For learning and development professionals looking to expand their reach or increase their capacity, one proven method engaging with leaders at your organization to join your ranks in an adjunct style. In other words, you can seek out respected and knowledgeable members of your leadership team to serve in teaching and facilitating roles.
This approach is commonly known by the name, “Leaders as Teachers.” Edward Betof has written extensively about his own experiences with this L&D tactic, including the book, Leaders As Teachers: Unlock the Teaching Potential of Your Company’s Best and Brightest. The best practices Mr. Betof identified include:
Create consistency. Place your program in a larger context of learning within your organization.
Create alignment. Connect the program to elements of company-wide initiatives.
Create support. Highlighting the connection to company priorities—and outcomes—will ensure top management support.
Create value. Demonstrate how this program will provide clear benefits for leader participants.
I first encountered this concept during my graduate studies and was tickled to learn that there was a name and framework for a practice I’d employed for several years in my own training department. I dove into the research and gained a greater appreciation for how much impact leaders can have when they participate in learning.
Here are some essential questions for L&D professionals to ask themselves when considering or implementing the Leaders-as-Teachers approach.
Why?
Leaders own results.
What business results are priorities for your organization? Connecting training and development to business priorities creates alignment and can build support for a Leaders-as-Teachers approach.
Leaders develop other leaders.
Leaders who develop—or teach—others should have a “Teachable Point of View.” In other words, leaders who teach should be able to tell the story of their own leadership. As an HRD professional, you can support growth and development by helping leaders to articulate their point of view and finding opportunities for them to share their story. How might you guide a leader to identify their teachable point of view?
What?
Leaders model the way.
Do you need teachers who can focus on Knowledge, Skill, or Attitude, or some combination of the three? Just as leadership skills are not directly the same as teaching skills, it may be the case that a leader under consideration for a teaching opportunity may not have the relevant. knowledge, skill, or attitude. Be sure to align your leaders to the content in a thoughtful way.
Leaders set expectations.
As with any training program, the desired outcomes should be clear. For a class or curriculum that would use leaders as teachers, what are the Learning Objectives? When leaders set objectives, employees will follow.
Who?
Leaders make priorities clear.
Can you—and the teaching leader—articulate the “What/So What/Now What” message for the training? Each element of this will become a priority for students when they hear it from a leader.
Leaders send a message.
Think about the potential content under consideration. Who is the best messenger?
How?
Leaders have style.
You are pursuing a Leaders-as-Teachers approach because of all the skills and authority leaders bring to the table. Are you prepared to let teaching leaders use their own style and not yours? What other considerations, like style, might you need to consider?
Leaders need your support.
You are the expert and will need to provide training and coaching for teaching leaders. What preparation will your teaching leaders need?
Want to learn more? Check out these articles and resources about engaging with leaders to teach alongside your L&D team.
Bonus: ATD Members can also view these resources from td.org
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