Many of the best leaders I know are educators. Talk about influence. They have more responsibility than anyone I know. Without our teachers, the next generation is in trouble.

For centuries, teachers were more interested in character formation and transformation than they were in imparting information. For the past century there has been a shift toward more facts. Now thanks to smart phones and iPads, students have all of the information they could ever want at their fingertips. Therefore, character development is once again the chief job description of a great educator.

Blogger Maurilio Amorim writes, “Educators who succeed will no longer be guardians of knowledge since anyone with a phone can now access all the human knowledge base in seconds. The new educators will help students think, reason and make sense of the available information. Teaching facts is no longer the role of the teacher.”

Newsflash . . . Teaching facts has never been the job. Amorim is right about one thing. Helping students think, reason, and make sense of the information is important. But beyond that, guiding students toward honesty, integrity, and values is even more vital.

As a leader, you are no different than a teacher. The rules have changed for you too. An avalanche of information comes into your environment every week. The technology wave is impossible to catch. However, when it comes to integrity, there seems to be a shortage. It is the leader’s responsibility to make sure the team is challenged to develop great character and integrity, just as my teacher friends are doing for tomorrow’s leaders.

If you have been lured into thinking “information is where its at,” (sorry for the bad grammar to all my former teachers) you have missed the target. Today’s information will be obsolete by tomorrow. Character, on the other hand, never gets old.

i2i,

Randy

Who was the best teacher you ever had, and how did their teaching impact your life and leadership?

Any comments from teachers?