So for the 14th year in a row, I am very fortunate to be sitting in Rick DuFour’s keynote at our PLC Institute in Lincolnshire.  I have heard Rick keynote many times and in many venues over our 16 year partnership of providing GREAT materials and institutes on Professional Learning Communities (PLC).  But I have to say, I love the keynote he is doing this year, LEADERS WANTED:  How Leaders at ALL Levels Can Support the PLC at Work Process.

Besides being a very good friend, Rick is a true professional when it comes to writing and presenting.  He reads and reads and reads, takes notes on others work, compiles his research and combines that with his own practical experience and knowledge and presents a compelling case, citing all of the content where appropriate.  His messages are captivating and spot-on for his audience.  Really one of the best presenters and teachers I have ever known.

One quote Rick referenced today was from John Gardner, former President of the Carnegie Foundation, Secretary of Health Education and Welfare under Lyndon Johnson, and founder of Common Cause

“Every great leader is teaching, and every great teacher is leading.”

John W. Gardner

Pretty simple, but think for  a moment of all the people you lead each and every day.  Children, friends, staff, peers, athletic teams, church groups, you name it, you are involved and connected to others. We are all involved in groups of people, or teams of people, and at some point we are leading them in a certain direction.  But do we realize we are teaching at the same time?  By leading we are teaching.

So now jump to the ladder half of this quote, where Mr. Gardner states that a leader is a teacher.  You may be teaching a skill like riding a bike, how to use an app on a smartphone, how to hit a serve on the tennis court, or you’re on a project team at work, a book study, a parent group, etc. etc. etc.  Be it small or large, fact or opinion, when you share you are teaching.

So what is the point?  Well one point is that when we teach, other learn, so we better know what we are teaching and the direction we are leading them.  But the second, and much more important point, is that our school teachers are leading a generation of students.  The people who will lead our world and teach the next generation.  A massively important and very, very hard job if done right.

If anyone is watching you, believing what you say, and following you, then you are leading.  Better make certain you know where you are taking someone.

And if you can…go thank a teacher today.  Creating future leaders is why they do it.