The best #leaders and #teachers facilitate discovery more than they convey information.
Because of this, all (great) teachers are leaders and all (great) leaders are teachers. The key in both statements is the word “great”.

As I look at this graphic, I am struck by the challenge it presents to those of us in positions of #leadership. Whether we are leading a classroom, a boardroom or a family room, we are BUSY! And the more busy we become, the more difficult it is for us to remember this simple principle of #empowerment.

We do not learn things by being told. We learn things by figuring them out. Therefore, as I said at the beginning of this article, the best leaders and teachers facilitate discovery more than they convey information. The problem is facilitated discovery takes WAY more time (at least in the beginning) than simply giving out the information. And because we are so busy, we gravitate away from the best ways and toward the convenient (to us) ways.

Here’s the kicker: The seemingly easy way (of disseminating info) is actually MUCH more time consuming than the perceived more difficult way. Because we simply give info, then people are dependent on us doing so every time. Therefore we end up “teaching” the same things to the same people over and over and over. Meanwhile, if we would simply invest in more strategic methods, like teaching HOW to learn or WHERE to look, we would only have to share once, and we empower them to both learn and grow themselves, as well as being equipped to similarly empower others.

From a leadership perspective, that is the very definition of #leaderscreateleaders!