Managers as Teachers

Managers teach all day long. But how many managers have actually be taught how to teach their employees? Not many. Most managers are left to their own devices and their own teaching styles. "Tell 'em what to do; yell at 'em if they don't do it right" is a common teaching method in the workplace. But when you know a little bit about how people learn, you'll be better equipped to teach. Everyone learns differently so the more you know about how your employees learn and process information, the better teacher you'll become. And the better you teach, the better you'll manage. How well you teach and relate to your employees is evidenced in productivity and profit levels.

Listening to Avoid Misunderstanding

A good leader listens to volunteers and staff with empathy. How do you do that? You ask good questions and respond appropriately. Learning to ask the right questions takes practice and is accomplished by trial and error. Ask the question; evaluate the response.

For example, “What’s wrong with you?” is, on a scale of 0-10, a flat 0! It’s a bad question no matter how you phrase it. Why not try something like, “You seem troubled. Would you like to talk?” Communication as a leader is all about listening. Empathic listening takes time, but not as much time as it takes to correct the misunderstandings you’ll face if you don’t. Volunteers and staff who are not encouraged to express themselves clearly usually repress their problems which eventually manifest as poor performance.