Leaders are the best teachers to learn from! They are the ones to carry the entire team forward with their unique abilities and exceptional methods of instigating the team with knowledge and perception.

Leaders do not become leaders just by their position, it is the collective input they put by spending time with the employees, guiding them through the trenches, providing them with the technical assistance and edging their skills, involving them in the business tactics and teaching them life lessons. All this creates a concrete impact on the spirit and energy of the team. Moreover, one does not need any kind of special training to be a good teacher. Just try to stick to the important keyframes: what to teach, when to teach, and how to teach to create an impact.

Leaders teach many things, but the vital excerpts that stay in the cycle basically fall into three categories:

Wisdom Lessons

• Integrity and Ethics: 

  Professionalism is the vital fluid that keeps the organization in flow and works as a pivotal fulcrum that takes the entire crew forward. It is the role of the manager to teach the employees the value of emphasizing integrity and high ethical standards. The need of putting the customer and its need upfront is the key to unlock the doors of constructive development.

• Attention to Details: 

  One might think that after reaching a certain position, leaders will focus on the management issues and leave the business in the hands of their employees. Although, exceptional leaders don’t do that. They keep themselves involved in every part of the business. They know all the processes of business in detail. They are always there to help the team if something is not working properly. They wish to have a highly disciplined approach and impart training in their teams which broadens the paradigm of knowledge and experience of the employees.

• Pearls of Wisdom:

  Leaders and their teachings are not only limited to just work and organization but also induce pearls of wisdom and lessons among the employees.  That might seem like going overboard but leaders found it very effective and helpful.

Seize Opportunities

• On the job training:

  On the job lessons and teachings are vital for the leaders. Some leaders might work in a conventional office, some might work in an open one, but what remains the same is the freedom of interaction with the employees, thus giving the leaders the flexibility of observing the team, interacting with them and helping them at the same moment when required, thus enabling them to grasp it more efficiently.

• Out of Office:

  Exceptional leaders do not wait for the ‘perfect timing’. They indulge in teaching at random and unusual places thus eliminating the ‘tensed’ factor from the equation. They use the more relaxed environment to communicate efficiently with the employees and imparting fixated knowledge among the team members. They take their team out of the office to a more relaxed environment to create those valuable teaching moments.

Professional Delivery

• Tailored instructions:
  

  Everyone has a different way of understanding and needs a different way of the things that are being taught. Great leaders know this and podcast their teachings in a tailored fashion for every other individual according to their needs and abilities. It helps him in extracting the best out of the team and keeps them motivated through the journey.

• Right probe:

  Right questions! A very important tool which goes both ways and can enhance the corporate efficiency. Asking right questions can help one in broadening their own field of knowledge and learning. Many a times, leaders themselves ask questions in order to teach the employees about something that is relevant to the topic and project.

• Lead by Example:

  Leaders need to lead the team up front and be a role model for the team. This is a very particular way of teaching, yet the simplest. It’s a great recruiting role that motivates the employees to deploy the same principles in their lives and careers as well after watching and learning them from their leader. One can just pick up the right behavioral etiquettes by just seeing the precise and correct example in front of them.

The bottom line is, great leaders always remember that high-quality and one-on-one teaching can create a concrete impact on the team members. Leaders need to command their employees, take them forward with him. Hence, lessons imparted by leaders will be enriched by the factors like relevance, timing and will also cater to individual needs since the leader has a better sense of understanding about his employees. Being a teacher is not easy, but when you embrace the role of teaching; it integrates itself with a responsibility. If you are not teaching, you are not really leading.

Written & Compiled by Faber Mayuri & Faber Kishlay