In respect of energy, I believe that a droplet of incidental learning in an individual joining a team is worth an ocean of induction training delivered by the organisation!
This is not because I am lazy, or do not wish to spend hours preparing induction training packages and days delivering them. Naturally I think it is important that a new member of a team is instructed thoroughly on the essentials of the post and the organisation.
However, I also believe that the person who is not able (or willing) to learn incidentally is probably not suitable to do the job, as mostly, our work with the Focus Group requires people to think on their feet and find out things by observation and experience, using initiative, creativity, and curiosity rather than being handed everything on a plate [1].
Also, it is far more powerful to learn a task by watching others and then integrating the learning than being explicitly taught. This is, after all, how the vast majority of us learned to sit up, to walk, to talk, to string together sentences (and maybe even to read), to play games, and a zillion other living skills that we take for granted.
The voyage of discovery undertaken by the new staff member will be complemented by the spirit of generosity in existing team members, who will assist her in settling in. The spirit of togetherness and camaraderie, the willingness to help others, be generous, (i.e. the morale), is the most important factor in ensuring that the energy level of a team remains high.
The necessity of induction type training, will, of course, vary from profession to profession.
For example, to allow an aircraft mechanic to learn by trial and error would be potentially catastrophic and highly irresponsible.
However, in family support work we need to remember that to err is human and while safety of vulnerable people is paramount in our work, there can be great learning for both the helper and the person being helped in the fixing of an error.
If we tie down our work too much in rules and regulations like those that would be necessary for an aircraft mechanic we stand the risk of losing spontaneity, humanity, creativity, vulnerability and many other desirable traits that contribute positively to the amount of energy in a team but that wouldn’t be much good keeping a plane from falling out of the sky.
[1]. I use this term to describe the learning done by observing others interacting. It is vital in family support work with families in distress. Studies show (and you may have observed yourself) that workers learn much more from watching others, trial and error, asking colleagues, etc. than from formal training. If you are interested in these matters have a browse through articles about John Dewey, a radical thinker on education. In common parlance incidental learning can be described as cop on!