Jane Taylor
Start of the Managerial Path
“Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine.” Chris Hadfield
Like in any other area, everyone comes in education differently. Someone understands what he wants from the youth and moves from the university to practice smoothly. Someone goes those very inscrutable ways that cannot be anticipated. Surprisingly, she has found a way to go teaching previously being a manager in several companies.
Having completed her managerial degree in University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she worked as a manager in the customer department in an advertising agency for almost eight years. Afterwards, she was a managing director in the international marketing team. The further she continued the managerial career, the more she realized that she did not want to go on like this. Day by day, she started to realize that there was no sense in this work, but it took a very long time.
She cannot say that she has always wanted to become a teacher as well. But having considered different options, and, particularly, having read the books of Janusz Korczak, she gave it a shot. Now she is a successful leadership teacher in North Carolina and one of the best blogger writers in her area. Indeed, it was scary to leave the business area; it always feels scary to change your life cardinally. However, she talked with friends who had children, watched inspirational films, read a lot of books, and realized that education was very similar to business.
Why Education and Business Work Together
A good teacher is almost like a good businessman. Work as a teacher requires the same organizational skills, an ability to improvise, and a broad worldview. We often hear the stories of great entrepreneurs who were not afraid to take risks in the magazines and TV programs. They managed to see the potential where others had not seen, and, thanks to their personal qualities, they built a successful business that determined the modernity. Their names are all heard – Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, or Richard Branson… The list can go on for a long time. The description of their life inspires, and interviews contain motivating quotes.
We used to believe that business and education are far from each other. However, the modern teacher has the same tasks. Their solution is impossible without the personal qualities inherent in a good businessman. A good teacher must constantly try new ideas and approaches of teaching and be ready to apply new methods. A good teacher has to motivate his team and give a new view on the old things. It is all about leadership.
Entrepreneurs are constantly faced with the need to seek resources for development and problem-solving. The teacher also often finds himself in a situation where the needs are high, and the resources are limited. Both an entrepreneur and a teacher need the perseverance to face problems and try to find a way out in any situation.
