Teaching the Teachers for Managers That Activate Change
Recently there was a very very good article in the Economist Magazine called “Teaching the Teachers.” It succinctly outlined that the best teachers are made not born and went on to support this with research on great teachers that develop good students.Leaders in the corporate world also have the responsibility to teach. Teach teams, teach individuals to change, be productive, and learn or improve new processes or skills.I have culled some of the more relevant research from this article that can directly relate to you the “Leader-Teacher.”“Of all the 20 most powerful ways to improve school time learning depended on what the teacher did in the classroom.” What works the best is most cost effective? The teacher giving regular feedback to the pupils!As a Leader – Teacher, giving regular feedback to your team and individual contributors is very effective. The take away is to be a great leader, you need to master the skills of Giving Recognition and Giving Constructive Feedback and employ them daily.Rob Coe of Durham University identified in his research 6 aspects of great teaching. Here they are tweaked for managers:
- Passion and Strong Motives to Improve Others
- Getting Along well with peers – Likable and Relational
- Effective Time Management
- Fostering Good Behaviors & Setting High Expectations
- Providing High Quality Instruction
- Good subject knowledge, Teaching to apply what is learned
These six aspects of teacher applied to your work can greatly increase the success of getting changes and increased productivity from your teams.Studies have shown that most new teachers struggle with classroom management skills. We don’t mean “crowd control” or discipline here. What we mean is the skill, process and craft facilitating students to learn and apply what they learn. Like managers in the corporate world, teachers are somehow expected to learn the skills of classroom management on the fly. Doug Lemov found there are 62 techniques or behaviors that identify top teachers in America. Most of them are not “rocket science” but center around good communication managing students to learn in a way that honors each of the three human learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic), and employing the roles of a great teacher:
- Teacher/Lecturer – Impart knowledge effectively
- Administrator – Manage time, activities and the class
- Coach – Guide and give feedback on Practice & Application
- Facilitator – Set up self-learning experiences
- Resource - Answer the what, why and how of learning something new
The final insight from the Economist article is most teachers think they are doing a great job when really their problem is overconfidence and possible ignorance on how to teach and motivate students whose ways of learning have greatly changed since the days of black and white TV.AchieveGlobal discovered this many years ago and designed a comprehensive program that helps all leaders become better teachers and trainers that focus learning and applying process and skills to change people for the better. I believe this 2-3 day workshop encompasses the majority of the 62 practices that make activating change through learning effective.The name of this life-changing workshop is called Tools for Trainer (Teacher) Excellence (TFTE). This workshop has turned die hard boring lecturers, droning teachers, preachy pastors, shy managers, and bumbling bosses into world class Leader – Teachers that activate people to learn and change their attitude, skills and processes for a more effective organization.I am a fervent evangelist for this TFTE workshop and have seen it transform leaders across 21 nations in Asia. One real example is TFTE was able to get a gym teacher to stop stuttering when he taught!Download a summary of the TFTE program and transform your leaders into leaders of change that gets results.If you wish to read the “Teaching the Teachers” article in the economist, click here.Have a great week teaching training and hopefully activating change in your organization!