,000 HR and training executives. I have my doubts about the veracity of such polls, as in my experience coaching seems to be expanding, especially at managerial level. For example, you said the survey was based on an e-mail poll, which is an unreliable method as pollsters can never be certain who is responding to the e-mail. It’s no accident that opinion polls that matter – such as ones on voting intentions – rely on painstaking sampling and face-to-face interviews.
Chris James
Training executive
Manchester