The Teacher's Advantage: Why Good Educators Make Great Business Hires
When I interview potential team members, I look for one quality that consistently predicts success beyond any credential or technical skill. It's not what most hiring managers prioritize, but it's transformed how I build teams:
I look for people who can teach.
This might seem counterintuitive. After all, I'm not running an educational institution. I need developers, designers, and marketing specialists—not professors. But I've discovered something that's yet to prove me wrong: I've never met a good teacher who wasn't also an excellent learner.
The Reverse Engineering Hack
This insight functions as a hiring "hack" because teaching ability serves as a reliable proxy for several qualities that are otherwise difficult to assess in an interview:
- Depth of understanding - You cannot effectively teach what you don't deeply understand. When someone explains a concept clearly, they reveal mastery that superficial knowledge can't fake.
- Structured thinking - Good teachers organize information logically. This same structured thinking is essential for solving complex business problems.
- Empathy and perspective-taking - Teaching requires understanding where another person's knowledge gaps exist. This translates directly to client interactions and team collaboration.
- Learning velocity - The best teachers are perpetual students. They've refined their learning processes to efficiently absorb and synthesize new information.
- Communication clarity - The ability to distill complex ideas into accessible explanations correlates strongly with effective business communication.
During interviews, I deliberately create opportunities for candidates to teach me something. I might ask them to explain a complex concept from their field or walk me through how they would approach a specific problem.
What I'm looking for isn't just accuracy, but the intuitive sense of where to start, how to scaffold information, when to check for understanding, and how to adapt their approach when something isn't landing.
The Learning Advantage
In today's environment, learning velocity may be the most valuable competitive advantage. Technology changes rapidly. Client needs evolve constantly. The ability to quickly absorb and apply new information isn't just helpful—it's essential for survival.
When I find someone who naturally excels at teaching, I'm confident I've found someone who can navigate this landscape of perpetual change.
They don't just possess static knowledge; they possess the meta-skill of knowledge acquisition.
Beyond Technical Competence
Technical skills matter, certainly. But in an environment where AI is rapidly democratizing execution capabilities, what distinguishes exceptional talent is increasingly about:
- Asking the right questions
- Identifying the core of complex problems
- Communicating solutions effectively
- Adapting to changing circumstances
These are precisely the capabilities that excellent teachers possess. They don't just know answers; they understand how to find answers and how to help others find them too.
Implementing This Approach
If you want to incorporate this perspective into your hiring process, here are practical steps:
- Create teaching moments in interviews - Ask candidates to explain something complex from their field to someone with no background (you playing that role).
- Watch for question quality - Good teachers ask clarifying questions before launching into explanations. They want to understand what you already know.
- Notice adjustments - Pay attention to how they adapt when you show confusion. Do they try the same approach again, louder? Or do they find a new angle?
- Look for metaphor use - Great teachers naturally reach for analogies and examples that bridge from the known to the unknown.
- Observe enthusiasm - Teaching something well requires genuine interest in the subject and in the other person's understanding.
The beauty of this approach is that it works across domains. Whether I'm hiring developers, designers, or marketing specialists, the teaching filter helps identify people who will continue growing and contributing as the business evolves.
