Teaching in the Workplace

Teaching is hard. Especially in the workplace. Our egos can get in the way.

I’m a fairly competitive guy. I like to be the best at things. But to be a good teacher, you have to be willing to push your students to exceed you. As a guy who takes pride in his accomplishments, this hits hard sometimes.

As a homeschool girl dad, I find teaching to be a rewarding but humbling job. When your students are your daughters, sometimes it requires a change in mindset.

For instance, I used to make all the special baked goods in my house. But now my oldest daughter is a superior baker to me.

I used to be the best at algebra in the family, but now my second daughter surpassed me.

I used to be the snarkiest in the family, but my third daughter will cut you down before you knew what happened.

Finally, I used to be the best at figuring out how to fix things, but my youngest daughter has mechanical talent I can only dream about having.

At first it stung, and then I realized that I just did my job. I have elevated my kids to surpass me and given them chances I didn’t have. It is a very good thing to teach people in such a way they can reach levels that surpass your own.

But in the workplace, we often don’t want to do this. We become afraid and worried that we will be replaced if we teach someone to have skills that rival our own. So we hold back, we hide tricks, we solve all challenging problems ourselves. And the company struggles.

What would it look like if we taught our co-workers like we teach our kids?
What would it look like if companies rewarded employees who have teaching ability, so there was no danger in teaching someone your job? What if they offered bonuses for improving overall skill level instead of just numbers?

I think companies should try this approach and see what happens.