You are a new leader. You are a leader with a few years under your belt. You’re an experienced leader with a new team or a new company. How do you unlock the maximum engagement with your team? First you’ll have to take a walk in their shoes and view yourself from their perspective.

Before you convinced somebody you had what it takes to take on your leadership role, you worked as a member of a team. Maybe you are graduating from the ranks of that team into your leadership position. Or, perhaps you are coming from the outside. Either way, you’ve been where your team members are today. A full plate of responsibilities and deliverables. Pressure to be successful on a daily basis. A need to stay motivated, focused, and demonstrate your abilities and commitment to your company. Family. Finances. Fulfillment. That’s a 24/7 gig.

For this individual, how he values his leader depends on lots of factors. Can the leader help me achieve my objectives? Can she help solve my problems? Do I trust her? Does she have integrity, expertise, confidence? Is she approachable? Does she believe in me?

I’ve had a variety of managers in my sales career. A few of them have been leaders. Many have not. I’ll call them bosses, and the character traits above and other important attributes were noticeably absent.

For those managers who are truly effective leaders, there is one powerful characteristic that they have in common. They are teachers.

As a hiring manager, you hear from your senior leadership that you should hire people who are better than you. As a rising leader yourself, that is sometimes difficult to digest. It implies that there is a ceiling for you, and you better get good people on your team so you can be replaced. The company obviously wants a strong bench of rising stars to continuously improve its game. But what does this directive really mean? For me?

In the best sense, it gives you the license to hire and develop others. To become the best coach and mentor you can be. It gives you permission to be a teacher.

As a manager, you are evaluated by your ability to deliver results. To achieve sales targets, manage expenses effectively, produce a favorable P & L. As a leader, you will be judged by your ability to produce other top performers. New leaders. People who can carry on the legacy of the company’s mission. When you see that person advance in your organization, you’ll have the quiet satisfaction that you hired, coached, and supported that person to grow into an authentic leader himself.

In order to do that you have to be a teacher first.

The leaders in my life who I value the most were teachers first. They spent time with me after the meeting. They traveled with me. They brought me in to situations before I was ready for them, then walked beside me so I could learn. They talked with me after failures and helped me gain understanding. They challenged me. They let me find my own answers and guided me with a gentle hand so I stayed on course.

Sometimes they knew the answers to complex problems and they worked to bring me there. Sometimes they didn’t and they remained open to the path I found with their guidance. Sometimes that path was different from the one they themselves had already learned. They didn’t always insist that I agree with them.

These leaders showed empathy and compassion to me. It was clearly visible to me. I could feel it. It was obvious that they were once in my shoes and understood that their answers weren’t the only answers.

When I watch a teacher leader in action, it is inspiring. The connection is strong. There is electricity. I don’t want to take my eyes off the interaction between teacher and learner.

When I’ve had the leader who was a teacher in my career, I considered it a gift. I was touched by the way that person took such a compassionate interest in my success. In me. The examples in my life are so vivid. So cherished. They are still with me.

Give the people on your team a gift. Be a teacher. Become the compassionate leader you were meant to be.

Lead well.

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