Alumni & Student Stories
Training Pro Credits Antioch with Validating her Vision
Karen Johnston
M.A. Psychology, 1982
Engaging is the word that springs to mind when Karen Johnston describes her Antioch University Seattle experience. She was a third-grade teacher and a supermom when she came to Antioch in the early ’80s to study psychology.
Her goal was to create a niche for herself as a trainer. And that she did.
As president of the Johnston Training Group, Inc., in Seattle’s Belltown, Johnston now works with many of the top architecture, engineering and law firms in the region, customizing training programs in presentation, business development and communication skills.
"I especially like working with law firms because it’s such a challenge,” she says.
She did customer service training for Starbucks in the coffee company’s formative years. She also produced several sales training programs for REI.
Johnston’s vision took shape when there weren’t nearly as many role models for success in this field as there are today.
"I knew I was interested in group dynamics and in how to teach, but I didn’t have a terrific background in the business world.
"I came to Antioch because I didn’t feel I’d benefit from the stringent approach at the University of Washington. I wanted to design my own curriculum, I knew I couldn’t pull all-nighters to study for tests, and I wanted to be around other professionals because that was the world in which I was going to apply my learning. All that was very engaging for me,” Johnston says.
Validation was Key
"It isn’t what we don’t know that limits us. It’s what we don’t know we don’t know.” She looks back on her early days at Antioch with an appreciation for the validation it gave her to start her own business.
"I was so naive,” she concedes. "I needed to verify that I knew what I was doing.”
She has not forgotten the feedback she received from her degree committee, even though she graduated in 1982.
"They told me I needed to work on my transitions from one topic to another and I still need to work on transitions,” she says with a smile.
At first, her clients were real-estate firms and small utilities. Then she edged her way to larger corporations. She began in the field of stress management training until she realized that training programs in customer relations, relationship selling, marketing and presentation skills were more likely to be a priority for those who make decisions about training.
Understanding a client’s client
"One of the toughest things for my clients to understand is what their clients need and how they think because it is usually so different. An architect may be interested in the creativity of the design but the client is interested in getting the maximum amount of profit from a site. It’s hard for them to translate their work into the language of their potential client.
"These are people who already know a lot. I help them discover the skills, insights and strategic thinking necessary to get more of what they want in a very competitive environment,” she notes.
The skills she learned at Antioch have been especially useful in her career.
"I used my graduate work at Antioch to develop my curriculum for training programs. I’ve had wonderful clients and great results,” she says. "Clients who provide training for their people are likely to have really good values.”
Ask her to explain why training is so valuable, and Johnston says the importance remains unchanged from the days when she was an AUS student.
"The purpose of training is to change attitude and behavior. I learned that at Antioch,” she says. "It isn’t what we don’t know that limits us. It’s what we don’t know we don’t know. It’s my job to restructure what they already know so they can use that insight and knowledge more effectively.”
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