Differentiation between Instructing and Leading

From academic content to emotional leadership

In today's educational context, we often confuse the ability to teach a subject with the ability to educate.

However, teacher empowerment does not lie in the accumulation of technical knowledge, but in the ability to lead oneself.

It is not simply about managing a group of students, but about managing our own inner world first.

In order to be able to guide others towards their best version, it is a prerequisite that the educator has initiated his or her own process of self-knowledge and regulation.

If a teacher lacks emotional intelligence and does not know how to manage his own frustrations or fears, he will hardly be able to teach his students to do so. Teaching is, above all, a transfer of moods and attitudes.

The impact of mirror neurons

Leadership in the classroom is exercised more by what is done and felt than by what is said. This is due to the functioning of mirror neurons.

Students don't just learn from the theory they hear, they absorb the behaviors they observe.

If an educator preaches the importance of calmness but reacts to stress by yelling, students will learn reactivity, not calmness.

Practical Example: Imagine a teacher who arrives late and enters the classroom visibly upset, throwing books on the table while asking for silence. Although his words demand order, his energy conveys chaos.

In contrast, an empowered teacher who, faced with a technical contingency, takes a deep breath and calmly verbalizes his search for a solution, is teaching resilience and crisis management in real time, far beyond the academic curriculum.

Summary

Teacher empowerment arises from self-leadership and inner world management, not just technical knowledge. It is indispensable for the educator to initiate a prior process of deep self-knowledge.

Effective teaching is a constant transfer of moods and attitudes to the learner. Mirror neurons allow students to absorb observed behaviors rather than words.

An empowered teacher teaches resilience through his or her own calmness in the face of technical contingencies or conflicts. Leading in the classroom involves demonstrating with consistent actions what one intends to preach academically.