There are many “top skills for the future,” but communication, influence, and professional presence routinely populate top ten lists that are prevalent in academic circles and the business press. I view it as my duty to prepare my students for the real world of work. If they enter the job market without being objectively terrified to use their voice, render an opinion, and act as a positive force for change and growth, I will have done my job.

First and foremost, great teachers are great listeners. They are keen observers of the world around them. Yes, they love to lecture and impart information and counsel, but one of the most important aspects of teaching is listening to the diverse needs of students to gain an understanding of where the student is, so they can be met where they’re at. A great teacher knows when to talk and when to shut up, observe, and listen.

To begin, it’s important to state what I hope is the obvious—that the number one job of all leaders and managers is to be a coach to their teams and team members. Unfortunately, in many organizations, coaching is viewed as a ‘nice to have’ and is not encouraged as the priority it should be. There are all manner of excuses for this lack of focus on coaching.

What’s the minimum bar for success for this self-reflection exercise? Were you able to connect with your breath and feel the rhythm of your heartbeat? If yes, then AWESOME! You just took a few huge steps forward.

Turns out that the answer to the question are you coachable is more difficult than most folks realize and it will take multiple sessions of self-reflection to make meaningful progress toward the answer.

I speak frequently about the benefits of adopting a continuous improvement mindset and practice—so much so that the premise of my second book, The Balanced Business, is that smooth workflows create an environment that fosters organizational accountability and allows trust to flourish. There are many preconditions to the establishment of smooth workflows, but one of the most important is to create clarity about how the work gets done in your business.

Magical thinking in business typically evidences itself as a disconnect between the capabilities, skills, and capacity of the teams that are actually doing the day-to-day work of the business, and what management believes are the capabilities, skills, and capacity of those same teams.