My family and I partner with an organization (Heart for People) who provide resources to schools in Uganda, a country in Eastern Africa. We had the chance to meet the founder of two of these schools earlier this year. He shared his story of founding the schools and the work he and his team are doing to help the most vulnerable children. Children who are starving, orphaned, diagnosed with AIDS and a long list of other unimaginable situations.
As he was sharing these stories, he said one of the simplest but most profound things I’ve heard in my life:
“You can’t teach a starving child. Before you can teach him, you must feed him.”
This truth has had meaning in many parts of my life, including my coaching and training work to support leaders in the development of their people. The stakes are obviously less critical than for the children in these Ugandan villages, but the spirit of this statement most certainly applies.
In a recent coaching conversation, a client shared that she is working with her team to have them think more strategically. She’s been frustrated by the slow progress. I looked at her and said, “You can’t teach a starving child. Before you can teach them, you must feed them.”
She sat quietly for a few moments and then asked, “Do you mean that in order to develop them, I have to serve their most basic needs first?”
I responded with a question, “In what ways are your people starving?”
“They are overwhelmed and afraid their jobs are at risk,” she said.
I asked, “How well would you be able to learn a new way of approaching your work if you felt your job was at risk?”
The answer was clear. She needs to “feed” her people before she can teach them.
In what ways are your people starving or have basic needs that need to be met? Comment below with your answers.
Fill their bellies first and then they will be ready to learn and grow.
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This conversation was with one of our Intentional Leader clients. If you or your team would benefit from having on-demand access to world class coaching to work through the most pressing leadership challenges, check out The Intentional Leader platform or schedule a call to learn more.