Why assessing your teaching capability is the next leap in leadership development
When we talk about great leadership, we often focus on vision, strategy, communication, and decision-making. But there’s a quietly powerful force that separates good leaders from truly transformative ones: their ability to teach. In fact, this hidden capacity to guide, mentor, and inspire others has been called the superpower of exceptional leaders, because it multiplies their impact far beyond individual performance.
Yes—teaching. Not in the traditional classroom sense, but in the day-to-day acts of passing on wisdom, modeling behavior, transferring technical know-how, and shaping how others see the world. The best leaders are also the best teachers, and the boldest step a leader can take to multiply their impact is to develop new leaders by mastering this hidden skill.
What Makes a Leader a Great Teacher?
Research has uncovered that what leaders teach falls into three powerful categories:
- Professionalism – This is about how you mentor, how you behave, and how you prepare others for the future. It includes sharing your transformation journey, engaging others on ethical conduct, and helping them think long-term about the industry landscape.
- Technical Knowledge and Skills – The nitty-gritty of the business. Leaders who actively teach their team the technical aspects of the job—not just through instruction but by learning with them—build real confidence and autonomy.
- Broader Life Lessons – These leaders go beyond work. They talk about values, purpose, dilemmas, health, and balance. They model resilience and share deeply personal lessons. They are remembered not just as bosses, but as life-shaping mentors.
Why Should You Care?
Because teaching capability directly correlates with sustainable value creation.
Think about this: Google, Apple, and Becton Dickinson have all embedded teaching into their leadership DNA. In fact, Apple’s Tim Cook points out that Steve Jobs—beyond all the innovation and perfectionism—was one of the greatest teachers he’s ever known.
When you teach well, you:
- Build other leaders, not just followers.
- Strengthen your organizational culture.
- Accelerate team development.
- Drive innovation and strategic agility.
- Create continuity and resilience across leadership transitions.
In today’s fast-changing world, organizations don’t just need more leaders—they need leaders who can create other leaders. That’s where you come in.
But How Do You Know If You’re a Good Teacher?
This is where the Teaching Capability Assessment comes in—a validated, research-backed tool developed to measure a leader’s effectiveness in teaching across the three critical domains mentioned above.
Through a 15-item survey filled out by your team, you’ll receive scores that show how well you:
- Transfer your experience and professional standards,
- Share technical and operational expertise,
- Instill life lessons, character, and purpose in others.
Leaders are scored from “Fair” to “Excellent” based on input from those who work with them directly. This makes it not only a powerful self-development tool but also a way to align leadership capability with actual impact.
Why Now?
Because too many leadership development efforts fail due to one missing ingredient: leader-led growth. External training and coaching matter—but nothing beats learning directly from a leader you respect and admire. And nothing multiplies leadership like teaching does.
So here’s the challenge for you:
👉 Are you ready to see yourself not just as a manager or executive, but as a builder of people?
👉 Are you bold enough to ask your team how well you’re guiding them—not just through strategy, but through example?
👉 Are you committed to leaving a leadership legacy?
Final Thought
The market may measure performance by profit. But people measure leadership by how much they learned from you—how they grew under your watch, and how ready they are to lead because of you.
If you want to become a great leader, become a great teacher. And if you want to become a great teacher, start by asking: how am I doing?
Take the Teaching Capability Assessment. Learn what your team really sees. And start the journey of developing leaders who will one day thank you not for being in charge—but for showing them how to lead.
