Teachable Moments…
I’ve long believed that the best leaders are teachers. Not lecturers, but teachers. Leaders inspire us to think, to explore, to experiment, to learn and to keep trying. As leaders, it is our duty to pass on our lessons to others so that we may create new leaders in our wake. The purpose of leadership is not to command and control but rather to lead others to be their own leaders in life. Leaders should encourage us to find our own joy and energy in the journey of discovery. They should be the mile marker to remind us that the satisfaction comes from finding the answer in the moments that happen and then continuing on to never stop learning as we push forward on our path
The best leaders among us are like the teachers we may have had during our schools days, who allowed us to learn through trial and error. Failure is only an event not a person. When we are allowed to fail, we learn valuable lessons that we can carry forward to our success. Leaders who are teachers offer encouragement, tough love when it is needed and when the situations calls for that type of action. We taught to stand for our actions, be responsible and strive for excellence in every task we undertake. Those among the best leader challenge us as well. Even when they see that we may be headed for a steep fall, they may close their eyes in fear but they know we will dust off our knees and get back up ready to take the next challenge with aplomb as they have given us their lessons within their stories of their own experience and teachable moments.
The purpose of leadership is to create new leaders. When the next generation of leaders looks back, they will look to those who helped them climb up the ladder to reach new heights on their personal journey. To be a leader is to be one who doesn’t just lead others to their own agenda but rather leads others to see their own success happen within.
Check out the transcript from our Leading is Teaching TweetChat held July 19th here #bealeader. #bealeader meets every Thursday on Twitter, 7pmET/4pmPT. Follow the #bealeader hashtag for more information.
Great post Jen! This will be a wonderful topic…near and dear to my heart as you know. Love this statement, “Failure is only an event not a person”.
Thanks, Scott. I know this one is hits close to home for you. I’m looking forward to this conversation tonight. I feel so many leaders overlook this aspect of teaching and we need our leaders of today to pass on the lesson to the leader of the next generation. Leading is teaching and we need to pass down the lessons. See you tonight!
Looking forward to this tonight. Missed a few due to kids swim meets. Will be joining tonight from St. Louis tonight, instead of Atlanta. Gotta love technology at times like this.
Ok, read the post in preparation for the #bealeader chat. My favorite line is the last, “To be a leader is to be one who doesn’t just lead others to their own agenda but rather leads others to see their own success happen within.”
Great leaders are “teachers”. Leading is teaching. To lead by example is to teach.
I am happy to see a resurgence of interest in the topic of leadership. I think our world is in need of better leaders. Thanks, Jen for being part of a new-revolution – leaders begetting leaders.
Excited to have you in tonight, Burke. I look forward to your insights and leadership on this topic. See you soon.
Thank you, Dan. It is an honor to have you on #bealeader as well. I appreciate your insights and look forward to you sharing your wisdom in the forum. We need to pass down the legacy of leadership and share the torch with the next generation. See you soon.