If you are going to be an effective leader, the focus has to be on how you are going to serve. That attitude completely changes the way you come across. To be an effective communicator or instructor, you have to know your audience. That’s number one. Who is in the class today? What do they need? What do they desire? What do they fear? If you understand what is driving them, you’re going to be able to relate to their needs as opposed to just making a presentation.
The second point is that you have to think about what you are most passionate about, and you have to re-ignite yourself before you communicate. Otherwise, you are teaching the same fundamentals again and again and again. You can go on automatic pilot, and there is nothing less engaging than a person who is not fully there. They are there physically, but their mind and body are checked out, because they are on automatic pilot.
So, you’ve really got to stop and remind yourself, what do I love about this art? What is my passion? It has to be an every-time experience. The way to do that is the same way that you would walk onto the mat, into the ring, or whatever your metaphor is. You never walk in without being in a peak state. Never take your students for granted any more than you would an opponent, because if you do, you lose your sense of identity, your sense of pride.
The teacher is a leader. I think it is critical that the focus be beyond yourself, that you focus on being in a peak state every time until it becomes your identity. Then, it’s not hard to have charisma in front of the room, because you’re not trying to have charisma. You’re trying to serve.
The third principle is it’s impossible to build on failure. You build only on success.
When I worked with the United States Army pistol-shooting program, I made certain that the first time someone shot a pistol, instead of shooting the .45 caliber pistol from 50 feet away—which is what they were starting these guys out at—the target was literally five feet in front of the students. I wouldn’t let them fire the gun until they had rehearsed over and over again the exact perfect shooting form for two hours. By the time they held the gun, they had every technique perfected, so when they fired the first time, they succeeded.
I believe in setting people up to win. Many instructors believe in setting them up to fail so they stay humble and are supposedly more motivated. I disagree radically. People’s actions are very limited when they think they have limited potential. If you have a limited belief, you are going to use limited potential, and you are going to take limited action.
At first, the Army thought it was stupid, but it put ignition into the students’ brain. “WOW! I’ve succeeded,” versus shooting bullets into the ceiling or floor the first few times. It created an initial sense of certainty in the trainee that they could succeed.
