Keys to Implementing a Leaders-as-Teachers Process–Twelve Guidelines to Keep You on Track
I am frequently asked to provide a list of “must-does” that will help learning and talent professionals to build momentum, develop organizational energy and to stay on track when implementing a leaders-as-teachers (LAT) approach. The following points are ones that I frequently discuss. They are adapted from Leaders as Teachers: Unlock the Teaching Potential of Your Company’s Best and Brightest.
- First, fully align and integrate your LAT’s approach with your business’s and organization’s key strategies and goals. Make certain that the reasons and benefits for using the leaders-as-teachers approach are clear and embraced in your organization.
- Involve your top leaders, right from the beginning. Your leaders set the tone at the top of your organization. It is best if you can involve your CEO. If that is not possible, involve other executives and leaders. Their successful involvement and support influences others in important ways and sends very clear messages about the importance of learning and talent development to them and to others.
- Keep things simple and provide a wide range of ways that leaders can contribute as teachers. There are dozens of ways that leaders can actively be involved as leaders, coaches and mentors ranging from program champions, SME’s, doing live teaching and facilitation through the use of technology to teach, communicate and improve performance.
- Understand the reasons why leaders choose to teach. Chapter 4 of the Leaders as Teachers book details how the behavioral sciences work in your favor if you go about recruiting, retaining and engaging leaders in effective ways. For example, most leaders are well meaning, good spirited, are willing to help others with their careers and enjoy sharing what they have learned with others if the conditions are conducive to doing so. Part of your role is to create those conditions.
- Keep teaching safe and highly satisfying. You have opportunities to carefully match leaders with appropriate content. Then, take great care with the preparation of your leaders. Teaching progressions will add confidence and a safety net.
- Link teaching and coaching to some of your important talent management process. Include teaching and the development of others in the expectations of leaders. Include teaching and coaching effectiveness in talent reviews, performance assessments, in announcements of leadership promotions and as part of criteria used to select leaders for new, different and challenging roles.
- Remember that when it comes to organizational change and implementing new work processes, “gravity never has a bad day”. Use a respected change leadership process (for example, Kotter’s eight steps) to help you gain early traction and to build a foundation for long-term sustainability of the leaders as teachers approach.
- “Go to the light”…find fertile opportunity areas in your organization to begin and extend your leaders- as- teachers efforts. You can’t achieve “big mo” (momentum) until you first have little mo. I generally do not recommend the big bang theory of organizational change. Inch by inch progress takes patience and persistence and it usually is the smarter and safer way to proceed.
- Make teaching valuable, engaging, rewarding and fun. Celebrate and recognize leader-teachers in formal and informal ways. Help them to be stars when they teach. Do this through skillful preparation and great professional and administrative support. Develop communities of practice. Provide simple but effective ways for leader-teachers to be recognized such as with attractive LAT blouses and shirts, book-packs and teaching aids.
- Use active teaching and learning program/ curriculum designs. This is a key way to engage both your leader-teachers and, importantly, your learners. It is a highly effective way to design programs and to stimulate learning.
- Design programs for real-work application and impact. Ensure that a strong link exists between classroom and technology-enabled learning and the resultant real work application and performance impact.
- Use the cost-effective nature of the leaders-as-teachers approach as a way of gaining additional support. This is a great benefit of the LAT process, and it can be used to build credibility and serve as a positive influence with leaders and others who have earned high levels of positive influence in your organization.
Ed Betof, Ed.D. Executive Director, Leaders as Teachers Institute.
