Anatomy of the New High Performer is an interesting read. While written for business folk, there are many potential applications for today’s business English teacher.
7 Characteristics of High Performing Business English Teachers:
- Flexibility. Freelancers are free to lance. Top performing teachers are willing to travel, adjust to student schedules, and be willing to smile big when classes get cancelled or postponed at the last minute. I’ve also noticed that top performers know how to deal with regular and irregular income. They smile. They wait. They win.
- Interpersonal expertise. Like it or not, freelance teachers are frontline contacts with clients. School leadership is not always immediately available to help, so top performers know how to diplomatically diffuse conflict between students. They also learn when to step back and bring in outside help to cool things off. Communication is key – with your students, school leaders, and human resource managers. Top performers aren’t islands.
- Know how to grow. Top performers don’t wait for their employer to help them grow. They actively are connecting to other teachers, reading books, and attending workshops/seminars about teaching. Top performing freelancers can’t afford to wait for professional development to be done to them. They’re out doing it themselves.
- Focused on application. It’s not just book work anymore, it’s about knowing your students so well that your class work impacts their workplace.
- Team players. Have you ever had to collaborate on the same class with another teacher? I’m betting this will start to happen more. How good are you at sharing your lesson plans? Asking questions of your colleagues like: how did you teach X, Y or Z point? Negotiating test prep and test creation, etc.
- Service Oriented. One of our best teachers, a top performer in my books, is an expert at patient service. He fully realizes that he’s there for his students. He serves them with custom materials, bears with them when students show up late repeatedly, and even hangs on through long payment cycles. Being service oriented isn’t always sexy, but it’s one of the fastest routes to top performance that I can think of.
- Prioritize private and professional activities. It’s not easy being a freelancer. The lines between personal and professional often get blurry, at least that’s what I often find. Top performers who wish to remain top performers know how to, or are learning how to, prioritize their lives. They know when to relax and play, and when it’s time to hunker down and work – that’s not always easy to figure out!
Develop and Flex Your Top Performance Muscles
- Service Muscles: practice treating your students like you would like to be treated if you were in their shoes. How does it feel to be them? What are they missing? How can you get it?
- Endurance – payment delays: while they should not be a regular part of your life, pay delays can and do happen. It’s part of a freelancer’s life. Suggestion: budget, and create a rainy day fund. (For when delays DO happen.) What would it take for you t0 start saving 20 or 50 bucks a month against rainy days?
- Flexibility Muscles: Practice moving around your city by yourself. Take public transit, and become comfortable with the art of getting around. Top performers know how to get to where the work is – they don’t expect it to appear on their doorstep.
How would you suggest to flex/develop Top Performance Muscles? What am I missing?
