The Teacher: Systems and Sustainability

This is the fifth post in a series exploring the five leadership types from Ephesians 4: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, and Teachers. In the previous post, we explored the Shepherd - the leader who nurtures and protects the community. Now we turn to the Teacher - the systematizer who ensures everything the organization has learned is preserved and multiplied.

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Keeping people together and keeping them moving is a huge part of being a leader. But that’s the role of the other 4 archetypes. The Teacher is a leader who grows the ability of the organization for the long-term, moving from dependence on people and on the system, to independence and maturity.

Helping others to grow up

The Teacher’s goal as a leader is not simply to impart knowledge. It is easy to forget, but the Teacher is a type of leader too, and as a leader they too are seeing more and seeing before. The Teacher is simply the leader who sees more of what an individual could become, before they get there.

Ultimately the Teacher is the one who causes an organization to thrive even in their absence, by way of helping others to grow in skill, in maturity, in confidence and scope. The best teachers are always exceeded by their students.