--- title: "\"Not Another Training...\": Why Some People Dread Professional Development - And How We Can Do Better" description: Why some people dislike professional development—and how a strengths-based, person-centered approach can spark real engagement and workplace wellbeing. image: https://sparkengagement.com/hubfs/MakenaLeePhotography-4703.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://sparkengagement.com/blog/not-another-training...-why-some-people-dread-professional-development-and-how-we-can-do-better#main-content) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. [![Spark Engagement logo](https://sparkengagement.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SPARK%20LOGO%20BLUE%20YELLOW.png?width=3000&height=2000&name=SPARK%20LOGO%20BLUE%20YELLOW.png "Spark Engagement logo")](https://www.sparkengagement.com) - [Home](https://sparkengagement.com) - [Services](https://sparkengagement.com/services) - [Coaching](https://sparkengagement.com/coaching) - [Spark Source Blog](https://sparkengagement.com/blog) - [About Us](https://sparkengagement.com/about-us) - [Contact Us](https://sparkengagement.com/contact-us) - Search Search Search ![](https://sparkengagement.com/hubfs/MakenaLeePhotography-4703.jpg) # "Not Another Training...": Why Some People Dread Professional Development - And How We Can Do Better ![Karin Martino](https://sparkengagement.com/hubfs/MakenaLeePhotography-5045-1.jpg) [Karin Martino June 23, 2025](https://sparkengagement.com/blog/author/karin-martino) - [Strengths-Based Development](https://sparkengagement.com/blog/tag/strengths-based-development) - [Employee Engagement](https://sparkengagement.com/blog/tag/employee-engagement) - [Wellbeing](https://sparkengagement.com/blog/tag/wellbeing) - 4 mins **“Not Another Training…”: Why Some People Dread Professional Development—And How We Can Do Better** It’s a reaction I’ve heard more than once. In fact, just yesterday someone told me flat-out: > *“I hate professional development. It’s always a waste of time and interrupts my real work.”* Ouch. As someone who’s built a business around helping people grow through professional development, I could’ve taken that personally. But honestly? I get it. Not everyone lights up at the idea of sitting through a workshop or filling out a reflection sheet. Not everyone is wired like I am - high in **Learner** and **Input**, energized by new ideas and the next “a-ha!” moment. And that’s perfectly okay. ### Why Some People Dread PD Before I started designing learning experiences, I spent years sitting in them. And I remember the ones that didn’t work - where I walked away feeling like I lost valuable time I’d never get back.  Well, full disclosure, I probably spent the PD session making a list of things I still needed to do that week or what groceries I needed to pick up on the way home...so I guess it wasn't a complete waste of my time? Here are some common reasons people *don’t* enjoy professional development: - **It feels generic or irrelevant.** When a session could be delivered to *anyone*, it rarely resonates with *me*. - **It doesn’t acknowledge the real stressors of the job.** If I’m overwhelmed or barely keeping up, another training might feel like another demand. - **It’s passive.** Being talked *at* for hours doesn’t foster connection or change. - **It feels like a checkbox.** When the only goal is compliance, not growth, people check out. - **It’s disconnected from identity.** If it doesn’t help me understand myself or others better, it’s hard to care. And deep down, I sometimes wonder if there’s another reason, too - what if people are hesitant to uncover something about themselves they’re not sure how to face or implement? Insight without a path forward can feel overwhelming. And if you're already stretched thin, the idea of adding *one more thing -* even if it's personal growth - can feel like too much. Any of this sound familiar? If you’ve ever sat in a session wondering how it was relevant to your reality, you’re not alone. ### Putting the Person at the Center Here’s what I believe: professional development should be about **you**. Yes, your skills. Yes, your team. But also your **whole self -** your strengths, your values, your wellbeing. That’s why every experience I design for Spark Engagement aims to do more than share strategies or frameworks. It’s about helping each person in the room find something that connects to *who they are*, not just *what they do*. Because when people connect the dots between personal growth and professional effectiveness, the learning sticks. And when we feel seen, we show up differently. ### What I Hope People Experience Instead I don’t expect everyone to walk in excited. But I *do* hope they walk out saying: - “That actually made me think.” - “I felt like this was about *me*, not just my job.” - “I didn’t expect to enjoy that, but I did.” My goal isn’t to make you love PD. It’s to make it **meaningful -** to create space for insight, self-awareness, and maybe even a spark of inspiration you didn’t know you needed. And no, you don’t need to be high Learner or Input for that to happen. You just need to be *you*, and open to exploring how knowing yourself better might support your work - and your life. ![Karin Martino](https://sparkengagement.com/hubfs/MakenaLeePhotography-5045-1.jpg) ### Karin Martino Karin Martino is the founder of Spark Engagement and a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths coach trained in Gallup's Q12 Engagement framework. With a Master's in Educational Leadership and certifications in Daniel Goleman and Six Seconds EQ models and training in Dare to Lead, Karin develops emotionally intelligent and effective people leaders - combining the inner work of emotional intelligence with the practical people leadership skills that help leaders and their teams truly thrive. ![Spark Engagement logo](https://sparkengagement.com/hs-fs/hubfs/SPARK%20LOGO%20WHITE%20YELLOW%20NO%20BG-1.png?width=2000&height=1333&name=SPARK%20LOGO%20WHITE%20YELLOW%20NO%20BG-1.png "Spark Engagement logo") **Site Map**   - [Home](https://sparkengagement.com) - [Services](https://sparkengagement.com/services) - [Coaching](https://sparkengagement.com/coaching) - [Spark Source Blog](https://sparkengagement.com/blog) - [About Us](https://sparkengagement.com/about-us) - [Contact Us](https://sparkengagement.com/contact-us) - [Terms & Conditions](https://sparkengagement.com/service-agreement-and-terms-conditions) **Contact**   Spark Engagement, LLC   PO Box 1350 Grafton, WI 53024   (414) 66-SPARK   info@sparkengagement.com © 2026 Spark Engagement, LLC Follow Us [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-martino) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Karin Martino", "url" : "https://sparkengagement.com/blog/author/karin-martino" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-23T13:00:00.848Z", "datePublished" : "2025-06-23T13:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "\"Not Another Training...\": Why Some People Dread Professional Development - And How We Can Do Better", "image" : [ "https://sparkengagement.com/hubfs/MakenaLeePhotography-4703.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://sparkengagement.com/blog/not-another-training...-why-some-people-dread-professional-development-and-how-we-can-do-better", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://sparkengagement.com/hubfs/SPARK%20LOGO%20BLUE%20YELLOW.png" }, "name" : "Spark Engagement, LLC" } } ```