My thoughts on Leading in Learning
Monday, December 7th, 2009
I have long maintained that one of the primary roles leadership is to teach.Â
Leaders must both teach and learn from and with the people they serve.  While we learn from and with the people we serve for many obvious reasons I would like to highlight one of the less obvious reasons. We learn from and with our people so that they can see their leaders learning. Our people, like our children, learn how to learn from us. It is an undisputed fact that children who have parents who read are far more likely to be better readers than those who do not.
Likewise in organizations that have developed strong learning cultures there are overt signs of leaders who learn. This learning occurs in both formal and informal ways. The formal ways may include institutional training programs, obtaining required CEUs, conferences etc. These are important, helpful and necessary but they are not the most influential element of a strong learning culture.
INFORMAL LEARNING - is where the real magic takes place. This is where, because of the leaders own passionate pursuit of personal excellence and development people around them are affected as they are infected by the leaders contagious enthusiasm and example. They see their leader learning more and becoming more. They see their knowledge, competence and confidence increasing and these attractive attributes attract their attention and can awaken and inspire in them their own longing for learning.
Great leaders are teachers…. and the truest and most noble purpose of teaching is not to impart knowledge but to change lives for the better…it is to improve the human condition. The most effective teachers teach by example. Yes feet must match mouth, but we are far more effective when our words match our footsteps. Then as we talk joyfully about the walk we are already on we allow our example in inspire and invite others to do the same.Â
As leaders let us teach to change lives - and use words if necessary.
Grow for it! ~ Kirk Weisler
