There are well over 50 ways that can be organized in five categories, in which leaders can serve as teachers.  Each is important and contributes to the business as a whole and the success and value of the learning function.

• Identifying learning needs and learning solution design. Involving leader-teachers as subject matter, business and organizational experts to help identify needs and collaborate in the learning and performance solutions adds immeasurable value to the growth and success of an organization. In so doing, you can also reduce costs and build quality programming and learning services.

• Live teaching.  Whether teaching alone, in pairs, teams or working with an external partner, high octane teaching and learning by leaders has great impact on learners.  Many leaders love to teach and facilitate case studies and a variety of experiential learning sessions.  Active learning designs helps leaders to make learning come alive.  This increases learning retention and the likelihood that what is learned will be implemented successfully.

• Teaching through the use of media and technology.  Examples include podcasts, use of recorded interviews, applications of web 2.0 enabled social learning, communities of practice. These and many other approaches increase the cost-effective importing and exporting of ideas, expertise, best practices, course materials and faculty across organizational boundaries.

• Pre and post-program teaching and coaching to increase impact of learning. These are essential teaching and coaching roles for business and functional leaders in highly effective teaching-learning organizations. The effect can dramatically increase the application of personal and organizational learning.

• Recruiting, training, coaching and mentoring leader-teachers.  These are core talent management practices that are fundamental for the successful implementation of an organization’s leaders as teachers process.

Tags: leadership, talent management, coaching, mentoring, ed betof

Categories: Celebrity Bloggers

Organizations that effectively utilize a leaders as teachers approach can realize six key strategic benefits.

Helps drive business results

The first reason to implement a leaders-as-teachers approach is that it drives business and organizational results by ensuring strategic business alignment between senior business leaders and the programs and services provided by the learning function. A leaders-as-teachers program that is aligned with strategic business and organizational goals serves as a type of organizational insurance policy for leaders who teach.

Stimulates the learning and development of leaders and associates

The second reason to implement a leaders-as-teachers approach is that it serves as a catalyst for the learning and development of the leaders and associates who participate as students in leader-led programs. This dynamic occurs in three ways: role modeling, creating a safe environment for feedback, and building networks.

Improving the Leadership Skills of Those Who Teach

The third reason to implement a leaders-as-teachers approach is that it has inherent development qualities for those who teach.  Many leader-teachers say that they are not sure who learns more when they teach….the participants or themselves. They move out of their comfort zone. Job challenges of different types, sizes, shapes, and intensities are the “genetic material” that enables leaders to learn, grow, change, and develop. Teaching, for many leaders, is a very significant job challenge and one that also helps them to see new viewpoints.

Strengthening Organizational Culture and Communications

The fourth reason to implement a leaders-as-teachers approach is that leader-teachers have the opportunity to strengthen their organization’s culture and communications. Culture transmission and communications through leader-teachers occurs in numerous ways including role modeling, social networks, communities of practice, continuous learning and communication flow across geographies, businesses and functions.

Promoting Positive Business and Organizational Change

The fifth reason to implement a leaders-as-teachers approach is that it enables them to serve as catalysts for business and organizational change through their direct access to a wide range of learners.

Reducing Costs by Leveraging Top Talent

The sixth and final reason to implement a leaders-as-teachers approach is that it drives numerous cost efficiencies by leveraging top talent. The leaders-as-teachers approach affords opportunities to deliver programs for “pennies on the dollar” compared with many other forms of delivery.

Tags: leadership, talent management, coaching, mentoring, ed betof

Categories: Celebrity Bloggers

What do the following individuals, groups and professions have in common?

* Great philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates from the golden age of Greece
* Shaman or medicine men from early native civilizations
* Artisans or skilled craftsmen during the middle ages
* Leaders of the great religions over the centuries
* Girl Scout, Boy Scout and 4H leaders in the 20th and 21st century
* Experienced Physicians and  Nurses through the history of medical education
* Senior Military and law enforcement personnel for many hundreds of years
* Contemporary business leaders in selected high performance companies

The common element is that they are all examples of leader-teachers.  Leaders serving as teachers have contributed to many aspects of society over many centuries. 

Leaders who serve as teachers, elders, coaches and mentors are increasingly valued in some contemporary businesses, government, human service and not-for-profit organizations. Yet, despite the time-tested value of leaders serving as teachers, many organizations fail to realize the value or practice the approach.  Important opportunities exist for organizations to more fully utilize the experience, expertise and wisdom of their leaders to serve as teachers and other developmental capacities.

How can we realize the value of a long heritage of leaders serving as teachers and apply it in today’s organizations?  The answer lays in understanding the six major benefits of a leader-teacher approach in today’s organizations.

Many organizations now use some form of a leaders as teachers approach as part of their training and learning initiatives.  Utilization of leaders as teachers can take many forms. Whether deployed on a small or large scale, there are six primary benefits that organizations derive when their leaders serve as teachers, coaches and mentors.  These business and organizational benefits include: 

1. Helps drive business results
2. Stimulates the learning and development of leaders and associates
3. Improves the leadership skills of those who teach
4. Strengthens the organizational culture and communications
5. Promotes positive business and organizational change
6. Reduces costs by leveraging top talent

These six benefits will be described in the next ASTD blog posting in several days.

Tags: leadership, talent management, coaching, mentoring, ed betof

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