Looking for the Moment to Teach

There are a million demands on our day.  There are emails to reply to, meetings to run, phones to answer, classes to teach, coffees to refill, reports to write, posts to reply to, prospects to pitch, clients to ameliorate, etc etc.  And in the midst of these seemingly immediately urgent demands the prospect of taking time to teach can shudder at the the thought of the incoming straw that may break this camels back.

But why does teaching have to seem like such a process?  Instead of viewing teaching as a hour-long (or more!) commitment, what if we looked at it as a flexible activity that can be used to fill those in-between moments.

There are a few benefits to this mindset.

1) Efficiency-live, in the moment, feedback is more effective.  You probably won't remember the specific, teachable moment in a week.  And if you do it certainly won't be as powerful.  Furthermore, people can only process a little bit of feedback at a time, a torrent of feedback will be largely lost.

2) Sincerity-timely feedback is viewed as more sincere.  The fact that you felt it necessary to give an immediate (or close thereafter) impression of the situation showcases a true belief of the importance of the event.  Coming back to an event that has sit for a week or two may indicate that the lesson wasn't truly critical.

3) Connectivity-taking time to teach reinforces relationships and builds greater connection.  Teaching is investment, and we only invest in that which we believe is valueable.  As a leader, teaching is a productive way to connect with your team and highlight their value.

But it can be difficult to find the time to follow up.  Maybe you're busy, maybe you're exhausted, maybe you're emotionally drained.  Whatever the day there will always be an excuse waiting in the wings to avoid teaching.  So here are a few ways you can start teaching more, today.

1) Don't create time, look for opportunities.  The key to taking a moment to teach is not to set aside time to do it.  The key is to look for those already existing moments; walking together to a meeting, driving back from an event.  Often we fill these 'in between times' with small talk, which is important at times, but begin to also view this as valuable development time.

2) Try a standard formula for ease of conversation.  Quick conversations don't have much time for beating around the bush, so try this conversation structure for quick teaching moments.  First, state the behavior you want to address.  Next, give an observed example of this behavior with your student.  Finally, give the observed affect on the work, project, or other people.

3) Make it productive, not personal.  Don't focus on a fault or lack of the particular person, focus on the behavior or result you want to address.  If the teaching leans a bit critical, don't apologize for it, rather support your statement with examples.  If the teaching leans towards praise, give the 'why' behind what went well.  Instead of addressing the person, you want to address the behavior.

By taking just a few minutes everyday to teach you'll find that you will be able to have more dynamic and worthwhile relationship with your team, employees, or coworkers, than you had before.  And by looking for the moment to teach you will ensure there is always time.