Leadership requires a certain presence, whether you are lecturing, teaching, mentoring, coaching or aiding someone who needs your wisdom. I call this presence, the Seat of the Teacher. I didn’t make it up actually; it was taught to me as I was learning to become a yoga teacher.
When you are training to become a teacher – no matter what you will be teaching – there’s always a trepidation of sorts. One wonders if one is good enough, educated enough, smart enough, etc. I think in the beginning of a teaching career, there’s a little fear of not appearing to be all-knowing. When we enter into the reality of our situation though, it becomes much easier to take the Seat of the Teacher.
Each of us has wisdom in some fashion. Every one of us has been given gifts, tendencies, abilities that we develop over time and that extends from our natural personalities. We also have experiences that teach us a lot. Most people don’t ever tap into their gifts; they just kind of go along in life, letting it happen to them versus engaging dynamically in the world. If you are someone who has tapped into your natural abilities and passions for certain things in life, then you can most likely teach someone else who may not be as attuned as you are. But now I’m speaking in generalizations, so I’m going to get more specific here so you can get the picture.
If you are someone who is involved in learning the ins and outs of online marketing, you are at some level in the chain of “experts”. Experts are people who have mastered a skill or skill set. We can only teach what we know. So if you know more than another person about a particular skill or subject, you can teach others about that subject. You really become an expert when you successfully accomplish what you set out to do using the skill set that you acquired. Also, the more you do something, the better you become at it.
Consider for a moment what you know and what others want to know. Do you have an audience? I learned that when I was finished with my yoga teacher certification training that I knew a whole lot more than the average person about yoga. And, I knew there was a demand for learning yoga. I had to take that reality and turn it into confidence. When I began teaching, I wasn’t perfect, but I knew I was getting something important across. This knowledge and confidence is what gives you the right to take the Seat of the Teacher.
If you are trying to teach something you don’t know, then you will need to step back and start to practice and learn to successfully apply the skills you want to teach. I can’t think of a better way to get into teaching than to plunge into the learning process and get experience from someone who knows. It’s like going to college. You read, study and report, over and over again. But at some point, you will have to take the Seat of the Teacher. When you’re ready, connect with reality – remind yourself of what you know that your students don’t know. Then teach what you know, with confidence.
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