Did you ever have a teacher at school who influenced you? Maybe even changed your life?
When I reflect on conversations with the people I have trained, coached or just met along the way in my time as a leadership developer, I notice how often an inspirational teacher from school is fondly remembered.
In any performance environment, knowing when and how to challenge or support people is a vital leadership skill and I can think of few professions which know more about how to do this well than teaching.
For some of us it is natural to want to stay in our comfort zones. As we mature and grow, we learn how to be more comfortable with pushing ourselves. Being stretched and challenged is uncomfortable for all of us initially, a bit like yoga or weight training, but with practice we get better and it becomes a habit.
I spoke recently with Louise North, Principal of Framlingham College, for her perspective and she described that when she started her job, she noticed the school was doing an amazing job at supporting and nurturing pupils – but that there was room to challenge them more.
“The school had a reputation for kindness and niceness, but we weren’t actually challenging the children to reach their full potential,” Louise said. “Kindness is not the same as accepting mediocrity – it’s just the opposite.”
Louise encouraged the teaching body to challenge the students more, giving them the confidence to do so with her support. She also encouraged the staff to be honest with parents about their children’s performance and to work together to motivate pupils more. It all served the goal of enabling children to reach their full potential within a supportive environment.
So, if this is the task at hand, how can we do it well?
Challenge and support
How can we define what it means to be challenged or supported at work? How, as leaders, can we try to achieve that same level of balance as the inspirational teachers of our childhoods?
A leader can challenge by questioning the status quo, looking for continuous improvement and keeping things moving. A leader can also support by checking in often with their team, encouraging everyone to participate and offering coaching where needed.
These are behaviours where we may have a natural preference to do one or the other and it takes self-awareness, emotional intelligence and developed skill to read the situation and respond accordingly.
The best leaders are able to both support and challenge, in the right way at the right time for the best results.
