Teaching Moments and Touch Points
David Freund, Chief Leadership Officer

Last Friday, I was driving to a Manufacturing Day event and happened to listen in on a conversation John Maxwell was having with six leaders that had joined him for a four-day pheasant hunt. I was interested in the call because I had been offered the opportunity to attend. During this short 30-minute phone call, I was able to identify 10 takeaways. As I reflected on that amazing fact, I wondered how many takeaways I would have had if I had been with them for the entire four days. Today, I would like to share one of those takeaways with you.

John shared that each day we have 24 hours of potential teaching moments and touch points. Just think, a full day of opportunity waiting for us each morning when we wake up. Opportunity to teach others or have a positive impact on their lives. Perhaps it’s a memory that we can help them make. Perhaps they are facing a struggle that we can leverage into a learning opportunity. This week, my oldest son will turn 36. I have had 36 years of opportunity with Mike. Over 13,000 days to help make a memory or leverage a teaching moment. Sadly, I missed many of these opportunities. I suppose I never was that intentional about looking for the teaching moments and touch points. Well, today is a new day. I can start making better use of my days right now.

I’m sure the example of a parent missing these opportunities can resonate with most of us. What about as leaders? Do we as leaders value these opportunities enough? These are the moments that help us connect with our team or help them see things from a different perspective. This leadership skill is becoming ever more critical as we see a generational shift in the workplace.  Are we intentional about looking for teaching moments and touch points every day? Just as I could find 10 takeaways from a 30-minute conversation, we can find teaching moments and touch points in almost every situation. We just need to be intentional and look for them.

Please join Marisa and me on Episode 122 of The Next Page podcast as we discuss how we can become more intentional in looking for opportunities starting today.

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