How My Teacher Education Helped Me in My Job as a CEO

Some people may not know it, but I actually studied to be a teacher. At a certain point, I realized I didn’t want to work as a teacher. By that time, I had already started my career in the customer service and support industry, so the decision to leave teaching behind came naturally to me.

That doesn’t mean my time in the university was wasted. On the contrary — today, in my position as a CEO and Managing Partner of a Support-as-a-Service company, I find the knowledge I got while I was studying more and more.

Here are the three best approaches I brought from teaching to being a CEO.

Giving advice and steering in the right direction

Almost every day, I find that my role as a CEO and Managing Partner is evolving. Today, it has much more to do with mentoring than with managing actual workflows and processes. Being a mentor involves giving my team advice and inspiring them for new ideas and future achievements. This is not a management technique I have only just picked up. This is something my team and I have been practicing for years.

The best example of this approach is the fact that about 60% of SupportYourApp’s management team have started their careers as customer support consultants, and today, they work in our Technical, Cybersecurity, Integrations, and other company departments.

Seeing the potential, giving the advice to develop it, and mentoring have also helped me spot the right candidates for the position of CEO of SupportYourApp’s spinoff companies — Label Your Data and Outstaff Your Team. Today, these are independent projects with their own KPIs, goals, and teams, so I know I made the right choice.

Steering talents in the right direction and showing them the best ways to use their skills for their professional and personal growth is one of the most pleasant tasks of any manager. At least, in my book.

Cheering the growth of others

What do teachers find most rewarding in their job? I would say seeing the growth and development of their students. It is the same for me.

Earlier, when a newbie joined SupportYourApp, I personally tried to oversee the development of their potential and career. Today, with over 1400 talents on our team, it has become an impossible task.

What helps me here is delegating. Even so, hearing about a new promotion or seeing someone grow from a customer support consultant to a Service Delivery Manager or an HR Specialist still brings me an indescribable amount of joy. I know — like a good teacher, we are helping people find their calling and change their lives for the better, fulfilling “People First” — one of the SupportYourApp’s corporate values.

When I think about it, it just brings a smile to my face.

Implementing active listening during almost every conversation

“It’s not what you said, it’s the way you said it” — say what you will, but Joey Tribbiani clearly was the master of active listening.

Just like for a good teacher, active listening is one of the cornerstones of our internal communication. It involves taking in not only the information but also paying attention to the mood and the tone of the dialogue.

How does that help us in our everyday processes? First, we are able to pick up on the smallest clues and spot those members of our team who are on the verge of burnout. It enables us to suggest they take a rest or, if possible, change their project or position.

Second, active listening promotes empathy and respect, which helps us build trust and create a supportive atmosphere where everyone is open to communicating and suggesting their ideas. I personally love to engage this skill during our brainstorming sessions because it allows us to get to the most creative and efficient solution.

Active listening is the key skill behind our effectiveness and mutual understanding and respect. Without it, I would not be able to build a team I trust so deeply.

Today, I truly believe that my choice of a profession of a teacher was not an accident. The knowledge I gained during my time at the university has helped me build the team I have today. A team of reliable, trustworthy, and skillful professionals whom I believe in wholeheartedly. I can apply the knowledge I got in the past to change our common present and build a better future. And isn’t it what teaching is all about?